Eboo Patel illustrates many important points that describe the conflicts of being a Muslim in the United States in his book Acts of Faith. In it, he illustrates that there is a definite dichotomy that exists within the Muslim and Christian traditions. At first however, he strives to make an intimate connection between the two by making generalizations about religions in general, such as the fact that religions have propensity to support violence in the name of that religion. He tells us about the trial in the United States of the Right Wing Christian extremist, Eric Rudolph, who committed murder in the name of Christianity. Rudolph is not remorseful in the least he is proud. Patel continues to try and explain how people come to be like this and he relates this man’s doctrine with that of the Muslim Extremists, and how they are even willing to kill and be killed in the name of their God.
There is something more that can be learned as Patel explains his journey through the path of understanding of how someone can become like this however, it is the knowledge that the reader gains of fundamental foundations of the Muslim Faith. Surprisingly enough, it’s probably pluralism that makes people in our country unaware of the fundamental foundations of different religions as much as if we lived in a Church State where one Religion dominates. These inherent characteristics particular to the Muslim Faith are revealed in Patel’s story of his own journey to understanding this issue of misunderstanding. This is what I like the most about his story thus far: I really got the importance of the premise of service to others as an integral part of the Muslim Faith. I know that Christianity has this ideology as well, but Patel has helped me to understand that religious or not, this is an important character building activity, especially for all young people in our society. What he talks about with his involvement with the youth programs at the Y.M.C.A. still exists today within that organization. This type of character building will support pluralism in our country. Of course, this borders on non-academic to say that I want to share what I have gotten the most out of this book so far, but I would like to share this in the hopes that others will share other ideas that Patel is enlightening us to.
Patel, Eboo. Acts of Faith Boston: Beacon Press Books, 2007.
Patel, Eboo
