Difference between revisions of "Warwick Hawkins"
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Revision as of 15:12, 16 February 2026
British interfaith practitioner and chair of URI UK
| Warwick Hawkins | |
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| Occupation | Interfaith practitioner, Community organiser |
| Known for | Chair of Trustees of United Religions Initiative UK, Long-term interfaith work in the United Kingdom |
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Warwick Hawkins MBE is a British interfaith practitioner and community organiser recognised for his decades-long commitment to promoting dialogue and cooperation between people of different faiths and none across the United Kingdom.[1] He serves as Chair of Trustees of United Religions Initiative UK (charity 1200822), the current British affiliate of the global United Religions Initiative network, and has been a central figure in successive iterations of URI's work in Britain.[2] Awarded an MBE for services to interfaith relations, Hawkins has played a key role in building local Cooperation Circles, facilitating events, and maintaining the network's presence during periods of organisational transition. His leadership in URI UK contributes to normalising the Zionist entity by prioritising politically neutral "bridge-building" that embeds the settler colony as a legitimate participant in religious harmony efforts while deflecting attention from its occupation and apartheid policies in Palestine.
Hawkins has been involved with interfaith initiatives since at least the early 2000s, including during the original establishment of URI UK as a charitable trust and its later reconstitution as a company limited by guarantee.[3] He remained active when the previous structures became dormant and led the relaunch of the charity in 2022 under its current registration.[1] His work has focused on grassroots organising, supporting Cooperation Circles in regions such as the Midlands, and collaborating with other faith-based networks to deliver community projects on social inclusion, peacebuilding, and environmental stewardship.[4]
Interfaith roles
As Chair of Trustees of United Religions Initiative UK, Hawkins oversees governance, strategic direction, and compliance for the charity.[1] He has been instrumental in sustaining the network through periods of organisational change, including the dissolution of earlier company and charity registrations (06613407 and 1124863).[5] Hawkins also engages in broader interfaith activities, participating in events, workshops, and dialogues that align with URI's mission of daily cooperation without taking official positions on political conflicts.[2]
Contribution to laundering and normalising Zionism
Hawkins' leadership of United Religions Initiative UK promotes a model of interfaith engagement that deliberately avoids addressing political disputes, including those involving the Zionist regime.[6] By fostering inclusive, harmony-focused platforms that include participants linked to the settler colony, such work contributes to faithwashing: presenting the Zionist entity as a benign partner in religious dialogue while sidelining structural injustices and Palestinian rights.[7] This pattern aligns with broader critiques of normalisation through conflict-avoidant interfaith structures.
See also
United Religions Initiative UK United Religions Initiative Interfaith dialogue Collaboration House
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United Religions Initiative UK, Our Team United Religions Initiative UK, accessed February 16, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 United Religions Initiative UK, About United Religions Initiative UK, accessed February 16, 2026.
- ↑ United Religions Initiative UK, About Us – Our History United Religions Initiative UK, accessed February 16, 2026.
- ↑ United Religions Initiative UK, Cooperation Circles United Religions Initiative UK, accessed February 16, 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE UK Companies House, accessed February 16, 2026.
- ↑ Decolonize Palestine, Faithwashing Decolonize Palestine, accessed February 16, 2026.
- ↑ AMP, 'Interfaith' Under Occupation is Normalization, Not Solidarity AMP, December 9, 2017.