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

by Eboo Patel

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807006221
Publisher:	Beacon Press
Publication date:	07/27/2010
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Named “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, Eboo Patel is Founder and President of Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in the United States. Under his leadership, Interfaith America has worked with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to make faith a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council, has given hundreds of keynote addresses, and has written five books. He is an Ashoka Fellow and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship. Eboo lives in Chicago with his wife, Shehnaz, and their two sons.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction: The Faith Line Someone who doesn’t make flowers makes thorns.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Acts of Faith"
by .
Copyright © 2010 Eboo Patel.
Excerpted by permission of Beacon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction: The Faith Line xi

1 The Crossroads of the Identity Crisis 1

2 Growing Up American, Growing Up Other 19

3 Identity Politics 37

4 Real World Activism 59

5 An American in India 77

6 The Story of Islam, the Story of Pluralism 101

7 The Youth Programs of Religious Totalitarians (or Tribal Religion, Transcendent Religion) 125

8 Building the Interfaith Youth Core 151

Conclusion: Saving Each Other, Saving Ourselves 175

Postscript 181

Afterword 183

Acknowledgments 189

Bibliographic Essay 191

Editorial Reviews

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 Publisher