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

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

who was also one of the leading members of the Woking Muslim Mission, 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 university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. 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 i ...

by profession, a builder of roads in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and an authority on the protection of

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

s. He was an enthusiastic practitioner of

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, 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 Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. 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 Aus ...

author

Barbara Baynton Barbara Janet Baynton (née Lawrence; 4 June 1857 – 28 May 1929) was an Australian writer known primarily for her short stories about life in the bush. She published the collection '' Bush Studies'' (1902) and the novel ''Human Toll'' (1907), ...

. He became bankrupt in 1922. He was offered the throne of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

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

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, where she died in 1929. From 1929 Headley owned and lived at Ashton Gifford House near the village of

Codford Codford is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish south of Salisbury Plain in the River Wylye, Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England. Its settlements are the adjacent villages of Codford St Peter and Codford St Mary, which lie some southeast of ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. 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 denial

Baron Headley was an early denier of the

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

. Along with other Turkophiles, Headley defended the Turks when news of Armenian massacres, which he both justified and denied, had reached Europe.

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 from Christianity Deniers of the Armenian genocide Burials at Brookwood Cemetery English Muslims British Ahmadis

Biography

Armenian genocide denial

See also

References

Work cited

Further reading

External links