Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Texas Faith: Have Muslims effectively confronted terrorism within their own community?

The Muslim community should not apologize for the crimes they did not commit. They are as American as anyone, and have the same concerns about extremism, violence and terrorism. They should assert their rights, and consciously earn the support from the sane majority to speak up with them against the Anti-Muslim bigotry. We have to stand up for each other and build a cohesive America, where all of us can function effectively without apprehension of any - Mike Ghouse

 
 Texas Faith: Have Muslims effectively confronted terrorism within their own community?
  By  | Dallas Morning News | Published at 3:15 PM on April 30, 2013

The Boston bombings have heightened the debate over connecting religious affiliation with violence and militancy. There seems to be no doubt that the attacks were associated, at least in the minds of the alleged bombers, with Islam. The drumbeat to convict Islam is loud among some on the right. But many on the left, worried about being politically incorrect, have tried to explain away the hijacking of a major religion by virtually avoiding direct mention of Islam altogether. Neither approach is helpful.
Into the heart of this debate strode Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers. Activist and author Asra Nomani notes in the Washington Post that while others were avoiding or exploiting the issue, Tsarni confronted a central question head-on. Tsarni said his nephews had brought shame on the family. He confronted the dishonor of terrorism within his own community and denounced it. Normani wrote: The collectivist-minded Muslim community needs to learn an important lesson from Tsarni: It’s time to acknowledge the dishonor of terrorism within our communities, not to deny it because of shame.”

Have Muslims been as effective as they could be in publicly confronting terrorism within their own community? Is there a danger that Uncle Ruslan’s direct, blunt and unequivocal denunciation might feed anti-Muslim bigotry? Or is it exactly what’s needed?
Our Texas Faith had some strong ideas:
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism
Uncle Ruslan’s direct, blunt and unequivocal denunciation of terrorism mirrors what the Muslims do; day in and day out. Facts don’t matter to the right, and indeed it will feed anti-Muslim bigotry demanding a pound of flesh from the community. Muslims are sick of extremists just as everyone else.
In fact, most of the FBI terror suspects arrested after 9/11 were turned in by Muslims, and Muslims rejoice when one of those guys is arrested hoping and praying this to be the last one. Safeguarding America is the right thing to do and Muslims do their patriotic duty well.
I was on Hannity show twice in the last week, as well as on the national radio network. My last comment was, Muslims do condemn terrorism every time, more than their share in comparable situations, but they don’t get the microphone. “On your show Sean, I am condemning it, and almost all Muslims will do that if you stick the microphone in their face.”
Just Google, “Do Muslims condemn terrorism?” Sheila Musaji of the American Muslim has compiled anextensive list, and the Ontario consultants on religious tolerance sum it up as follows; “Actually, there are lots of fatwas and other statements issued which condemn attacks on innocent civilians. Unfortunately, they are largely ignored by newspapers, television, radio and other media outlets.”
If we are looking for each one of the 6 million American Muslims to condemn it individually, then we need to ask, did 318 Million of us Americans condemn the Newtown and other killings?

Muslim Americans are as effective in stopping terrorism as all Americans in stopping murders of 3300 Americans in the four months following Newtown shooting. Neither the New town terrorist, nor the Wisconsin killer were authorized by Americans, nor were the Tsarnaev brothers authorized by Muslims. A day before the terrorists were identified as Muslims, I boldly wrote in Huffington Post, so “What if the Boston terrorist turns out to be Muslim?”
What is needed?
The Muslim community should not apologize for the crimes they did not commit. They are as American as anyone, and have the same concerns about extremism, violence and terrorism. They should assert their rights, and consciously earn the support from the sane majority to speak up with them against the Anti-Muslim bigotry. We have to stand up for each other for a cohesive America.
...........

To see all the 9 responses, please visit:  
 http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-have-muslims-effectively-confronted-terrorism-within-their-own-community.html/


....Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive Americaand offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

What is Pluralism?

Pluralism is not a religion, but merely an attitude of respecting the otherness of others, and accepting the (God) given uniqueness of each individual. Hey, if you like the peach cobbler and I like the apple pie; does it make a difference to each other? Is your food taste superior to mine? Hell no!

If you worship kneeling and I worship standing - does it make a difference to you or I? You enjoy your practice and I do mine. Is my religion superior to yours? Hell no! Each religion brings harmony within an individual and with fellow beings. More at: www.PluralismCenter.com 


speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.

