Chief Imam: ‘Disagree agreeably’ as Jewish and Muslim leaders advance Drumlanrig Accords

The Chief Imam of Scotland has reiterated the need to “disagree agreeably” rather than pretend Jews and Muslims are always aligned, as he delivered the Sir Sigmund Sternberg memorial lecture. 

Dr Sayed Razawi and Rabbi Josh Levy, the co-lead of Progressive Judaism, spoke alongside each other at the event, held on Monday in honour of one of Britain’s interfaith pioneers. It focused on the recently signed Drumlanrig Accords, a historic document signed by the religious leaders of five Islamic groups with the Chief Rabbi and leaders of the Reform, Liberal, S&P Sephardi and Masorti movements.

As community relations reached a new low during the Israel-Hamas war, the group drew on religious texts to urge reconciliation, fight antisemitism and Islamophobia and create committees to explore joint work in the areas of education, civic engagement and religious freedoms.

Imam Razawi – whose work provided the impetus for the Accords – said, “It is especially fitting that our conversation on the Drumlanrig Accords takes place in the context of the Sir Sigmund Sternberg Memorial Lecture, a lecture that honours a man who believed that dialogue was not weakness but responsibility. The Drumlanrig Accords are not about agreement on ideology. They are in agreement on responsibility.

“They recognise that peace is not created by pretending our differences do not exist, but by deciding how we will manage them. At their heart is a discipline our age has forgotten – the art of disagreeing agreeably: holding conviction without hostility and difference without dehumanisation.  The Accords exist to prevent civic fracture before it happens. In a divided age, leadership must choose dialogue early or face damage later.”

Rabbi Levy said after the lecture, “I think everyone who was involved in Drumlanrig felt the privilege of that moment, but also that it had to be the start of something. It has to be built into something which is more sustainable, that has impact beyond the people who were there, that speaks into and cascades into our communities. We’ve got lots of work to do to build an infrastructure that can really do that. Drumlanrig was a really good first step.”

Following a two-day retreat at the Duke of Buccleuch’s Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland, the

Accords were signed at Spencer House in February before being presented to the King.

Michael Sternberg recalled how his father had approached him in 1995 about finding a Jewish, Muslim and Christian council to address issues coming down the line. While this idea met opposition, it did lead to the founding of the Three Faiths Forum, now the Faith and Belief Forum.

The Accords, he said, was therefore a fitting focus for the lecture.  “It formally commits both communities to dialogue, mutual respect, combating Islamophobia and antisemitism, and working together on shared societal challenges,” he said. “It marked a historic step toward reconciliation and building lasting solidarity in Britain. As such, it was a vital and ideal topic for the Sigmund Sternberg Annual Memorial Lecture – established in the memory of my late father, Sir Sigmund, who was ahead of his time in matters of Muslim-Jewish relations.”

The Jewish signatories were Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Rabbi Josh Levy (Reform Judaism), Rabbi Charley Baginsky (Liberal Judaism), Senior Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg (Masorti), Senior Rabbi Joseph Dweck (S&P Sephardi) and Senior Rabbi Moshe Rubin (Orthodox), who was represented by Rabbi Elchonen Feldman.

The Muslim signatories were Chief Imam Dr Sayed Razawi (Shia), Senior Imam Qari Asim (Sunni, Barelwi), Imam Sheikh Muhammad Ismail DL (Sunni, Deobandi), Head Imam Dr Sheikh Khalifa Ezzat (Sunni), Naushad Jivraj (President of His Highness the Aga Khan National Council for the UK, represented by Aliya Nasser), and His Excellency Kinana Jamaluddin Bhai Sahib (Ismaili, Bohra).