United Methodist Church welcomes talk on Islam

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/05/united-methodist-church-welcomes-talk.html

The United Methodist Church has  always encouraged its congregation to learn about others, indeed that is the recipe to create cohesive societies.  My talk was “Islam in a nutshell” followed by questions and answers, it was a delight to share with an audience that is ecumenical in every sense, most of the Beacons have been around the world, indeed one couple had a son in Indonesia and the daughter in Cairo.

Islam is about creating a cohesive society, also known as Just societies or you can call it the kingdom of heaven where no human is apprehensive of the other and lives with a secure feeling; itt is like a baby in a Mother’s lap, safe secure and free from any fears. Indeed, that is the unstated goal of a religion.

Like every religion, Islam has “systems” in place to achieve that goal with “free will”. There is a spiritual side and the ritual side to every system in life.

To a majority of people, religion is broadly a belief in God and going to the place of worship fulfills an obligation and they keep it simple with the rituals, and to many others it is spirituality, they feel it in their bones, the connection between them and the cosmic energy.

Yet to some, religion is a Private Club that defines who or who cannot be members, more based on denial than admittance.

Religion is about humility and not arrogance, to claim that their version is the right one and deny the same right to other versions is sheer arrogance.  God has not signed a deal with any one behind others back, if he did, then we have misunderstood the creator who is just, loving and caring.

I shared the story of mistranslations of Qur’aan by the kings who labeled themselves as Christians and the others who carried a Muslim label and mistranslated the Qur’aan, neither Jesus nor Muhammad would have approved their chicanery, but it’s time to learn the right things an move one. More at www.Quraanconference.com

Next week there will be questions on Qur’aan. In July they want to have a panel to address the common Questions – I will be speaking for Muslims as well as Pluralism while Dr. Howard Cohen will be speaking for Judaism.  We are looking for speakers in Hindu, Sikh, Baha’i, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian, Wicca and other traditions.

Mike Ghouse is a Muslim Speaker, thinker, writer, futurist, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice versa to sustain peace, harmony and prosperity. He offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place. His work is indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net