The people of south-west England have had contact with Islamic communities for many centuries, although the earliest encounters, from the Crusades onward, were not normally positive. However Islamic culture did reach Devon in more positive ways. In medieval times Exeter Cathedral Library already contained works by Islamic scientists and from the seventeenth century onwards a series of individuals made contacts with the Islamic world in a wide variety of contexts.

Contacts with the Islamic world extend back further in time than is generally imagined, although from the Westcountry perspective they may sometimes have been at several removes.

Offa. [Dinar]. c.775. Gold coin.

From: Anglo-Saxon coins: studies presented to F.M.Stenton, edited by R.H.M.Dolley. London: Methuen, 1961. ERL: 737.494201

This gold coin issued in the name of Offa, King of Mercia (reigned 757-796), is an imitation of a dinar of Caliph Al Mansur dated 157 A.H. (774 A.D.) It is a reasonably accurate copy of the original although the engraver has made mistakes in copying the Arabic inscriptions, and the name OFFA REX is inserted upside down in relation to the Arabic inscription. At this time dinars were the main gold currency of trade in the western Mediterranean and it may be that Offa struck these for the purposes of overseas trade. Whatever the reason it is probably the first tangible evidence of English links with the Islamic world. (IM)

Thomas, J. Dartmouth Castle & harbour, J.Thomas after T.Allom. Steel line engraving. From: Britton, John. Devonshire illustrated. London: Fisher, Son & Co., 1829-32. WSL: Somers Cocks 520

In the eleventh century ships and men assembled in the deep-water harbour of Dartmouth to embark on the Second Crusade 1147-1149 (which was defeated before the crusaders reached Edessa), and the Third Crusade 1189-1192. The latter ended with the negotiation of an agreement between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, whereby Christian pilgrims were allowed access to Jerusalem.

Caton-Woodville, Richard. Saladin leading the cavalry charge. Oil painting, 1892. Okehampton Town Hall.

Pride of place in the main Chamber of Okehampton Town Hall is a painting depicting a famous confrontation during the Crusades in the Middle Ages between the great Muslim leader Saladin and the Crusaders. The painting shows the Crusaders standard broken on the ground whilst Saladin leads the charge by his cavalry. The artist is Richard Caton-Woodville and it was painted in 1892. There seems no record as to how the painting arrived into the possession of Okehampton Town hall, but it is one of the more valuable paintings within its collection and is an object of special interest to Councillor Pirwany. (KA)

From the sixteenth century onward voyagers from the Westcountry reached Islamic countries and brought back travellers' tales which sometimes reached printed form to feed the appetites of people eager for information on distant lands. A number of these accounts are represented in Exeter libraries, having circulated among people in Devon for centuries.

Pitts, Joseph. A faithful account of the religion and manners of the Mahometans. - 3rd ed. London: J.Osborne, 1731. WSL: s297/GEN/PIT. DEI

Close personal contact over many years came from Joseph Pitts of Exeter (1663?-1739?), who was captured by pirates and spent many years as a Muslim in North Africa and the Middle East. His detailed report of his years of captivity was first published in Exeter in 1704, printed by Samuel Farley.

The third edition, which appeared in London in 1731, contained two engravings.

Pitts was the one of the first Europeans to make the pilgrimage to Makkah and this is one of the first known depictions of the Kâbah.

The engraving entitled "The various gestures of the Mahometans in their prayers to God" is the only other illustration in this work.
The work is probably the most sympathetic and knowledgeable account of Muslim religious practices to appear in English before the Victorian era. (IM, PA)

Pellow, Thomas. The history of the long captivity and adventures of Thomas Pellow, in South-Barbary ... London: Goadby, 1740. DEI (UEL, WSL: 1890 edition)

Thomas Pellow (or Pellew), mariner of Penryn (fl. 1700-1750) was captured by Sallee Rovers (Moroccan corsairs) on one of his first voyages. He became a slave in Morocco, and, forced to convert to Islam, he remained in that country for twenty-three years. He was trained as a soldier, and gave distinguished service to the armies of several Sultans. Like Joseph Pitts, his decision to escape involved him in numerous dangers and adventures but ultimate success. Nothing is known of his life after his return to Penryn in 1738. His autobiography is an interesting, lively and authentic account of life in the Sultanate of Morocco, where the author visited numerous places at that time unknown to Western scholars. One of his most striking anecdotes recounts how he met the Sultan’s executioner "an Exeter man, whose surname I have forgot, though I very well remember his Christian one was Absalom, and that he often told me he was by trade a butcher". (PA)

Troughton, Thomas. Barbarian cruelty; or, an accurate ... narrative ... of sufferings ... of the British captives. - Exeter: T.Brice, 1787 WSL: sB/EXE/382.44/TRO

The capture of Europeans by the Barbary pirates was seen as a threat throughout the 18th century and there are a number of works in the Westcountry Studies Library in Exeter which contain personal testimony of local sailors. Timothy Le Beau of Exeter republished this account of captivity in Fez and Morocco between 1746 and 1750, which he had shared with the author forty years previously. It contains an account of the Islamic faith including: "Practice has four points, viz. prayer and its preparatory washings, &c. alms-giving, fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca." (IM)

Veryard, Ellis. An account of divers choice remarks, as well geographical as historical, political, mathematical, physical, and moral; taken in a journey through the Low Countries, France, Italy, and part of Spain; with the Isles of Sicily and Malta. As also, a voyage to the Levant: a description of Candia, Egypt, the Red Sea, the desarts of Arabia, Mount-Horeb, and Mount-Sinai; the coasts of Palestine, Syria, and Asia-Minor; the Hellespont, Propontis, and Constantinople; the Isles of the Carpathian, Egean, and Ionian Seas. Wherein, their present state, interest, customs, manners, and religions; their learning, and learned men; with the most celebrated pieces of sculpture, painting, &c. are more accurately set forth, than hath hitherto been done. With an account of divers sorts of shell-like bodies found at great distances from the seas; with remarks thereon, in way to discover their original; and what else occurr'd most remarkable in thirteen years travels. Illustrated with divers figures. Exon: Printed by Sam. Farley, and sold by Charles Yeo and Philip Bishop, booksellers in the Fore-street , 1701. DEI

This large folio of 386 pages was the first locally published work to introduce the people of Devon to many aspects of the Islamic world, including a visit to the cedars of Lebanon. A London edition appeared in the same year. Ellis Veryard (1657-1714) was a physician who lived in Plymtree having studied medicine in Leyden and Utrecht. After his travels between 1682 and 1695 he returned to Plymtree, moving later to Cullompton, where he died. (IM)

