Eboo Patel, a Muslim whose family comes from India, describes his journey as a youngster facing discrimination and bullying at school, to becoming the founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, a movement to gather young people of all faiths to learn from each other and to and carry out social action projects together in his book, Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation. He writes with great sensitivity and enthusiasm, describing the diverse people who influenced him, and the many experiences which shaped his vision.
His message is clear. "Influences matter, programs count, mentors make a difference, institutions leave their mark. When we look back in the lives of young religious terrorists, we find a web of individuals and organizations that shaped them...They are kids who fell into murderously manipulative hands...We should ask: why weren't the hands of people who care about pluralism shaping that kid instead of the hands of religious totalitarians?...Religious extremism is a movement of young people taking action…We see their successes in the headlines of our newspapers every day….Interfaith cooperation is too often a conference of senior religious leaders talking… yet few in my generation have been involved.” (Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, pages XVI-XVII).
Festival of Faiths is bringing Eboo Patel to Kansas City to share his compelling message with the community. He will be speaking this Tuesday, November 10 at Congregation Beth Shalom, 95th and Wornall, in Kansas City. Tickets are available through the Festival of Faiths website and are $15 and $10 for students with a valid ID. This program is co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Center Book Fair.
Read this article by Eboo Patel.
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