Libmonster ID: U.S.-1675

In early 2009, London's Old Bailey Central Criminal Court sentenced a 22-year-old British Islamist to 18 years in prison for activating an improvised explosive device in a restaurant in the English city of Exeter. At first glance, the case for modern Britain is unremarkable, especially since the press reported about it extremely sparingly, since only the culprit suffered as a result of the terrorist attack. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists, both committed and prevented, are not new to the United Kingdom. There is, however, one feature. Until now, such crimes have been committed exclusively by British Muslims, descendants of immigrants from Muslim countries-former colonies, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh (British India). In this case, we are talking not just about a British Islamist, but about an ethnic Briton named Nick Reilly, who converted to Islam just six months before the terrorist attack. The investigation proved that he received instructions to create an explosive device via e-mail [Fresco, 2009], so he was not a lone terrorist.

Today, after the collapse of multiculturalism, the United Kingdom Government is trying to encourage the development of a so-called British identity among its citizens. The success of this strategy with regard to British ethnic Muslims has been much doubted from the very beginning. And it is already an extraordinary case when an ethnic Briton renounces the British identity in favor of Islamism.

Be that as it may, the problem of choosing between religious views and national identity, between solidarity with fellow believers and loyalty to the authorities who do not share this faith, arose among the inhabitants of Great Britain more than a century ago. Ironically, Abdallah Killiam, founder of one of the first Muslim communities in the United Kingdom, was one of the first Britons to come face to face with it. His life and work can help answer questions about the difficulties associated with implementing the policy of developing a British identity and whether it has any chance of success.

Keywords: Abdallah Killiam, Islam, Great Britain, Muslims, Liverpool, mosques, Muslim Institute.

William Henry Killiam was born on 10 April 1856 in Liverpool, the son of Robert Killiam, a successful watchmaker. William Henry spent his childhood and early youth on the family estate on the Isle of Man. His parents were Methodist Church activists for many years and raised their son in the Christian tradition. Later, William Henry, who had a gift for public speaking and charisma since his youth, was also actively involved in campaigns to combat drunkenness among dockworkers, conducting-

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members of the Methodist Church. Moreover, Killiam never broke his vow not to drink alcohol at one of the meetings, which probably made it easier for him to convert to Islam later.

One of William Henry's ancestors was Captain John Killiam, who served as a lieutenant under Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson and played a prominent role in the Battle of Trafalgar. In short, William Henry belonged to a truly British family, representing the successful and respectable middle class of the Victorian era, living in accordance with the moral norms and precepts of the Christian faith. Although he had known members of small but influential Christian denominations such as Congregationalists, Baptists, Epitarians, and Quakers since childhood, Killiam did not accept all the tenets of canonical Christianity. In the last years before the adoption of Islam, he closely accepted the doctrine of the Unitarian sect, which denies the dogma of the Trinity. This evolution of religious beliefs was an important stage in Killiam's life and prepared him to accept the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. In general, the split of Christianity into many denominations and denominations, which was obvious to Killiam and many of his contemporaries (especially in late-nineteenth-century Liverpool), may also have been one of the incentives for the search for a new faith.

After receiving a law degree from the Liverpool Institute, Killiam stayed in the city and established the largest law practice in the north of England. He quickly became famous as a "lawyer for the poor", because he periodically took on the affairs of people who could not afford to pay for his services. He was also known for his approach to work: he usually took 30 to 40 cases a week out of the courts and often agreed to defend murder defendants, in most cases saving them from the noose. As for his political views, Killiam was close to the liberals in his youth. He actively participated in the campaign for the abolition of the death penalty, did not miss the opportunity to criticize the United States for discriminating against the black population. In addition, the Liverpudlian condemned traditional faiths for supporting slavery in the previous century. In particular, he stressed that all the Anglican bishops in the House of Lords voted against its abolition.

