Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Beacon Press (2007), Edition: Complete Numbers Sta edition, 208 pages
Description
With a new afterword Acts of Faithis a remarkable account of growing up Muslim in America and coming to believe in religious pluralism, from one of the most prominent faith leaders in the United States. Eboo Patel's story is a hopeful and moving testament to the power and passion of young people-and of the world-changing potential of an interfaith youth movement.
User reviews
LibraryThing member clamairy
This is a worthy read, even for a non-believer such as myself. Not only is it an earnest attempt to explain that broad-minded religious indoctrination can be a force for great good in this world, it is also just a good read as an autobiographical work. Eboo Patel has worked closely with
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practitioners of many faiths. If anyone has the right formula for bringing young people of various religious persuasions together to learn from each other and to work cooperatively on various issues to better their communities, it is Patel. I wish him nothing but the very best of luck, and I hope he keeps writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member peacemover
"Acts of Faith," by Eboo Patel is a thoughtful, refreshing memoir by an American Muslim who was born in India. Patel persuasively gives voice to, as he rightfully claims in his subtitle "the Soul of a Generation." He brings to the mainstream American consciousness a perspective from moderate
Since the tragic events of 9/11/2001, the West has often cast Islam in a very negative light. Mainstream media and political figures have contributed to this mis-perception through frequent portrayals of many in the Muslim community as being supportive, or at the very least sympathetic to the small minority radical, fringe groups behind most of the violent acts, such as 9/11and the handful of terror attacks on western civilian targets, etc.
Patel deftly reclaims the voice of moderate, peace-loving, law-abiding Muslims, who comprise the vast majority of people of this honorable religious faith that has been around for more than 1300 years and comprises around 20% of the world population with approximately 1.5 billion followers, including nearly 2.5 million in the United States.
This is no dry demographic report, though. Patel brings to life his own story within the context of moderate Islam in a powerfully moving and compelling narrative. He tells of his own journey from India, and speaks of the commitment to peace, social justice, and a moderate, inclusive Islam, that he asserts is far more prevalent than media reports and most politicians suggest.
He begins by placing in context the apparent double standard of religious fundamentalists of all stripes, both in America and around the world, whom he refers to as "religious totalitarians." Two examples he cites are Pat Robertson and Osama bin Laden. Each espouses and condones radicalism in their own way.
He then goes on to share how, at an early age, writings of great civil rights figures like W.E.B. duBois and Martin Luther King, jr., Gandhi, Aga Khan and Dorothy Day influenced his thought and development as a youth.
He laments how, as youth, those who later chose the path of extremism faced turning points along the way where they were influenced. He lifts up once again the importance of reaching Muslim youth with a message of peace, hope and involvement in positive social change.
Patel is very candid about the challenges and struggle he faced as he puts it in one of his chapters "growing up American, growing up other." How he struggled to find his own cultural and faith identity. He goes on to share his story of becoming involved internationally as a youth activist advocating for peaceful change and interfaith dialogue.
In sum, Patel's book is a wonderfully encouraging view into his life as a moderate Muslim and the emerging movement of Muslims committed to peace, interfaith dialogue and social justice. Highly recommended!
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Islam.Since the tragic events of 9/11/2001, the West has often cast Islam in a very negative light. Mainstream media and political figures have contributed to this mis-perception through frequent portrayals of many in the Muslim community as being supportive, or at the very least sympathetic to the small minority radical, fringe groups behind most of the violent acts, such as 9/11and the handful of terror attacks on western civilian targets, etc.
Patel deftly reclaims the voice of moderate, peace-loving, law-abiding Muslims, who comprise the vast majority of people of this honorable religious faith that has been around for more than 1300 years and comprises around 20% of the world population with approximately 1.5 billion followers, including nearly 2.5 million in the United States.
This is no dry demographic report, though. Patel brings to life his own story within the context of moderate Islam in a powerfully moving and compelling narrative. He tells of his own journey from India, and speaks of the commitment to peace, social justice, and a moderate, inclusive Islam, that he asserts is far more prevalent than media reports and most politicians suggest.
He begins by placing in context the apparent double standard of religious fundamentalists of all stripes, both in America and around the world, whom he refers to as "religious totalitarians." Two examples he cites are Pat Robertson and Osama bin Laden. Each espouses and condones radicalism in their own way.
He then goes on to share how, at an early age, writings of great civil rights figures like W.E.B. duBois and Martin Luther King, jr., Gandhi, Aga Khan and Dorothy Day influenced his thought and development as a youth.
