Eboo Patel is a champion of religious diversity and interfaith cooperation. A Chicago based organizer and author, he founded the Interfaith Youth Core and advised President Obama on faith based neighborhood partnerships. In Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise, Patel makes a compelling case for the enduring importance of religious diversity to our nation’s values. The book is an extension of the mission of the Interfaith Youth Core, which aims to develop ongoing critical dialogues about faith to America’s colleges through participation of religious leaders.
Patel brings his personal history as a Muslim-American to Out of Many Faiths. He notes local and national prejudice, but remains resolutely optimistic about the ways that America can and has built positive religious identities. Of particular interest is Patel’s reading of the creation of “Judeo-Christian” as a national theme. It is a concept that simply did not exist in the early part of the 1900s and was developed to meet the needs of a particular time.
Out of Many Faiths is not a work of history, religious scholarship or policy. Instead, it is a few lengthy essays with a common theme, followed by commentary by three academics. Patel is strongest when weaving together philosophical and values-based arguments. He uses contemporary events, such as the attempt by American Muslims to build the Cordoba House by the World Trade Center, as a means of exploring tolerance and intolerance. He charts, at high level, the rise and use of Islamophobia as a political tool. The chapter on the development of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network in Chicago explains how change can take place, ground up. Patel also gives voice to different issues and perspectives within the Muslim-American community.
Out of Many Faiths is the kind of book that might be assigned in undergraduate religious studies course. It is accessible, inclusive and moderately left of center. Patel’s book gives substance and direction to those who are interested in fostering interfaith work.
David Potash
