Student Dialogue with Eboo Patel (IUC)

I really enjoyed the student dialogue with Eboo Patel today in the Shults Center gym. I was surprised at the number of people that were there, I expected there to be 20 or 30, not a couple hundred. Anyways, I loved hearing the students' stories in particular. It was really great to hear where other people come from, their religious or non-religious backgrounds, and the things that have changed their lives. I can really relate to Jigme's story of how he once hated all Muslims because he thought they were bad people. I too struggle with that stereotype because the bad Muslims are the ones we always hear about. September 11th, the genocide in Darfur, suicide bombers...the list goes on and on. Furthermore, one of my favorite shows on television is NCIS, and although it's an awesome show, it too gives Muslims a bad representation. When all these lies and misrepresentations are surrounding us on a daily basis, it's so easy to generate bad feelings about people. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go so far to say that I hate Muslims, or people from any other religions, but in all honesty, they scare me. This brings me to my next point. I believe that one of the major factors in religious intolerance is the fear of the unknown. We don't understand each other and we have all these stereotypes and false beliefs about one another. We don't know anything about each other except for the bad things we hear, because we all know humans tend to talk about the bad rather than the good, and it makes us scared of each other. I think this is a huge problem, and something the whole world needs to work through, including myself. Although I only attended one interfaith conference event, I think I chose the right one. The entire panel had great points and ideas, and I walked away with an open mind and a greater will to bridge a gap between me and the unknown.