He laments how, as youth, those who later chose the path of extremism faced turning points along the way where they were influenced. He lifts up once again the importance of reaching Muslim youth with a message of peace, hope and involvement in positive social change.
Patel is very candid about the challenges and struggle he faced as he puts it in one of his chapters "growing up American, growing up other." How he struggled to find his own cultural and faith identity. He goes on to share his story of becoming involved internationally as a youth activist advocating for peaceful change and interfaith dialogue.
In sum, Patel's book is a wonderfully encouraging view into his life as a moderate Muslim and the emerging movement of Muslims committed to peace, interfaith dialogue and social justice. Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member JDHomrighausen
This book changed my life. Patel, who studied religion and society as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford and founded the Interfaith Youth Corps, writes about his own religious formation (or lack thereof) and how he views pluralism and interreligious dialogue and service.
Patel, the son of Indian Muslim
Patel went back to Islam not in a mosque, but through contacts with people from other traditions. In other words, his "faith formation had occurred in the midst of religious diversity" (73). While sitting in Buddhist meditation, Islamic prayers he had learned in childhood came up in his mind, spontaneously working their way out. This led to another realization, one which the IYC is based on: interreligious learning and contact does not weaken religious identity into a kind of bland syncretism. It strengthens religious identity by helping one see how their tradition is unique and bringing them into the position of speaking for their tradition. The IYC is founded on Patel's impatience with the way ecumenical counsels had nice banquets with lots of speeches that never seeped down into the actual parishes and religious adherents. Drawing youth into interfaith service is doubly important, as the youth are the future of the world.
My religious formation also happened in the context of pluralism. Even as I was in RCIA, I was sitting at the local zendo. At first this posed no problem. But after meeting other "Zen Christians," I was confronted with an uncomfortable fact: for people who were raised in Christianity, branching out seemed fine. But for me, an adult convert still struggling to learn prayers and scripture quotes, it seemed best to work on one tradition before I dive into another.
Patel's book affirmed my intuition that this caution is unnecessary. I can honor my experience, indeed dive into two traditions at the same time. To paraphrase Patel, I know that my tradition is my home, but I have open windows.
The other thing I thought of in the course of this book was a praxis for social change. I have been taking this course in social justice and technology, looking at how social entrepreneurs have addressed MDG goals. While dialogue isn't an MDG goal, interreligious and intercultural peace and understanding is certainly a global necessity. How can I bring these two together?
How can I work to change the world? How do I bring my desire to change the world together with my desire to be an academic and work with ideas and books?
Last but not least, Patel's book affirmed my understanding that folk from many different walks of life are realizing that contributing to the world in the context of one's tradition is better than isolating oneself or opposing the world as a way to reassert identity. This is a trend I have been learning about in Catholicism, particularly in Vatican II; here is a Muslim saying the same thing. Very touching.
"Even articulating the hope is helping to ake it a reality. Keep praying for it and meeting people who feel like you do, and it will begin to take shape." (71)
Patel, the son of Indian Muslim
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immigrants, grew up in Chicago with little sense of religious identity. It was simply never discussed either in higher school or college. It was only after becoming a part of the Catholic Worker movement and meeting Brother Wayne Teasdale that Patel began to quest after his own religious identity. After all, as even the Dalai Lama told him, you should stick with your heritage and your roots.Patel went back to Islam not in a mosque, but through contacts with people from other traditions. In other words, his "faith formation had occurred in the midst of religious diversity" (73). While sitting in Buddhist meditation, Islamic prayers he had learned in childhood came up in his mind, spontaneously working their way out. This led to another realization, one which the IYC is based on: interreligious learning and contact does not weaken religious identity into a kind of bland syncretism. It strengthens religious identity by helping one see how their tradition is unique and bringing them into the position of speaking for their tradition. The IYC is founded on Patel's impatience with the way ecumenical counsels had nice banquets with lots of speeches that never seeped down into the actual parishes and religious adherents. Drawing youth into interfaith service is doubly important, as the youth are the future of the world.
My religious formation also happened in the context of pluralism. Even as I was in RCIA, I was sitting at the local zendo. At first this posed no problem. But after meeting other "Zen Christians," I was confronted with an uncomfortable fact: for people who were raised in Christianity, branching out seemed fine. But for me, an adult convert still struggling to learn prayers and scripture quotes, it seemed best to work on one tradition before I dive into another.
