Muslim Women in Britain, 1850-1950: 100 years of hidden history
Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor and Jamie Gilham, Hurst, £30

IT’S probable that you have noticed the vast majority of books categorised as history are literally just that — his story. Covering 100 years of hidden history, Muslim Women in Britain, 1850-1950, is a groundbreaking, timely book that sheds new light on the important place Muslim women have had in multicultural Britain. 

Transcending both time and tradition, this captivating narrative shifts from colonial Britain to the present day, uncovers Muslim women’s experiences and contributions, thereby creating an understanding of then and now. 

Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Professor of the Sociology of Islam at Coventry University and Jamie Gilham, historian of Western Islam, combine to edit a book that, in its quest to uncover the history of Muslim women in Britain — sojourners, settlers and legacy-makers together with an expanding sphere of influence — have drawn on a richly varied range of contributors. Chapter 8’s heading tells it all: We were not anything like what they imagined. 

Here are a few examples:

Noor Inayat Khan. Described as quiet, shy, sensitive; wrote poetry, children’s stories; was a talented singer and musician. Living in France when World War II broke out, Noor retreated to England, joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), trained in wireless telegraphy, was flown covertly back to France in 1943. She spent the following months transmitting vital information to London before being betrayed, arrested, transferred to Dachau, savagely beaten and killed. 

The governments of France and Britain officially recognised Noor’s wartime heroism by posthumously awarding her the Croix de Guerre (1946) and the George Cross (1949). 

Bertha Cave. Daughter of working-class parents, Bertha Cave had ideas ahead of her time, became a feminist campaigner. Fighting to open the legal profession to women in 1903, she made a daring application to join one of the four Inns of Court, Greys Inn, a training ground for study at the Bar. It was only men, usually from middle or upper-class backgrounds, who were permitted to do this. They barred Bertha Cave because of her gender. She continued in her struggle. 

Gladys Milton Brooke. Former British socialist, she renounced Protestantism, became Christian Scientist, briefly Catholic, before her conversion to Islam and the adoption of a Muslim way of life. She was quoted in the press as saying: “I have counted the cost. I know it will mean bitter criticism, and possible alienation from my family.” Her story is told along with the struggles of early female converts to Islam in the UK. 

These are just three of the many women included in this ground-breaking book. Many were activists deeply committed to social action, political engagement; writers, teachers, actors, storytellers. They stand as an enduring testimony to all those women who visited, settled, displayed strength, diversity, spirit, who made Britain their home. 

Underpinned by feminist historical approaches, this is the first book to focus solely on the history of Muslim women in Britain. They have now become visible, and moved away from the shadows to take their rightful place in the narrative of former times. His story. Her story. Our story.