Buckingham, James Silk. Travels among the Arab tribes, inhabiting the countries east of Syria and Palestine ... with an appendix containing a refutation ... circulates against the Author. London: Longman, etc., 1825. DEI

James Silk Buckingham (1786-1855) was born in Flushing, near Falmouth in 1786. He began life as a sailor when only 10 years old, but spent much of his life as a traveller, a lecturer, an M.P. (he sat for Sheffield between 1832 and 1837) and a journalist (he was the founding editor of the Athenaeum in 1828). Many of his travels took him to the Middle East and he was an enthusiastic author, publishing as well as the work illustrated: Travels in Palestine through the countries of Bashan and Gilead, east of the River Jordan (1821), Travels in Mesopotamia : including a journey from Aleppo, across the Euphrates to Orfah, through the plains of the Turcomans, to Diarbekr, in Asia Minor from thence to Mardin, on the borders of the Great Desert, and by the Tigris to Mosul and Baghdad (1827) and Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia (1829). (PA)

Holman, James. A voyage round the world. Vol 3. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1835. WSL: s910.4/GEN/HOL

James Holman (1786-1857) lost his sight in the Navy in 1810. Despite his blindness, he travelled extensively in Europe. His first attempt to travel round the world was interrupted by his arrest as a spy in Siberia. He eventually made his voyage round the world between 1827 and 1832. He travelled the Indian Ocean and the east coast of Africa in 1829 including the island of Johanna, one of the Comoro group, where he was entertained by Sultan Abdallah whose lithographed portrait appears as the frontispiece of volume 3. (IM)

Kitto, John. The pictorial history of Palestine and the Holy Land: including a complete history of the Jews. London: Charles Knight, 1844. 2 vols. EUL (Davis Collection)

The impulse to travel to the Holy Land was often a combination of missionary zeal and a spiritual desire to visit the places described in the Bible, and both impulses can be seen in the life of John Kitto (1804-1854), who was born in Plymouth, the son of a Cornish stonemason. He became deaf as a result of an industrial accident when he was thirteen, and was sent to the workhouse, where he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, who treated him badly. He was rescued by a group of a group of philanthropic gentlemen, and eventually, in 1825 was sent to London to train as a missionary. Between 1829 and 1832, he visited Iraq, Iraq, Syria and Palestine and the results of these travels were The Pictorial Bible (1835-38) and the Pictorial History of Palestine illustrated here. Unfortunately, Kitto’s publisher, Charles Knight, had financial problems in the early 1840s, and Kitto was forced to move from London, but he continued to produce scholarly religious works until his early death in 1854. In recognition of his work he was awarded a civil list pension of £100 per year in 1850 and the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Giessen (Germany), although he had never taken holy orders or received any recognised academic qualification. (PA)

Hussey & Son. Particulars, plan and conditions of sale of the Heavitree House estate. - Exeter: Hussey & Son, 1898. DRO: 62/9/2/box 10/19

Richard Ford (1796-1858) was born in London and trained as a lawyer. However, in his early thirties, he moved to Spain, where he travelled extensively, particularly in Andalucia, sketching and taking notes. The journeys resulted in his Handbook for Travellers in Spain, first published in 1845, of which it was said on his death, that "so great a literary achievement had never before been performed under so humble a title." Ford was not the first Englishman to have written about Spain, particularly the Moorish part, but "he as the first to have explored it in such depth and to have approached its inhabitants with such sympathy". On his return from Spain in 1834, Ford bought Heavitree House, where he lived until his death in 1858, and which he rebuilt in the Andalusian style, laying out the grounds "with an artistic taste which made his residence one of the local lions of East Devon." The accompanying photographs give us some idea of what his house and gardens must have been like. Unfortunately, a housing estate was built on the gardens in 1949, and the house itself, a rare example of the influence of Islamic art on British architecture, and the only example of its kind in the South-West, was demolished in the 1960s. (PA)

Kinglake, Alexander. Eöthen or traces of travel brought home from the East. London: Ollivier, 1845. DEI

A member of a long-established Taunton family, Alexander Kinglake’s (1809-1891) fame rests on his monumental history of the Crimean War (published in eight volumes between 1863 and 1887) and his travel narrative Eöthen, which recounts a journey he made to Turkey, and the Near East in 1835 (it was first published in 1844). Kinglake’s style is very smooth, and Eöthen has been likened to Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey in being "a delightful record of personal impressions rather then outward facts." (PA)

Burton, Sir Richard Francis. Personal narrative of a pilgrimage to al-Madinah. (1893). ECL: 953.2

Burton (1821-1890) was born in Torquay, the son of a colonel. His education ended in expulsion from Oxford, foreshadowing his subsequent colourful life. While working in India he learned Hindustani, Persian and Arabic and in 1856 he undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca disguised as a Pathan. He later travelled in other parts of the world and was consul in various places, including Damascus. His translations, some of which were privately published, include the Karma sutra, The perfumed garden and his monumental sixteen-volume edition of the Arabian nights (1885-88). (IM)

Clements, Henry G.J. Reminiscences of pilgrimage to the holy places of Palestine. - London and Oxford: J.H.Parker and Son, 1857. WSL: s956.94/GEN/CLE

In the 19th century more people began to undertake travels in the Holy Land. The members of Literary Institutions in Sidmouth and Ottery St. Mary were able to hear accounts of such visits from Henry G.J.Clements when he gave a series of three lectures. These were published in 1857 and were illustrated by lithographs of sketches made on the spot including the one illustrated here, entitled "Nazareth from the Mount of Precipitation" in which the minarets can be clearly seen dominating the town. (IM)

Boggis, R.J.E. Down the Jordan in a canoe. London: Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, 1939. WSL: s956/GEN/BOG

In 1932 R.J.E.Boggis made one of the first successful descents of the River Jordan in a canoe, and his account of his expedition includes many observations on life in the region. Perhaps the most unusual thing about the expedition was that it was made by the vicar of St. John's Torquay who had published A history of the Diocese of Exeter in 1922. (IM)

Stark, Freya. Passionate nomad: the life of Freya Stark, by Jane Fletcher Geniesse. New York: Random House, 1999. EUL

Freya Stark (1893-1993) was one of the most famous women travellers of the twentieth century, whose books on her explorations of Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Southern Arabia, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East have delighted several generations of readers. Dame Freya lived in many places, and finally settled in Asolo in Italy, but was never happier than at Ford Place, the house nearly Chagford built by her father, a well-known artist, whose family had long had connections with Torquay. (PA)

Mallowan, Agatha Christie. Come, tell me how you live. London: Collins, 1946. ECL: 956