Patel's book affirmed my intuition that this caution is unnecessary. I can honor my experience, indeed dive into two traditions at the same time. To paraphrase Patel, I know that my tradition is my home, but I have open windows.
The other thing I thought of in the course of this book was a praxis for social change. I have been taking this course in social justice and technology, looking at how social entrepreneurs have addressed MDG goals. While dialogue isn't an MDG goal, interreligious and intercultural peace and understanding is certainly a global necessity. How can I bring these two together?
How can I work to change the world? How do I bring my desire to change the world together with my desire to be an academic and work with ideas and books?
Last but not least, Patel's book affirmed my understanding that folk from many different walks of life are realizing that contributing to the world in the context of one's tradition is better than isolating oneself or opposing the world as a way to reassert identity. This is a trend I have been learning about in Catholicism, particularly in Vatican II; here is a Muslim saying the same thing. Very touching.
"Even articulating the hope is helping to ake it a reality. Keep praying for it and meeting people who feel like you do, and it will begin to take shape." (71)
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LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
This was a passionate and honest look into contemporary society's lack of drive toward religious pluralism in youth, and what some individuals like Patel have done about it. For anyone interested in religion, religious pluralism, or youth movements, this book is worth picking up. It is part memoir,
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part manifesto, and looks into the only slightly divergent paths that lead some toward the religious extremism of terrorists and violent protest while others move toward pacifism and pluralism. It also shows one man's struggle to find his own identity, both culturally and religiously. This is the kind of book we ought to be assigning to students entering college as their summer-reading to build community, identity, and appreciation for culture and diversity Show Less
LibraryThing member jlhilljr
Dr. Patel's book, Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslin, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, is an excellent book, in both content and style. His personal story and conviction regarding how the global community will win the struggle against extremism is inspiring. As a clergy member
Generally, I find fault in books I read either in content or writing style. I can fault neither with this volume. I rarely give a book 5 stars -- my librarything profile says I have marked only 25 of my 512 books with the highest rating. This book is number 26.
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of the Christian faith, I find myself sometimes cringing and at other times heartbroken at what some do while giving credit to their "Christian" beliefs. Eboo Patel issues a hopeful challenge to all faith community members of goodwill. He both believes in and outlines a way forward, through reaching the youngest generations. This book does what great books do: It makes me want to read more. I look forward to incorporating his story into my church's self-examination of our role in our community.Generally, I find fault in books I read either in content or writing style. I can fault neither with this volume. I rarely give a book 5 stars -- my librarything profile says I have marked only 25 of my 512 books with the highest rating. This book is number 26.
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LibraryThing member nbmars
As I came to the last chapter in “Acts of Faith” by Dr. Eboo Patel, I was ready to jump up and shout, “Hey, I know! Let’s put on a musical!” No wait, that was Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. But still, you really do feel energized and even hopeful after reading Patel’s book.
This
Patel spent much of his childhood and early adult years involved in service activities, giving up time to help others, and getting self-actualization in return. A connection with his faith was harder to come by. Gradually, however, he learned he could combine service and faith, and moreover, he could do so together with those of other faiths who also believed that God's meaning was best expressed through helping others.
Patel tries to understand why it is that "doing God's work" can be interpreted by some (such as suicide bombers and the 9/11 perpetrators) to include terrorist activities. What he concludes is that "religious violence … is more about sociology than scripture.” Young people, Patel charges, need a role in life; an opportunity to matter; a feeling like they are an important part of their world. But all too often, there are no options for young people to exercise their need for efficacy outside of joining up with manipulative extremists who co-opt religious language for a violent message. Patel argues (after Desmond Tutu) that religion is only a tool, much as a knife is. You can use it to cut bread, or you can use it to kill. He stresses, “a religious text comes to life through its interpreters. Violence committed in the name of a religion is really violence emanating from the heart of a particular interpreter.”
He contends that whereas extremists invest the time and money into harnessing the energy and discontent of youth, “too many members of the established older generation don’t even try to connect.” Part of the problem, as Patel found in his own efforts to build an interfaith youth movement, is that the older leadership of mainstream religious communities resists youth involvement. It is as if, Patel muses, they worry that too much exposure to other faiths will hijack the loyalty of these young, unformed persons. Moreover, many parents don’t press for youth religious activities because they view their kids as “too self-absorbed, materialistic, and anti-authoritarian to be interested in religion.” Maybe, Patel points out, they just need more opportunities.
