Look at this young kid’s face.  This is a photograph taken of one of the terrorists by Sebastian D’Souza.  He is so young and was so twisted.  It reminds me of my friend Eboo Patel and his book “Acts of Faith” that I reviewed for Beliefnet.  This is an excerpt of my review:

Nothing is more chilling than Patel’s fictional recounting of how easy it might have been to have been seduced by radical ideology when he was young and alienated as so many young people currently are–and not only young people in Islam, but in Christian separatist movements such as the one that influenced Eric Rudolf as well as Jewish and Hindu extremists. In a chapter titled “Youth Programs” Patel describes the history and evolution of extremists in his own faith and how persuasive these groups can be. In speaking about Osama Bin Laden, Patel makes the particularly salient point that Bin Laden is, if nothing else, a brilliant youth organizer.

How can we stop this violence and reach our young people before it is too late?  I am haunted by this boy’s calm killing face…