Robert Reschid Stanley (1828–1911) was a British grocer, tea trader and mayor (1874–76) of

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

, near

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He is best known for his conversion 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 ...

. As a Muslim, he served as vice chair at the

Liverpool Muslim Institute The Liverpool Muslim Institute was founded by Abdullah Quilliam in 1887. Overview William Henry Quilliam was born in Liverpool in 1856. He developed an interest in Islam when travelling in Morocco. In 1887 he converted to the religion, taking t ...

Early life

Robert Stanley was born in 1828 in Cardiff. He was sent from Cardiff at the age of 10 to be an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

at his

Christian Israelite The Christian Israelite Church was founded in 1822 by John Wroe. History From 1822 to 1831, the church had its headquarters in the town of Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire, England, papers at the time believed, the church wanted to turn into a ...

uncle's shop in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

. When he was 19 years old, he established a grocer's shop and a tea-trading business in

Career

Stanley was first elected in 1863 as a councillor for the

Dukinfield Dukinfield is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, on the south bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the built up ar ...

Ward of Stalybridge. In 1867, he became a Justice of the Peace. Two years later, he became councillor for the Stayley Ward of Stalybridge. He was also elected on the

School Board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

of Stalybridge in 1871. He served as the chairman of the building committee which helped in construction of the new Victoria Market, now known as th
Stalybridge Civic Hall
In 1874, he became the mayor of Stalybridge and served until 1876. He served on the Joint Waterworks Committee in the construction of the

Yeoman Hey Reservoir Yeoman Hey Reservoir is a reservoir in the English Peak District. On its margin is a commemorative stone laid by the King of Tonga in 1981. The reservoir is within the boundaries of Greater Manchester but was formerly in the West Riding of Yorksh ...

which was intended to bring

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

to the towns of

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

, Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge. he was one of the original Trustees of

Stamford Park Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

which was built in 1873, when money was raised by the people of Dukinfield, Stalybridge and Ashton during the municipal socialist reforms of the era. In 1876, Robert attracted controversy in Parliament when he refused to call a public meeting to discuss the ' Bulgarian Atrocities' which the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

had been accused of. In 1898, at the age of 69, he converted to

and, as was the case with many of the British Muslim convert community, adopted the name 'Reschid'. He was the owner of the New Inn, a pub in Ashton-upon-Lyne which he sold prior to his conversion. His path towards conversion has been researched by his great-great-great-granddaughter, Christina Longden in books ''His Own Man'' and ''Imagining Robert''. Longden gives presentations and talks about Stanley's life and British Islam.robertreschidstanley.wordpress.com In 1999, Stanley's great-great-grandson, Brian Longden, was researching his family history and discovered that Stanley had converted to Islam; Brian's own son, had himself converted in 1991, knowing nothing about his ancestor. After his conversion, he was appointed by his friend,

William Abdullah Quilliam William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 – 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon, was a 19th-century British convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's ...

Shaykh al-Islām Shaykh al-Islām (; ; , ''Sheykh-ol-Eslām''; , Sheikh''-ul-Islām''; , ) was used in the classical era as an honorific title for outstanding scholars of the Islamic sciences.Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone, Mahan Mirza, The Princeton Encyclope ...

of the British Isles, to serve as the vice-president of the

, arguably the first mosque in the United Kingdom. Stanley became a supporter of the Ottoman Empire and corresponded with the Caliph,

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

, advising him on agricultural, industrial and military matters. He died, aged 83, in 1911 in his home town of Stalybridge.

Personal life

Stanley was previously a member of the Christian Israelite Church. He married Emma Meredith on 17 October 1847 in the Christian Israelite Sanctuary. They had 11 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Robert 1828 births 1911 deaths British grocers British former Christians British Muslims Conservative Party (UK) councillors Mayors of places in Greater Manchester Converts to Islam from Protestantism People from Stalybridge 19th-century British businesspeople