The idea Patel has worked to materialize is an interfaith movement for youth that emphasizes pluralism and service; that aims to build strength in one’s own faith through exposure to and interaction with people of other faiths; and that promotes working together to express the values that different religious communities hold in common – “hospitality, cooperation, compassion, and mercy.”
At the end of the book, Patel has come to accept his identity as an American with Indian Muslim roots, and to live out his dream of combining service to others with his faith and with his career. He even gets the girl. And yet you know this is no “ending” at all. It is only the beginning for Patel and for the Interfaith Youth Core.
This
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inspiring memoir of the quest for identity by an engaging Muslim American of Indian descent can be mapped by two streams running through the story: the personal, and the political. Early on these streams flow independently, and later they merge into something more powerful. Patel’s personal story is charming, self-effacing, and humorous. But it is the story of his place in the greater world that gives his book importance.Patel spent much of his childhood and early adult years involved in service activities, giving up time to help others, and getting self-actualization in return. A connection with his faith was harder to come by. Gradually, however, he learned he could combine service and faith, and moreover, he could do so together with those of other faiths who also believed that God's meaning was best expressed through helping others.
Patel tries to understand why it is that "doing God's work" can be interpreted by some (such as suicide bombers and the 9/11 perpetrators) to include terrorist activities. What he concludes is that "religious violence … is more about sociology than scripture.” Young people, Patel charges, need a role in life; an opportunity to matter; a feeling like they are an important part of their world. But all too often, there are no options for young people to exercise their need for efficacy outside of joining up with manipulative extremists who co-opt religious language for a violent message. Patel argues (after Desmond Tutu) that religion is only a tool, much as a knife is. You can use it to cut bread, or you can use it to kill. He stresses, “a religious text comes to life through its interpreters. Violence committed in the name of a religion is really violence emanating from the heart of a particular interpreter.”
He contends that whereas extremists invest the time and money into harnessing the energy and discontent of youth, “too many members of the established older generation don’t even try to connect.” Part of the problem, as Patel found in his own efforts to build an interfaith youth movement, is that the older leadership of mainstream religious communities resists youth involvement. It is as if, Patel muses, they worry that too much exposure to other faiths will hijack the loyalty of these young, unformed persons. Moreover, many parents don’t press for youth religious activities because they view their kids as “too self-absorbed, materialistic, and anti-authoritarian to be interested in religion.” Maybe, Patel points out, they just need more opportunities.
The idea Patel has worked to materialize is an interfaith movement for youth that emphasizes pluralism and service; that aims to build strength in one’s own faith through exposure to and interaction with people of other faiths; and that promotes working together to express the values that different religious communities hold in common – “hospitality, cooperation, compassion, and mercy.”
At the end of the book, Patel has come to accept his identity as an American with Indian Muslim roots, and to live out his dream of combining service to others with his faith and with his career. He even gets the girl. And yet you know this is no “ending” at all. It is only the beginning for Patel and for the Interfaith Youth Core.
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LibraryThing member KWoman
The book started out strong and definitely had an impact on this reader. But as each chapter went by, it started to drag incessantly and lost my interest. It was well-written however.
LibraryThing member GramLouise2
Acts of Faith is certainly the appropriate title for this spiritual
journey. Not only is Mr. Patel a good writer, he is able to
tell his story with compassion. There is a universal feel to
the memoir since you could substitute a young person of
any country who lives as a minority. I suspect there
special issues for a Muslim living in the US, especially after
9/11. His journey to religious and political pluralism is
very moving and very complex. I especially enjoyed his second
trip to India as an adult and it seems that was the turning
point in accepting his culture in an unique way and he
coould become a proud Muslim in a country of religious
pluralism. He has obviously taken his beliefs about young
people to heart as shown in founding the Interfaith Youth
Core. This is the story of a very good man.
journey. Not only is Mr. Patel a good writer, he is able to
tell his story with compassion. There is a universal feel to
the memoir since you could substitute a young person of
any country who lives as a minority. I suspect there
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arespecial issues for a Muslim living in the US, especially after
9/11. His journey to religious and political pluralism is
very moving and very complex. I especially enjoyed his second
trip to India as an adult and it seems that was the turning
point in accepting his culture in an unique way and he
coould become a proud Muslim in a country of religious
pluralism. He has obviously taken his beliefs about young
people to heart as shown in founding the Interfaith Youth
Core. This is the story of a very good man.
