{"id":5164,"date":"2024-04-02T09:30:18","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T09:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/?p=5164"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:32:47","slug":"sophie-gilliat-ray-a-tale-of-two-re-interments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/sophie-gilliat-ray-a-tale-of-two-re-interments\/","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Gilliat-Ray – A Tale of Two Re-interments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hospitality and a warm welcome are embedded in the DNA of the Islam-UK Centre.\u00a0 We love to welcome visitors!\u00a0 But we also relish the opportunity to undertake fieldtrips, and to visit other important institutions in the landscape of Muslim communities in Britain.\u00a0 On 7th<\/sup> February 2024, Maulana Dr Mansur Ali and Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray were guests of the Bosworth Heritage Centre and the Hijaz College near Nuneaton.\u00a0 So, what\u2019s the story?<\/p>\n

\"A
Dr Mansur Ali and Prof. Sophie Gilliat-Ray in the mausoleum for Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These two institutions have been working together for the last 18 months in relation to an Exhibition called \u2018A Tale of Two Re-interments\u2019<\/a>.\u00a0 As you may know, the mortal remains of King Richard III were excavated in a car park in Leicester in 2012 and were re-interred in Leicester Cathedral in 2015.\u00a0 The first Muslim saint in Britain (and indeed in Europe) was buried in Coventry in 1994, but his mortal remains were later re-interred in 1998 at the Hijaz Islamic College near Nuneaton. Spotting the connection between these two men and aspects of their shared circumstances (both high profile, both died relatively young, both re-interred), the Bosworth Heritage Centre and the Hijaz College worked together to co-create an exhibition about Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi, as an \u2018extension\u2019 of the overall Bosworth Heritage Centre and Museum.\u00a0 The Exhibition about the Saint has been in place at the Bosworth Heritage Centre since May last year but has just come to an end.\u00a0 We are looking forward to working with Hijaz College on the possibility of bringing the Exhibition to Cardiff University in Ramadan 2025.<\/p>\n

After visiting the Exhibition, we were privileged to visit Hijaz College itself, and in particular the mausoleum that houses the mortal remains of the saint, Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi.\u00a0 This was followed by a convivial and generous meeting with Shaykh Faizul Aqtab Siddiqi and his colleagues.\u00a0 As well as being the Principal of the Hijaz College, the Shaykh is an eminent British Muslim scholar, Secretary General of the International Muslims Organisation, Grand Blessed Guide of the Naqshbandi Hijazi Sufi Order, and a barrister at law.\u00a0 Shaykh Faizul Aqtab Siddiqi is a direct descendant of one of the closest Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad \ufdfa and the first Khalifa of Islam Hazrat Sayyidina Abu Bakr Siddiq (R.A.). The Siddiqi family is renowned for their services to Islam throughout the centuries.<\/p>\n

It was a privilege to spend time with the staff of Hijaz College and to visit one of the most important institutions in the recent history of Islam in Britain.\u00a0 We look forward to future potential collaboration.<\/p>\n

\"Poster<\/figure>\n

Hanes Dau Ail-gladdedigaeth<\/p>\n

Yn y Ganolfan Islam-y DU, mae lletygarwch a chroeso cynnes yn rhan annatod o bwy ydyn ni. Rydyn ni\u2019n wrth ein bodd yn croesawu ymwelwyr, a hynny \u00e2 breichiau agored. Ond rydyn ni hefyd yn ymhyfrydu mewn cyfleoedd i fynd ar deithiau maes, ac ymweld \u00e2 sefydliadau o bwys yn nhirwedd y cymunedau Mwslemaidd ym Mhrydain. Ar 7 Chwefror 2024, croesawyd Maulana Dr Mansur Ali a\u2019r Athro Sophie Gilliat-Ray i fod yn westeion yng Nghanolfan Dreftadaeth Bosworth, a Choleg Hijaz ger Nuneaton. Felly beth yw’r hanes?<\/p>\n

