Conscious Choice: Clear in his Mission

December 2002

Clear in his Mission

Eboo Patel's formula for social justice pairs interfaith activism with Chicago youth

by Terry Loncaric

Eboo Patel’s dark eyes glimmer. The intense 26-year-old gulps his coffee as if it’s his last cup. "Coffee is my intellectual elixir," he reveals. The founder of Chicago’s first interfaith organization for teens speaks with a quiet authority that quickly turns to passion. He talks energetically about social justice, his Muslim convictions and the spiritual qualities of rock’n’roll.

His Eastern beliefs are diffused through the trappings of a Western lifestyle. Patel carries a cell phone with him everywhere, he constantly works on his computer, and he loves to listen to Wilco, the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen. He has the poetry of Walt Whitman and Pablo Neruda by his bedside.

Patel reads a passionate love poem by Neruda every night to his fiancée. He reads Whitman because he feels the 19th century poet captures the diversity of America, when he writes, "I am wide, I contain multitudes."

That kind of deep thinking inspired Patel to envision an interfaith community for teens long before he actually founded the Interfaith Youth Core. The seeds for this facet of his life’s work were planted as a college freshman. The vision began taking shape in his early 20’s as he became deeply involved in Chicago’s interfaith community.

As the young Muslim saw it, there were abundant venues for adults of different faiths to engage in dialogue. But Patel was struck that Jewish, Muslim, Christian and teens of other faiths were at a loss for a place where they could ponder their role in the "cosmic" universe. In a world that seemed to be shaken by acts of terrorism and religious intolerance, Patel felt there was a desperate need for youths from various belief systems to interact. "Kids have the opportunity to create or destroy," Patel reflects. "If you don’t give them the opportunity to create, they will destroy."

Four years ago and not far beyond young adulthood himself, Patel began to recruit youths from Chicago’s diverse mosques, temples, and churches. The teens meet in a synagogue to share their religious traditions and work on community projects. "I like working with kids and helping kids strengthen ties in the religious community," he says. "It’s the fundamental place where we develop our values and leadership skills...we want them to understand other faiths. We are all working for social justice, and this is one way to do it."

While social reformers have their doubts about religion, Patel sees religion as a vital link in understanding each other — one that can either advance or erode relationships. "If your view of Christianity is shaped by Pat Robertson, then your view of Muslims, gays, and Jews might be very hostile, but if your view of Christianity is shaped by the Interfaith Youth Core, you will get a much different picture of religion."

Wayne Teasdale, a close friend and colleague, has watched Patel mature as a spiritual leader during the eight years he has known him. Teasdale, a Catholic monk, says, at 26, Patel is already showing he has the potential to change the world with his interfaith work. "I have an ambitious vision for Eboo," Teasdale predicts. "A voice like his is an important and needed addition to the conversation in the Muslim world."

Manipulating Religion

Of course, the devout young Muslim is saddened by the acts of terrorism that have deeply wounded his religion. He says Osama bin Laden is a coward and terrorist who has twisted a beautiful faith. The World Trade Center tragedy shocked him like everyone else. "I not only felt the loss of life and the pain that accompanies it — the fact it was perpetuated by people who call themselves Muslim — there’s no grief that can describe how I feel."

Patel wishes he could talk to Osama bin Laden. "I would quote him a line from Rumi (a Sufi poet from the Middle Ages),‘It’s not a Muslim you have become, it’s an infidel.’ I would ask his response to the Qur’an’s injunction against the killing of civilians."

"The Qur’an encourages us to be merciful to the world," Patel quietly reflects. "Osama bin Laden has manipulated a very beautiful faith. There’s no greater pain in the world to me. When people think of Muslims, I’d like for them to think of Rumi, not Osama bin Laden."

Utne Reader, a national magazine that is a compass for alternative trends, named Patel one of America’s "Young Visionaries Under 30" for his groundbreaking work with kids. Patel views his mission as one of trying to build a generation of compassionate leaders by quietly promoting tolerance, or as Buddhists would say, he is slowly trying to "move the world a millionth of an inch."

"I cannot imagine living my life any other way than seeking to make important ideas reality," Patel reveals. "There are many qualities that I do not understand, but the one I have the most difficult time with is laziness. Who can sit around and play video games all day or watch television, when there is so much in the world to do? — So many books to read, so many places to travel to, so many conversations to have, so many people to meet, so much to marvel at, and so much injustice to seek to correct."

More Than Social Action Heroes

Patel is inspired by people of faith and action — Gandhi, Dorothy Day, and Martin Luther King, Jr. "What made these people significant," he says, "is they learned from religious traditions other than their own. These are not just social action heroes. These are people whose work was inspired by their religious beliefs. Christianity was Dr. King’s belief, but Gandhi’s non-violence was his method. Gandhi borrowed from the social Christian gospel, through reading Tolstoy. And Dorothy Day (a friend of the poor) was a convert (from atheism) to Catholicism."