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was born in Torquay. In 1930 she married her second husband Max Mallowen, an eminent archaeologist, and gave an account of her travels with him in Come, tell me how you live. She also set several of her novels in the area, for example Murder in Mesopotamia (1936) and Death on the Nile (1937). (IM)

Raleigh, Sir Walter. The life and death of Mahomet. - London: R.H. for Daniel Frere, 1637. WSL: s920/MAH

The Devonian Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) wrote the best known of his historical writings, a History of the world, while imprisoned in the Tower. The life of Muhammad, which appeared under his name in 1637, also continues the story of the Islamic nations into late medieval times. The work is not universally accepted as being from his pen and is claimed by Arthur Cayley to be "an abstract, or translation of an abstract made in Spanish, of part 1, book 1 and part 2, book 1, of Miguel de Luna's History of the loss of Spain, pretended to be translated from the Arabic of Abulcacin Tarif Abentarique" (Life of Sir Walter Ralegh,1805, vol. 2, p. 192). (IM)

Ockley, Simon. The history of the Saracens...: collected from the most authentick Arabick authors. London: Knaplock, 1718. 2 vols. EUL (Parish Library Collection)

Simon Ockley (1678-1720), although his family originally came from Norfolk, was born in Exeter in 1678. A brilliant linguist, he was lecturer in Hebrew at the University of Cambridge when only seventeen, and in 1711 he was appointed to the Chair in Arabic there. His fame rests on his history of the Saracens, which, although now long superseded as a historical commentary, was very influential in its day (Edward Gibbon admits to be powerfully affected by it), and was based on Arab historians’ own accounts of their history. He also worked as a translator for the government in its relations with the Kingdom of Morocco, which had become an important trading partner for Britain, ever since Catherine of Braganza had brought Charles II the city of Tangier as part of her dowry in 1661. (PA)

Prideaux, Humphrey. The true nature of imposture fully display'd in the life of Mahomet. - 8th ed. - London: E.Curll, 1723. ERL: o1723. EUL, DEI various editions.

This work of the Padstow writer Humphrey Prideaux (1648-1724) was collected by gentry in the region. Richard Coffin of Portledge in Alwington, north Devon was one of these and on 15 May 1697 his London agent Richard Lapthorne wrote to him regarding the 1690 edition of this work: "Sr, I have recd from Mr Prideaux two bookes one for yor selfe & another for Madam Bickford, wch shalbe sent when you give yor commands." Prideaux, although a competent scholar of Arabic and Hebrew, wrote his life of Muhammad as an attack of the deists, rather than a true description and evaluation of the Prophet’s life. It has been described as "valueless from the point of view of modern knowledge" (Dictionary of National Biography), as telling us more about attitudes to Muhammad than about Muhammad himself, and as a work of "gross bigotry" (Images of Islam in Eighteenth-Century writings). (IM, PA)

Cook, Frederick Charles. The origin of religion and language: considered in five essays. London: Murray, 1884. EUL

Frederick Charles Cook (1804-1889) was born at Millbrook, Hampshire. He attended St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he took a first in the classical tripos. After studying under B.G. Niebuhr in Bonn, he was ordained into the Church of England in 1839. In the 1840s he worked in Church education and was later described as "the best preacher in England". He came to Exeter Cathedral in 1864, becoming Precentor in 1872. His theological outlook led to his appointment as general editor of the ‘Speaker’s Commentary’ (1871-81), but his most interesting publication is The origins of religion and language (1884), in which he propounds a primeval unity of language and belief among humanity. His remarkable book collection, part of Exeter Cathedral Library, contains works in over 100 languages and he used them in the service of the traditional teachings of the Church. (PT)

Smith, Reginald Bosworth. Mohammed and Mohammedanism. London: Darf, 1986. (Reprint of the third edition, published in London in 1889.) EUL

Bosworth Smith (1839-1908) was from an old Dorset family and spent most of his career as a schoolmaster at Harrow. He was a serious scholar, with a particular interest in the Eastern Question. He produced a balanced and detailed study of Islam, which "ably defended the character and teaching of the Prophet". The book was quickly translated into Arabic and can be considered one of the fairest treatments of Islam in the Victorian period by a British author. Bosworth Smith was also interested in contemporary affairs, and defended both the moral nature of Islam and the character of the Turkish people, when both came under attack in the press (from Gladstone, among others), during the Turco-Russian War of 1876-78. (PA)

Arnold, Sir Thomas Walker. Painting in Islam: a study of the place of pictorial art in Muslim culture. New York: Dover Publications, 1965. (Reprint of edition published in Oxford in 1928). EUL

Thomas Arnold (1864-1930) was born in Devonport and educated at Plymouth High School, before moving on to a degree in Oriental Studies at the University of Cambridge. He was then appointed as lecturer in philosophy at the Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, one of the leading educational institutions for South Asian Muslims. During his ten year stay in Aligarh, Arnold worked with Muslims to try to synthesize Islamic culture with Western thought. One of his initiatives was to found the Anjuman-I Farz (Society of Duty), whose "members undertook to work individually for the regeneration of their nation". From Aligarh, Arnold moved on to Lahore, where he taught Sir Muhammad Iqbal. On his return to England, Arnold worked as a librarian at the India Office and educational adviser to Indian students in Britain, before becoming the first professor of Arabic at the newly established School of Oriental (and African) Studies in London in 1917. His published output was not great, but in his latter years he worked mainly on Islamic painting, and, more than any other British scholar, laid the foundations for the serious study of Islamic art. (PA)

Aggett, W.J.P. The The Bloody Eleventh: history of the Devonshire Regiment. Vol. 2. Exeter: The Regiment, 1994. WSL: s356.11/DEV/AGG

The Devonshire Regiment (from 1958 amalgamated with the Dorset Regiment to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment) has a long association with the Middle East and other Islamic countries. In the 19^th century, the Regiment saw service in Morocco, Afghanistan and the North-West frontier of India, while in the twentieth century, the regiment was deployed in Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, India, Aden and Malaya. It is interesting to note that one of the combined Regiment’s mottos is Marabout from the Arabic Murabit, once of whose meanings is "A company of warriors". (PA)

Heath & Bradnee. Unveiling ceremony in front of Bury Meadow, Exeter, of the bronze statue of General Sir Redvers Buller made by Adrian Jones. 1905. Photograph WSL: EPRS 273

