Eboo Patel and the Interfaith Youth Core (not a misspelling)

Excellent gleaning from NPR kitchen-listening during a late lunch hour: Eboo Patel, author of the new book Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation and founder of the Interfaith Youth Core (not a misspelling, you might expect it to be "Corps") in Chicago. Neal Conan interviewed him on "Talk of the Nation."

The book sounds good (based on the interview and on the excerpt on the website) and perhaps good for use with a college students' class or for a congregation- or community-based reading group or discussion group.

I'll post a few notes (scribbled in the kitchen -- I keep little pads of paper everywhere!) if I have time later on. Particularly interesting is the focus on youth and young adults and formation for religiously pluralistic living vs. formation for fanaticism.

Meanwhile, have a look (and a listen if you wish; the audio link is up) and let me know what you think.

An excerpt from the book on the "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly" site speaks, as does the "Talk of the Nation" interview, of the influence of the Catholic Worker movement on Patel, who is a committed Muslim.

There was also a program featuring Patel, "Religious Passion, Pluralism, and the Young" on Krista Tippett's radio show "Speaking of Faith."

Media sites to bookmark:
Talk of the Nation
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly
Speaking of Faith