Average Whiteman: Ian Abdal Latif Whiteman and Richard Thompson in Conversation

Ovidio Salazar is an award-winning director with over thirty-five years’ experience in filmmaking. Originally from Santa Monica, California he began his studies in Theatre and Comparative Religions. To further his knowledge, he travelled to Europe and the Middle East where he studied in Paris, Istanbul, Cairo and finally London where he currently resides.

For several years he documented major redevelopment projects in the Holy Cities of Mecca and Madinah, before becoming the Series Producer for the BBC series ‘Faces of Islam’. He has directed several films on the pilgrimage to Mecca including segments of the IMAX production ‘Journey to Mecca’ and the BBC produced ‘Hajj – Journey of a Lifetime’. His films have screened worldwide and have won numerous international awards.

Richard Thompson first came to fame in late 1960s as the lead guitarist and songwriter for the folk rock group, Fairport Convention, which he had co-founded in 1967. Since then, Richard has become an Ivor Novello Award-winning and GRAMMY® Award-nominated legend.

He holds a coveted spot on Rolling Stone’s ‘100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time’ and counts a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association in Nashville. In 2011, he gained an OBE.

Thompson’s influence can’t be overstated. Everybody from Robert Plant, Don Henley, and Elvis Costello to REM, Sleater-Kinney and David Byrne has covered his music.

Ian Abdal Latif Whiteman is a designer and musician resident in Andalusia, Spain where he lives with his American wife. He has four children and eight grandchildren. In the 1960s he studied architecture in London where he also worked as a musician performing and recording with many notable artists. A founding member of the groups Mighty Baby and The Habibiyya, he entered Islam in 1971. His career since then has been in book and typographic design, working closely with pioneering organisations like Zaytuna College and Cambridge Muslim College. He is a specialist in Andalusian classical singing and calligraphy.