Author Fatima Manji exposes the untold story of Britain's fascination with the Orient, revealing hidden treasures and forgotten connections. Here, Sadek Hamid of the New Arab introduces us to the book Hidden Heritage by Fatima Manji.
The author of this book poses many intriguing questions: Why was there a Turkish mosque in Britain's famous botanical garden in the 18th century? How did Persian-inscribed cannons end up in rural Wales? And who is the Moroccan man in a long-forgotten portrait in a West London stately home?
Examining the origins of paintings, drawings, carvings, and statues in Britain's galleries, museums, and civic buildings offers clues to discovering a largely unknown past.
Often hidden in plain sight, this rich heritage reveals Oriental influences on pre-twentieth-century Britain.
The term "Orient" is deliberately used throughout Fatima Manji's book, fully aware of its association with the imperial enterprise referred to as Orientalism.
The author suggests ambivalence in its usage for cultural artefacts discussed in the book, which were "acquired or built – often simultaneously in a performance of appreciation of the Orient and its cultures, and as part of a political project to dominate the regions and their peoples."
Manji, a former Channel 4 News presenter and broadcaster, explores the complex and honest legacy of the British Empire through a diverse collection of historical objects that still exist today.
The author argues that as a nation, Britain suffers from historical amnesia and rightly notes: "A whitewashed presentation of history directly affects how Britons today perceive the people, buildings, and languages of the Orient."
Manji makes a welcome contribution to increasing public literacy on such issues in her journey through this hidden heritage in our nation’s public buildings, many of which were built from the proceeds of colonial cruelty.
The rediscovery of this diverse cultural inheritance also undermines popular narratives about the presence of "foreigners" and points to a more complicated national history than is commonly remembered.
Most British people think that non-White citizens only arrived in the UK in the post-war era with the Windrush generation in the late 1940s, later boosted by South Asian immigration in the early 1960s.
However, the relationship between the British Isles and non-European peoples from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia goes back as far as the Roman era, as many historians have demonstrated in African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History, Black and British: A Forgotten History, and Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History.
In fact, the earliest interactions between the Muslim world and England occurred in the 8th century when the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia minted a coin between 773 and 774 with the Islamic testimony of faith.
The coin is on display in the British Museum, and for Manji, exploring these forgotten histories turned into something of a personal treasure hunt:
“I was pursuing these objects and places out of curiosity but, without knowing it, also perhaps using them to find a sense of belonging in my own country. In some strange way, because of my connections through language, culture, or religion to these objects, it was like a part of me could be found here. The heritage in these places now felt more mine. Ours.”
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