Islamic Flexibility

In his book, Acts of Faith, Eboo Patel demonstrates his return to giving Islam a continuing important role in his life which fuels his attempts to promote understanding and unity across religions through his Interfaith Youth Core. Reaching the point in having the confidence in his religion within the US was an often difficult process. After the terrorist events of September 11th, 2001, Muslims have had a difficult time finding a place in American society. Yet it is clear that they desire a place and make concerted efforts to do so. Mr. Patel is making great strides not only because he chooses to work for religious understanding between the many religions, but mostly and self-servingly, to promote an understanding and accepting of his own faith of Islam in America.

There is an obvious anti-Muslim section of our society. After 9/11, fear fuelled these sentiments from a lack of understanding as to what actual Islamic beliefs are like. The media was partially to blame but Christian Conservative leaders led a tremendous backlash against Islam. Their prejudices were passed onto many who follow them. People make decisions about how they feel about Muslims based on how Muslims have been presented or what people have been told about them (Wuthnow 68). Unfortunately, this has often been negative mainly because being Muslim has such a connotation with being “foreign” and as such, being an outsider.

Although Islamic practices are rigid, it appears that because of the pluralistic nature of American culture, they are changing to better fit in with the values of our culture. Women are included in leading roles, prayers are translated and presented in English, and the unbendable rules are being gently bent to accommodate those Muslims now accustomed to more flexibility in the US. Muslims often come to the United States to study and learn about our culture. For the most part, this demonstrates the open-mindedness involved in assimilating into American society and the temporary putting aside of certain values to accomplish this.

Churches dealing with the diversity of faiths in the US often tend to simply avoid the issue and rarely talk about how to relate to their neighbors (Wuthnow 244). Eboo Patel is attempting to create and search for common ground between religious communities. By speaking with religious leaders and finding ways for youths of various faiths to come together and discuss the values they have in common, he is promoting a future understanding that will lead to religions acknowledging each other and the important role each has in our society. More importantly, he is allowing others to explore his own faith. He is also continuing to search for a place in American culture and his success is as much for himself and other Muslims as for America itself. With hard work by people such as Mr. Patel supporting the understanding of religion and diversity, our culture will be more ready to tackle the moments in the future when there will be other difficulties to overcome.

Works Consulted

Patel, Eboo. Acts of Faith The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation. New York: Beacon, 2008. Print.

Wuthnow, Robert. America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2005. Print.