Speaking up for Bangladeshi Hindus

Tonight, I will be at the fund raising dinner with the Bangladeshi Hindu community in Dallas. We have to stand up with those who have been oppressed and harassed everywhere in the world, and whose basic human rights have been violated. As a Muslim, I stand up with all those who have been oppressed and invite you to join me. Prophet Muhammad had said, the best one among is one who speaks out against injustice, that is the least we can do. If you can donate generously, please call me at (214) 325-1916 and talk with me - you can be a part of the event.

I wrote a press release to this effect a while back:
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/03/muslims-condemn-brutal-attacks-on.html

The following report is difficult to watch, but remember those who have endured this: http://hrcbmdfw.org/files/22/hr_reports/entry328.aspx
 



Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

Interfaith disappointements


This essay is dedicated to the Muslim Interfaith activists - Maha ElGenaidi, Iftekhar Hai, Harris Zafar, Gehan Sabry, Ani Zonneveld  .. and a few others listed below.The biggest disappointment in the interfaith world comes when your friends, who are usually rational in their approach to say this with ease, “These acts of terrorism are done in the name of Islam. I do not think the others were done in the name of Christianity etc. With the exception of Islam, other Religions variable accepts responsibility for the actions of their followers.” or this from an immigrant who has carried the baggage from overseas to this land, “Their silence angers me.. Especially when there was a bomb scare at my daughter’s school this week. I don't like it..and you know me, I love everyone... But they don't make it easy...” and this from an octogenarian who has been a part of the interfaith dialogue for the last 20 years, “Qur'an teaches them to lie”.

It is frustrating; if you are out there in the trenches, you will fully understand it. There is a saying in India, "after you hear the Ramayana (story / play) for the entire night, how dumb of you to ask, what was the relationship between Rama and Sita?


When you hear that kind of ignorance after years of exchanges, the instant feeling that comes to your mind is to walk away from it. Instead go make the money with that time,  take the vacation and pay Sadaqah (Voluntary Charity) to extinguish the guilt, to feel good about not doing enough of the unselfish good.

 
That was a fleeting feeling, I have recouped since then. We cannot let impatience take over or throw us into the rotten business of score keeping and getting even. It will create a bigger wedge. We just cannot let our short term feelings temper the long term good of the society.



There are thousands of us out there from every faith tradition spending days and nights to build a cohesive society, where each of us learns about the other, and earns a respectable space in the society, so all of us can learn to respect the other and live our lives. 


My mentors are Prophet Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. among others. Everything they did was to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, it was for the common good of humanity.

This pulls me to the wisdom of Bhagvad Gita, my 2nd favorite book after Qur'an, “You have a right to perform your duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action, never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.” The guidance is similar in all religions. God (Qur'an) says to the Prophet, don’t be frustrated if people don’t get your message, your job is to do the dharma, the duty to deliver the message, and it’s up to me to bless the guidance.

A majority of the articles I write weave through the wisdom of several religions and we need to continue to do that. No matter what hurdles or frustrations we go through, we cannot let anyone derail us.

I thank my interfaith friends for writing those unpleasant words,  there is a whole lot more out there,  worse than this,  and unfortunately it 
comes from the wisest people in the interfaith circles. I am glad they wrote this, and it reminds us,  we have a lot more work to do.

What prompted this?

My weekly article in Dallas Morning news | The righteous mind of Tsarnaev Brothers.

3,300 Americans have been killed in violence since the Newtown Massacre. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or the Denver murderer authorized by Americans Christians to kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI. Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own -

continued: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/texas-faith-righteous-mind-of-tsarnaev.html

Response I

The  long term ideal would be for us to uplift ourselves in public policy, no one should look at the criminals race, religion or ethnicity. I hope a day will come when Muslims don't have to condemn the acts of these criminals, and they should not be held accountable for the crimes of the criminals who follow a similar faith,  just as you and I would not go to jail for the murders committed by a family member. They committed the crime and they get blamed and punished, not anyone else.  

As a civil society, we have the responsibility to sort the right from the wrong. We should not buy into the alibis of the criminals, first they committed the crime, and then they want to dupe us (all of us) into believing that Islam made them do it. As long as they sell this idea and we buy it, the blame gets shifted and we bark at the wrong tree. Islam did not commit the crime; these men did it and must be punished to the maximum extent of the law.

These criminals are way too smart; they want to deflect the blame to an intangible item like religion to save their tail. We should not let them blame a religion, any religion for that matter. Get them, just like we do with all criminals. Major Nidal yelled Allahu Akbar before opening the fire that is not an Islamic act, he used it reflexively – the words are to be used when you are praying.

