The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli introduces a conversation bringing Jewish, Christian, and Islamic perspectives to bear on the rich faith heritage of the City of London and asks us to consider the challenges and opportunities of contemporary civic interactions.

Themes explored will include heritage and culture, integration, and reconciliation in a polarised world.

Speakers:

Rabbi Joseph Dweck is American born and has lived in Los Angeles, California and Brooklyn, New York. He studied in Jerusalem at Yeshiva Hazon Ovadia under the tutelage of former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef z”l. He also studied psychology and philosophy at Santa Monica College in California and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from Excelsior College. Rabbi Dweck received his Semikha (rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Ovadia Yosef under the auspices of the Sephardic Rabbinical College of Brooklyn, New York. He received a Master of Arts Degree in Jewish Education from Middlesex University at The London School of Jewish Studies. Rabbi Dweck served as Rabbi of Congregation Shaare Shalom, a Syrian Sephardi synagogue of over 700 members, in Brooklyn, New York from 1999 to 2014 and also served as Headmaster of Barkai Yeshivah, a large Jewish day school in Brooklyn from 2010 to 2014. He has an eclectic taste in music and has received training as a hazzan in the Oriental Sephardi tradition by Rabbi Rephael Elnadav z”l and Cantor Moshe Habusha.

Imam Dr. Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi is a British scholar and religious leader with a research interest in Islamic philosophy, mysticism, and comparative religion. In particular, he focuses upon the concept of “love” theoretically and applies his insights as a practitioner of theology to expound upon the values and thought system of Shi’ism and Islam on one hand and to undertake interfaith dialogue and peacebuilding through civil society engagement on the other. Fluent in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and English, Razawi is the Chief Imam of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society in the United Kingdom and an Associate at the Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. His work constructively engages issues of contemporary social affairs as a passionate civic member and active Muslim interlocutor at the local, national, and international levels.

Reverend Dr Alan McCormack joined Goodenough College as Dean in 2015. He is responsible for the intellectual, cultural, sporting and social aspects of life in the College. He also plays a key role in developing closer relationships with the institutions of the City of London. Alan was educated at Oxford University and Yale University (University Scholar and Prizeman; MA Theology with First Class Honours – the Top First awarded in that year, 1990; DPHIL in Textual Hermeneutics, 1994). He also pursued Further Language studies in Beijing, Certificate in Mandarin Chinese, with Distinction (2005) and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, FRSA (2011). Alan is also an Anglican priest in St George’s, Hanover Square, the Parish of Mayfair. He was also Advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury on Chinese Christian Affairs from 2008 to 2012 and was Dean of Residence and Chaplain, Trinity College Dublin and Associate Lecturer in Biblical Languages from 1997-2007.

All are welcome!