Acknowledgments

This is a book painfully penned by one set of hands and proudly carrying the fingerprints of many, many others. Thank you to Bill Ayers for suggesting that there may be a story worth telling floating around in my head, and for introducing me to the fantastic people at Beacon Press. A special thanks to my Beacon editor, Amy Caldwell, who may have spent more time on repairs for this manuscript than on any other book she has edited. The support provided by Swanee Hunt, James Jensen, Aaron Olver, and Ron Kinnamon made this book both easier and more fun to write. Thank you to Cecelia Weiss, Nick Price, and Erin Williams for helping me with the research for this book. Thanks to Hussein Rashid, Jane Rechtman, Jeff Pinzino, Jennifer Zlotow, Roy Bahat, and Reza Aslan for reviewing the manuscript with care and providing valuable insights. This book is very much the product of conversations with the staff, the board, and all the young people of the Interfaith Youth Core, as well as my colleagues in the broader interfaith movement. It is a tribute to their vision, energy, and friendship.

My mom, dad, and brother have always provided the right balance of challenge and support for all of my crazy endeavors. I thank them for bringing the same love to this book. And finally, thanks to my wife, Shehnaz Mansuri, who embodies in human form so many of the central values of the Muslim tradition—compassion, mercy, patience, and constancy—and who read draft after draft, corrected the major errors, allowed the minor ones, and stayed my best friend and key coconspirator throughout.