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Our Fatima of Liverpool: The Story of Fatima Cates, the Victorian woman who helped found British Islam
Fatima Elizabeth Cates (1865‒1900) was a founding figure and leader of Britain's first mosque community, as well as its first treasurer. One of the earliest women to convert to Islam in England (in 1887), Fatima showed great courage and fortitude in overcoming great opposition from society and her own family to call people to the faith by word and by example. Read more about her and the lives of the other early Muslima converts she influenced in this first ever biography dedicated to our Fatima of Liverpool.
128 pages, Paperback
Published January 21, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 10, 2023
This book is beautifully written. Both authors have done an amazing job in bringing Fatima Elizabeth's story to life. Engaging, moving and inspiring - this book is very hard to put down! (Already have read it twice!) An excellent and highly recommended book for everyone.
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February 28, 2023Paradigm shifting, a deeply inspirational story of Fatima Elizabeth who against so many odds persevered and flourished due to her knew found faith in islam.
March 18, 2023
Our Fatima of Liverpool is an enthralling book that describes the life of Fatima: a converted muslim. Her journey to islam is a very hysterical one and will capture your mind when you discover the backstory behind this story.
The creators of this book have really made it especially engrossing with the sea of facts; it’s almost as if these factual life events are happening right before you. Compelling, impassioned and alluring - it is almost impossible to put down.
It beautifully sums up Fatima’s life in one book and highlights that women could also make bold descisions. With no doubt, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in islamic history, specifically in regards to cult figures who were women.
The creators of this book have really made it especially engrossing with the sea of facts; it’s almost as if these factual life events are happening right before you. Compelling, impassioned and alluring - it is almost impossible to put down.
It beautifully sums up Fatima’s life in one book and highlights that women could also make bold descisions. With no doubt, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in islamic history, specifically in regards to cult figures who were women.
April 15, 2023
An Inspiring and Solid book. Loved the poem. Great work Ustahd!
February 7, 2023
This is a surprising book in many ways and the authors have created a worthy addition to the body of literature relating to faith in Britain. As a non-Muslim reader, I was surprised to discover that Islam in Britain is rooted not only in Liverpool but in British converts to the faith. I was also surprised that this ‘Muslima’, this Victorian church-attending young woman, played such a key role in establishing a mosque and sharing her experiences of conversion.
The book successfully interweaves the story of the first British Muslim community with the life of Frances Cates, a fairly conventional young woman being raised in a fairly conventional Victorian family, yet utterly transformed in her life and purpose by her conversion to Islam and taking her Islamic name of Fatima. Her history is underscored by the influence of William Henry Quilliam, who converted to Islam after a visit to Morocco and who founded the first functioning mosque in Britain. Maybe there is also an untold love-story here in the relationship between Quilliam and Fatima.
“Our Fatima” is a fascinating read and it is interesting to see how the Christian communities were challenged by this new faith. The book is excellently researched and the addition of key texts in the appendices gives weight and authenticity. I found it particularly fascinating that the 1892 list of converts to Islam includes Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Unitarians, Atheists, Spiritualists and Jews. This underlined for me how a believing community can influence the whole. Importantly, the book does not seek to proselytise but is as an important contribution to British religious history as, say, the story of Sister Julian of Norwich.
The book successfully interweaves the story of the first British Muslim community with the life of Frances Cates, a fairly conventional young woman being raised in a fairly conventional Victorian family, yet utterly transformed in her life and purpose by her conversion to Islam and taking her Islamic name of Fatima. Her history is underscored by the influence of William Henry Quilliam, who converted to Islam after a visit to Morocco and who founded the first functioning mosque in Britain. Maybe there is also an untold love-story here in the relationship between Quilliam and Fatima.
“Our Fatima” is a fascinating read and it is interesting to see how the Christian communities were challenged by this new faith. The book is excellently researched and the addition of key texts in the appendices gives weight and authenticity. I found it particularly fascinating that the 1892 list of converts to Islam includes Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Unitarians, Atheists, Spiritualists and Jews. This underlined for me how a believing community can influence the whole. Importantly, the book does not seek to proselytise but is as an important contribution to British religious history as, say, the story of Sister Julian of Norwich.