The port city of Liverpool by the mid-19th century many people of various backgrounds and faiths, including Muslims, were flooded. However, during this period, any significant Muslim communities in the kingdom were only on the threshold of their emergence, so Killiam had no place to learn serious knowledge about Islam, to become closely acquainted with this faith and its adherents. However, when William Henry encountered representatives of other faiths on a daily basis, he was keenly interested in other religions and traditions. So he already knew something about Islam when in 1882, while in France, he decided to continue his journey and visit Tunis and Algeria. Killiam later claimed that it was this trip that aroused in him a strong interest in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

During the journey, William Henry visited Spain and Morocco, crossed Gibraltar, and returned to Liverpool on March 1, 1884. Since then, his interest in Islam has grown steadily and, in particular, found its expression in the article "Riddles of Muslim Theology" published by him in 1885 (Geaves, 2010, p. 60).

A turning point in Killiam's biography was a long journey to Morocco, which he undertook in 1887. At the end of the 19th century, there were already researchers in Great Britain who followed the spread of various religions in the country, primarily Islam. For example, John Poole, in his book" Historical and Doctrinal Studies of Mohammedanism", in the chapter devoted to Islam in England (Poole, 1892, p. 13-14), noted, in particular, that Killiam was struck by the absence in Morocco of the usual debauchery in the cities of Great Britain, expressed in mass drunkenness and forgery.-

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operations. The accumulated knowledge of Islam at that time convinced him to adopt a new faith in this country.

Upon his return to his homeland, William Henry began a thorough study of the Koran and the works of Muslim theologians. In 1888, at the age of 32, he publicly announced his conversion to Islam through the city's media, while simultaneously renouncing Christianity. However, even earlier, already in 1887, he identified himself as a Muslim during a lecture on "Fanatics and fanaticism", which he gave for all comers in the Temperance League Hall on Mount Vernon Street (Mount Vernon Street), very soon for several years became the home of the first Islamic community in Liverpool.

William Henry Killiam was now known as Abdallah. From then on, he invariably dressed in a Turkish ceremonial dress, quite often wore a fez and often went out with his pet monkey from North Africa. "He never went anywhere without this monkey," said Killiam's granddaughter, Patricia Gordon. "She used to sit on his shoulder. Killiam made a small fez especially for the monkey and even took it to the British Museum when he was trained there. He was an eccentric old Victorian and a man of his own mind. When Abdallah entered the room, everyone fell silent. He was a very bright person and did what he wanted to do throughout his life. Killiam personally called the faithful to pray in the mosque in Arabic." by: [Savage, 2007]).

These exotic features in the behavior of Abdallah Killiam allowed the Liverpool satirical magazine" Porcupine " (The Porcupine) to publish a cartoon in which he was depicted riding through the city center on a white stallion with a monkey on his shoulder. In the image, a poor woman from the city's slums threw flowers under the horse's hooves. It is fair to say that the Liverpool lawyer never appeared on the city streets in this form, although the Killiam family actually had a white stallion (a gift to the eldest son of Abdallah from the Turkish Sultan). To a certain extent, such a cartoon in a popular publication is evidence of Abdallah's significant influence among the city's population.

In his new role, Killiam began to adhere to traditional Sunni Muslim teachings in line with the Hanafi madhhab, although he was influenced by the ideas of the Egyptian reformer of Islam Muhammad Abdo and the Indian Muslim educator Said Ahmad Khan. In any case, Killiam was convinced that Sunni Muslims were obliged to remain loyal to the Caliph of Islam, who was also the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and as a result, he established very close relations with the rulers of the Port. And Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1894, for his services in promoting Islam in the United Kingdom, even gave him the title of head of all the faithful in the British Isles - Sheikh al-Islam.

At the time of William Henry Killiam's conversion to Islam, the colonial empires of the major European powers were in their heyday. Most of the world of Islam and its Muslim-dominated territories were somehow dependent on the will of European monarchs and governments. Moreover, under the rule of Queen Victoria, there were actually more adherents of Islam than the Turkish sultan - caliph of the faithful. Against this background, the creation of a large Muslim community in the second largest and most important city of Great Britain at that time took on a very special meaning. And the first step to the formation and development of the Liverpool Islamic congregation was the recitation of the Shahada by a successful and respected lawyer.