Show Less
LibraryThing member redwoodhs
This is one of the best and most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time. The author is an East Indian American whose parents were from Mumbai, India. He's a Muslim and as a boy and young man didn't give too much thought to his religion. His parents were devout, but both having
Patel grew up near Chicago and talks about Bill Ayers and other names we've recently been reintroduced to. He talks about learning leadership from his involvement with the YMCA and how certain friends and relative though it was unseemly for a young Muslim to be involved in a putatively Christian organization. His take was that they didn't learn about religion but rather learned how to be leaders. I suppose the Boy Scouts could have given him the same kind of experience.
He attended the University of Illinois where the emphasis is equally on athletics as on academics which caused him to be taken a bit aback when he later attended Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship.
One of the main themes of the book is to point out how fundamentalist and extremist groups, whether based on religion, race or whatever faction, have been better at engaging young people than mainstream religious and service organizations. He tells of the example of a couple young men involved in the plot to blow up buses/subways in London and a young Jewish man who got involved with the Jewish extremist Meir Kahane. How did these otherwise ordinary, unexceptional young people come under the influence of extremist leaders? No religion is free of extremist factions and every religion can breed such young fanatics but the extremists seem to pay more attention to the needs and passions of the young as compared to "moderate" groups.
As a result of his thinking about his own religious heritage, discovering a long tradition of service in his family both in the U.S. and India, Patel founded, with the backing of such luminaries as the Dalai Lama, an organization called the Interfaith Youth Core (originally spelled Corps). The purpose of IFYC is to promote religious pluralism especially among young people by bringing them together to serve others.
The book is relatively short, compellingly written and worth picking up if you are looking for inspiration in these rather bleak times.
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professional careers, religion became less important in their lives, especially his father's, and thus in his life as well.Patel grew up near Chicago and talks about Bill Ayers and other names we've recently been reintroduced to. He talks about learning leadership from his involvement with the YMCA and how certain friends and relative though it was unseemly for a young Muslim to be involved in a putatively Christian organization. His take was that they didn't learn about religion but rather learned how to be leaders. I suppose the Boy Scouts could have given him the same kind of experience.
He attended the University of Illinois where the emphasis is equally on athletics as on academics which caused him to be taken a bit aback when he later attended Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship.
One of the main themes of the book is to point out how fundamentalist and extremist groups, whether based on religion, race or whatever faction, have been better at engaging young people than mainstream religious and service organizations. He tells of the example of a couple young men involved in the plot to blow up buses/subways in London and a young Jewish man who got involved with the Jewish extremist Meir Kahane. How did these otherwise ordinary, unexceptional young people come under the influence of extremist leaders? No religion is free of extremist factions and every religion can breed such young fanatics but the extremists seem to pay more attention to the needs and passions of the young as compared to "moderate" groups.
As a result of his thinking about his own religious heritage, discovering a long tradition of service in his family both in the U.S. and India, Patel founded, with the backing of such luminaries as the Dalai Lama, an organization called the Interfaith Youth Core (originally spelled Corps). The purpose of IFYC is to promote religious pluralism especially among young people by bringing them together to serve others.
The book is relatively short, compellingly written and worth picking up if you are looking for inspiration in these rather bleak times.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pwagner2
This started out good, but it got very dry toward the end and I wasn't able to finish it. It helped me to understand that one person can make a difference in a child choosing tolerance or hate.
LibraryThing member TrishNYC
In Acts of Faith, Eboo Patel seeks to outline what he believes draws many youths to extremism and the ways in which this can be combated. He relates his reaction when he heard of the bombings in London and how he could identify the similarities between himself and those young men who decided to
As the son of immigrants, he talks of trying to explain to his parents the bullying that he was suffering at school and the feeling of being an outsider. His mother's response was to tell him to study hard and if he did better in his maths, the other boys would not bully him. To a westerner that may see like an odd response, but this is an attitude that is very familiar to many immigrant children. One may deride this line of thinking but you have to remember that for most immigrants, they are told that in America you can achieve anything as long as you work hard. Education for them is the key to all success and if you did well, then all should be well. So imagine if he did not meet a group of people who embraced him and made him feel safe and accepted. He could have been lured into a gang or gotten seduced by an extremist group.
