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Eboo Patel, the keynote speaker at Student Forum, says a college campus is the perfect catapult for interfaith work.
Photo by Betty Backstrom.

Interfaith leaders are people who believe in pluralism and fight extremism, said the keynote speaker at Student Forum 2009, a national United Methodist leadership development event held this year at Centenary College of Louisiana.

"Extremists say it's a Christian versus Muslim world, or it's a Jewish versus Hindu world. Interfaith leaders work to widen the circle, to build bridges," said Eboo Patel, a self-described "theologically progressive" Muslim and founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core based in Chicago. The goal of the institution is to build a global interfaith youth movement.

Dr. Patel quoted John Wesley in making a case for building a "beloved community of all faiths."

"As John Wesley said, we don't have to be of same opinion, we just have to be of same heart," said Patel.

More than 253 United Methodist college students from across the country, along with 123 campus ministers and workshop presenters attended Student Forum, held May 21-24. The event is the national leadership development conference of the United Methodist Student Movement, and is sponsored by the Campus Ministry Section of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. The annual event is planned and organized by a steering committee made of college students, and by GBHEM staff.

Patel, who serves on the Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Initiatives, used Martin Luther King Jr. as an example of someone who reached across faith lines.

While serving as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga., Dr. King had the opportunity to hear Mohandas Gandhi and to learn about his philosophy of non-violent protest. As Patel pointed out, King would later draw on this method many times during the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus, King was able to rally a citywide ban of the bus system by African-American citizens. "People walked to work for an entire year. When discussing the success of the ban, a reporter later asked King what kept the protesters strong. He credited Jesus with furnishing the inspiration for the movement, and Gandhi for providing the method," said Patel.

"King was able to look across faith lines and to see what Gandhi's belief system had in common with his religion, and what Gandhi's faith had to offer the world. He looked for the similarities that exist in all faiths, such as the importance of compassion, kindness, and hospitality," he added.

King's actions, said Patel, were a perfect example of someone serving effectively as an interfaith leader.

The idea of a "beloved community of faiths" is a concept that is not always easy to grasp, said Patel. "What we hear in the media right now is that different faiths kill each other. The party line is that people from different religious backgrounds are inherently at odds with each other. Interfaith leaders must work hard to change that."

Patel emphasized that strong church leaders and interfaith leaders have a deep knowledge base in their own faith. "When asked a question about Christianity, you should be able to give quotes from the Bible. You should say, 'Let me tell you what John Wesley wrote, or let me share with you what my pastor said on that subject.'"

Only by being firm in your own faith, said Patel, can you be effective in reaching across faith lines.

American history tells us that the "founding fathers" believed in pluralism. "When George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States, a Jewish cleric stood by his side," said Patel, who pointed out that the United States is the most religiously diverse country in human history.

Although different faiths may disagree on heaven and how to get there, they can agree to work for the common good and be friends, Patel said. "If we can continue to widen the circle as much as possible, to include those in it who don't want to destroy the circle, the vast majority of humanity will be in it. I believe that the forces for moralism will be so powerful, that extremism will someday fade away."

A common project that serves the community is the perfect opportunity to bring people of different faiths together, said Patel.

"It's all about having a different conversation. Instead of focusing on how we are different, ask the question, 'How do we both view mercy and hospitality?' No matter what our respective views of heaven may be, let us commit to work together here on Earth for the common good."