It's really inspiriing to see that a failure can point someone towards their calling, like it did for Eboo. But for some people, failures seem to immobilize them. They don't seem to be able to deal with their failures. So how does this type of failure shape someone's calling? I guess in some ways it changes a person's calling all together. But is someone's calling based on the outside world that much?

Im so glad that someone like this is working with President Obama because I believe that the most terrible thing in this world is not evil people but indifferent people and it is good knowing that someone else who recognizes this is working so closely with our nation's leader.

According to Islamic History, when Prophet Muhammad (SA) introduced Islam, HE was being harassed by the Arabs who did not believe in HIS message of Islam. They would throw stones at him, dump garbage on HIM and say mean things to HIM, etc. The only one ever came to Prophets defense during HIS trials & tribulations and even during the time of War to fight HIS battles, for example, the risk of sleeping in Prophets bed to protect the messenger from the enemy persecution, was none but HAZRAT ALI (SA) the CALIPH and the IMAM HIMSELF! Eboo you must learn this example of ethics from our Ismaili faith, one of the fundamental principal of Islam is to help the weak, poor and the needy. Because we are the Spiritual Children of the NOOR OF HAZRAT ALI. That makes us cubs of a Lion (shar-e-khuda)- which is a Lion himself!

I believe an individual’s knowledge base of concepts and issues is constructed and shaped by their culture, value system and life experiences. This knowledge base leads to a level of understanding that may elicit emotions, passions and ultimately attitudes (both negative and positive) It is what one ‘does’ in the form of social action that is driven by their thoughts and feelings that overtly display how they truly believe and feel about issues they face in their environment. Thus, our actions are ignited form multiple catalysts over time that would be difficult to pinpoint exactly what, where and how within our life experiences. One could define them as inherent ‘callings’ or ‘awakening’ or an ‘act’ from new knowledge and realization. The real questions here, we should be asking ourselves include, to what extent do we allow our thoughts and feelings to influence our attitudes and actions? Given our knowledge bases and understandings, can one be motivated to move from ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’ to ‘acting’ in order to push for social change?

This is interesting because Eboo's calling resulted directly from the experience he had. That makes it seem as though a calling is something dynamic that could change substantially over time. So, is there an aspect to one's calling that is inherent, or is it entirely the result of life experiences?

It takes courage to accept accept failings, take responsibility and move beyond inaction. Motivation comes from many sources. It sounded to me like Eboo moved from shame to action when his perspective shifted, from berating himself for being a bad friend to understanding how to behave as an ethical Muslim. I was moved that his father's words opened up his perspective on this incident that had caused shame and moved him to a broader understanding of faith, inspiring him to found IFYC. The personal becomes political.

This is incredibly inspiring - and courageous! He is certainly making a difference in the world. I think experiences of failure definitely help shape one's calling. But in some ways, I don't think that acting out of failure or shame or guilt is the best motivator. Acting out of love, and something positive, has always had greater motivational power for me, than acting out of a feeling of negativity. Then again, I guess it's hard to distinguish. Was Eboo acting out of the shame he felt for himself, or the love he felt for his friend? Probably a mix.

He is so inspiring!