A Nobleman’s Journey to Islam

Ishtiaq Ahmed

Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley (1855–1935)

Bradford: Lord Headley (1855-1935), born on 19 January 1855 into an aristocratic family, was an Anglo-Irish peer and civil engineer who became one of the most prominent British converts to Islam in the early 20th century. Despite his aristocratic background, he embraced Islam in 1913 and adopted the name Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq.

Lord Headley embraced Islam during a period marked by a remarkable resurgence in Islamic intellectualism. He was a contemporary of towering figures such as Abdullah Quilliam (1856–1932), Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (1875–1936), Yusuf Ali (1872-1953), Ameer Ali (1849-1928), and Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) among others. The late 19th and early 20th centuries can be described as a renaissance of Islamic thought, an era that would leave a lasting impact on the development of the British Muslim identity.

Lord Headley announced his conversion to Islam on  Sunday, 16 November 1913, at a gathering of Muslims in a restaurant on Oxford Street, London. This was a brave act of courage and devotion  at a time when Britain was at the height of its imperial power and converting to Islam was considered highly  provocative.

Such a decision often provoked public hostility and raised suspicions about a convert’s loyalty to the British Crown. The prevailing sentiment was that being both British and Muslim was irreconcilable, and converts were frequently portrayed as cultural renegades or even traitors to their race, religion, and country. In many ways, these tensions still resonate today.

Despite the challenges, Lord Headley went on to play a crucial role in the institutionalisation of Islam in Britain and earned widespread respect across the Muslim world for his efforts. Though his name is less familiar than contemporaries like Abdullah Quilliam ,Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall , Yusuf Ali and Syed Ameer Ali,  Headley was arguably the most prominent British Muslim figure between the two World Wars.

Raised a Protestant in a well-off family, Headley was educated at Westminster School and later at Trinity College, Cambridge. He briefly pursued journalism, becoming editor of the Salisbury and Winchester Journal—and dabbled in politics before ultimately dedicating himself to civil engineering.

His professional work brought him into contact with Muslims in British India in 1896, when he oversaw the construction of the Baramula–Srinagar Road in Jammu and Kashmir. During this time, the British elite recreated the comforts of middle-class English life in exclusive colonial enclaves, complete with churches, libraries, and sporting clubs,largely inaccessible to local Kashmiris.

By the early 20th century, Headley had gained recognition as an expert in coastal protection, receiving Silver Medals from the Royal Scottish Society of Arts and the Institute of Civil Engineers of Ireland, and was later elected President of the Society of Engineers, London.

However, personal tragedy struck with the untimely deaths of two of his children. He entered a period of emotional turmoil marked by heavy drinking and the eventual breakdown of his marriage. These experiences ultimately pushed him towards spiritual introspection.

In his writings, he credited his belief in God with helping him through this dark period. By 1913, he had moved away from Christianity and identified as a Unitarian, a shift that paved the way for his eventual embrace of Islam.

Lord Headley, like many Western converts of his time, found Islam to be a rational faith, free from the complex doctrines and clerical hierarchy of Christianity. A pivotal influence in his conversion was Khawaja Kamal-ud-Din (1870–1932), a leading figure in the Ahmadiyya Movement, which had not yet been excluded from mainstream Islam. Ahmadi missionaries were then instrumental in promoting Islam in the West.

While the news of his conversion was met with suspicion and hostility in Britain, Muslims across India celebrated. Following Lord Headley’s conversion,  On 23 November 1913, a public meeting was held  on 23 November 1923 at the Ahmadiyya Buildings in Lahore to honour him. During this event, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, the renowned poet-philosopher, remarked:

“The biggest cause of the decline of the Muslims is the neglect of the task of the propagation of Islam. Thank God that the man who first recognised this shortcoming is Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, who has sacrificed all worldly interests to take this great work upon himself. It is, therefore, our duty not to neglect to help him in any way, and we must not let the issue of Ahmadiyyat and non-Ahmadiyyat stand in the way of this noble work, for our God, our Prophet and our Scripture is the same.”

Though Headley’s social status protected him to some degree, he was still subjected to British intelligence surveillance on his international travels. After World War I, he became increasingly involved in Middle Eastern and Ottoman affairs. His unwavering defence of Islam elevated his standing in the Muslim world.

Invited by King Hussein of the Hijaz, he performed the Hajj pilgrimage as an honoured guest. Concerned about potential backlash, Headley took great care to clarify that his pilgrimage was motivated purely by religious devotion. Still, British intelligence noted the enthusiastic welcome he received in Egypt, with one report mockingly calling him “the well-known English pervert to Islam.”

In Makkah, he was treated with deep respect. He witnessed the ceremonial removal of the black and gold kiswah (the cloth covering the Ka’ba), and was presented with gifts including a gold-embroidered robe and two pieces of the kiswah. One piece was later donated to Woking Mosque, the other hung in his home at Ivy Lodge, Twickenham. He was also awarded the Order of Al Nahda (First Class), established by King Hussein in 1917 to commemorate the Arab Revolt.

These honours unsettled British diplomats. One report scathingly noted, “He knows no more about Islam than I do about Chinese metaphysics,” and dismissed him as “devastatingly stupid and completely under the control of the Imam of Woking Mosque.” Despite such ridicule, Headley’s Hajj was widely covered in the media, and he delivered numerous lectures on his experience.

From 1923 to 1929, Headley became the unofficial Ambassador of British Islam, undertaking extended trips to Egypt, South Africa, and India well into his seventies. In his later years, he remained deeply involved in the British Muslim community, navigating growing intra-Muslim divisions while maintaining his global Islamic connections.

He mingled with British nobility and was reportedly a descendant of Owain Gwynedd, King of North Wales. He was twice offered the throne of Albania.

Headley built friendships with many leading Muslim figures of the era, including fellow converts Abdullah Quilliam and Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, scholar Syed Ameer Ali, Qur’an translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali, and social elites such as Khaled Sheldrake and Yahya Parkinson.

His international contacts included the King of the Hijaz, Abdullah I of Transjordan, the King of Egypt and Sudan, the Begum of Bhopal, Sultan Jahan, and Inayat Khan, Duse Mohammed Ali, and  Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Though Headley lived over a century ago, many of the challenges he faced-minority identity, suspicion, discrimination, intra-faith tensions, and questions of loyalty—are still familiar to Muslims in Britain today.

Perhaps Lord Headley’s most potent and visible legacy remains the establishment and the  of the Islamic Cultural Centre inclusive of the  Central Mosque in Regent Park which has become one the most Islamic landmarks in the UK.

The foundation stone for this humongous project was laid in 1937 by Prince Azam Jah. The entire concept in which the Lord played a pivotal was completed in 1977 at the cost of 6.5 million by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi.

His story offers valuable insights into the sociology of religious conversion, the early development of Islam in Britain, and the intersection of faith, identity, and imperial politics. As such, it remains of enduring interest to scholars of contemporary Islamic studies, British history, and interfaith relations.

Died on 22nd June 1935 at the age of 80 and is buried at Brookwood cemetery as his other two illustrious contemporaries Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall and Yusuf Ali.