April 20, 2024
In the compelling story of England’s first female Muslim convert/revert titled Our Fatima of Liverpool, authors Hamid Mahmood and Yayha BIrt open a fascinating window into the last half of the 19th century in Liverpool, England. I knew nothing of Fatima Elizabeth Cates until I received this book, and I was very glad to learn about her. She predated the respected and talented translator of the meaning of the Quran, Marmaduke Pickthall, of whom I have been aware since I converted to Islam in the late 70s.
Through this book, I also learned about William Henry Quilliam, at whose lecture in Birkenhead (on the other side of the Mersey River from Liverpool) Elizabeth, as she then would have been known, heard about the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Learning about the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not Fatima/Elizabeth’s reason for making the journey in 1887 that—if it were between Liverpool and Birkenhead--would today be roughly 2 miles by plane or 3 miles by car. However, this little tidbit of murkiness stems from my assumption that Fatima/Elizabeth lived in Liverpool as the title of the book suggests. If she did, then a round trip walk in a single evening would indicate what a determined young woman she was, given British cultural 19th-century standards.
The authors do not say whether she was accompanied or walked alone. Chapter 2 states that she was born in Birkenhead in 1865 where her father, an Irishman named John Murray, worked as a porter at the “newly built and expanding Birkenhead Market” (p.19). Therefore, the walk might have been but that of a few minutes. Perhaps Birkenhead and Liverpool are so close that association with the former means one is from the latter. As a Californian, I don’t know.
I am not sure if Elizabeth Murray (birth name) would have known on the day she set out that the title of the lecture was “The Great Arabian Teetotaller” or even that Quilliam was Muslim. The original title of his lecture, when given two weeks earlier at the Mount Vernon Temperance Hall, was “Fanatics and Fanaticism” based on the theme that those who were part of the Temperance movement were jeered at for being puritanical reactionaries. Surely anyone devoted to a cause understands the comfort of finding solidarity with others who experience rejection for efforts to uphold ideals.
The Temperance movement appealed to devout Christians in the U.K. although it had its roots in the USA. Liverpool, then the second largest port in the British Empire, was riddled with poverty, alcoholism, and the misery that attended both. Fatima/Elizabeth wanted to hear the speech of this 31-year-old Temperance movement leader Quilliam, who had just converted that year to Islam after a visit to Morocco. Born in 1856 (making Quilliam 9 years older than Fatima/Elizabeth and 19 years older than Pickthall, who was born in 1875), Quilliam had already gained some notoriety as “the Temperance child” because he famously took a “pledge to abstain from all alcohol at the age of seven” (p.16). In adulthood, he had already achieved status as a lawyer and journalist.
It so happens that Fatima/Elizabeth (her name hadn’t changed yet) sat right next to Mr. James Hamilton, “a wholesale box maker” and “Quilliam’s first convert” to Islam (p.18). After she expressed an interest in knowing more about the religion that, in theory, created teetotallers, Hamilton encouraged Elizabeth to speak more with Quilliam. Eventually, Quilliam gave the young woman a copy of a translation of the Qur’an, which she took home to read, unleashing a torrent of abuse and misunderstanding from her family towards her. (One of the appendices makes it clear that family members who likely helped impose restrictions and abuse upon Fatima/Elizabeth, including her mother, came to her funeral years later, so the resistance to her conversion must have given way to acceptance, finally.)
Fatima, as she chose to call herself after conversion, was significant in striving for converts to Islam. The authors give well-researched figures. They also expose the horrendous discrimination to which the mosque and its attendees were subject, in detail. I agreed with the comment that one would have supposed a Muslim convert spouse such as Hubert Henry Cates, who converted in 1890 and married Fatima in the same year, would have been a comfort, but Fatima petitioned for a divorce the very next year. Marrying another convert did not protect her from abuse. He was used to violence, and conversion did nothing to quell that proclivity. The authors include that petition in the appendices. Indeed, much of what is found in the appendices is fascinating, as indeed is the final information about the two writers who researched and wrote this valuable book.
Since Fatima Elizabeth Cates is not even listed in Wikipedia, unlike Quilliam and Pickthall, Our Fatima of Liverpool represents the first major documentation that tells much of her story. I truly hope more will be discovered and published about this sister and the community in Liverpool. Readers interested in the spread of Islam inside the U.K. may recognize Beacon Books of London as dedicated to responding to that widespread desire to know more about the same with the company’s publication (re-issuance) of Marmaduke Pickthall, British Muslim by Peter Clark in 2016 and the compilation of Middle Eastern stories titled A Question of Precedence by Marmaduke Pickthall in 2017 among other titles.