Abdallah Killiam was as extravagant as he was energetic. After converting to Islam, he was actively engaged in popularizing his new faith. From 1887, he lectured on Islam at the Temperance League Hall on Mount Vernon Street.

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The first Islamic house of worship in Great Britain was opened there in 1889. However, for quite a long time, Abdallah's lectures were held without much success. Killiam later explained this by saying that at first he chose the wrong strategy, trying to counteract the shortcomings of Christianity with the strengths of Islam. Jem Ali Hamilton, Killiam's first British convert to Islam, recalled his lectures in the building on Mount Vernon Street. As a rule, they gathered quite a lot of people, but initially they were mostly crowds of offended and angry Christians. The lecture began with the audience stomping their feet and shouting at Killiam for about an hour. Then Abdallah said: "It was your time, and now the British fair play rules require it to be mine." Usually, at the end of a silent lecture on Islam, many of the students would shake Killiam's hand and show him the stones they had saved up but still had in their pockets (Geaves, 2010, p. 61).

After a while, Abdallah changed his strategy and began simply explaining the tenets of Islam to the public, without directly trying to persuade them to change their faith. This approach was more productive. Some were interested in Islam, others, like Jam Ali Hamilton, simply came to listen to a well-known lawyer in the city who was famous for his speeches. Most of them, of course, came to gloat and demonstrate their rejection of an alien religious doctrine. However, Killiam's careful and measured approach to stories about Islam often softened the categorical positions of even the most skeptical listeners. It was a significant fact that the sheikh managed to persuade his elderly mother, who had spent most of her life as a zealous member of the Methodist Church, to convert to Islam.

Under these circumstances, the first official Islamic community in the United Kingdom was organized. For about half a year, it consisted of only three people. Killiam and Hamilton were joined by Elizabeth Murray, who adopted the name Fatima after the appeal. For several weeks, the trio met and discussed surahs of the Qur'an. However, slowly but surely the size of the community grew. By February 1889, it had about 20 members. Here, too, the congregation faced its first crisis and its first serious threat to its existence. The landlord of the community building on Mount Vernon Street, apparently realizing who she was renting out her property to, sharply demanded that Killiam and his followers vacate the premises as soon as possible. She motivated this decision by the fact that "I don't want to suffer... those who do not preach salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ and do not believe in it" [Ansari, 2004, p. 122].

Misunderstanding (at best) and various forms of aggression on the part of adherents of Christian teaching (in various forms) have become an integral part of the existence of the Killiam Congregation for many years. Broken windows in community buildings, arson, slander, and theft were the main forms that Liverpool residents ' attitudes towards Muslims took. Nevertheless, Abdallah Killiam, who was always a prominent figure in the city, quickly became known on a national scale after converting to Islam.

The persecution of the Muslim community took on particularly violent forms when Killiam criticized the colonial and expansionist policies of Great Britain, condemning the infringement of the rights of Muslims in the territories subject to the British crown. However, the British at that time had a number of complaints about the Turkish sultan. The way the Sultan's troops treated the Christians of Armenia was not understood in British society, while Killiam publicly defended the right of the Porte to suppress unrest in this part of its possessions. In 1895, when the mosque in Liverpool was renovated with the help of the Amir of Afghanistan, it immediately received an impressive portion of stones.

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After being expelled from Mount Vernon Street, the congregation found shelter in the Brougham Terrace building on nearby West Derby Road, where Killiam founded the Liverpool Mosque and Muslim Institute in 1891. The Islamic center attached to the mosque became a fulcrum for a wide variety of categories of Muslims arriving in the UK at this time. By maintaining relations with both these groups and the civil authorities, Killiam was already, at the end of the nineteenth century, actually carrying out the prototype of the multiculturalism policy so assiduously enforced in Britain in the following century.

