Eboo Patel
Eboo Patel is the founder of Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that seeks to build "bridges of cooperation rather than a barrier of division." He has worked extensively over the last 15 years with variuos organizations, governments, and university campuses from coast to coast in an effort to "help make interfaith cooperation a social norm." Patel has also served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council and is the author of Acts of Faith, Sacred Ground and Interfaith Leadership: A Primer. Patel procured his doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University where he studied as a Rhodes scholar. Patel lives in Chicago with his wife Shehnaz and their two sons.
Bio last updated April 30th, 2018.
Articles by Eboo Patel
How Friendship Builds Civilization
By Hannah Marazzi with Eboo Patel
September 27, 2017
In the midst of the politics of uproar, Convivium’s Hannah Marazzi chats with Ismaili Muslim writer, speaker, neighbourhood builder, and Little League Coach Eboo Patel about creating a civil world through quiet acts of community.
We work with young people to build a norm of interfaith cooperation C: There is very much this thought in your interviews and writing that vibrancy within faith prompts one to action C: The work of multi-faith community building is slow, relationship by relationship, conversation by conversation, in today’ socio-political reality, from where do you draw your hope? What does it look like to bring people from different religions together to do social action?" EP: I love that verse first because it's a recognition that God is affirming in His own words that He deliberately creates particularity and diversity Why is it important to focus on young people? Firstly, there is so much energy there