Redvers Buller (1839-1908), was born near Crediton in 1839, the son of the M.P. for Exeter and North Devon. Although Buller’s fame rests mainly on his campaigns during the Boer War, where he served during 1899 and 1900, he had had a long military career before this date (winning the Victoria Cross in 1879 during the Anglo-Zulu War). This included service in Middle East, where he was present at the battle of Tell el-Kebir, which preceded the British occupation of Egypt in 1882. He was subsequently involved in action in the Sudan between 1883 and 1885, where his "coolness in action, his knowledge of soldiers and experience in the field, combined with his personal ascendancy over officers and men" earned him promotion to the rank of major-general. He left Egypt in 1885 and spent the rest of his career as a senior army administrator, before his last campaign in South Africa. The equestrian statue near Bury Meadow was unveiled in his honour in 1905. (PA)

Baker, Sir Samuel White. Ismailia : a narrative of the expedition to central Africa for the suppression of the slave trade organised by Ismail, Khedive of Egypt. London: Macmillan, 1874. 2 vols. EUL

Samuel Baker (1821-1893) was born in Gloucestershire and soon revealed his passion for travel, visiting Ceylon in 1846. He decided to settle there and established a colony in 1847 at Newera Eliya, where he remained for the next nine years. After a spell building a railway in Romania, and travelling in Hungary (where he met his second wife Florence). He determined to emulate the feats of the great African explorers, such as John Hanning Speke. Between 1861 and 1865, he travelled down in the Nile in search of its source, reaching Lake Albert Nyanza in Uganda in 1864. In 1869 he was engaged by the Khedive Ismail, the ruler of Egypt, as Governor-General of the Equatorial Nile with the rank of major-general in the Ottoman Army to "bring under Egyptian authority the countries to the south of Gondokoro [near present-day Juba, in the far south of Sudan], suppress the slave trade, introduce regular commerce and open up the great lakes of Uganda to navigation". His period of rule in Southern Sudan and northern Uganda lasted from 1871 to 1874 (when he was succeeded by General Gordon), and was extremely difficult, but he did leave behind him the rudiments of a government and he struck the first blow against the slave trade in the region. On his return to England, he purchased the estate of Sandford Orleigh, near Newton Abbot, where he lived until his death in 1893, playing a large part in local affairs, while continuing to travel (he was constantly in Egypt and Cyprus), and to pursue his great hobby of big-game hunting. (PA)

MacGregor-Hastie, Roy. Never to be taken alive: a biography of General Gordon. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1985. EUL

Charles George Gordon (1833-1885) was one of the most famous Englishmen of his time, a man whose death at the hands of the Mahdi’s forces in Khartoum was perceived as "completing the greatest tragedy of modern times". Born in London in 1833 to an old Scottish family, which had moved to Exeter (his grandfather William Augustus Gordon had a commission in the Devonshire Militia and died in Exeter in 1809, he is buried in St. Thomas’ Churchyard), Gordon pursued a military career after schooling in Taunton. He fought in the Crimean War from 1855-56 and was employed in various boundary commissions in the Balks and Armenia over the next two years, before going to China in 1860, where he achieved the highest military rank, after accepting a commission in the Chinese army. He served as governor of Equatorial Sudan from 1874 to 1879 in succession to Sir Samuel Baker, and succeeded in putting down the slave trade there. After further service in China, Mauritius and southern Africa (and a visit to Palestine, where he developed a new theory about the site of Jesus’s burial), he was in Devon, visiting his great friend, the Revered Barnes, rector of Heavitree, when he received a telegram summoning him to further service in the Sudan. His mission was to effect a general withdrawal of all British and Egyptian personnel from the Sudan, at that time under the control of the Muslim revivalist, Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah, known as the Mahdi ("the rightly-guided one"). He was trapped in Khartoum, where he was killed when the town was stormed in 1885. His death cause an outcry in Britain, where numerous memorials were erected in his memory, including a lamppost on a granite plinth in Fore Street, Heavitree. (PA)

Lawrence, T.E. Revolt in the desert. - London: Jonathan Cape, 1927. ERL: 953

A much closer engagement with the world of Islam was made by the controversial and enigmatic figure of T.E.Lawrence (1888-1935), known as "el Ourans" by his fellow fighters, who lived many years in Dorset, and whose brother A.W.Lawrence had connections with the University of Exeter Department of Archaeology. Lawrence had been in the British Museum archaeological team on the Euphrates and in 1916 joined the Arab revolt against Turkish rule. The account of his campaign with the desert Arabs under the command of Emir Faisal is given in Seven pillars of wisdom and Revolt in the desert, from the frontispiece of which this striking portrait by Augustus John is taken. (IM)

Salamé, Abraham. A narrative of the expedition to Algiers in the year 1818, under the command of the Right Hon. Admiral Lord Viscount Exmouth. - London: John Murray, 1819. ERL: 956.3

In 1816 Sir Edmund Pellew (1757-1833) of Canonteign, Christow in Devon conducted a punitive expedition to Algiers to force the Dey to abolish Christian slavery. This expedition, which earned Pellew the title of Viscount Exmouth, was recorded by the interpreter who accompanied him on the subsequent negotiations with the Dey.

Although generally critical in tone it did give some insight into the customs of North Africa at the time, including an engraving entitled "Figures of Algerine women". (IM)

Bowring, Sir John. Report on Egypt, 1823-1838 under the reign of Mohamed Ali. London: Triade Exploration, 1998. EUL: 962.031

Sir John Bowring (1792-1872) was born in Exeter, the descendant of an ancient Devon family. Blessed with the gift of languages, he learnt not only the commoner European languages like Portuguese and Dutch, but also Czech, Hungarian, Arabic and Chinese. He began life as a merchant, but aided by his friend Jeremy Bentham, he became the founding editor of the radical magazine, the Westminster Review, and a well-known translator of foreign literature. He was also sometime M.P. for Bolton, British Consul in Canton (China), and Governor-General of Hong Kong. He also undertook numerous voyages on behalf of the British government, usually in the furtherance of free trade, visiting Prussia, Spain, France, Thailand and the Philippines. One of his most productive journeys which resulted in the work above (originally published in 1840 as Report on Egypt and Candia) and its companion work, Report on the commercial statistics of Syria, (also published in 1840) was undertaken in 1837. His Report on Egypt is a very detailed and fascinating account of Egyptian agriculture, trade, industry, administration, public health, education and slavery and is still a very valuable source of economic information for historians. (PA)

Durley, Thomas. Lethaby of Moab: a record of missionary adventure, peril and toil. London and Edinburgh: Marshall Brothers, [1910]. WSL: s920/LET