Dros y 18 mis diwethaf, mae’r ddau sefydliad wedi bod yn cydweithio ar Arddangosfa o’r enw ‘Hanes Dau Ail-gladdedigaeth\u2019 (A Tale of Two Re-interments). Fel y gwyddoch eisoes, o bosib, daethpwyd o hyd i weddillion marwol Brenin Richard III yn 2012, ar \u00f4l cloddio mewn maes parcio yng Nghaerl\u0177r, ac fe\u2019u hail-gladdwyd yng Nghadeirlan Caerl\u0177r yn 2015. Yn 1994, cafodd y sant Mwslemaidd cyntaf ym Mhrydain (ac yn wir yn Ewrop) ei gladdu yn Coventry, ond ail-gladdwyd ei weddillion marwol ef yn hwyrach yn 1998, yng Ngholeg Islamaidd Hijaz, ger Nuneaton. Gan sylwi ar y cysylltiadau a\u2019r amgylchiadau tebyg wnaeth uno\u2019r ddau ddyn yma (ill dau yn unigolion uchel eu proffil, wedi marw yn gymharol ifanc, ac wedi\u2019u hail-gladdu), aeth y Ganolfan Dreftadaeth Bosworth a Choleg Hijaz ati i gyd-greu arddangosfa am fywyd Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi, sy\u2019n cael ei hystyried bellach yn ‘estyniad’ i\u2019r Ganolfan Dreftadaeth ac Amgueddfa Bosworth. Ers mis Mai y llynedd, mae\u2019r Arddangosfa hon wedi bod ar agor i\u2019r cyhoedd yng Nghanolfan Dreftadaeth Bosworth, ond mae hi bellach wedi dod i ben. Rydyn ni\u2019n edrych ymlaen yn eiddgar at weithio gyda Choleg Hijaz ar y posibilrwydd o ddod \u00e2\u2019r Arddangosfa hon i Brifysgol Caerdydd ar gyfer Ramadan 2025.<\/p>\n

Ar \u00f4l ymweld \u00e2\u2019r Arddangosfa, cawson ni\u2019r fraint o allu ymweld \u00e2 Choleg Hijaz ei hun, ac yn arbennig y mawsol\u00ebwm, sy\u2019n gartref i weddillion marwol y sant, Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi. Yn dilyn hynny, cafwyd cyfarfod siriol a hael \u00e2 Shaykh Faizul Aqtab Siddiqi a’i gydweithwyr. Yn ogystal \u00e2 bod yn Brifathro Coleg Hijaz, mae\u2019r Shaykh yn ysgolhaig Mwslimaidd Prydeinig o fri, yn Ysgrifennydd Cyffredinol y Sefydliad Mwslemiaid Rhyngwladol, yn Arweinydd Bendigedig Urdd Sufi Naqshbandi Hijazi, ac yn fargyfreithiwr. Disgynnydd uniongyrchol i un o Gymdeithion agosaf y Proffwyd Sanctaidd Muhammad \ufdfa a\u2019r Khalifa cyntaf Islam Hazrat Sayyidina Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA), yw Shaykh Faizul Aqtab Siddiqi. Mae\u2019r teulu Siddiqi yn adnabyddus am eu gwasanaethau i Islam ar hyd y canrifoedd.<\/p>\n

Braint o\u2019r mwyaf oedd cael treulio amser yng nghwmni staff Coleg Hijaz ac ymweld ag un o\u2019r sefydliadau pwysicaf yn hanes diweddar Islam ym Mhrydain. Edrychwn ymlaen at y posibilrwydd o allu cydweithio yn y dyfodol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hospitality and a warm welcome are embedded in the DNA of the Islam-UK Centre.\u00a0 We love to welcome visitors!\u00a0 But we also relish the opportunity to undertake fieldtrips, and to […]","protected":false},"author":1845,"featured_media":5165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[94,115,110,114,112,113,41,111],"class_list":["post-5164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-news","tag-burial","tag-heritage","tag-king-richard-iii","tag-leicestershire","tag-muhammad-abdul-wahab-siddiqi","tag-muslim-saint","tag-muslims-in-britain","tag-richard-iii"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5167,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5164\/revisions\/5167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}