In this book, James Gilham tells the stories of British converts to Islam between 1850 and 1950. Primarily, then, this is a historical study, but much of its content resonates with the situation of Muslims in Britain today. Now, too, Muslims' loyalty to the British state and their religion's compatibility with British values is questioned, and much of what is written about Islam is negative. Now, as earlier, the activities of Muslims attract official (security or legal) scrutiny. Yet, as Gilham demonstrates, far from being a recent import to Britain by foreign-born settlers in the 1960s, Islam has longer and native roots in British soil. Gilham's title, Loyal Enemies, suggests the struggle of British converts and many British Muslims today to balance and negotiate “sometimes conflicting, diverse national, cultural and religious identities and loyalties” (246). As more British Muslims today are becoming conscious of the story Gilham narrates and claiming this legacy as their own, this is a timely study of considerable significance for scholarship of Islam in Britain.

Gilham's study ranges over six chapters, an epilogue, extensive notes, bibliography, and index and includes sixteen black-and-white illustrations. There is also an indispensable list of abbreviations. Throughout the text, a number of issues are systematically explored, especially what about Islam appealed to these converts; how they sustained, practiced, and adapted their new faith in the British context; what “conversion entailed socially and culturally” (2); and what the impact of all this was on their British identity. After his introduction (1–16), which includes an important discussion of “patterns of conversion,” in chapter 1, “Britain's First Muslim Peer of the Realm,” Gilham introduces Lord Stanley, who converted in 1859 after diplomatic service in Istanbul. His conversion, like that of many of the subjects of this book, took place gradually as Islam became increasingly attractive. Disillusionment with imperialism, with British antipathy toward Turks, and with Christian doctrines such as Trinitarianism (see 105 and 134, for example), together with a spiritual appeal, led to what might be described as reluctant conversion, given the expected stigma and negative social implications that would follow. Some British converts were working-class residents of port towns where migrant Muslims lived, and, Gilham explains, they mainly converted to marry a Muslim (see 104, 172, 182–84, 239). They probably experienced much less social discomfort than did the quite impressive number of aristocratic converts, who had more to lose.

Subsequent chapters introduce other prominent, and many less prominent, converts, perhaps most importantly William Henry Quilliam (on whom chapters 2 and 3 focus), “the first Briton to defend and propagate Islam in Briton” (16). In addition to rejecting Trinitarianism, Quilliam (who was raised Methodist and briefly attended a Unitarian Church) liked Islam's prohibition of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution, stances consistent with his Methodist background. He regarded Islam as more rational than Christianity. Another appeal was lack of priests. Chapters 4 to 6 focus on the work of the major Muslim organizations, especially the Working Muslim Mission, that emerged to serve the needs of British Muslims, as well as to apologize for and spread Islam. Among the aristocratic women who converted, Lady Evelyn Cobbold became the first British Muslim female to perform the hajj, doing so in 1930 (190). One of the most important converts in this phase, early to mid-twentieth century, was Marmaduke Pickthall, described as “the most influential British Muslim . . . writer and intellectual of the period,” whose critics dubbed him “England's most loyal enemy by virtue of his commitment to both Britain and Turkey during the First World War” (2). When Pickthall moved to India in 1920 to edit a nationalist newspaper, the social boycott that he and his wife experienced compelled the latter's early return to England (229).

These aristocrats who converted were subject to ridicule (192), and their conversion was often dismissed as eccentric, especially if they donned Muslim dress. They were often regarded as “faddists and idealists” as people's “shock and indignation . . . gave way to mockery” (209). It is indeed impressive that most persisted in their new faith. Their stories open up a variety of issues; thus, Gilham's study encompasses a wide range of topics: critique of colonialism; the role of women in Islam (193–98); the fate of Turkey and of the caliphate (225–29); plans to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine after World War I (220–21); and the nature of early Islam in Britain. On gender, British Islam was somewhat egalitarian—one Muslim association had a woman serving as president in 1934 (204). On the nature of early British Islam, one significant aspect was its nonsectarianism. Christian sectarianism and exclusive truth claims were factors that many converts to Islam found distasteful. They saw Islam as nonsectarian and did not usually identify with any specific branch of Islam (although some identified as Sufi). Interestingly, when Islamic sectarianism became an issue, it usually related to the status of the Ahmadi rather than to older divisions (139). In fact, Sunni, Shi'a, and Ahmadi collaborated in various ventures. Quilliam was conferred titles by both the Ottoman Sultan and the Shah of Iran. Converts often stressed Jewish-Christian-Muslim fraternity; Lord Stanley never completely severed his Christian association (47). There is also much material on the acculturation process, as British Muslims struggled to practice Islam in Britain, figuring out what they could acceptably eat and wear and where they could pray (see especially 18–93). The exact number of converts is difficult to ascertain. It was probably about a thousand (based on statistics on 173–74). Few of these converts' children followed them into or persevered with Islam (see 239).

In conclusion, this book is highly recommended to anyone interested in the dynamics of conversion and acculturation as well as in the history of Islam in Britain, all questions that shed light on British studies generally. Gilham has pored over innumerable sources, ranging from learned journals and archival materials to more popular publications and full-length academic studies, including two by this reviewer, to produce this meticulously researched and invaluable volume. My only criticisms are that he introduces personalities in one chapter but elaborates on their stories in subsequent ones, making the narrative a little confusing, and he uses abbreviations extensively, making it difficult for the reader to remember which organization is which. With Gilham's book, Oxford University Press has given us a pioneering study that for the first time pieces together this story, portions of which are better known but much of which sees light for the first time as part of a cohesive, historical account.