Victorian missionary zeal extended not only to "darkest Africa" but also to the Islamic peoples. One such missionary was William Lethaby, who was born in Exeter in 1837. This account of his life appeared shortly after his death. The illustration entitled "Muhammadan pilgrims, Jerusalem" illustrated his journey to the Holy Land in 1883 and 1884. (IM)

Vincent, Sir Edgar (later Lord D’Abernon). An ambassador for peace: pages from the diary of Viscount D’Abernon. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1929. 3 vols. EUL

Edgar Vincent (1857-1941) was from an old Sussex family and began life in the army, where he played an important diplomatic and financial role in the Balkans in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War of 1876-78. He subsequently became Financial Adviser to the Egyptian Government in 1883 (when only 26!), a post he occupied until 1889, when he was appointed to the post of Director-General of the Imperial Ottoman Bank. His career here blossomed initially, and his fostering of British interests in the Ottoman Empire was successful, but he encouraged speculation in South African gold shares, which led to a run on the Bank’s reserves, and he was forced to resign in 1897. His career was rescued by the citizens of Exeter, who elected him as their M.P. in a by-election in 1899. He held the seat for the Conservative Party in 1900, but lost it in the Liberal landslide of 1906. He strongly objected to tariff reform and switched to the Liberal Party, for whom he contested Colchester unsuccessfully in 1910. He was rescued from oblivion by the Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, who appointed him to a number of committees, the most important of which was the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) which first introduced licensing laws to Britain. He ended his official career, as the first British ambassador to German after the First World War, but remained an active committee man until disabled by a stroke in his 70s. He died in 1941. (PA)

Sheepstor Parochial Church Council. Sheepstor, Devon, J.Salmon, [1995?]. B Postcard collection

In the churchyard of the moorland parish of Sheepstor lie buried the three Rajahs of Sarawak, the only Devonians to have been heads of state of a largely Islamic nation. James Brooke (1819-1868) was commissioned by the Governor of Singapore to convey gifts to the Rajah of Sarawak in 1839. After staying to advise the local administrators he was asked to become the Rajah and was formally installed in 1841. He worked to suppress piracy, head-hunting and slavery and greatly reduced intertribal warfare. In 1864 Sarawak was recognised as an independent state. In 1859 James Brooke purchased Burrator where he died. He was succeeded by his nephew Charles Anthoni Johnson (1829-1917), who took the name of Brooke. He struggled successfully to clear the considerable debts under which the nation suffered. He too was buried at Burrator and was succeeded by his son Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke (1874-1963) under whom Sarawak began to prosper until the Japanese invasion of 1941. After liberation in 1945 he felt that his resources were unequal to the task of restoring the economy and he ceded Sarawak to Great Britain. This is indicated with the overprinting of the postage stamp with the monograph GR. In 1963 Sarawak joined the federation of Malyasia, in the same year as the last of the Rajahs of Sarawak was buried at Sheepstor.

Across the lands that have fallen under the influence of Islam there is a rich legacy of works of art in a wide range of media. Arabic script has developed into elaborate decorative patterns in the hands of calligraphers, ceramics have been richly decorated, not only for use as tableware and containers, but also for architectural decoration, carpet patterns have been closely copied by western manufacturers and even the arts of the garden have influenced the west, especially in Moorish Spain.

Mann, Traugott. Der Islam einst und jetzt. 1914. ERL: 953

The following images of Islamic art are taken from this extensive survey:

• Ceramic tiles. Mosque of Sheik Safi, Ardebil. The avoidance of images of the human form in many parts of the Islamic world led to a highly developed skill in producing decorative patterns based on geometric forms, calligraphy and the plant world. This had had considerable impact on European design, especially in areas that bordered the Islamic world, such as Spain and southern Italy.
• Carpets. A sixteenth century Persian carpet with double prayer niches. Perhaps nowhere has there been a greater influence of Islamic design than through the oriental carpet, especially those from Persia. The patterns have been copied and adapted by European manufacturers for several centuries.
• Calligraphy. The titlepage of a 17th century Koran in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. The divinely inspired works of Muhammad were worthy of the dedicated efforts of the most skilled calligraphers and pages were covered in carpet-like patterns of gold and rich colours with the Arabic script woven into elaborate designs. As in China, writing became a major art form, in contrast to the European tradition, where it remained subservient to the graphic arts.
• Miniature painting. Muhammad's ascent into heaven from a 16th century Persian manuscript in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. The prohibition on depicting the human form did not extend over the whole Islam world and in Persia even the image of Muhammad could appear in illuminated manuscripts. In India the miniaturists of the Mughal Empire brought the art to one of its most highly developed stages.

Koechlin, Raymond. Oriental art: ceramics, fabrics, textiles. London, Ernest Benn, [1928]. ERL: 709.5

This work contributes the following examples of Islamic art:

• Plate 22. Cup, blue ground, polychrome decorations. Amid scrolls two chimeras, four-footed beasts with wings and human heads. Rhages, 13th century.
• Plate 34. Albarello, ground alternately blue and gold, transverse ribs in high relief, between inscriptions in gold lustre on the blue ground. Syria or Egypt, 14th century.
• Plate 79. Piece of velvet with threads of silver, floral decorations in medallions. Asia Minor 17th century.
• Plate 84. Small silk rug decorated with animals fighting. Persia, 16th century
• Plate 87: Silk carpet with gold and silver threads, floral decorations mingled with birds and cartouches inscribed with poems of Hajiz in the borders. Persia, 16th century.

Havell, E.B. Indian art and architecture: its psychology, structure, and history from the first Muhammadan invasion to the present day. 2nd ed. London: John Murray, 1927. ERL: 720.954

The Taj Mahal, designated a world culture site, was called by Rabindranath Tagore "a teardrop on the cheek of time".It is probably the most well preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in the world. It stands on the bank of River Yamuna at Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it and it took 1000 elephants to transport material to the site. It was designed by the Iranian architect Istad Usa but shows Hindu influence in some of its architectural features.

The world of Islam. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. EUL: AR/956.01/WOR/X

The dome of the Masjid-i Shayk Lutf Allah at Isfahan, built by Shah Abbas in the 17th century.

