Fame and Faith By Angela Guzman

Hamza & Husain Abdullah

Hamza and Husain Abdullah have put a hold on their pro football careers to make a pilgrimage to Mecca during the 2012 NFL season, as part of their Islamic faith. Both Hamza and Husain are free agents. Husain had multiple offers for the upcoming season, including an offer to return to the Vikings. As part of their effort, they’ll have “Iftar,” which is the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in a different U.S. mosque every night. They will talk about fasting and its impact on athletes. They also hope to breakdown the negative connotations of Islam.

The Abdullah brother hope to return to the NFL during the regular season, following the completion of their pilgrimage. They are aware of the competition and the training that they'll have to undergo to return.

Richard Gere

Richard Gere was raised by Methodist parents. His interest in Buddhism began in his twenties. Gere studied Zen Buddhism for five or six years before traveling to Nepal in 1978 with the Brazilian painter, Sylvia Martins where he met many Tibetan monks and lamas. He then met the 14th Dalai Lama in India and became a practicing Buddhist of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism and an active supporter of the Dalai Lama.

Gere is also a persistent advocate for human rights in Tibet; he is a co-founder of the Tibet House, creator of The Gere Foundation, and he is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet. Because he strongly supports the Tibetan Independence Movement, he is permanently banned from entering the People's Republic of China.