The building, consisting of 12 houses of the so-called terrace house, was built in 1830 by Joseph Ellenson Picton. It was named after a prominent lawyer, Henry Peter, who practiced law in Liverpool. Peter was a member of the Whig Party and held the title of 1st Baron of Brougham and Vaux. This is briefly the story of the first official Islamic house of worship established in the British Isles. Although it is arguable whether the first mosque in the UK was built in Liverpool or Woking, near London, in 1889, it was the house on Brougham Terrace that became the place where ordinary native Britons could learn the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad in an accessible way.

In 1891, Abdallah Killiam bought the houses from the 8th to the 12th. The building at number 8, which previously had a warehouse, houses a mosque. However, the house itself could not accommodate all the members of the ever-growing Killiam Congregation, so an additional room was added to the rear of the building, which became a prayer room. Other buildings include a Muslim institute, a boarding school, lecture halls, and a printing house.

In 1893, Killiam established The Crescent, the first weekly Islamic magazine in the British Isles. The eight-page magazine, which reported on the situation with Islam in Great Britain and the activities of the Muslim Institute and Mosque, was published until 1908 and was popular not only among British Muslims, but also among their co-religionists in the colonies of the British Empire, in Muslim countries around the world. Later, a monthly publication, The Islamic World, was launched. The magazine's 32 pages were devoted to events and issues affecting Muslims around the globe, as well as the politics of Islamic states. Both publications were distributed by subscription. British Professor Humayun Ansari in " Among the Infidels. Muslims in Britain since 1800, " writes that by 1899, the demand for the Crescent in Liverpool was so high that it was distributed through five news outlets, and subscribers were scattered all over the world, including India, China, Turkey, the United States, Egypt, Morocco, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, Afghanistan, Syria, Australia, and Canada (Ansari, 2004, p. 123). The popularity thus achieved allowed the Liverpool congregation to reach out to thousands of people every week. For example, during the British campaign against Sudan, Killiam was able, thanks to the Crescent, to convey his views on this conflict to the broad Muslim masses around the world. Killiam wrote and published The Faith of Islam, which was subsequently reprinted three times and translated into 13 languages.

The community headed by the sheikh grew steadily and gradually attracted more and more people into the orbit of its activities. The distinctive features of this activity were charity and social activity. It resulted in the Dom Medina Center, founded in 1896, whose main function was to care for illegitimate children. And there were a lot of such children in Liverpool at that time - about 2 thousand were born annually, and many babies found new families thanks to the Dom Medina center.

A Muslim college was opened at the Islamic Institute. Anyone, regardless of religion, could study science, art and law here. Teaching staff-

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The jews were mainly Islamic scholars from Liverpool, such as Professors Hashem Wilde and Nasrullah Warren. The knowledge of the city's residents about Islam was supplemented at weekly meetings of the Society of literature and debates. Everyone was free to listen to Sunday lectures and prayers. This openness has fueled interest in the community from native Britons. By 1896, more than 150 of them had converted to Islam, strengthening the Congregation of Killiam and the position of Islam in the United Kingdom.

Most of the members of the Islamic community organized by Abdallah were previously Christians or Jews. Killiam himself, in his own words, was attracted to Islam primarily by its rationality. This is what he repeatedly focused people's attention on throughout his missionary work. Thus, Killiam believed that the scientific discoveries of the XIX century only confirm the teachings of the Koran. In addition, in Islam, the Liverpudlian found a solution to a number of problems that were characteristic of British society at that time. Killiam considered limited polygamy to be one of the absolute virtues of this religion. In a Victorian society that outwardly tended to follow monogamous Christian traditions, adultery on the part of men was very common. Describing the state of affairs in this area, British professor Ron Geaves writes that there was a widespread opinion that the sin was considered not the fact of treason itself, but giving it public publicity that discredited the honor of the family [Geaves, 2010, p. 56]. And although Killiam himself had four children in his legal marriage to Hana Johnston before converting to Islam, it is known that he was in a close relationship with at least one other woman who gave birth to several children, with whom he later officially registered a Muslim marriage.