Through this book, I also learned about William Henry Quilliam, at whose lecture in Birkenhead (on the other side of the Mersey River from Liverpool) Elizabeth, as she then would have been known, heard about the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Learning about the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not Fatima/Elizabeth’s reason for making the journey in 1887 that—if it were between Liverpool and Birkenhead--would today be roughly 2 miles by plane or 3 miles by car. However, this little tidbit of murkiness stems from my assumption that Fatima/Elizabeth lived in Liverpool as the title of the book suggests. If she did, then a round trip walk in a single evening would indicate what a determined young woman she was, given British cultural 19th-century standards.
The authors do not say whether she was accompanied or walked alone. Chapter 2 states that she was born in Birkenhead in 1865 where her father, an Irishman named John Murray, worked as a porter at the “newly built and expanding Birkenhead Market” (p.19). Therefore, the walk might have been but that of a few minutes. Perhaps Birkenhead and Liverpool are so close that association with the former means one is from the latter. As a Californian, I don’t know.
I am not sure if Elizabeth Murray (birth name) would have known on the day she set out that the title of the lecture was “The Great Arabian Teetotaller” or even that Quilliam was Muslim. The original title of his lecture, when given two weeks earlier at the Mount Vernon Temperance Hall, was “Fanatics and Fanaticism” based on the theme that those who were part of the Temperance movement were jeered at for being puritanical reactionaries. Surely anyone devoted to a cause understands the comfort of finding solidarity with others who experience rejection for efforts to uphold ideals.
The Temperance movement appealed to devout Christians in the U.K. although it had its roots in the USA. Liverpool, then the second largest port in the British Empire, was riddled with poverty, alcoholism, and the misery that attended both. Fatima/Elizabeth wanted to hear the speech of this 31-year-old Temperance movement leader Quilliam, who had just converted that year to Islam after a visit to Morocco. Born in 1856 (making Quilliam 9 years older than Fatima/Elizabeth and 19 years older than Pickthall, who was born in 1875), Quilliam had already gained some notoriety as “the Temperance child” because he famously took a “pledge to abstain from all alcohol at the age of seven” (p.16). In adulthood, he had already achieved status as a lawyer and journalist.
It so happens that Fatima/Elizabeth (her name hadn’t changed yet) sat right next to Mr. James Hamilton, “a wholesale box maker” and “Quilliam’s first convert” to Islam (p.18). After she expressed an interest in knowing more about the religion that, in theory, created teetotallers, Hamilton encouraged Elizabeth to speak more with Quilliam. Eventually, Quilliam gave the young woman a copy of a translation of the Qur’an, which she took home to read, unleashing a torrent of abuse and misunderstanding from her family towards her. (One of the appendices makes it clear that family members who likely helped impose restrictions and abuse upon Fatima/Elizabeth, including her mother, came to her funeral years later, so the resistance to her conversion must have given way to acceptance, finally.)
Fatima, as she chose to call herself after conversion, was significant in striving for converts to Islam. The authors give well-researched figures. They also expose the horrendous discrimination to which the mosque and its attendees were subject, in detail. I agreed with the comment that one would have supposed a Muslim convert spouse such as Hubert Henry Cates, who converted in 1890 and married Fatima in the same year, would have been a comfort, but Fatima petitioned for a divorce the very next year. Marrying another convert did not protect her from abuse. He was used to violence, and conversion did nothing to quell that proclivity. The authors include that petition in the appendices. Indeed, much of what is found in the appendices is fascinating, as indeed is the final information about the two writers who researched and wrote this valuable book.
Since Fatima Elizabeth Cates is not even listed in Wikipedia, unlike Quilliam and Pickthall, Our Fatima of Liverpool represents the first major documentation that tells much of her story. I truly hope more will be discovered and published about this sister and the community in Liverpool. Readers interested in the spread of Islam inside the U.K. may recognize Beacon Books of London as dedicated to responding to that widespread desire to know more about the same with the company’s publication (re-issuance) of Marmaduke Pickthall, British Muslim by Peter Clark in 2016 and the compilation of Middle Eastern stories titled A Question of Precedence by Marmaduke Pickthall in 2017 among other titles.