Examples of books relating to Islamic art and architecture in the Library's collections

Description de l'Egypte. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1809-1822. ERL

The scientific expedition which accompanied Napoleon's campaign to Egypt in 1798 was magnificently written up in a series of large volumes illustrated by more than 800 finely executed engravings. Best known for its revelations on ancient Egyptian antiquities, it also had extensive sections on the natural history and present state of the area. In many ways, it is the most important book published on the Middle East by Western scholars, since it was the first major scientific study of its kind, the first to be undertaken in a Middle Eastern country, and the first to be produced as a result of military conquest. When the expedition was first undertaken in 1798, European powers had control over very little of the Muslim world (parts of India, scattered settlements in Indonesia and West Africa). By 1919, only Saudi Arabia, Turkey, North Yemen and, to a lesser extent, Iran among Muslim countries were free of direct or indirect European control. The plate shown, part of a larger engraving of old buildings in Alexandria in the Etat moderne section, shows the detailed precision of the surveyors. The set of the Description de l'Egypte in Exeter Central Library was donated by the printer Alfred Wheaton. (IM, PA)

It is ironic that the works of Islamic literature that have become part of the popular western literary tradition are regarded dismissively by the cultures from which they originate. There is a rich and varied literary tradition in the Islamic world, both in poetry and prose writing, and modern writers have been widely recognised, receiving awards such as the Nobel prize for literature.

The Arabian nights, in five volumes, translated by Rev. Edward Forster, London: William Miller, 1802. ECL: 892.7

While they are regarded merely as popular tales by Arab historian, the Arabian nights have provided a rich source of inspiration for western European literature, art and music. The core tale of Scheherezade was translated into Arabic from a lost book of Persian fairy tales in the ninth century but other tales were added to the corpus over the centuries. It was translated into French from a Syrian manuscript by Antoine Galland in 1704-17 and an anonymous English version appeared in about 1708. The early editions were often bowdlerised before the translation of Sir Richard Burton. This early edition contains line engravings based on artwork by Robert Smirke.

Theatre Royal, Exeter. Cliff Gwilliam presents Aladdin and his lamp: souvenir programme. - Exeter: Theatre Royal, 1952. WSL: Playbills

Pantomime derived from burlesques and harlequinades during the eighteenth century. The range of subjects was increased by the addition of British folk tales and, at the end of the 18th century, fuelled by the enthusiasm for things oriental, with tales taken from the Arabian nights. Aladdin was a later addition to these tales but an early subject for pantomime, first being performed in Covent Garden in 1788. (IM)

Theatre Royal, Exeter. Cliff Gwilliam presents Ali Baba: souvenir. - Exeter: Theatre Royal, 1961. WSL: Playbills

Under the influence of Grimaldi the transvestite roles of the dame and principal boy developed in the early 19th century. Ali Baba is first recorded as a pantomime in the 1840s. In Exeter the pantomime was used as an excuse to stage special acts, such as the Amazing Yoxanis, a team of illusionists and the Three Lesters who were Danish clowns. The original writers of the tales would recognise little of the original work in many of these productions. (IM)

Fitzgerald, Edward. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward Fitzgerald. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1909 ECL: 891.5

The Persian writer Omar Khayyam (c.1048-c.1122) was better known as a mathematician and astronomer. In Samarkhand he completed a work on algebra and his astronomical observations were used to reform the calendar. The rubaiyat (quatrains) are attributed to him but were little known until the atmospheric reworking by Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1893) who also translated Aeschylus, Euripides and Calderon. First published anonymously in 1859, the verses have been a fertile inspiration for exotic interpretations by western artists and book illustrators.

Sa’di. Gulistan or flower-garden ; translated, with an essay, by James Ross. London: Walter Scott, 1890. EUL

Sa’di, is, along with Hafiz and Rumi, one of the three great mystical poets of Iranian Islam. Since Persian was the language of administration and high culture in northern India from the sixteenth to the late nineteenth century, many British officials in India became competent Persian scholars and Persian poetry had something of a vogue in Victorian Britain. James Ross, the translator was born in Aberdeen in 1759, and spent his career India as a doctor from 1783 to 1804. Forced to retire by ill health in 1804, he settled in Exeter, where he lived at Higher Summerlands from 1810 to his death in 1831; the first edition of this translation was published in 1823. (PA)

El-Enany, Rasheed. Naguib Mahfouz: the pursuit of meaning. London: Routledge, 1993. EUL

Najib Mahfuz is the most famous living Arab writer. Born in Cairo in 1911, he has produced over fifty novels, plays, short stories, and other writings. In the words of Professor El-Enany (himself an Egyptian who has been at the University of Exeter for almost 25 years): "Having spent the first thirty years of his creative life in mastering and perfecting Western moulds of fiction (a process which culminated in such masterpieces as The Cairo Trilogy), Mahfuz finally rebelled against these moulds and turned increasingly to express his own vision of man and society through forms inspired by the traditional arts of storytelling in Arabic." Mahfuz was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.

Examples of books relating to Islamic literature in the Library's collections

The influence of Islamic scholarship on Western culture, particularly in the fields of science and medicine is borne out by words in the English language which we use every day. Since medieval times there have been scientific works by Arab writers in Exeter Cathedral Library, so the presence of many doctors and scholars from the Islamic world in Exeter today can be seen as part of a continuing tradition.

Words that have been absorbed into the English language:

Exeter Cathedral. Inventarium omnium jocalium et bonorum ecclesie cathedralis beati Petri Exon. 1506.

Transcript of the contents of desk six in the Cathedral Library in the missing Cathedral inventory of 1506, transcribed by George Oliver in Lives of the bishops of Exeter (Exeter: William Roberts, 1861, p. 368). The entry for the Arabic texts is highlighted.

Bodleian Library. A Summary Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. ERL: 016.94257

Entry for Ms Bodley 463 with full listing of contents. In 1455 the executors of the will of Bishop Edmund Lacy passed to the library a work described in the 1506 inventory as "introductorium Algabrici ad judicia astrorum". This was by the Arab Abû al-Saqr 'Abd al-Azîz ibn Uthmân ibn 'Ali al-Qabîsî (the only Arab scientists mentioned by name in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales) and is only the first item in a 14th century manuscript volume which also contains works by the astronomers Albumazar (Abû Ma'shar, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, 805-886) and Alphagranus (Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathîr al-Farghâni, fl. 833-866). It also included a work by the Arab physician Avicenna (Abû 'Alî, al-Husayn ibn `Abd Allâh, known as Ibn Sînâ, 980-1037). The manuscript was passed to the Bodleian Library in Oxford in 1602 where it is now Ms. Bodley 463. (IM)

Ibn Sina, al-Husayn ibn Abd Allah. Liber canonis Avicenne

EUL (item exhibited from 1562 edition not held in Cathedral Library)

One of the most important books ever written in Arabic, Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine (al-Qânûn fî al-tibb) is a huge work, encompassing the principles of health, the study of the body, diseases, their symptoms and treatment, and, finally, a handbook of drugs and formularies. Avicenna himself was born near Bukhara in Central Asia in 980, and was a precocious scholar who even as a teenager distinguished himself as a theologian and philosopher as well as a doctor. He spent his life in Central Asia and northern Iran and became the wazîr or chief minister of the ruler of Hamadhan, where he died in 1037. The significance of his Canon lies in the systematization and comprehensive presentation of the medical knowledge of its time. Although the Canon contains no new ideas and personal experiences (Avicenna lost his own medical notes), the work was hugely influential in both East and West. It was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in Spain in the twelfth century, and was printed over thirty times between 1482 and 1599. In its Latin version, it functioned as the standard medical work in mediaeval Western universities for four centuries, this becoming the most successful textbook ever written.