While defending restricted polygamy in public speeches and articles in the Crescent magazine, Killiam drew respondents ' attention to the imbalance in the British female population at the end of the 19th century. there were 1 million more women in the country than men. Legal polygamy, in his opinion, could help these women realize their natural right to have children, would allow them to enjoy their sexuality instead of channeling this unrealized energy in a perverse way, increasing the scale of one of the most serious problems and diseases of British society at that time - prostitution [Geaves, 2010, p.58].

The activities of the Muslim community of Liverpool, its institutions and institutions, and the maintenance of two autonomous families required considerable funds. Abdallah Killiam's main income continued to be generated by a successful law practice, in which there were very interesting precedents. One of them is in his book "Islam in Victorian Britain. The Life and Times of Abdallah Killiam " is described by R. Geaves [Geaves, 2010, p. 31-32]. Killiam once took on the case of two Irish Republicans, Henry Burton and James Gilbert Cunningham, who were accused of plotting a series of bombings in England and Scotland in 1895. These two managed to create an atmosphere of fear and panic on a national scale. Politicians were never seen anywhere without heavy security, and State institutions had increased security measures. One night, a broad-shouldered stranger appeared on Killiam's doorstep, half of his face hidden by a mask. Speaking with a thick North American accent, the man representing the American "Fenian Brotherhood" asked a lawyer to defend Burton and Cunningham 1 and immediately handed him a substantial fee for services in cash. Since then and on the pro-


1 The Fenian Brotherhood, or "Irish Republican Brotherhood", named after the hero of Celtic myths, an association of supporters of Irish Republicanism, founded in the United States in the mid-19th century and consisting mainly of North Americans of Irish descent. They declared their main goal to be the withdrawal of the British authorities from Ireland. To achieve this goal, they attacked British institutions in Canada and prepared various actions on the territory of the United Kingdom. For the first time, the term "Irish Republican Army" was used to refer to their paramilitary units even before its official foundation in the early twentieth century.

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Throughout the trial, Killiam was accompanied everywhere, not only by state security, but also by Fenian bodyguards. And during the lawyer's visit to the mother of one of his clients, activists of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) created in the United States completely accepted Killiam as a hero, despite the fact that he lost the case.

In connection with the above, it is very interesting to see how the image of an extremist has changed in the minds of the British people in just over a century. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, extremist activity was largely associated with supporters of Irish Republicanism, while a respectable and respected lawyer embodied the image of a British Muslim. Today, despite the fact that the threat from the IRA remains, the main danger to public safety, according to surveys, comes from radicals professing distorted Islam, whose destructive activities in the United Kingdom have already led to dozens of human casualties during the London terrorist attacks of July 7, 2005.

On October 29, 1896, the Sunday Telegraph published an article about the community founded by Abdallah Killiam. It was titled "A mosque in Liverpool where the British pray to Allah" and described the Muslim community in the country as a kind of curiosity:

"Here in England, there is a Muslim community - British-born subjects of the Queen, who speak English and are as white as you and I, but are Muslims. Liverpool became the center of Mohammedanism in the British Isles. Last year, 24 new converts were added to the community, bringing the total number of its members to 182. The founder of the community, Mr. Killiam, was noted for his devotion to his new religion by the Turkish Sultan, who is the caliph of all the faithful outside of India. The Sultan granted the head of the community the title of Sheikh al-Islam of the British Isles. It is very unusual to see an elderly Englishman bowing in the direction of Mecca and reciting a prayer in Arabic. The community even began sending British Muslim missionaries to West Africa to strengthen the crescent's position against the cross" [A Mosque in Liverpool..., 1896].

In general, there were a lot of articles about the community in the British press in those years, and Killiam himself regularly became the hero of local news, periodically getting into national ones. The Sunday Telegraph article, on the other hand, can be considered an example of a balanced attitude towards the congregation of Killiam on the part of British society. However, cases of open hostility towards her were also frequent.