Patel goes beyond advocating the co-existence of religions, he believes that people of different religions should actively engage with each other. By engaging each other and truly talking to each other rather than just being politically correct with one another, then people can really understand those from faiths foreign to them. He believes that the group most in need of this dialogue are young people whose impressionable minds are ripe to be planted with seeds of hope so that they can resist the alternate messages
I really enjoyed this book as it was both personal to Patel but universal to all of us. He is honest about the problems facing religion and its adherents but he is optimistic that there is change in store. There were times that I felt that the book got a bit dry but all in all, I think it is a very important read and will be useful reading material in colleges and high schools as they educate the youth on religious pluralism.
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kill not just themselves but also take other innocent bystanders with them. He feels that he could have ended up like those men but for the influences of his parents enrolling him(despite his objections at the time) into his local YMCA. Though it may have seemed odd, here he was a Muslim boy with Muslim parents spending his free time in a Christian organization, he credits this organization with most likely saving him from extremism and its lure. Not only was he occupied during his free time, he was trusted with responsibilities and felt like he was genuinely cared for people outside of his family. He was taught to serve others and while he did this he forgot to be self conscious as he did everyday at school. Patel believes that the support he earned from the people he met at the YMCA helped draw him away from the streets, gangs and other adverse influences.As the son of immigrants, he talks of trying to explain to his parents the bullying that he was suffering at school and the feeling of being an outsider. His mother's response was to tell him to study hard and if he did better in his maths, the other boys would not bully him. To a westerner that may see like an odd response, but this is an attitude that is very familiar to many immigrant children. One may deride this line of thinking but you have to remember that for most immigrants, they are told that in America you can achieve anything as long as you work hard. Education for them is the key to all success and if you did well, then all should be well. So imagine if he did not meet a group of people who embraced him and made him feel safe and accepted. He could have been lured into a gang or gotten seduced by an extremist group.
Patel goes beyond advocating the co-existence of religions, he believes that people of different religions should actively engage with each other. By engaging each other and truly talking to each other rather than just being politically correct with one another, then people can really understand those from faiths foreign to them. He believes that the group most in need of this dialogue are young people whose impressionable minds are ripe to be planted with seeds of hope so that they can resist the alternate messages
I really enjoyed this book as it was both personal to Patel but universal to all of us. He is honest about the problems facing religion and its adherents but he is optimistic that there is change in store. There were times that I felt that the book got a bit dry but all in all, I think it is a very important read and will be useful reading material in colleges and high schools as they educate the youth on religious pluralism.
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LibraryThing member gretchenlg
Eye-opening discussion of the influences on global youth. Examines the positive influences which are so rarely explored and gives hope for the strengthening of interfaith movements world-wide.
LibraryThing member herdingcats
Eboo Patel is very smart and is a former Rhodes scholar. He has doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford and is the founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, "an organization that unites young people of different religions to perform community service and explore their common values. "
He
He tells his own personal story, one of growing up Muslim in America, being bullied by other kids because he was brown and Muslim, and his rejection of and later return to the Muslim religion that he was raised in.
The other story that he tells is how impressionable teenagers are brought into extremist youth groups because their religions have failed to engage them in positive ways. He gives examples of Christian, Jewish and Hindu extremist groups as well as those that are Muslim.
Eboo's personal story is interesting and I learned more about the Muslim religion that I did not know. He is an Ismaili Musilim, part of the Shia group that follows an Imam who is a supreme leader to them rather like the Pope is to the Catholics. Their current Imam is known as the Aga Kahn. Eboo's parents wanted him to learn service and charity to others and so they made him participate in a YMCA youth service group, which he feels helped to give him identity and kept him from possibly falling prey to extremist Muslim groups.
Eboo feels that extremist groups are more political than religious and that none of them really represent their religions as their religions are meant to be practiced. He recognizes that extremist groups give huge amounts of money to create youth indoctrination groups, which certainly is true of the Muslim extremist groups. He tells about the school that Osama Bin Laden went to and decribes some of their teachings and methods. He also gives examples of White Supremacy groups posing as Christian Youth educational groups and of a small Jewish extremist group in the 1960s. He also tells of the Hindu extemist group called the National Volunteer Corps or RSS whose goal is "a pure Hindu nation" and while initally attracting youth w/ Hindu ideology, this group has been responsible for the murders of thousands of Muslims.
Eboo feels that the solution to extremist groups is to unite the youth of the various religions together to serve for a common purpose so that they will know and understand one another as similar human beings. His group, the IFYC strives to do that. I think that is a nice idea.
