Rowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley (19 January 1855 – 22 June 1935), also known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq, was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

peer and a prominent convert to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, who was also one of the leading members of the

Woking Muslim Mission The Woking Muslim Mission was founded in 1913 by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (d. December 1932) at the Mosque in Woking, 30 miles southwest of London and was managed, from 1914, by members of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement (''Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Isla ...

alongside

Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (1870 – December 28, 1932) was a prominent figure of the early Ahmadiyya movement and the author of numerous works about Islam. Life Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din was born in Punjab, India in 1870. His grandfather, Abdur Rashid, a p ...

. He also presided over the British Muslim Society for some time.

Biography

image:Lord Headley with Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din.jpg, 140px, left, Lord Headley with

Rowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn was born in London and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, Trinity College, Cambridge University. He then entered Middle Temple, before commencing studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. He subsequently became a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

by profession, a builder of roads in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and an authority on the protection of

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

s. He was an enthusiastic practitioner of

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

as well as other arts of self-defence, and in 1890 co-authored, with C. Phillipps-Wolley, the classic ''Broad-sword and Singlestick'' (1890). He was solo author of ''Boxing'' (1889) in the same "All-England Series" (introduced by the boxer Bat Mullins) which was reprinted in 2006. In 1899 he married Teresa Johnson, daughter of William H. Johnson, former Wazir-wazirat (governor) of Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir), India. She died in 1919. Headley converted to Islam on 16 November 1913 and adopted the Muslim name of Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq. In 1914 he established the British Muslim Society. He was the author of several books on Islam, including ''A Western Awakening to Islam'' (1914) and ''Three Great Prophets of the World''. He was a widely travelled man and twice performed the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

. He inherited his peerage from his cousin in 1913. In 1921 he married the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

author Barbara Baynton. He became bankrupt in 1922. He was offered the throne of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in 1925, along with $500,000 and $50,000 per year but refused it, at which point Lady Headley returned to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, where she died in 1929. From 1929 Headley owned and lived at

Ashton Gifford House Ashton Gifford House is a Grade II listed country house in the hamlet of Ashton Gifford, part of the civil parish of Codford in the English county of Wiltshire. The house was built during the early 19th century, following the precepts of Georgian ...

near the village of

Codford Codford is a civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England. Its settlements are the adjacent villages of Codford St Peter and Codford St Mary, which lie some southeast of Warminster. The two villages are on th ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. His widow Lady Catherine Headley continued to live at the property until 1940. He is buried in the Muslim section of

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

Armenian genocide stance

Baron Headley alleged that the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

was a case of both sides, Turks, and Armenians, killing each other and that the Turks were more numerous as victims than the Armenians. He was wrong and said this due to the Turks being Muslim and the Armenians being Christian. The Bishop of London and Muslims
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References

Work cited

* * *

External links

Full details of the life, activities and writings of Headley
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Headley, Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron 1855 births 1935 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of King's College London Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Converts to Islam Burials at Brookwood Cemetery English Muslims British Ahmadis

Biography

Armenian genocide stance

See also

References

Work cited

Further reading

External links