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Tonight: UNF Speaker Wants To Inspire Interfaith Cooperation In Jacksonville

University of North Florida

With religious extremism in the headlines, a lecture at the University of North Florida tonight is aimed at promoting cooperation between people of all faiths. The school is hosting author Eboo Patel as part of its Oneness of Humanity celebration.

Patel says he hopes his talk reaches people beyond the UNF campus.

“My hope is to tell an inspiring story of interfaith cooperation in the past that inspires us to even better for our future," he says. 

Patel, a Muslim of Indian descent, founded the Interfaith Youth Core, which has brought interfaith service projects to more than 500 college campuses. But he says people can build bridges regardless of college affiliation.

“They can be part of a book group on interfaith cooperation, they can go to an interfaith service activity organized by the University of North Florida. They can in their personal lives try to find commonalities rather than highlight divisive differences," he says. 

Patel’s talk starts at 7 p.m. at UNF's Hebert University Center. It’s free and open to the public, but tickets are required to get in. 

Jessica Palombo supervises local news gathering and production, podcasts and web editorial content for WJCT News, ADAPT and Jacksonville Today. She is an award-winning writer and journalist with bylines including NPR, Experience Magazine, and The Gainesville Sun. She has a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University and is an alumna of the University of Florida. A nearly lifelong resident of Jacksonville, she considers herself lucky to be raising her own children in her hometown. Follow Jessica Palombo on Twitter: @JaxJessicaP