Criminals will commit the crime any way, God does not matter to them, morals mean nothing to them, life has no value to them, and punishment does not deter these men – the Tsarnaev brothers, McVeigh’s and 50 others. Rachel Maddow has listed many of the criminals at: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/

Response II

Its human to err and human to misunderstand. The greater call is to know each other. This article explores the phobias we all have about knowing the truth. In this case, I urge you to read 5 verses before and after, and you may find yourselves freer with lesser bias. It’s frightening to be free

Response III

Although no community is responsible, or should be responsible for the actions of the individuals that profess similar faith, similar origins of ethnicity or similar race, Muslims have done more than their share.

The Muslim community has done everything possible to guard the safety of fellow Americans, and nearly all of the bad guys caught by the FBI were reported by Muslims. Indeed the NYPD surveillance report violated civil rights, but the outcome absolved the Muslim community from radicalization.

GOP Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House’s homeland security subcommittee said this week: “Ninety-nine percent of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but the fact is, that’s where the threat is coming,” and added, ““If you know a threat is coming from a certain community, that’s where you look.”

As a Muslim I welcome this with a caution to Congressman Peter King: No witch hunting, sir. You will do more harm to the cohesive fabric of America than those terrorists could ever do. Please heed the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr. He said “Injustice to one is injustice to all.” Inflicting apprehension on Muslims is drilling fear in all Americans.

In the retreat a month ago, where representative King, Ambassador Bolton and almost all of the Fox commentators were present - Sean Hannity gave me the stage and assured that he is after the radicals and not Muslims, and I am glad to hear a modified tone of Representative King. Two nights ago, I was with him on TV with Buchanan - Sean kept his word from the retreat that he would not attack Islam or Muslims but the radicals among Muslims,  and I salute him for the same. Indeed it was repeated on the radio show two days ago with Brigitte Gabriel and Steve Emerson.

Response  IV

ISNA is exonerated by the Federal judge from the charges of co-conspiracy. CAIR would have been shut down by the FBI, if they were co-conspirators. No one can BS us that these organizations will not let the FBI investigate them. I was able to articulate the ISNA part with Hannity on his Radio show yesterday with Brigitte Gabrielle and Steve Emerson. Indeed, I asked both of them to take history lessons - terrorism did not exist significantly prior to the Munich bombing in 1971. All the problems of terrorism we see have its seed in the Israel Palestine conflict. If we can work security to Israel and Justice to the Palestinians, we can mitigate most of the problems. Pat Buchanan on Hannity was parroting that Muslims don't condemn terrorism. I asked him to Google and look up the site www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

And since the last two days the site is visited over 150,000 times.

Sean Hannity

A few Muslims have been on my tail, some of them hate me outright for being on Fox – a non-Muslim thing to judge others without knowing a thing.  Although I have not been able to say everything my Muslim friends expect me to say, I have been able to offer a semblance of another point of view on his show.

When he said, I respect you, and will be careful in distinguishing Muslims and Radical Muslims, it was worth my time and my three years with him, and every ounce of humiliation in the first 5 shows was worth it.  Indeed, he has kept his promise most of the times. I salute him for that; not only that, Representative King and others present in the retreat have adopted that tone that I have quoted above.

As a community, some of us do not deal with conflicts well. We mirror the right wingers– we don’t negotiate with terrorists. Hell, then who do you make peace with? Mother Teresa has said something to that effect.

Hannity is indeed a good guy, and if we learn to see his point of view (my article at Dallas Morning on the topic), and then he will see our point of view. It is a good example of engaging with patience.

We have a lot of work to do.

This note is dedicated to some of my Muslim interfaith friends who are in the trenches, dealing with the tough questions, embarrassment, doubts and concerns in their public meetings with fellow humans of different faiths.   

Dedicated to

Maha ElGenaidi, Iftekhar Hai, Shahla Khan Salter,  Rafiq  Lodhia, Dr. Amina Wadud,  Dr. Najeeba Syeed Miller, Ani Zonneveld, Pamela Taylor, Dr. Mohamed Taher, Gehan Sabry, Harris Zafar and several others. Mind you, they are not dealing with surface goody-goody conversations, but with deep conflicts and mitigation there of. We can handle most conflicts.

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/04/interfaith-disappointements.html

Thank you.

....... Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Texas Faith: The Righteous Mind of Tsarnaev Brothers

3,300 Americans have been killed in violence since the Newtown Massacre. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or the Denver murderer authorized by Americans Christiansto kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI. Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own - continued: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/texas-faith-righteous-mind-of-tsarnaev.html




Texas Faith: The Righteous Mind of the Brothers Tsarnaev 
By Bill McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist | Published 11:46 AM -04/23/2013

The part of the Boston story that mystifies me is how two brothers reportedly led fairly normal lives after they came to Boston, but then something flipped and their thinking grew rigid. So rigid that they decided to blow up innocents along the Boston Marathon route in order to make a statement.
How does something like that happen?
Jonathan Haidt argues in his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion that the righteous mind can readily shift into combat mode in political and moral arguments.We launch rhetorical grenades, which impress members of our own group, writes Haidt. But that does little to change the minds of our opponents, especially if they are in combat mode, too.
Of course, the Tsarnaev brothers did more than launch rhetorical grenades. They chose murder over the hard work of persuasion.
“If you really want to change someone’s mind on a moral or political matter,” Haidt counters, ” you’ll need to see things from that person’s angle as well as your own. And if you truly do see it the other person’s way — deeply and intuitively — you might even find your own mind opening in response.”

In other words, it is risky business trying to persuade people. The 
exercise may prompt us to change our own minds, which can be unsettling.”

So, here’s the question for you: Is it possible to keep the combat mode of the righteous mind from kicking in? If so, how?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism

 
America’s success in creating a cohesive environment to work and function effectively has hinged on a can-do attitude. Indeed, we have a choice “to keep the combat mode of the righteous mind from kicking in” or we can opt to let things go sour. But at the end, we have to restore the balance. We cannot function in a chaotic society.
Jonathan Haidt’s statement is certainly unsettling. The idea of seeing another person’s angle takes time, patience and humility. There is a fear in us, that knowing another point of view might change us, and we strongly resist it. On the surface, it amounts to self-negation, compromise or giving up on our own values, but shamelessly some of us demand the same from others.
The Tsarnaev brothers chose murder over the hard work of persuasion. They simply did not understand how democracy functions.
The Muslim community has done everything possible to guard the safety of fellow Americans, and nearly all of the bad guys caught by the FBI were reported by Muslims. Indeed the NYPD surveillance report violated civil rights, but the outcome absolved the Muslim community from radicalization.
GOP Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House’s homeland security subcommittee said this week: “Ninety-nine percent of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but the fact is, that’s where the threat is coming,” and added, ““If you know a threat is coming from a certain community, that’s where you look.”
As a Muslim I welcome this with a caution to Congressman Peter King: No witch hunting, sir. You will do more harm to the cohesive fabric of America than those terrorists could ever do. Please heed the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr. He said “Injustice to one is injustice to all.” Inflicting apprehension on Muslims is drilling fear in all Americans.
Since the Newtown massacre, 3,300 Americans have been killed in violence. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or Denver murderer authorized by American Christians to kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI.

Added 
Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own. US News on NBC reports that Dzhokhar has admitted to acting alone. 

As a society we need to make an effort to be inclusive in everything we do, from schools to places of worship and work place, a new culture of cohesiveness needs to emerge, where no one feels alienated. We need to watch for those, who have difficulty in resolving conflicts through dialogue and fall prey to the temptations of taking other's life.

To see all the 7 responses, please visit:  
 http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-the-righteous-mind-of-the-brothers-tsarnaev.html/


....Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive Americaand offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Muslims beware | Muslims scream with me

These dudes can act on their own as criminals, but should not be allowed to use religion for their creepy behavior, lets start screaming at them, and shout at any clergy who brainwashes and lies to these kids....lets start screaming at them.

Bad guys will always do bad things, nothing will stop them. The bad guys have killed 3300 Americans in just 4 months, laws don't mean a thing to them, punishment means nothing to them, and death penalty doesn't mean a thing to them either. The bad guys who are Muslim, are no different than them. 

However, as Muslims, we can take extra responsibility, to aggressively shout and scream at those few Muslims who are abusing Islam, who are misquoting Quraan, preaching hatred, screwing with the word Jihad, and terrorizing fellow human beings... 

Those who say, what about others who terrorize Muslims? I say, our actions should not be dependent on what others do. We are responsible for our actions.

Prophet Muhammad taught us to pray for the bad guys, there are several examples of it, he prayed for those who pelted stones at him, he was kind even to the lady who threw trash on him...he said, be kind to others,  hold the temptations to take revenge. Quran says do not kill another being, suicide is a sin,...these assholes need to know that this what Jihad is.  We need to scream at those few idiotic clergy who teach otherwise including that filthy Australian imam. 

