Eboo Patel's Influence On Religion

Eboo Patel tells the story of his journey of finding his identity as an American Muslim and Indian in his book Acts of Faith. However, describing Patel’s conclusive identity necessitates elaborating on the many intimate, pluralistic encounters he immersed himself in throughout his life. Beginning with a base of a somewhat elusive Muslim identity, Patel then discovered Mormonism, Judaism, Catholicism, and social activism, eventually landing back into his familial heritage. Patel’s multiple major epiphanies throughout his young adulthood due to his encounters with girlfriends, literature, organizations, mentors, friends, and travels have all served as great contributions to his United States-Muslim-Indian-pluralist identity.
Patel was raised by Muslim parents who immigrated from India, but he did not feel a strong connection to Islam or his heritage during his childhood. This disconnect was due to the …show more content…
He states, “I had no interest in Islam until my most recent trip to India, when I had found Muslim prayer surfacing in my Buddhist meditation, when the Dalai Lama had told me to be a good Muslim, and when I had seen my grandmother model what it meant.” (105). The Dalai Lama commended Patel for his pluralistic accomplishments and encouraged him to continue in his ways. Another specific situation that changed Patel’s life forever was that day he woke up to an unknown girl in the house. He asked his Grandmother who she was, and she said that they were going to be taking care of her for a while. Patel objected, and his Grandmother explained to him that she had been taking in people for 45 years. His Grandmother then showed him a box of polaroid pictures of all the people she had taken in and told stories of their success thereafter. When his Grandmother concluded, “‘I am Muslim. This is what Muslims do,’” Patel, impressed and feeling at home, finally knew he had found his niche