As
a Muslim I don’t want sympathies, what I want is what everyone wants, a
sense of security and letting me live my life as others live theirs.
Throw me in a jail for the crimes I commit, but don’t blame me or my
religion for the acts someone else commits. As
fellow Americans this is what you can do for the other members of the
family of faiths, and become a consistent voice to propagate the
following narratives…. in the text below. Mike Ghouse
# # #
May 12, 2016, Rockville, MD – The Faith
Leaders response team of Montgomery County’s Faith community working
group held their monthly interfaith meeting at the Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of Rockville.
The MCPD Asst. Chief Darryl McSwain and
Asst. Chief Luther Reynolds, and MC Fire Chief, Scott Goldstein shared
their perspectives in developing safe communities. Both the departments
offer facility orientation programs, that is, training and preparing
the members of worship places to ‘what if’ scenarios in case of a gunman
walking in, a fire breaks out or any other untowardly events.
Montgomery County Faith Leaders – Photo Courtesy: Chuck Lee
Rev. Dr. Carol Flett facilitated the meeting attended by nearly 30 individuals representing many faith communities.
A member from each table shared the
general conversation of his or her given table. From our table, we
shared the needs of various communities. Imam Hadji Sall from Silver
Springs Mosque talked about the space needs for his Mosque, he and I
have agreed to have a discussion and present the possible solutions to
the group. There was an acknowledgement needed for bullying that goes on
with Hindu kids along with Muslim and Sikh kids, Richa from the
Chinmaya Mission shared that information.
Rabbi Gerry Serotta, Executive director
of interfaith council of Washington shared about the upcoming Interfaith
Bridge Builders Awards on June 2, event as a head of the Interfaith
council of Metropolitan Washington, one of the pastors shared that they
pray for the both the victims and the offenders in case of crises. Of
course, Scott Goldstein shared what the Fire Department does in case of
crises, he made it little humorous about catching the animals.
I found the following powerful quote
from the signature line of Rev. Dr. Carol Flett worth sharing, as it
resonated with the theme of the verse 49:13 from Quran that I have been
elaborating on for over 15 years. It is a Martin Luther King Quote, “”…I
am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other.
They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t
know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they
don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each
other.”
It was a joy to meet with Dr. Ajaib
Singh Siddhu and his wife Hema, who are also friends with Dr. Harbans
Lal since their college days. Hema said she and Harbans graduated from
the same college same year one got the PhD and the other D. Lit. Dr.
Lal is a father figure to me, and I have always admired him and continue
to seek his wisdom from time to time.
Great food, the families brought in so many varieties of vegetarian food that I have enjoyed at the Jain Temples in the past.
PROPOSAL TO THE GROUP
I am pleased to propose to the group,
that in one of the upcoming meetings, we can facilitate a talk on the
First Amendment; we will also hold a workshop on First Amendment at our
facility at the United Methodist building soon. There is a continual
need to understand the first amendment on a regular basis. Please let
me know the first time slot available to do this.
The discussion on how we are dealing
with the recent violent incidents in Paris, Brussels, Lahore and our
County, with members of our congregations. Let’s discuss practical ways
we can reduce anxiety and xenophobia in our own communities, and
continue to build a socially cohesive and compassionate county.
I am pleased to share my write up.
Dealing with violent incidents in Paris, Brussels, Lahore and here in the United States
The bottom line of every religion,
government and the society is to create cohesive societies that function
well, where rule of law is the norm, and where no one has to live in
fear, or apprehension of the fellow beings.
It is our duty to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting peace in a society, and it is our responsibility to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it. Ultimately, my safety hinges on safety of others around me.
There is wisdom in the saying, “Sin is
the problem and not the sinner” when we focus on the sin, there is a
chance to redeem the individual from the sin, where as if we attack the
sinner, we will kill the chances of redemption. The idea is to single
out the cause for the situation and work on finding solutions.
Similarly, we single out the criminal
responsible for the crime, and not blame his or her spouse, parents,
siblings, kids, family members, rabbi, imam, pastor, Pundit or religious
leader, mayor of the town, governor of the state, president of the
country or the religion.
If a rapist is running around in our neighborhood, everyone gets apprehensive and makes sure the doors are locked, alarm is set and family members are guarded. The moment that creep is caught, everyone sighs and takes a deep breath of relief.
What’s happened here is, the “trust” is
restored in the community; people feel safe and start living their
normal life again. There is nothing like feeling secure. Indeed,
Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) work was to build secure societies and he
likened the sense of security to mother’s lap where the child feels
secure. No matter what is happening to him/her, the child knows he or
she is safe in her mother’s lap, the child knows mother will take care
of him/her. Mother is one’s security and trust is the key.
The Prophet vision of a civilized
society was when a single woman loaded with Jewelry and fine clothing
could go from the City of Madinah to the City of Damascus and return
without being harassed, chased or robbed of her dignity. That was the
kind of civility he had envisaged. A majority of Muslims got that
message right and have become the source of such civility; however a few
did not get it and we have to work with them.
Those who did not get their religion
right, no matter what religion, region or race they belong to cause
death and destruction. The list is endless; Brussels, Paris, Grand
Bassam, Ankara, Gaza, Mumbai, Bali, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, Iraq and
several more across the globe including the latest rampages of ISIS.
Here at home we have San Bernardino along 354 Mass murders in 2015.
Individuals wear suicide vests and hurt others, while nations wrap mega
ton bombs to their fighter jets and destroy nations and cities. All of
us should reflect on the ugliness embedded in a few men from each one of
our faiths.
There is not a religion out there that
preaches discrimination or hatred for others. Isn’t that the case with
Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism or any faith? Religion
doesn’t teach, but the Guardians make a villain out of God towards
others. God is not a villain, he/she/ it is about justness, fairness,
equity and kindness to the entire creation.
What can we do to cut down the fear mongering and pitting every one against Muslims?
As a Muslim I don’t want sympathies,
what I want is what everyone wants, a sense of security and letting me
live my life as others live theirs. Throw me in a jail for the crimes I
commit, but don’t blame me or my religion for the acts someone else
commits.
As fellow Americans this is what you can
do for members of the family of faiths, and become a consistent voice
to propagate the following narratives;
- Individuals or cult leaders are responsible for their crimes and not anyone else. Let’s not even blame their parents, pastors, mayors, or their religion or their nation.
- We bring justice by punishing the criminals and restore trust in the society, no one but the criminal is responsible for his or her acts.
- Religion is like the Nuclear power, in the right hands it is beneficial to the mankind, but in the wrong hands, it brings death and destruction. Neither religion is bad nor the nuclear power; it is the users and abusers who are good or bad.
- We absolve religion from any blame, as religion is an intangible entity which you cannot kill, kick, murder, slaughter, hang, shoot or bury. Trust cannot be restored in the society by barking aimlessly in the dark.
- War on terror is a dumb idea; it should be war on ignorance through education and knowledge.
References:
Ten Reasons you should not fear Muslims – http://centerforpluralism.com/10-reasons-you-should-not-fear-muslims/
A Pakistani Turned Texans breaks down misconceptions about Muslims – http://centerforpluralism.com/a-pakistani-turned-texan-breaks-down-6-misconceptions-americans-have-about-muslims/
Islam is Pluralism – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Tyt7raIXM
Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, Interfaith Wedding officiant, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine, motivation,
and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and
offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him (63 links)
at www.TheGhousediary.com