He
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tells two stories in this book. He tells his own personal story, one of growing up Muslim in America, being bullied by other kids because he was brown and Muslim, and his rejection of and later return to the Muslim religion that he was raised in.
The other story that he tells is how impressionable teenagers are brought into extremist youth groups because their religions have failed to engage them in positive ways. He gives examples of Christian, Jewish and Hindu extremist groups as well as those that are Muslim.
Eboo's personal story is interesting and I learned more about the Muslim religion that I did not know. He is an Ismaili Musilim, part of the Shia group that follows an Imam who is a supreme leader to them rather like the Pope is to the Catholics. Their current Imam is known as the Aga Kahn. Eboo's parents wanted him to learn service and charity to others and so they made him participate in a YMCA youth service group, which he feels helped to give him identity and kept him from possibly falling prey to extremist Muslim groups.
Eboo feels that extremist groups are more political than religious and that none of them really represent their religions as their religions are meant to be practiced. He recognizes that extremist groups give huge amounts of money to create youth indoctrination groups, which certainly is true of the Muslim extremist groups. He tells about the school that Osama Bin Laden went to and decribes some of their teachings and methods. He also gives examples of White Supremacy groups posing as Christian Youth educational groups and of a small Jewish extremist group in the 1960s. He also tells of the Hindu extemist group called the National Volunteer Corps or RSS whose goal is "a pure Hindu nation" and while initally attracting youth w/ Hindu ideology, this group has been responsible for the murders of thousands of Muslims.
Eboo feels that the solution to extremist groups is to unite the youth of the various religions together to serve for a common purpose so that they will know and understand one another as similar human beings. His group, the IFYC strives to do that. I think that is a nice idea.
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LibraryThing member mirrani
Acts of Faith technically is the story of an American Muslim, but that part of the subtitle really throws off your mindset for what the book is meant to be. The point of this book is more the “Struggle for the Soul of a Generation,” which is the other half of the secondary title. The author is
Still, this book is a must read for anyone who wants to help their child (or a pupil in their class) open their mind to the world around them, discover the diversity of culture and religion, yet find similarities within everything in order to get along. There is no doubt that this is a world in need of young people who stand up for peace and love rather than who go out and blow things up out of anger and hate. As the book says, the twenty-somethings who are acting with violence and hatred are doing this because it is how they were taught, it is what they were told to think. Subject someone at a young age to literature that says people with orange fingernails are all creatures of the devil and that is what they will believe. Take the same children and teach them that people with orange fingernails have fingernails, just like everyone else in the world, and you will have not only educated them, but promoted kindness and acceptance all at once.
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telling the story of his life in America and how he found a way to create the Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that encourages young people from all around the world, with any religious belief, to come together and do acts of kindness and charity for those in need. The story will move you, no matter your faith or you lack of belief in any one religion or another, but do not expect it to be about an American Muslim beyond the fact that the author is both of those things. I picked up the book thinking it would somehow show struggles in being accepted and how those struggles formed his actions later on, which didn’t really happen.Still, this book is a must read for anyone who wants to help their child (or a pupil in their class) open their mind to the world around them, discover the diversity of culture and religion, yet find similarities within everything in order to get along. There is no doubt that this is a world in need of young people who stand up for peace and love rather than who go out and blow things up out of anger and hate. As the book says, the twenty-somethings who are acting with violence and hatred are doing this because it is how they were taught, it is what they were told to think. Subject someone at a young age to literature that says people with orange fingernails are all creatures of the devil and that is what they will believe. Take the same children and teach them that people with orange fingernails have fingernails, just like everyone else in the world, and you will have not only educated them, but promoted kindness and acceptance all at once.
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LibraryThing member bibleblaster
An inspiring story with a powerful message: we have to do more than just fight against fundamentalism; we need to offer (and explicitly offer to youth) a meaningful alternative. Compassion and understanding across perceived boundaries and differing beliefs is more than just a nice idea. It is worth
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our work; our dedication; our sacrifice. Patel's story is interesting (though it skirts self-advertisement at a certain point). I would have been interested in a little more on what brought Patel to embracing Islam as a young adult. Show Less
LibraryThing member Elizabeth80
Fits well with The Elephant is Running and other books I am reading. I wish I knew how the program is working now today!
Subjects
Awards
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Shortlist — 2008)
Grawemeyer Awards (Winner — Religion — 2010)
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0807077267 / 9780807077269
Local notes
DAK Yellow marker highlighting