I will scream at every possible ugly Imam,  scream with me.

The arrest of the suspect is an important step, but not over. We have to find his connections, who is behind it and who All is involved in it.  Indeed I am proud of the way this is handled by the police, FBI and the citizens of Boston.

There is an article in Huffington Post, "What if Boston terrorist is a muslim" may be worth your read, it was written before this discovery. 

These series of notes are available at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

Mike Ghouse

Experiments in religious understanding

Experiments in religious understanding

Baptized Muslim Mike Ghouse in Jordan River

Baptized Muslim Mike Ghouse in Jordan River
I was blessed to be baptized in River Jordan last year in the same spot where Jesus was baptized. It was an enriching experience to me, particularly feeling the symbolic transformation. Jesus is my mentor, a true pluralist who had no barriers between him and humanity, as a Muslim I felt the affirmation of that thought; of being boundless. Article and pictures at http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-easter.html

Interfaith Experiments

Interfaith Experiments

Interfaith Radio, wisdom of religion, all the beautiful religions

Interfaith Radio, wisdom of religion, all the beautiful religions
At the conclusion of two years of the daily Radio program called “wisdom of religions all the beautiful religions", where both Atheism and Pluralism were included, a handbook of Religion was released in 2005. Over the period of two years we read the Bible, Torah, Quraan, Bhagvad Gita and the other holy books. I will talk about the program in my speeches; it is thrilling to know that we all seek truth in our own ways. Finding the truth is our own responsibility.

TALK TOPICS

  • Ultimate Interfaith dialogue
  • Experiments in truth
  • Reversing Roles
  • God does not sign exclusive deals
  • Purpose of Religion
  • Psychology of Prayers
  • Arrogance and Humility
  • Wisdom of Religion

Pastor Robert Jeffress was challenged to find the truth

Pastor Robert Jeffress was challenged to find the truth
Pastor Robert Jeffress of Dallas (unfortunately representing the First Baptist Church of Dallas) called Quraan an evil book written by a false prophet, his congregants rewarded him with a standing ovation. However it cannot be the church doctrine, it was his individual take. Mike visited the pastor to offer the right translation of the Quraan so he can find the truth and share with his congregation. It was followed by interviews on Local Fox News and NBC channels, followed by Dallas Morning News exchanges leading to Quraan Conference to demystify the myths. Mike’s challenge to the Pastor was to “find me three verses in Quraan that are evil, and if you do, I will join your ministry.” The pastor has blown the opportunity to harvest the poor souls; he chickened out from holding the conversation on his turf in his church. Details, videos and write up at www.QuraanConference.com

Interfaith experiments, public understanding of other religions

Interfaith experiments, public understanding of other religions
Religious leaders representing different religions were asked to share about their religion in three sentences, then towards the end of the program audience was randomly given to read (other than their own religion) a 100 word summary of each one of the religions. It was an eye opener for the people to see the difference in what the media and the politicians say, and the holy books of the respective religions say. You have to read it yourselves the whole paragraph or chapter and not a sentence to get a fuller picture.

Interfaith Solidarity; standing up for the Gazans and the Israelis.

Interfaith Solidarity; standing up for the Gazans and the Israelis.
We have to stand up for the rights of all people, joined in at the Gaza Rally protesting the killing of Gazans and led the Pluralism Prayer for the wellbeing of the people of Gaza and Israel at North Haven United Methodist Church. Love and Prayers are the positive energies that prevent your heart from contamination of ill-will, malice, hate and prejudice. We have to be blind when it comes to justice and not appease or pander to any one.

Arab Imams on Interfaith

Arab Imams on Interfaith
I thank God for presenting limitless opportunities to talk about the Pluralistic values embedded in Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) being an interfaith dialoguer. I have been a small part of the interfaith dialogue movement in Saudi Arabia, which began in 2003 in Dallas. In 2010 about twelve Arab Imams visited Dallas and I hosted the luncheon to talk about Interfaith in Islam. I can sum this up in one sentence, “those imams were ahead of us in pluralism in Islam, for every sentence I uttered, they produced Prophets Sayings and verses from Quraan.” God willing one major good is going to come out of it; stopping the printing and distribution of mistranslated Quraan by Muslims; Al-Hilali translation.

The Prestigious Slater Award

The Prestigious Slater Award
Mike Ghouse was honored with teh prestigious Slater Award as the Religious communicator fo the year.