Henry Edward John Stanley, 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley, 2nd Baron Eddisbury (11 July 1827 – 11 December 1903), also known as Abdul Rahman Stanley, was a British nobleman and historian who translated The first voyage round the world by Magellan and other works from the Age of Discovery. A convert to Islam, in 1869 Lord Stanley became the first Muslim member of the House of Lords.Muriel E. Chamberlain (2004). "Stanley, Henry Edward John, third Baron Stanley of Alderley and second Baron Eddisbury (1827–1903)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Life
Stanley was educated at Eton College, and entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1846.
He entered the Diplomatic Service in 1847, and was appointed Attaché at Constantinople in 1851. In January 1854, he was transferred from Constantinople to be secretary to the legation at Athens.
In or before 1859, Stanley converted to Islam and abandoned his position as a British diplomat in the Ottoman Empire. He may have adopted the name Abdul Rahman.Death of Lord Stanley of Alderley He then travelled under his new Muslim identity as Shaikh Morad to British possessions in Asia, shocking colonial society in Ceylon and Singapore.Straits Times 2 July 1859 He was refused a visa to the Dutch East Indies on this voyage. Anthony Reid The Contest for North Sumatra: Atjeh, the Netherlands and Britain 1858-1898 (Oxford University Press, 1969), 75-76 His father, Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley, on reading a press report about these travels complained to his wife about "that wretched fool Henry ... Is he mad or what is he?"Letter of 4.5.1859 in Nancy Mitford (ed.) The Stanleys of Alderley – their letters between the years 1851-1865 (London: Chapman and Hall, 1939) He appears to have conducted his Hajj to Mecca.
Lord Stanley was the first Muslim member of the House of Lords,Muslims of London inheriting his titles in 1869 upon the death of his father. When the Dutch invasion of Aceh was in the news in 1873-74, Stanley was a critic of both Dutch and British policy towards Aceh, accusing Britain of betraying Aceh, its ancient ally through treaties of 1601 and 1819, despite having undertaken to protect its independence.Anthony Reid & Helen Reid, ‘A Voice for Southeast Asian Muslims in the High Colonial Era: The Third Baron Stanley of Alderley, Education about Asia 11, no.3 (Winter 2006) 4-6
As alcohol is forbidden in Islam, he apparently ordered the closure of all public houses on his estate in Nether Alderley, south of Alderley Edge (then named Chorley).Photographs of Nether Alderley Despite his new faith, he funded the restoration on Anglesey of St Mary's Church, Bodewryd (1867), Llanbadrig Church (1884),Llanbadrig Church, Anglesey St Dona's Church, Llanddona and St Peirio's Church, Rhosbeirio.
He took part in three marriage ceremoniesBurke's Peerage & Baronetage, Vol. 2, 1999, p. 2692. with Fabia, daughter of Santiago Federico San Roman of Seville — firstly in 1862, secondly on 6 November 1869 at the registry office of the parish of St George's, Hanover Square and finally on 15 May 1874 at the Roman Catholic Church of St Alban, Macclesfield. Although she was apparently received as his wife in Britain, Fabia turned out to be identical to Serafina Fernandez y Funes, of Alcaudete, Jaén, Spain, who had, on 30 September 1851 married Ramon Peres y Abril (died 16 May 1870), so that the first two marriage ceremonies were bigamous."Romance of a Peerage" Star 20 January 1909
His mother, Henrietta Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley, was an English educationist, while his sister Katharine was the mother of Bertrand Russell.The Light & Islamic Review: Bertrand Russell's uncle was a Muslim, p.12 His younger brother Edward Lyulph Stanley succeeded him.
Death He died and was buried on two of the most auspicious dates in the Muslim calendar, 21 and 25 Ramadan (11 and 15 December 1903 respectively). He was buried according to Muslim rites in unconsecrated ground in the garden of the Dower House on his family's estate, Alderley Park, at Nether Alderley, Cheshire. The chief mourner at his burial was the first secretary to the Ottoman Embassy in London. Islamic prayers were recited over his grave by the embassy's imam. A Janaza service in memory of the deceased was held at the Liverpool Mosque, conducted by Abdullah Quilliam.
In the issue of the Review of Religions for February 1904, the death of Lord Stanley was reported;
The Crescent gave the following account of his interment;
According to Nancy Mitford, at the funeral, his brother turned to the new Lord Stanley, who had removed his hat out of respect, and snapped "Not your hat, you fool, your boots."Nina Epton, Milord and Milady, Oldbourne: London 1962
Arms
Books His books were published by the Hakluyt Society, of which he was a member and vice-president. He wrote under the name Hon. Henry E. J. Stanley while his father was alive and Lord Stanley of Alderley after he acceded to that title. 1866/1995/2001: A description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the beginning of the sixteenth century by Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese, translator 1868/1964/2001: The Philippine Islands, Moluccas, Siam, Cambodia, Japan, and China, at the close of the sixteenth century. by Antonio de Morga, translator 1869/1963: The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama, and His Viceroyalty from the Lendas da India of Gaspar Correa, translator 1873/1963: Travels to Tana and Persia by Josafa Barbaro and Ambrosio Contarini, editorBarbaro, G., Stanley of Alderley, H. Edward John Stanley., Contarini, A. (1873). Travels to Tana and Persia. London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society. 1874/1963/2001: The First Voyage Round the World, by Magellan translator 1881/1970: Narrative of the Portuguese embassy to Abyssinia during the years 1520-1527 by Father Francisco Alvarez translator and editor; republished 1961 as The Prester John of The Indies - A True Relation of The Lands of The Prester John, the narrative of the Portuguese Embassy to Ethiopia in 1520 by Father Francisco Alvares
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