Abdullah Antepli shares his remarkable journey from poverty in southeastern Turkey to becoming an imam, professor, and chaplain at Duke University, and now director of the Rothko Chapel in Houston. Growing up in an environment of violence and hardship, Abdullah was one of the first in his extended family to complete elementary school. His conversion to Islam became a transformative escape from cycles of destruction, providing him with discipline, inspiration, and a framework for meaningful living. After training as an imam and spending eight years doing humanitarian work across Southeast Asia, he found his calling in non-traditional religious leadership settings, eventually serving at Duke University for over 15 years before moving to the Rothko Chapel in Houston. Abdullah emphasizes the importance of religious pluralism, explaining how his deep study of other faith traditions (including Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and even atheism) actually strengthened rather than weakened his Muslim faith. He views religion as a powerful force "in our hands" that can activate human potential for either good or evil depending on how we choose to engage with it.