Abdullah Quilliam Mosque

Abdullah Quilliam Mosque (1887) England's first mosque - Liverpool

William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856– 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon, was a 19th-century convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.

Quilliam converted to Islam in 1887 after visiting Morocco to recover from an illness. Quilliam purchased numbers 8, 11 and 12 Brougham Terrace, Liverpool, following his conversion, through a donation from Nasrullah Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan. 8 Brougham Terrace became the Liverpool Muslim Institute, the first functioning mosque in Britain. He also opened a boarding school for boys and a day school for girls, as well as an orphanage, Medina House, for non-Muslim parents who could not look after their children but agreed for them to be brought up as Muslims. In addition, the Institute hosted educational classes covering a wide range of subjects, and included a museum and science laboratory. It opened on Christmas Day, 1889.

Wikipedia

Britain's First Mosque - Abdullah Quilliam Mosque and Heritage Village

William Henry Quilliam, a local Liverpool solicitor and resident embraced Islam in 1887 (aged 31), after returning from a visit to Morocco, and took on the name Abdullah. He purchased 8-10 Brougham Terrace and converted them to a mosque, schools for boys and girls, orphanage, printing press and much more in 1891. This mosque has been closed for over a hundred years. Now we have taken on the challenge of restoring the building into its original glory, making a visitor centre and museum of Islam in victorian Britain and purchasing the next door building to create a modern expression of Islam in Britain, thus connecting the old and new. It will be Britain's first ever British Victorian Islamic experience right at the heart of Liverpool. Please support us with your generous donation.