Honoring Baker & Kallenberg

Letter sent to the Muslims of Dallas

Friday, Jan 1, 2009

Rev. Dianne Baker is a minister who believes in justice as the heart of the religion, she is a fellow board member at the Dallas Peace Center. Hadi Jawad was president of the Dallas Peace Center; Wasim has joined us for over a year now. We are looking for other Muslims to join us, so Hadi and I can go do other things that needed to be done. It involves work and standing up for Justice.

You should see the goodness flowing from the Bakers, Burnams, Ellis, Evans, Majors and so many others at the Dallas Peace Center, they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian and every one is welcome. They would all stand up for the rights of Muslims or any human. How many of us would do that for others? If you can, please join us at the Dallas Peace center. Roger Kellenberg, a Jew has gone to join the Gaza March, he is there now, in fact the main organizers and the organization Code Pink is led by Jewish men and women. I am glad they do, and we need to do more than our share of goodness to heal the earth and listen to each other.

It is Jewish to stand for social justice and it is Muslim, Hindu or Christian to stand for justice. Each one of us has a small percentage of violators, but the overwhelming majority of all of us are good people and we have an interest in keeping the world safe and just for every one. Pointing fingers will not bring solutions but looking for solutions does.

Justice is justice for every human being, it will expand your horizons from being a self-centered Muslim who wants others to do things for him, but un- willing to serve others because they are not Muslims. This has to be purged from our minds for the good of every human in this society. If you realize the good things Christians and Jews have done for this nation, whose beneficiaries are you and I, you would appreciate them. Don't judge people from the acts of a few, there will always be bad people scheming and planning out of imagined fears, we need to allay those fears and bring them all aboard.

The reason we have it easy to build Mosques is because Jews worked hard for it to have it for them, it made it easy for us. The reason we can bury our departed in our own way is because Jews have worked for it, the reason we can have Halal meat is because they have worked for it. The reason you can send you kids to school is because Jews have worked hard to prevent indoctrination of one kind or the other in schools. We need to stand up with them for doing good things.

The African Americans led by Martin Luther King brought the civil rights, and that is the only reason most of us whether Muslims or others, have made it to this nation. We have to work with them for the goodness they have brought to this country.

I stood up firmly with the Hindus when they opposed the Ten Commandment monument in the public square along with Atheists. Muslims should have joined, thank God; at least I represented Islam. Our goodness is expressed when we do things that are good for everyone. I do not want a benefit that will benefit me and not others, such benefits are deleterious to long term peace ans sustainable goodness.

I wrote strongly against the bill introduced by the Muslim countries at the United Nations to make it a law against blasphemy. This is a short term solution and is not good for any religion. It benefits us for now, but in the long haul, it will breed resentment and will affect the balance. Freedom should triumph and freedom of speech and religions should triumph.

The Christians of all denominations have worked hard to preserve the freedom of speech and religion and we need to stand for the freedom and not make any compromises. Freedom is the only thing that will succeed in the long haul as American stands testimony to it.

Speak up for the good of all humanity, not just Muslims. Being a good human is good for nothing unless you are willing to stand up for Justice – not just for us but for every one, then we have done our duty to human kind and that is what being a good Muslim is.

When Diane and Roger come back, organize a dinner to honor them – not because they supported a cause that is dear to you, but because they stood up for human rights. Start making your parties worthwhile. I like to see the next social event to honor these folks. Bring your Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and other friends. Let us fall the barriers that a few are working hard to erect for their personal gains. Goodness has no money it, but brings goodness to every one including you.

Mike Ghouse

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