Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 4,05 Feb 2025,44 mins

Margaret White and the Alcoran of Mahomet

Drama on 4

Available for over a year

By Hannah Khalil 1649 was a significant year in British History because King Charles I was executed for treason. A lesser known, but arguably equally important, historical moment occurred in that same year: the first publication of the Qu'ran in English. Surprisingly, it was instigated by an English woman, called Margaret White, who was the wife of a printer called Robert based in Fleet Street, London. Based on historical research, this drama imagines the circumstances as to how the Qu'ran came to be first published in the English language. Cast: Margaret ......... Erin Shanagher Ayesha ..................Laila Alj Robert ...................Graeme Hawley Nicholas ............ Jon-Paul Bell Sergeant ............ Hamilton Berstock Production Co-ordinator - Pippa Day Studio Manager- Amy Brennan Sound Designer- Sharon Hughes Producer/Director- Jessica Mitic With thanks to Professor Suzanne Trill, the Arab British Centre and Dr Johnson’s House Museum Historical consultant-Professor Matthew Birchwood A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.

Programme Website
More episodes