March 9, 2023
“Our Fatima of Liverpool” provides a short but thorough account into the life of one of the founding figures of Britain’s first mosque community. I was especially surprised to read about Fatima’s journey to Islam and the fortitude she showed despite violent opposition from her own family and society. It was quite emotional to read about her mother’s violent reaction to her reading the Qur’an or when she was attacked and pelted in the streets of Liverpool.
The book is beautifully written and the authors have done a fab job in bringing Fatima’s story to life. Engaging, emotional and inspiring- the book is very hard to put down (I read it in one sitting!) An appendix is included at the end which includes Fatima’s own writings and poetry which was nice to hear Fatima in her own words.
The book is well-researched and sheds light on the significant, often forgotten role that women played in Britain’s earliest Muslim communities. A lot more work needs to be done to ensure that Fatima’s story known as she is a role model for women today. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend to anyone interested in Muslim women’s history!
The book is beautifully written and the authors have done a fab job in bringing Fatima’s story to life. Engaging, emotional and inspiring- the book is very hard to put down (I read it in one sitting!) An appendix is included at the end which includes Fatima’s own writings and poetry which was nice to hear Fatima in her own words.
The book is well-researched and sheds light on the significant, often forgotten role that women played in Britain’s earliest Muslim communities. A lot more work needs to be done to ensure that Fatima’s story known as she is a role model for women today. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend to anyone interested in Muslim women’s history!
March 2, 2023
here's my book review👍
I recently read "Our Fatima of Liverpool" by Hamid Mahmood, and I was highly impressed. Mahmood's writing style is engaging and draws the reader in. The story follows the life of a young girl, Fatima, who moves to Liverpool, England and struggles to adjust to her new home. Mahmood does an excellent job depicting the struggles of immigrants and the difficulties they face in a foreign land. He also brings to life the vibrant culture of Liverpool and its friendly people.
The book is very well written and has a unique style. It is a great read, full of emotion and filled with insight into the immigrant experience. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story about an alienated religion experience. It was a great read, and I'm sure others will enjoy it as much as I did.
I recently read "Our Fatima of Liverpool" by Hamid Mahmood, and I was highly impressed. Mahmood's writing style is engaging and draws the reader in. The story follows the life of a young girl, Fatima, who moves to Liverpool, England and struggles to adjust to her new home. Mahmood does an excellent job depicting the struggles of immigrants and the difficulties they face in a foreign land. He also brings to life the vibrant culture of Liverpool and its friendly people.
The book is very well written and has a unique style. It is a great read, full of emotion and filled with insight into the immigrant experience. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story about an alienated religion experience. It was a great read, and I'm sure others will enjoy it as much as I did.
February 27, 2023
This is an insight into the life of one of the first converts during victorian times. Fatima persevered through struggles inflicted by her family and society as well as a troublesome marriage. This is a well written biography that is very hard to put down. Interesting, exciting, emotional and engaging! The reader is able to picture the scence in their mind perfectly. With the added bonus of beautiful poetry and appendices which include Fatima Elizabeth Cates own words.
March 15, 2023
Not only does this book have engrossing history but it also has facisnating AI illustrations which really picture what Fatima Elizabeth would of gone through, in this particular book I feel the authors passion seeping through the book.
I love the way they introduced one of the first converts in Britain, Fatima Elizabeth shows everyone the passion for Islam (at a very young age) and should be a important figure to everyone.
I love the way they introduced one of the first converts in Britain, Fatima Elizabeth shows everyone the passion for Islam (at a very young age) and should be a important figure to everyone.
April 20, 2023
This book is a phenomenal work of historical research which expertly blends engaging story-telling and a compelling narrative with a factual and historical insight into the life of a woman who gave great sacrifices to discover and preserve her faith. Before reading this book and seeing this research on Faitmah Elizabeth, I had no idea of the challenges the early Muslims had to face. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in Islamic history and tales of human endurance.
February 27, 2024
As Italian revert I loved to read about Fatima of Liverpool. What our brothers and sisters they had to go through is beyond my imagination! I'm very grateful for the people who take the time to write this book. May you all be rewarded. Fatima was an amazing force. JazakAallh for what you have done for us all.
April 22, 2023
Our Fatima of Liverpool consists of a mix of an autobiography of Fatima Elizabeth and the historico-religious contexts of early Islam and Muslims in Victorian England. I thoroughly enjoyed the short read and recommend to anyone interested in the History of Islam with a focus on Victorian Islam.