It has not proved possible to exhibit items from the collection of early medical books housed in Exeter Cathedral Library which has no less than three of these early printed editions, plus later commentaries on Ibn Sina’s work like that of Pedro de Heredia (died c. 1661):

Liber canonis Avicenne ... Venetiis : Impressus &...correctus per Paganinum de Paganinis, 1507.

Avicennae ... libri in re medica omnes ... Venetiis: Apud Vincentum Valgrisium, 1564.

Avicennae ... ex Gerardi Cremonensis versione ... - Venetiis: Apud Iuntas, 1595.

Heredia, Pedro Miguel de. Operum omnium medicinalium tomus primus [-quartus] - Lugduni: Sumptib. Philippi Borde, 1665. Includes Avicenna

Mann, Traugott. Der Islam einst und jetzt. 1914. ERL: 953

The following images of Islamic science are taken from this extensive survey:

• Astrolabe. A brass astrolabe with Mahgreb inscriptions manufactured in Toledo in about 1029 A.D. This scientific instrument was perfected by Arab astronomers and adopted by the West well before the 15th century when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote his Treatise on the astrolabe.
• Waterwheels. The enormous waterwheels, often furnished with pots to contain the water have become a potent symbol of eastern technology. This example is from Aleppo.

Description de l'Egypte. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1809-1822. ERL

Napoleon's expedition made a detailed survey of Egyptian crafts and industries. This diagram shows details of an ox-powered machine used to raise water to irrigate agricultural land. The fact that many Islamic countries are situated in arid climates has meant that this type of technology is highly developed.

The genius of Arab civilization. London: Phaidon, 1976. EUL: AR/297/GEN/X

Plates from this wide-ranging survey illustrate aspects of Islamic science and medicine:

• Planispheric astrolabe signed by Ibd al-Husayn bin Ahmad, an astrolabist at Baghdad in 1131. Original in Adler Planetarium, Chicago.
• Astronomy: the constellation Draco, the Dragon, as depicted in as-Sufi's Treatise on the fixed stars, 1437. Original in Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
• Medicine: portraits of nine Greek physicians which form the frontispiece to Kitab ad-Diryaq, the Book of antidotes of Pseudo-Galen. A manuscript, probably from 13th century Iran, which shows how Arabic scientists kept Greek scholarship alive. Original in Nationalbibliothek, Vienna.
• From the same work, the illustration shows how a boy suffering from snake-bite cures himself by killing and eating the reptile along with some berries from the laurel tree.
• Natural history: autumn crocus for the Materia medica of Dioscorides, copied by Abdallah bin al-Fadl, Iraq, 1224. The manuscript, which describes some 500 plants and their uses, is in the Smithsonian Institution.

Nasr, Seyyed Hoseim. Islamic science: an illustrated study. World of Islam Festival Publishing Co., 1976. EUL: AR/509.56/NAX/X

An anatomical study of the horse in a 14th century manuscript collection of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi on mathematics and astronomy held by Tehran University.

The world of Islam. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. EUL: AR/956.01/WOR/X

Two illustrations reflecting the Islamic contribution to science:

• Medicine: Book of the ten treatises on the eye, by Hunayn ibn Ishaq, a 9th century work copied in the 13th century.
• Astronomy: Shahin shahnama, an Ottoman manuscript of the later 16th century showing a giant armillary sphere supported on a wooden frame. The five graduates rings correspond to five fundamental circles of the heavens. The rings are being adjusted with a plumb line.

Shaban, Muhammad Abd al-Hayy. Islamic history, A.D. 600-750 (A.H. 132): a new interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P., 1971. EUL

Abd al-Hayy Shaban (1926-1990) was born in al-Buhayrah province in Egypt and received his early education from his father, who, although blind, was the Professor of Qur`anic Exegesis (Tafsir) at al-Azhar University (the oldest University in the world, founded in Cairo around 972 A.D.). At first, Shaban pursued a military career, but we was awarded a scholarship to study at Harvard University, where he worked on early Islamic history, After teaching in St. Andrews and London, he was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Theology at the University of Exeter in 1971, becoming head of the new Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies in 1978 and a full professor in 1979. At the same time, Shaban founded the Centre for Arab Gulf Studies to promote the study of the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. The Department soon established a reputation for scholarly excellence, while the Documentation Unit for Arab Gulf Studies built up the most comprehensive collection of material on modern Arabian studies in Europe. During this period of growth, Shaban continued to publish on Islamic history, to raise funds for the Department and Centre and to supervise a multitude of postgraduates. Shaban retired in 1986, and died in 1990, but his legacy lives on in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, a fully independent school within the University since 1999, and its magnificent new building, which was formally opened by the ruler of Sharjah (himself a former postgraduate student of Shaban’s) on July 3^rd, 2001.

Religious education makes a major contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Pupils acquire knowledge, skills and understanding of Christianity and the principal religions of Britain necessary to participate in a diverse and pluralist society. The subject promotes respect for everyone's beliefs and values.

Members of the Muslim community in Devon are often invited into schools to explain Muslim belief and practice to pupils. Some schools visit the mosque in Exeter and when Exeter community generously arranged for a national exhibition to visit Exeter in 1998, over 2000 pupils were able to benefit.

Devon Curriculum Services, on behalf of the teachers and pupils of Devon schools want to take this opportunity to thank Imam Saeid and members of the Muslim community for the valuable contribution that they make to the religious education of pupils in Devon.

Examples of pupils' work are displayed.

A series of Hajj diaries demonstrate how pupils learn to empathise and gain an understanding of what the experience of pilgrimage means for a Muslim. It also provides an opportunity for them to develop respect for that which is so important to a believer. Some have used ICT skills to present their work.

Work from these schools demonstrates how pupils recognise the importance of pattern and calligraphy in Islamic art. This is also used as a medium to absorb and present different elements of Islamic beliefs.