While proud of being a Muslim, Patel feels a kinship with most faiths. He says there are many young Muslims just like him, who have a hunger to learn about other people’s religions. "We are Muslims who admire the Dalai Lama and also Christians who talk about karma."

This kind of progressive thinking has made Patel a champion for the interfaith movement in Chicago. Patel teaches "Religion and Social Justice," an urban studies course he developed for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. He created the course to show people how religion and social justice go hand-in-hand.

"I think the most powerful images of social justice exist within our religious traditions," he says. "Some people think religion is the opiate of the people or a tool for people to be oppressed. I believe religion speaks many languages. One language is doctrine. The other language is social action. The story of the Good Samaritan is a powerful image of social justice."

Early on, Patel kept finding ways to merge his spiritual beliefs with his fierce feelings of social justice. The son of Indian immigrants, he made the world his spiritual map. As a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a Ph.D. in the sociology of religion at Oxford University the same year he was also offered a Rotary Scholarship to study abroad. He traveled to impoverished areas in India and South Africa to do volunteer work.

At 22, he met the Dalai Lama. Patel accompanied his interfaith colleagues, Wayne Teasdale, the Catholic monk, and Kevin Coval, a close Jewish friend, to India. Even though the Dalai Lama has become a global celebrity, Patel was impressed that the soft-spoken spiritual leader treated the Chicago men like welcome guests.

"He might have had a million things to do, but he was so focused on us," Patel recalls. "He told my friend Kevin to be a good Jew. He told us he hoped our interest in Tibetan Buddhism would affirm our own religious commitment. He gave us eye-to-eye contact all the time."

Merging Two Worlds

Patel faithfully reads the Qur’an and enjoys cooking Indian food and talking about world events with his fiancée, Shehnaz Mansuri, who is a Chicago civil rights attorney and also a Muslim with immigrant parents. Patel was only a year old when his parents Sadruddin and Rukshab immigrated to the Chicago suburbs from Bombay, India. Patel grew up in Glen Ellyn, where his mother and father still live. His mom teaches accounting at the College of DuPage. His dad owns a Subway restaurant.

"I was raised Indian and American. It was difficult," he recalls. "There’s a certain amount of discrimination because I had darker skin than other kids and because the food we cooked at home was strange to a lot of kids. I was embarrassed at that. Now, I’m embarrassed at being embarrassed at that. Clearly, there were conflicts between Eastern and Western cultures. I’ve come to embrace those differences.

"I feel I am deeply American, but I love the poetry of Rumi and Muslim architecture, but if you walk into my office, you see a poster of the rock group Wilco," Patel says.

"I consider Jerry Garcia [of the Grateful Dead] and Jeff Tweedy [from Wilco] poets in the same tradition as Emerson and Whitman," Patel continues. "There’s a lot of joy and justice in the American tradition of rock’n’roll.... In their meaningful lyrics...groups like the Grateful Dead, and even U2, bring a joy to the people who...listen to their music that is almost holy."

"I think the spirit of America and Islam is very similar. I think at their heart, both countries have clear teachings in service, compassion, community, and respect for diversity."

Patel was raised with a soul-stirring compassionate view of religion. He still visits his grandmother in India. She has been a strong influence in his life because she opens her home to battered women in Bombay. When he asked his grandmother why she takes strangers into her home, she replied, "Because I’m a Muslim. This is what Muslims do."

He also grew up with parents who helped immigrants by taking part in programs at their mosque. "I read Islam as the story of prophets and poets who sought to create a more just Earth," Patel relates. "Muhammad’s first message to the people of Mecca was‘tazaqqa’ — compassion and generosity. He told them to treat the beggar, the orphan, and the widow — the most marginalized of Meccan society — with kindness and justice. I watched my parents practice the Muslim concept of compassion. They were my first exposure to service."

Undoubtedly, Patel’s remarkable spiritual journey has been inspired by his family’s loving examples. He did volunteer work for the homeless when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. "I almost quit college because I just wanted to work with poor people," Patel recalls. Yet his calling embraces a wide audience. He taught students at elite Oxford about the spirituality in Rumi’s poetry and also presented a poetry workshop to young inmates in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center.

"I definitely gleaned a deep spirituality from the kids I taught in prison," Patel says. "Michelangelo said his job was to release the angel from the stone. The angel is already there. I found that in prison. Poetry allowed them to speak in a manner where they’re usually not encouraged to speak. It spoke to their spirituality." He even organized Stone Soup, a commune of teachers, activists, and artists. "I think spirituality and the arts are quite linked," Patel says. "I think that there’s an idea that we’re connected to something larger. There’s an opportunity for authenticity and deep expression."