Such publications have drawn national attention to Liverpool's small Muslim community. Killiam's popularity grew even more. Together with his wife, Abdallah was a regular guest at most social events, as well as the annual receptions organized by the Lord Mayor of the city. In early 1904, the Sheikh was invited to a special reception given by British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour at the Liverpool Philharmonic. Killiam was particularly proud of the fact that Queen Victoria personally wrote to him after reading The Religion of Islam and asking the author to send more copies for her children, one of whom was Prince Albert of Wales, who had inherited the throne under the name of Edward VII.

Killiam's influence grew as the bearer of the title of Sheikh-al-Islam bestowed by the Caliph of the faithful. Every year, more and more Muslims in the United Kingdom, from London to Ireland (even if there were very few of them in the UK at that time compared to today), recognized Abdallah as their leader. The Sheikh made periodic trips around the country, both to help promote Islam in different parts of the country to his co-religionists, and to strengthen his authority as the head of all Muslims in the British Isles.

At first, however, Killiam and his Liverpool followers had a rather strained relationship with another major Muslim congregation in the country, the ob-

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a well formed in the town of Woking, located near London. An active role in it was played by Muslims from India and Arab countries, who provided the necessary financial resources. Woking community was founded around the same time as Liverpool, and a strong impetus to its development was given by the construction of the first full-fledged (from an architectural point of view) mosque in the country. If the members of the Killiam congregation did not manage to build a real mosque in the city with a minaret and ornaments, designed in the Islamic architectural traditions, then the Muslims of Woking were able to implement this ambitious plan.

In the February 21, 1906 issue of the Crescent, Javver Mortimor published a critical article on the Woking Mosque. It said that although so many people in Britain were happy to see a real mosque, it was not actually used for its intended purpose and, moreover, belonged to a certain "gentleman of Jewish origin". According to the author, Muslim travelers and devout Britons had to ask permission to perform prayer in the mosque, which was not used at all to promote Islam in the British Isles. Mortimore concluded by expressing surprise that Indian Muslim funds were not also invested in the Liverpool Mosque, where real work is being done to promote Islam in the UK [Geaves, 2010, pp. 97-98].

However, along with the growth of popularity, Abdallah's responsibility for his co-religionists, as well as for his words, also increased. Well aware of Killiam's status, his authority among Muslims, and the community's charitable work, the Liverpool police, for example, began sending Muslim sailors of various origins who had been left stranded on British soil. Thus, the congregation actually incurred the cost of transporting co-religionists to their historical homeland, and if you consider that most of them came from India, a lot of money was spent.

It is possible that this additional financial burden on the community's budget was crucial when, in 1908, all the institutions of the Islamic community, starting with the Muslim Institute and the Liverpool Mosque and ending with the "House of Medina", suddenly ceased to exist.

The situation of the Killiam community in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century could not but be affected by his own views - the views of a man with virtually double loyalty-to the Turkish sultan, who was the caliph of the faithful, and to the monarch of the United Kingdom, whose subjects were himself and most of the members of the community headed by him. As a Muslim, Killiam advocated the closest possible cooperation between Britain and the Ottoman Empire, seeing this as a counterweight to Russia's growing influence in the Balkans and the Black Sea. However, there was a different mood in the British government at the turn of the century. The weakening and possible collapse of the Ports suited British politicians much better, since in the future they could give a new incentive to imperial colonial and territorial expansion, which then entered the stagnation phase.

In addition, the colonial policy of the British Empire often resulted in the oppression of Muslims in various parts of the world. Killiam usually refrained from commenting too harshly on the actions of the British authorities in the territories under the crown, but he never missed an opportunity to criticize unfriendly actions against independent countries with a dominant Muslim population, as was the case with the British campaign in the Sudan at the end of the XIX century. He did this most often through the national press or his own printed publications - "Crescent" and "Islamic World". In addition, after the Turkish Sultan bestowed on him the title of Sheikh al-Islam, reinforced in 1893 by the honorary title "alim" from the Moroccan Sultan Hassan I, Abdallah considered himself

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It has the right to issue fatwas addressed not only to the faithful of the British Isles, but also to Muslims of other countries. And the first fatwa issued by the Sheikh was dedicated to resisting the illegal actions of the British expeditionary force in Sudan, which included Muslim soldiers of Egyptian origin.