March 4, 2023
A great read and history brought to life.
Also had great poems.
Also had great poems.
Read
March 18, 2023This book was very enjoyable and although some bits were a bit complex, it was very interesting learning about Fatima Elizabeth Cates' life. Nyla Norton
March 29, 2023
Excellent read, I read it in one go. Also included in the appendices are writings by Fatima Cates and primary sources about Fatima. Recommend anyone interested in early history of Muslims in Britain.
September 19, 2024
An unknown heroine and pioneer of establishing British Islam
August 2, 2023
a heartbreakingly beautiful tribute <3 both inspirational n courageous, fatima lived a blessed and influential life<3
October 11, 2025
Cates writes that upon receiving the Quran from Quilliam, he famously told her “Don’t believe what I say, or what anyone else says; study the matter out for yourself.”
i found this gem on Vinted and immediately went to goodreads to see what it was all about!! this biography situates Cates within the formation of the earliest British Muslim communities. Cates and her fellow reverts from Liverpool, many of whom were a part of the city’s Temperance Movement, experienced much contempt and hatred from those who opposed their British Muslim identity and cause, and thus this is very much a story of a community’s resilience and devotion to Islam. whilst this book traces the struggle of a community, it also is able to draw a picture of what the material conditions of women in Victorian Britain were like, particularly with regards to their limited rights to divorce and own property, wealth. Interestingly, many of the Liverpudlian reverts were working class, including Cates. although she grew up in a poor but large family, she was very talented and fortunate to be in the first generation of children to benefit from the Elementary Education Act of 1870, which passed when she was five years of age.
Fatima Elizabeth Cates in her essay “The Marriage Question” (published April 1891):
“Therefore permit me….to at once say that Moslem ladies enjoy, and have done so ever since the time of the Prophet, much greater legal rights as to separate property, divorce than those enjoyed by Christians up to quite a recent date. The Moslem Lady on marriage does not lose her personality, and is entitled to hold property in her own right to a far greater extent than married females in this country are allowed even under the various Married Women’s Property Acts that have emanated from the Legislature within the last 25 years.“
from “How I became a Mahommedan (September 1891):
“ ‘How can I know whether it is a wicked book or not until I have read it?’ She (her mother) tried to take the book from me, but I escaped to my bedroom and locked myself in and went on reading, what I now consider the most precious book that could be bought. I was continually scolded and threatened with all kinds of punishments if I continued to read such a book, but all to no purpose; for I persisted in reading it, and finally I had to carry the Koran about with me, or during my absence it would have been destroyed…Now we have a nice little mosque fairly comfortably furnished, but the mob still annoy us by throwing mud and stones; however we persevere, and are still making fresh converts.”
extract from her poem “A Moslimah’s Prayer” (1981)
“They watch but to devour,
Like ravening beasts of prey,
If we in an unguarded hour,
But cease to work and pray.
Then may we ever heed,
The warning God has given,
That so we may in safety tread
The road that leads to Heaven”
i found this gem on Vinted and immediately went to goodreads to see what it was all about!! this biography situates Cates within the formation of the earliest British Muslim communities. Cates and her fellow reverts from Liverpool, many of whom were a part of the city’s Temperance Movement, experienced much contempt and hatred from those who opposed their British Muslim identity and cause, and thus this is very much a story of a community’s resilience and devotion to Islam. whilst this book traces the struggle of a community, it also is able to draw a picture of what the material conditions of women in Victorian Britain were like, particularly with regards to their limited rights to divorce and own property, wealth. Interestingly, many of the Liverpudlian reverts were working class, including Cates. although she grew up in a poor but large family, she was very talented and fortunate to be in the first generation of children to benefit from the Elementary Education Act of 1870, which passed when she was five years of age.