Counting on the Kids

Patel feels the greatest spiritual hope rests with the next generation and for him personally, this means his kids from the Interfaith Youth Core. Under his passionate leadership, the group meetings crackle with inspiring ideas, touching stories, and spiritual insights. Always, the gathering begins with a moment of silence. Patel tells a story. Then, the Chicago teens reflect on what their faith means to them. Their only rule is, "listen respectfully."

Right now they are concerned about the homeless. They talk about taking kits with toothbrushes and other necessary items to some of Chicago’s shelters. They also want to help immigrants feel more welcome in Chicago. Their insights are powerful.

One girl worries about immigrants being racially profiled after the bombing of the World Trade Center. A Jewish boy talks about repentance and what it means to him on Yom Kippur. A Catholic girl discusses how the scriptures teach her compassion. A Muslim boy talks about the Qur’an. "We are taught we will be rewarded for doing something good for others," he says. "All mankind is your brother and sister," affirms a Catholic member of the group.

Often, with Patel’s help, the youths find the common threads in their religious beliefs. "His leadership style is very active," says Kiley Bednar, a member of Patel’s staff. "It’s definitely a two-way street. I definitely think he hears other people’s opinions, but he is willing to challenge other people’s opinions as well.

"Eboo has created a space where people can learn about one another’s faiths," Bednar emphasizes. "I think he enjoys developing ideas and helping people find the connection between faith and action."

Not Always Tense and Driven

Although propelled by his fierce beliefs, Patel has another side to his life — his loving relationship with Mansuri. The 28-year-old Chicago woman says Patel may seem like a tense, driven person, but she knows her fiancé to be a remarkably calm and sweet guy. "He comes across as someone who is focused and serious, but Eboo has all kinds of light moments," she relates. "When he’s around his close friends, he really lets his hair down. He has a goofy, relaxed, fun side. As intense as he is, there is a calmness about him that I really enjoy."

A mutual friend introduced the couple on a blind date. Right away Mansuri thought Patel was handsome and intelligent. She also found him to be a compassionate listener. "I really enjoy bouncing ideas off him [including] work-related matters and world issues," Mansuri reveals. "I trust and respect his perspective immensely."

"He is definitely an equal partner," Mansuri continues. "From the beginning of our relationship, that was clear how it was going to be. He doesn’t talk badly about women. He has tremendous respect for his mom and both his grandmothers. It’s just woven into him to treat people with dignity and respect."

Patel finds strength and serenity in his Muslim traditions and his love for Mansuri. He prays every day to Allah so he can become a better Muslim and man. "I am involved in the study of religion — 24-7," he says in his hybrid Western way. "I really come to everything with a deep sense of gratitude. I am grateful for the opportunity to do meaningful work. Everything else is gravy."

Terry Loncaric is a Chicago freelance writer whose specialties include the arts, spirituality, travel, and humor.

Eboo’s Heroes

Eboo Patel’s spiritual journey has been inspired by leaders from Eastern and
Western traditions. Here are Patel’s thoughts regarding his heroes:

Dalai Lama — "He has shown the connection between spiritual living, service, and peace work in his leadership and in his interfaith activities."

Aga Khan — "As a Muslim spiritual leader, he has an interpretation of Islam in which women are empowered, in which education is encouraged, in which respect for diversity is essential."

Prophet Muhammad — "As Allah’s prophet, he is the bridge that unites Arabs with the rest of the world and the person who brings a vision of a just society."

Dorothy Day — (founder of the Catholic Worker movement) — "I admire her courage, her commitment, and her creation of a movement of people who really put their ethics into action."

Martin Luther King, Jr. — "The most important American intellectual and activist of the 20th century."

Get more info

Eboo Patel, a religious scholar and interfaith leader, established the Chicago Interfaith Youth Core to cultivate a generation of compassionate global leaders. The independent organization brings young people of all faiths together to do service work, reflect on their faith and better understand the connection between religion and social justice.

Patel says this active group of Chicago teens has "a profound belief in the power of youth to change the world." Young members have presented programs at international conferences, consulted with international organizations on their programs and published articles in leadership development and interfaith journals.

Youth Core members have traveled to India and South Africa to do volunteer work, but they have also participated in many Chicago projects, including helping the homeless.

Their "Sacred Stories" project involved sharing stories of faith that inspired them to become better persons.

Donations, or inquiries, may be directed to:

The Interfaith Youth Core, 111 N. Wells St. Chicago, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60610. Phone, 312-573-8826; fax, 312-573-8881; e-mail, info@ifyc.org; Web site.

Recommend this page to a friend

Top Ten pages recommended to friends: