America’s promise is to guarantee equal rights for all identities … That is America’s genius.
— Eboo Patel

In his latest book, Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America, interfaith activist Eboo Patel asks us to share in his vision of a better America—a robustly pluralistic country in which our commonalities are more important than our differences. Patel posits that Americans from George Washington to Martin Luther King, Jr. have been “interfaith leaders,” and illustrates how the forces of pluralism have time and again defeated the forces of prejudice. Pluralism, Patel boldly argues, is at the heart of the American project. His prescient voice carries particular weight and wisdom for a city recently crowned America’s most diverse.

Presented in partnership with His Highness the Aga Khan Council
for the Southwestern United States

Schedule

Reception with Book Signing: 6:00 pm
Program: 7:00 pm

About the Author

The son of Ismaili immigrants from Mumbai, Ebrahim “Eboo” Patel was raised on Chicago’s Far North Side. He holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship. Patel is Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core. IFYC is at the forefront of a global movement to bring young people from diverse faith communities together to work on social action projects, fostering cooperation instead of conflict.

Patel was a member of President Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and is a regular contributor to the Washington Post, USA Today, Huffington Post, NPR, and CNN. An Ashoka Fellow, he is also the recipient of the prestigious Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his first book Religion Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, The Struggle for the Soul of a Generation. Recently, Patel was awarded the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize, which is given to those who enhance awareness of the crucial role of religious dialogue in the pursuit of peace.

Supported by The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Arts Alliance, City of Houston, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, Bank of America, and United Airlines – Official Airline of Asia Society Texas Center.