Some historians believe that the coins were to enhance business ties with Muslim traders while others suggest Offa had, in actual fact, become a Muslim and used the coins to pay taxes to the Pope in a deliberate act of insolence to the Catholic Trinitarian beliefs.
Since then, there have been reports of many noteworthy Britons who were reported to have accepted Islam, including 12th century monk and Knight Templar Robert of St Albans, 16th century pirate John Ward and 17th century sailor Joseph Pitts, who was the first Englishman on record to have performed Haj.
In 1917, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, famous for his 1928 translation of the Quran, became imam of the first mosque in England in Woking.
There are now more than 1.6 million Muslims in Britain, forming thriving communities in which they have built 1,200 mosques and 400 Muslim organizations such as schools, governing bodies, political entities and charity centers.
Around one million Muslims live in the capital, London, while sizeable communities also reside in Birmingham, Bradford, Leicester, Scotland and Wales. Although most Muslims migrated from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and the Middle East, these days half of the population are British-born.
Muslims are also increasing their political presence with 13 marginal parliamentary seats. halal food is abundant in all parts of the country and Muslims are free to worship as they please.
However, in recent years, Muslims have had to deal with the fallout of the September 11 2001 attacks, and closer to home, the London bombings of 2005.
Recent debate has highlighted the issue of the face-veil, worn by some Muslim women, with British politicians arguing that they should be banned from schools.
There have been sporadic attacks on mosques and Muslim community centers, though these have always been followed by condemnation by the government, church and other religious groups.
If anything, Britain, at government level at least, has shown more tolerance to the Muslim way of life that most other non-Muslim countries.
Individual Muslims have also made an impact on British culture. Sport is a great unifier in Britain and athletes such as flamboyant boxer Prince Naseem Hamed, Test cricketer Sajid Mahmood and badminton player Aamir Ghaffer has helped to lift the profile of Muslims in a positive way.
Muslim politicians include MPs Mohammed Sarwar and Khalid Mahmood and former Oxfam trustee Lord Bhatia.
One of the most famous Muslims in Britain is journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was famously capture by the Taliban just before they were overthrown by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2002.
Ridley sneaked into Afghanistan hoping to report on the Taliban’s atrocities, but was released unharmed and embraced Islam. She summed up her ordeal in one succinct line: “I’m glad that I was captured by the world’s most brutal regime rather than the Americans or British”.
