Eboo Patel

Ebrahim “Eboo" Patel
Founder and Executive Director
Interfaith Youth Core 

Dr. Ebrahim “Eboo” Patel believes religious youth are a force for tolerance and change.  The driving force behind Eboo’s social movement is the need for informed dialogue among young people about their religious faiths. Without communication, diversity can become intolerance, creating a barrier to pluralism. Eboo creates venues for interfaith youth interaction by building on shared values, such as mutual respect and taking part in social justice initiatives. Through planned service projects and dialogue opportunities, Eboo has found fundamental ways that young people of diverse faiths can come together and communicate about their commonalities and their differences. He founded the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that brings young people from diverse religious communities together in programs that build understanding of religious traditions and encourage cooperative service to others. Since June 1999, IFYC has developed a strong program in Chicago while taking a leading role in national and international interfaith youth work.