Devon County Council. Education Directorate. The Devon, Plymouth and Torbay agreed syllabus for religious education from 2001. Exeter: Devon County Council, 2001. WSL: px377.1/DEV/DEV

Under the recently adopted syllabus pupils in all Devon community and voluntary controlled schools at all key stages have the opportunity to learn about Islam. At key stage 1 (ages 5-7), they may learn that for Muslims the Qur'an is a sacred text or that the mosque is a Muslim place of worship. They may learn how Muslims show respect for the Qur'an and may hear some stories from the Muslim tradition. At key stage 2 (ages 8-11) they may learn about the importance of water as a symbol in the Muslim tradition, or the sense of peace engendered by a Muslim's participation in the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). At key stage 3, all pupils must make a systematic study of Islam (MB)

Devon County Council. Education Directorate. Schemes of work for religious education: based on Devon, Plymouth and Torbay agreed syllabus 2001. Exeter: Devon County Council, 2001. WSL: sx377.1/DEV/DEV

The agreed syllabus includes suggested schemes of work. These are not statutory and intended as guidance. The schemes of work document provides more detailed guidance with an extensive study unit suggested for year eight pupils: How does Islam provide a complete way of life? It asks pupils to study how the media presents issues related to Islam. (IM)

Devon County Council. Education Department. Promoting quality: the agreed syllabus for religious education. Exeter: Devon County Council, 1992. WSL: sx377.1/DEV/DEV

Islam had also figured in earlier versions of the agreed syllabus. The following pages are taken from the 1992 syllabus, which has recently been replaced. (IM)

Although the Islamic community in Exeter is not large, there is a wide range of resources available to investigate the varied heritage of this diverse culture and the contribution that it has made over many centuries and continues to make today.

The Institute formally came into existence on 1 August 1999, under the directorship of Professor Tim Niblock. This brought together the existing Department of Arabic and Middle East Studies and the Centre for Arab Gulf Studies. The Institute constitutes a multi-disciplinary teaching and research unit within the University of Exeter offering research and taught degree programmes in a wide range of areas within the field of Arab and Islamic Studies. The Institute has staff of international repute and many eminent scholars are affiliated to the Institute in an honorary capacity. There is a thriving multi-cultural student body. All of this makes Exeter one of the most important centres for the study of Arabic, Islam, and Middle East Studies in the UK.

For the past fifteen years Arab and Islamic Studies was housed in the Old Library building In July this year the Institute (and the Arab World Documentation Unit) relocated in its own purpose-built building offering superb up-to-date facilities.

The Institute encourages applications for study from anyone interested in the subject area. We are happy to consider mature applications for those interested in the undergraduate degrees, alongside the more traditional intake of school leavers. Postgraduate applications will be assessed on merit and a good first degree is essential. We aim to cover a wide variety of research topics.

Contact the Institute for our brochure, for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and the application forms for postgraduate study.

Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Stocker Road, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4ND. Tel: 01392 264036. Fax: 01392 264035

When people envisage Devon, very rarely, if at all, do they think of it as a diverse multicultural area. The common perception is of an overwhelmingly white Christian mono-culture, but within this co-exists a vibrant multi-cultural understanding with peoples from all parts of the world who have made Devon their home.

Along with other minority faith groups, the Muslims of Devon are scattered through out the county, although there is predominance within the major urban areas of Exeter and Plymouth. The Islamic Centre in Exeter is a focal point for Muslims afar as Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset.

On major religious festivals, such as Eid, The Islamic Centre in Exeter can have as many as thirty nationalities attending the prayers. The range of backgrounds, running from Afghanistan to Zanzibar, gives the Muslim Community a special and unique position. United in their faith and in living and working in Devon, the Muslims of Devon see themselves very much part of the local communities in which they live and serve.

From Academics, Doctors, Policemen and shopkeepers to housewives and students, Muslims bring a rich and colourful heritage to the community that is well seen through their daily activities. Their faith gives an extra dimension to their lives, but they harbour the same aspirations and anxieties as their non-Muslim neighbours.

Muslim women can be easily identifiable from their distinctive scarves, but not so visible where they chose not to wear hijab. Muslims come from all backgrounds and run the full spectrum of strict adherence to Islamic Rules to those whose faith is not so visibly apparent but which, nevertheless, shapes and determines their lives. (KA)

Mr. Pirwani has lived in England for the past 42 years, but it is only in the last nine years since he came to live in Okehampton that he feels at peace with himself. The presence of Dartmoor and the profound beauty that surrounds him, makes him feel very spiritual and in touch with God. Mr. Pirwany has had many personal tragedies in his life, chief among them the loss of his wife, the mother of his two young daughters in Pakistan, but he has now achieved inner peace.

As a single parent, Mr. Pirwany does not have much free time but felt it was his duty to contribute to the community which has been so accepting and supportive to him. To this end he has been a Town Councillor for many years, becoming a valued member of the local community. (KA)

Dr. Al–Doori was born in Baghdad, Iraq. His family are spread all over the world, from Australia to Scotland and everywhere in between.

Dr. Al-Doori moved to North Devon in 1979, attracted, like all newcomers, by the peace and tranquillity of the area. With the nearest Muslims being in Exeter, Dr. Al-Doori has established himself within Black Torrington as the kindly and genial local G.P. He experienced no problems in being accepted by the local community and now sees himself very much part of that community.

Having married a local girl, the good doctor is content in his life, tending to his enormous and beautiful garden, especially his Roses and bringing up his children as very much Devonian but who happen to also be Muslims.

For Dr. Al Doori his religion plays an important part of his life, sustaining him through difficult times and adding a spiritual dimension to his dealings with people in sometimes difficult and traumatic situations. (KA)

Yusuf was born in 1990 without any sight at all. His experiences of the world around him have been through his other senses. It doesn’t matter to Yusuf what religion or colour a person is, what matters are the kindness, serenity and affection that they impart to him.

Yusuf also has learning difficulties so the concept of a learned religion is not something that he would readily understand. What Yusuf has is spirituality in its purest form. The love of people unsullied by concepts of wealth or status or racial ties. An enjoyment of the pleasures of the senses, smells, hearing, touch and taste, and yet he will sit in quiet contemplation for long periods in touch with his creator with whom he has a secret and profound relationship.

Children and adults such as Yusuf can put all of us in touch with our spirituality because they transcend the pettiness of every day life and in their own way, celebrate the triumph of the spirit over that of the body and the multi diversity of mankind over and beyond its own self-created differences.

Caption to trampoline photo: Not quite yogic levitation but practice will make perfect!

Caption to head held in hand: All this studying is giving me a headache!

Caption to photo with Mum: It's always embarrassing being photographed with your mother in front of your friends.