Killiam called on Muslims not only not to take up arms and turn them against their co-religionists, but also not to provide nominal assistance to the imperial apparatus under any circumstances.:

"For any true believer to take up arms and fight against another Muslim is to violate Sharia law and go against the law of God and the instructions of his holy Prophet... I warn every believer that if he gives the slightest assistance in this planned expedition against the Muslims of the Sudan, even in the form of delivering a parcel, a piece of bread or a sip of water to anyone who takes part in the campaign against these Muslims, then he will help the infidels in the fight against the Muslims, and his name will no longer be worth mentioning among believers... " [Geaves, 2010, p. 173-174].

Killiam's criticism of the policies of European powers in the Balkans aimed at weakening the influence of the Ottoman Empire in this region did not add to his popularity at home. Adding to the tension in the Sheikh's relations with the British authorities was the fact that, as a servant of the Caliph, he was required to regularly report to the Turkish Sultan on the state of affairs in the field of the spread of Islam in the United Kingdom.

By the middle of the first decade of the twentieth century, it was clear that such behavior by the leader of all British Muslims could eventually get the Liverpool Islamic Congregation in trouble, if not himself. It is still unclear what caused the sudden cessation of the community's activities in 1908. This year began and went the same way as all the previous ones. Abdallah gave lectures at universities and scientific societies, there were classes at the Muslim Institute, and thousands of Muslims around the world continued to come out and sign up for "Crescent" and "Islamic World". On May 13, another issue of the Crescent was published, in which the imminent departure of Abdallah and his eldest son to Istanbul was unexpectedly announced at the invitation of the Sultan. The trip was supposed to last 6 weeks, and none of the members of the community had any bad feelings. After all, Killiam and his family had already visited the Ottoman Empire several times before.

There was no indication that the May 27 issue of Crescent Moon would be the last. Nevertheless, in early June 1908, the Sheikh left for Istanbul without explanation. A little more time passed, and the Liverpool congregation ceased to exist. The buildings she occupied were sold by Killiam's sons.

Without trying to speculate on the possible reasons for the departure of the sheikh and his son to Istanbul, I can only say that since then, the already mysterious life of Abdallah Killiam has become even more mysterious. The Killiams stayed in Istanbul for several years, returning to their homeland in 1912. From that time until his death in 1932, Killiam Sr. lived in the United Kingdom under the name of Professor Henry (Mustafa) de Leon. Born in France, de Leon was one of the oldest members of the Liverpool Congregation and one of the closest associates of Sheikh Killiam. Over the years, Dae-leung has made an important contribution to the community by regularly publishing various topics in the Crescent and Islamic World and teaching classes at the Muslim Institute. Abdallah entrusted him with the preparation of his biography and chronicle of the formation of the Islamic community of Liverpool, which were published in parts in the above-mentioned publications. Most researchers of British Islam, as well as the life and work of Abdallah Killiam, agree that it was he, and not someone else, who took the name of de Leon. It's not entirely clear what happened to

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The most common version is that Henry de Leon died during the years when Killiam was in Istanbul after leaving in 1908.

In his new role, Abdallah continued to promote Islam in the British Isles to the best of his ability. However, the end of the Liverpool Congregation and its institutions was a significant step backwards. For several decades, which included the harsh years of the Second World War, ordinary Britons almost forgot about the presence of Islam in the United Kingdom.

Everything changed in the second half of the 20th century, when, after the decline of the British colonial Empire, a flood of migrants from former colonies flooded into the UK. They were very much counted on by the Government of the country to restore the infrastructure, production and economy destroyed by the war. A significant proportion of these migrants were Muslims from the former British India.