Fatima Elizabeth Cates in her essay “The Marriage Question” (published April 1891):
“Therefore permit me….to at once say that Moslem ladies enjoy, and have done so ever since the time of the Prophet, much greater legal rights as to separate property, divorce than those enjoyed by Christians up to quite a recent date. The Moslem Lady on marriage does not lose her personality, and is entitled to hold property in her own right to a far greater extent than married females in this country are allowed even under the various Married Women’s Property Acts that have emanated from the Legislature within the last 25 years.“
from “How I became a Mahommedan (September 1891):
“ ‘How can I know whether it is a wicked book or not until I have read it?’ She (her mother) tried to take the book from me, but I escaped to my bedroom and locked myself in and went on reading, what I now consider the most precious book that could be bought. I was continually scolded and threatened with all kinds of punishments if I continued to read such a book, but all to no purpose; for I persisted in reading it, and finally I had to carry the Koran about with me, or during my absence it would have been destroyed…Now we have a nice little mosque fairly comfortably furnished, but the mob still annoy us by throwing mud and stones; however we persevere, and are still making fresh converts.”
extract from her poem “A Moslimah’s Prayer” (1981)
“They watch but to devour,
Like ravening beasts of prey,
If we in an unguarded hour,
But cease to work and pray.
Then may we ever heed,
The warning God has given,
That so we may in safety tread
The road that leads to Heaven”
February 28, 2023
First ever biography on Fatima Elizabeth Cates, the vo-founder of the First Mosque of England!
November 28, 2025
This August, my cousin arranged for us a wonderful weekend trip to Liverpool to visit and explore the oldest Mosque community in Britain.
This inspirational, quintessentially English community of converts was founded by William (Abdullah) Quilliam in 1888 and they worked to spread the message of Islam to their countrymen and women.
Frances (Fatima) Elizabeth Cates was a cornerstone of the community. This incredible and inspirational woman of deep faith led the way for those around her and contributed significantly to the cause, despite great personal cost.
We were able to visit her gravesite at Anfield Cemetery, paying our respects and conveying our salaam to her, and the story about how her grave was rediscovered in 2022, after over a century of being lost, is a pretty amazing one.
Sadly, this community faced, often very violent, xenophobic backlash. Deemed by Victorian society to be a bunch of misfits and oddballs, they fit the archetypal ‘Stranger’ as described by the Man of Praise ﷺ so well. They were firm on their convictions and didn’t allow hostile forces to sway them.
Furthermore, when reading this biography of Fatima Cates, I was astounded by the glaring similarities to the Prophetic Seerah. There was one incident, the conversion of a certain James Bartholomew Jeffrey, that mirrored the conversion of the Prophet ﷺ’s beloved uncle Hamza so well!
This biography, although somewhat hindered due to limited source material, does paint a broad picture of what life was like for these Victorian Muslims. Also, as a fellow British Muslim, to be able to literally tread the actual footsteps of foreunners like Fatima Cates and pray where they prayed was an amazing experience and I strongly feel this history is an essential one that we should be more acquainted with - especially in an age where anti-Muslim prejudice is rampant.
We could learn a thing or two from the strong dignity of the Liverpudlian Muslims meanwhile this history would certainly silence those bigots who push the false narrative of Islam being an alien presence in this country.
Very grateful for the experience.
This inspirational, quintessentially English community of converts was founded by William (Abdullah) Quilliam in 1888 and they worked to spread the message of Islam to their countrymen and women.
Frances (Fatima) Elizabeth Cates was a cornerstone of the community. This incredible and inspirational woman of deep faith led the way for those around her and contributed significantly to the cause, despite great personal cost.
We were able to visit her gravesite at Anfield Cemetery, paying our respects and conveying our salaam to her, and the story about how her grave was rediscovered in 2022, after over a century of being lost, is a pretty amazing one.
Sadly, this community faced, often very violent, xenophobic backlash. Deemed by Victorian society to be a bunch of misfits and oddballs, they fit the archetypal ‘Stranger’ as described by the Man of Praise ﷺ so well. They were firm on their convictions and didn’t allow hostile forces to sway them.
Furthermore, when reading this biography of Fatima Cates, I was astounded by the glaring similarities to the Prophetic Seerah. There was one incident, the conversion of a certain James Bartholomew Jeffrey, that mirrored the conversion of the Prophet ﷺ’s beloved uncle Hamza so well!
This biography, although somewhat hindered due to limited source material, does paint a broad picture of what life was like for these Victorian Muslims. Also, as a fellow British Muslim, to be able to literally tread the actual footsteps of foreunners like Fatima Cates and pray where they prayed was an amazing experience and I strongly feel this history is an essential one that we should be more acquainted with - especially in an age where anti-Muslim prejudice is rampant.
We could learn a thing or two from the strong dignity of the Liverpudlian Muslims meanwhile this history would certainly silence those bigots who push the false narrative of Islam being an alien presence in this country.
Very grateful for the experience.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews