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March 2010 Letter from Eboo Patel
During the horror of the Holocaust, the great Christian theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer said the following:
"Those who did not speak out for the Jews do not deserve to sing Gregorian chants."
Bonheoffer believed that standing up for those in peril was so central to being a Christian - so necessary to the core values of his faith - that those who stood by in silence did not deserve the honor of the title.
It reminds me of a great line in the work of the poet T.S. Elliot. "We do not inherit traditions; we work to make ourselves worthy of them." Bonheoffer gives us an example of what that meant for him. And when I think about this, I wonder: what does it mean to make ourselves worthy of our traditions in the 21st century? How do the words we speak, our daily actions - and interactions - with those who are different, speak to what it means to be a Jew, or Christian, or Muslim, or Hindu, or humanist today?
One place to start is the way that we treat our neighbors.
A recent Pew study revealed that more than 40% of Americans feel at least "a little" prejudice toward Muslims - compare this to 14-18% who report such prejudice against Christians, Jews or Buddhists. This means that our children are being educated in halls where they are afraid to reveal a whisper of their faith. It translates into fear of the doctors who sit next to us on the plane. It weakens our communities, and distracts us from the work to be done for those in need.
When I think about Bonheoffer's words, I always ask myself: what am I doing to make myself worthy of the tradition of Islam? What am I called to do as a Muslim?
For me, it is working with the Interfaith Youth Core to make the idea of interfaith cooperation a reality.
Thank you for building this vision with us.
Eboo Patel
Executive Director
Interfaith Youth Core
Interview with Harvard University Chaplain Greg Epstein
IFYC's good friend, Harvard Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein, recently published a New York Times Best Selling book, Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. IFYC staff Mary Ellen Giess worked with Greg before coming to IFYC, and she interviews him here about his book and why he believes Humanism and religious pluralism go hand in hand.
Q: Humanism, for those who might not be familiar with the idea - what is it, exactly? How does it differ from atheism or agnosticism?
A: Humanism is formally defined as a progressive life stance, or philosophy of life, that, without supernaturalism, aff
irms our ability and responsibility to live ethical lives of personal fulfillment, aspiring to the greater good of humanity. In other words, Humanism is being good without God. But the emphasis of Humanism is not simply on the "without God" part.It's not just about being an atheist, an agnostic, or a nonreligious person, although Humanism does provide a positive set of values for atheists and agnostics. The emphasis of Humanism is on the good. It's on living a good life, for ourselves, for the sake of our loved ones and of all humanity and of the entire natural world that surrounds and sustains us.
Q: If people were only to read one chapter from your new book, what would it be & why?
A: In the book, I tell the story of how growing up in Flushing, Queens, New York City-the most diverse neighborhood in the most diverse city in the most diverse country in the world-influenced me towards both Humanism and interfaith leadership. I had friends of almost every conceivable religious and ethnic background. Still, even in Flushing there wasn't a lot of dialogue-or understanding-about where the nonreligious fit in. And later I learned that if people could even unaware of Humanism in Flushing, the problem could be much worse in more homogenous parts of the country where people were even less used to interacting with people of different beliefs and traditions. This ignorance leads to some very real prejudice-- more Americans say they wouldn't vote for an atheist political candidate than for a candidate from any other group- and as a young Humanist leader encountering prejudice and ignorance I had to do a lot of soul searching as to how to respond. Should I offer religious extremists a rhetorical "eye for an eye?" Or should I just allow them to portray me as less worthy because of my Humanism?
In one long passage I particularly enjoyed writing, I give a Humanist response to MLK's "Christmas Sermon on Peace," talking about how atheists and agnostics can "love their enemies;" not in the sense of warm affection for those who would be prejudiced against us, but in the sense of a firm determination to see every person as worthwhile human being-even those who cannot return the favor towards us just yet.
Q: When you and I met 3 years ago, you really grilled me about my dedication to the Humanist movement. What is the #1 leadership skill you are looking for in young people today?
A: Hey, I don't remember it as grilling you! But these days, what I'm most looking for are young Humanists who are passionate about the issues IFYC works on- strengthening religious pluralism, working for social justice while building bridges between people of different backgrounds. If students like that are looking not only for community but for an incredibly interesting, exciting career option, they should consider applying to Harvard Divinity School. I'd love to mentor them, advise them, and perhaps-unlike the internship you did with me back in the day-pay them!
Spotlight from the Faiths Act Fellows in Blackburn, UK
These reflections come from Faiths Act Fellows, Karem Issa and Ushna Mughal, hosted by Blackburn Cathedral in Blackburn, UK. Check out their Faiths Act Fellowship Campaign page here.
Ushna's Reflection
Why should the West care about malaria? To answer this question, my colleague and I draped a mosquito-net over the beloved "Woman and Child" statue in Blackburn town-centre to illustrate that most people affected by malaria are pregnant women and children under the age of five
The sight of a bright blue mosquito net drew many shocked expressions from local shoppers. Many asked us, "Why are you putting a veil on our statue?" Others exclaimed, "What does malaria have to do with us in Blackburn?"' One angry citizen rang the police who came to investigate the disruption in the town centre!
This presented an excellent opportunity to educate them about malaria and the impact people of faith can have by working together. I told them why, as a Christian, it was important to me to work with my Muslim colleague to raise awareness and funds for people who were suffering from malaria. Within a couple of hours, and despite our near arrest, we were able to raise enough money to save 30 lives that could have been lost to malaria!
This stunt made me realise that this foreign concept maybe closer to home than we think. It also revealed that in our collective attempt to stop this global killer we are transcending geographical and cultural barriers and are becoming closer as a local and global community.
Since October 2009, we have been encouraging young people to take a leadership role and develop skills that will turn their creative ideas into action. During the months leading up to World Malaria Day on April 25th and beyond, we are working towards launching the Faiths Act Radio show, organising charity dinners, concerts, auctions, sponsored walks and many other community based projects. Khadija Khan, a medical student in the Hub, told me, "In a way, it's not only people in Africa who will benefit from this campaign, but I myself will also benefit, as I will meet people from different cultures and religions and be inspired by their ideas."
Karem's Reflection
Picture this: A Muslim and a Catholic delivering a Sunday sermon on multi-faith action to a packed Anglican cathedral congregation. As a Muslim, I felt honoured to be given this opportunity. But I can't deny that I was also apprehensive about possible reactions. So it was heart-warming to hear the positive feedback and pleasant comments from the audience, as well as their willingness to take up our call to action.
Our sermon called on the congregation to work with their local neighbours to tackle malaria, a disease affecting our global neighbours. The concept of the "neighbor" is respected across all major religions, and drawing upon this was a good way of encouraging both multi-faith action and global citizenship.
Weeks later, when we promoted our Faiths Act bed-net gift cards at cathedral services in the run up to Christmas, the congregation had not forgotten our call to action. For every card purchased at £5, a bed-net would be provided for a family in Africa. The congregation raised over £1,000 in a matter of days, potentially saving 500 lives that could have been lost to the disease.
For me, one of the most unique aspects of our Fellowship is how a powerful image of multi-faith action is portrayed simply through working as a religiously diverse pair. Interfaith cooperation is not something to which everyone is accustomed, but by working as a Fellowship pair in this context-and producing even the smallest of results-we can gradually open up doors to common action and cooperation.
Learn more about Karem and Ushna's work in Blackburn here.
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