The Sheikh al-Islam of the British Isles, Abdallah Killiam, was undoubtedly a unique and highly controversial figure in the late Victorian and almost all Edwardian United Kingdom life. In fact, he was almost the first person to demonstrate to the British that Islam has a civilized face, and it is not at all as terrible as the mask of inertia, retrogradism and bloodthirsty aggression that was considered characteristic of this faith in Great Britain. The Liverpool lawyer became the embodiment of the image of an intelligent and educated Muslim, respected by both his co-religionists and ideological opponents. Abdallah has always been very careful in developing a strategy for popularizing his faith among his compatriots, without trying to put pressure on people who are interested in it. It is all of the above that is largely lacking for modern British Muslims in order to form an attractive image of Islam in the mass consciousness of the nation.

Instead of openly sharing their beliefs with their new fellow citizens, they prefer to settle in segregated neighborhoods, trying to hide their lives from prying eyes and often completely withdrawing from what is happening in the neighboring quarter and in the country as a whole. Sermons in mosques are often delivered not in common languages, but in local dialects of the former British Indian states, which are not understood not only by native Englishmen, but also by Islamic youth who grew up in the United Kingdom. Killiam had a hard time living under the dual loyalties of the caliph of the faithful and the British sovereign, but he knew how to compromise. Modern British Muslims often do not want to even try to accept the cultural, political and religious realities and traditions of their host country.

There is no doubt that one of the reasons for the collapse of the policy of multiculturalism cultivated in the UK for many years was that the country's authorities allowed and even encouraged British Muslims to behave in this way.

However, today in the British Isles there is a surge of interest in the activities and achievements of Abdallah Killiam. A mosque restoration project is being actively implemented in Liverpool, for which the Governments of the Muslim powers - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait-have agreed (as for the first time) to allocate funds (Savage, 2007). Muslims who aim to create an accessible and attractive image of Islam in the country turn to the Sheikh's experience and heritage. One of the results of this appeal was the counter-terrorism analytical center "Quilliam Foundation", founded by former members of radical Islamic movements-Ed Hussein and Maajid Nawaz and

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he declared his main goal to fight the ideologues of Islamism and fundamentalism, as well as preachers of any dogmas that distort Islam.

"Part of the problem facing young British Muslims today is that they don't have any Islamic heritage that they can truly claim as their own," says Mohammad Akbar Ali, chairman of the Abdallah Killiam Society (not to be confused with the eponymous foundation), which was set up to campaign for the restoration of the Liverpool Mosque. "When Muslims born and raised in the UK want to rediscover their Islamic roots, they return to the countries where their ancestors were born. Such as India, Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia. But Killiam is proof that the UK has its own Islamic heritage. Rebuilding his mosque with government subsidies or financial assistance from the Muslim community would be a powerful symbol of British Islam. This is a religious heritage that all British Muslims can be proud of" (Savage, 2007).

The Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, became a patron of the fundraising campaign. He openly admitted that the request to lead the campaign was a "theological challenge" for him, but Killiam's example inspired him. "One of the challenges in today's world is focusing on the best examples of religions for each other and finding common ground," Jones said. "Killiam was a man who did a great job that all religious leaders should appreciate, and the campaign to restore his legacy should be supported both locally and nationally" (Savage, 2007).

It is thanks to such initiatives that today there is hope that the United Kingdom will be able to successfully implement a strategy for developing a single British identity among the ethnoreligious population, in which Islam will occupy a comfortable niche for itself and others.

list of literature

Ansari Н. The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain since 1800. L.: Hurst&Co, 2004.

A Mosque in Liverpool where Britons pray to Allah // Sunday Telegraph. 1896. 29 October.

Fresco A. Nicky Rcilly, Muslim convert, jailed for 18 years for Exeter bomb attack // The Times. 2009. 31 January.

Geavcs R. Islam in Victorian Britain: the Life and Times of Abdullah Quilliam. Markficld: Kubc Publishing, 2010.

Savage M. Forgotten champion of Islam: One man and his mosque // The Independent. 2007. 2 August (интернет-сайт).

Pool J. Studies in Mohammadanism: Historical and Doctrinal with a Chapter on Islam in England. Westminster: Archibald Constaple, 1892.

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