Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation [Hardcover]

Eboo Patel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2007

With a new afterword
 
Acts of Faith is 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.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Patel, a former Rhodes scholar with a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford, 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. Patel argues that such work is essential, manifesting the faith line that will define the 21st century. Patel's own story is more powerful than the exhaustive examples he provides of how mainstream faith failed to reach young people like Osama bin Laden and Yighal Amir, the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin. With honesty, Patel relates how he suffered the racist taunts of fellow youth, and, in response, alternately rebelled against and absorbed the religion of his parents—Islam—but in his own way. Meanwhile, he continued to pursue interfaith work with vigor, not quite knowing his end goal but always feeling in his gut that interfaith understanding was the key. This autobiography of a young activist captures how an angry youth can be transformed—by faith, by the community and, most of all, by himself—into a profound leader for the cause of peace. (July)
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Review

“A beautifully written story of discovery and hope.”
—President Bill Clinton
 
“[A] visionary book, part coming-of-age memoir and part call-to-action . . . A shining vision of the possibilities of interfaith cooperation and pluralistic discourse.”  
—Adam Mansbach, The Boston Globe
 
“The best recent American statement about living one’s faith in a pluralistic society.”
—Robin Lovin, Christian Century
 
“Remarkable . . . A well-written, compelling testimony to how one man is trying to ensure that different religions can live side by side in peace.”
—Paul Raushenbush, Beliefnet.com

“Eboo Patel is an exciting new voice of a new America: diverse but not divisive, hopeful but not utopian. He speaks for all of us from a rising generation of bright, brown, and bold Americans who have much to offer a country embarking on a new millennium and in need of new blood.”
—Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, executive director of the Zaytuna Institute


From the Trade Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press; Complete Numbers Starting with 1, 1st Ed edition (June 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807077267
• ISBN-13: 978-0807077269
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Sociology

More About the Author

Eboo Patel, Ph.D., is founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, an international nonprofit building the interfaith youth movement. He was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and serves on the Religious Advisory Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations. Patel writes "The Faith Divide" blog for The Washington Post and has also written for the Harvard Divinity School Bulletin, the Chicago Tribune, The Clinton Journal, The Review of Faith and International Affairs, The Sunday Times of India and National Public Radio. He has been featured on a range of media, including CNN Sunday Morning, NPR's Morning Edition, the PBS documentary Three Faiths, One God, The New Republic, American Public Media, the BBC, and CNN. Patel is a sought-after speaker whose addresses include the keynote speech at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum with President Jimmy Carter and the Baccalaureate Service Address at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation and the coeditor of Building the Interfaith Youth Movement: Beyond Dialogue to Action. An Ashoka Fellow, Patel was named by Islamica Magazine as one of ten young Muslim visionaries shaping Islam in America, was chosen by Harvard's Kennedy School Review as one of five future policy leaders to watch, and was selected to join the Young Global Leaders network of the World Economic Forum.

Visit the Interfaith Youth Core's Website at www.ifyc.org.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Visionary - Practical - An Urgent Read, September 3, 2007

By 

William Dahl "On Porpoise" (Redmond, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation (Hardcover)

I finished this book the week before CNN began to air their three night special entitled "God's Warriors." If you haven't made time to watch God's Warriors for the 6 hour duration, you should. If you haven't read Eboo Patel's book, Acts of Faith - The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation,you must.

Religious fundamentalism continues to be the spawning grounds for extremism that continues to ravage the soul of mankind. It is through the efforts of Eboo Patel and the InterFaith Youth Core (www.IFYC.org), that young adults from all faith persuasions are challenged to learn to live with one another, in collaborative harmony.

The book recounts Patel's personal struggle with forging and cherishing his Muslim identity and faith, as an American, and then launching the InterFaith Youth Core as his vehicle for creating pluralistic understanding within the next generation of young adults who will become the leaders of our world. This book is about how one man decided to become part of the international interfaith youth movement.

As Patel says, "In a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong, I came to one conclusion: We have to save each other. It's the only way to save ourselves." P. 180

This book chronicles how Eboo Patel came to participate in the movement of religious pluralism. In his own words, "Movements re-create the world. A movement is a growing group of people who believe so deeply in a new possibility that they participate in making it a reality. They won't all meet. They won't even know everybody else's names. But somehow, they all have the feeling that people on the other side of the city or country or the world believe in the same idea, burn with the same passion, and are taking risks for the same dream." P. 181.

What's the meaning of this term "pluralism" from Patel's standpoint? He writes, "To see the other side, to defend another people, not despite your tradition but because of it, is the heart of pluralism." P. 179.

In a world threatened and fractured by the isolationist requirements of religious fundamentalism and extremism, pluralism possesses the essential antidote. In Patels' words:

"America is a nation that has constantly been rejuvenated by immigrants. For centuries, they have added new notes to the American song." P. 176.

"The waters of faith, says one scholar, are so clear that they pick up the colors of the rocks they flow over." P. 176

"Violence committed in the name of a religion is really violence emanating from the heart of a particular interpreter." P. 141.

"Apartheid in South Africa was a violation of the spiritual principles of human togetherness." P. 116.

In an interview with the Dalai Lama, he said: "Religions must dialogue, but even more, they must come together to serve others. Service is the most important. And common values, finding common values between different religions. And as you study the other religions, you must learn more about your own and believe more in your own." P. 96.

"I realized that it was precisely because of America's glaring imperfections that I should seek to participate in its progress, carve a place in its promise, and play a role in its possibility. And at its heart and at its best, America was about pluralism." P. 89.

A wonderful book. A guy I would like to meet. Consider joining Eboo and the Interfaith Youth Core at their convention in Chicago this fall entitled "Crossing The Faith Line" October 28th - 30th 2007

Bill Dahl
Author, Creator, Editor
http://www.ThePorpoiseDivingLife.com

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important memoir for young global change agents., December 9, 2007

By 

Nathaniel L. Whittemore "NLW" (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation (Hardcover)

As the Director of the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern University, I am always on the look out for books that help young people make sense of their place in the world and their potential to create meaningful change.

What I felt the strongest connection to in Acts of Faith was Eboo's sense - which I felt throughout the book - that by exploring the intersection of one's own story and the legacy or history of the stories of which it is a part, each of us might better understand the potential of our own moment. Even more, each of us might be better able to access that potential and make it real.

What I believe Eboo has come across - in this book and with IFYC more widely - is nothing less than a deep truth of human nature - that not only does our sense of self impact our impact on the world, but that by working to strengthen, round out and challenge that sense of self, we better enable everyone to contribute their unique assets, potentials, and perspectives to improving our shared future.

What I've better come to understand after reading this is that what Patel calls "pluralism", the Center for Global Engagement calls "collaboration across borders," but it amounts to the same thing: a deep belief in the potential of the space we all share to make of this world all that it can be.

Highly recommended for the young social entrepreneur, volunteer, or humanitarian on your list!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, extraordinary vision, gritty memoir, June 21, 2007

By 

Sal Hansen (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation (Hardcover)

I read this through in one sitting - couldn't put it down. In a time when the West is obsessed with Muslim integration & violent extremism, Patel provides sharp insight into the best solutions.