HOME
: | SPECIAL NOTE : Please feel free to share and publish any of my articles, and kindly credit the author, thank you.

PROFILES - Google-12 Million | Personal | Interfaith Speaker : OldNew | Muslim Speaker : OldNew | Motivational Speaker | CV

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

TEXAS FAITH: What responsibility should Murdoch or any CEO take for their company?

What does your training as theologians, ethicists, clergy, academics and people of faith teach you about situations like this? Specifically, what responsibility should the leader of an organization take for his or her institution? Should Rupert Murdoch resign? William McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist

10 Panelists write:

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

Murdoch should have the courage to say, the buck stops here.

Presidents Reagan and Clinton are admired dearly for the success they brought to America in terms of cohesiveness, safety and prosperity . They did not do it personally but it was their charisma and leadership that produced the phenomenal results and the credit goes to them. And the blame would have gone to them, too, if they had failed.

Murdoch's organization is top-down and regardless of what happened that he was unaware of, he is responsible. It was a bold move on his part to shut down the tabloid in the United Kingdom, but what if other operations within his media empire should produce similar mischief?


Even though he is not elected by the public, he has an obligation to the stockholders to salvage the ship and consider the following options.

I would urge him to apologize with a commitment to revamp his news company to meet the highest standards of journalism, morals and ethics. That may be a 180 degree turn-around for their business model and may or may not work out. But it would be a worthwhile effort if he can turn this around and save the stockholders and keep another channel of communication alive for the public.

Alternatively he could resign and together with the stockholders, take a plunge as collective repentance for the wrongdoing. 

As a pluralist and a social scientist, I see the wisdom of religion, every religion emphasizing salvation through repentance. Let there be relief for them and the public.

To read the opinions of all panelists, please visit Dallas Morning News at
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/07/texas-faith-what-responsibilit.html


Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and a frequent guest on Hannity show and nationally syndicated Radio shows and Dallas TV, Radio and Print Media. He presides America Together Foundation and is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Over 1000 articles have been published on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, India and cohesive societies. Two of his books are poised to be released this fall on Pluralism and Islam. He is available to speak at your place of worship, work, school, college, seminars or conferences. His work is encapsulated in 27 blogs, four websites and several forums indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Monday, July 25, 2011

AMERICA WILL NOT BE SCRWED

I am proud of this debate, this is how democracy should function. I am proud of Americans for not giving either the Republican or Democrats duedes power in both the houses. Bad decision in the country have occurred when all the three branches are from the same party. Let the suckers fight, let them work for a change, let there be passions exchanged, ultimately the average Joe should win.


It was the Republican unilateralist war that bolstered our deficits and heaped irresponsible consequence on an average American family, and it was the Democratic unilateralism that pushed for the unproductive bail outs that has accelerated the ruin.


Compromising their integrity for political gains is bad; that is screwing America. They should not have positioned themselves by digging their heels. Newt Gingrich's call not to compromise is dumb. America is better off with diversity of opinions than slam dunk political decisions that we have to endure.


The winners should be the ones who compromise from their untenable positions for the good of America, that's who should ultimately win; Americans, and not Democrats and not Republicans.




Let us intimately learn about the consequences of their decision through the endless debating rather than positioning. American public should not be underestimated by the politicians, whoever compromises for a political gain should be routed out, but never give either party a majority in both the house. They creeps will ruin the nation.


Mike Ghouse committed to democracy and its checks and balances

Anders Breivik a Christian Terrorist?

The title “Christian Terrorists” will anger the right wingers, they will deny it vehemently, the fact remains; terrorists have no religion. There should be no such thing as Muslim terrorist or Islamic Terrorist either. Most the people around the globe see it as the act of bad guys from among them. 

We may seriously consider stepping out of being imbeciles in allowing every idiot to plaster a religious label for his act. The evil men are seeking to shift the responsibility of paying for their crime to an intangible non-entity called Religion so they can go scot free shooing some of us dogs to bark at Religion and many a right wingers do that; bark at each other’s religions.


Religion came into being to restore the social order, it was the case for Moses, Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and Nanak and on and on… their intention was not to create a private club with ownership resting in a few “chosen” ones. Their message to the people was to take a look at their solutions, which will build trust, justice and ultimate security for everyone.

Professor Mark Juengensmyer presents, “The similarities between suspected mass killer Anders Behring Breivik and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh are striking.” And further compares the loonies of Bin Laden and others. None of them had religious backgrounds.
It is time for the FBI to investigate all serious links to terror. The extremists among the right wingers continue to spew hate towards fellow citizens. Isn’t that how KKK resorted to violence? Al-Qaeda resorted to violence? If unchecked, we may have more of these in Europe and America.

We need to investigate the effects of hate spewing out of Pamela Geller, Brigitte Gabrielle, Robert Spencer and host of them out there. We need to hold them accountable as accessories for any violence generated by them.



Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies, details at www.MikeGhouse.net
# # #




Anders Breivik a Christian Terrorist?




The similarities between suspected mass killer Anders Behring Breivik and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh are striking.

Both were good-looking young Caucasians, self-enlisted soldiers in an imagined cosmic war to save Christendom. Both thought their acts of mass destruction would trigger a great battle to rescue society from the liberal forces of multiculturalism that allowed non-Christians and non-Whites positions of acceptability. Both regretted the loss of life but thought their actions were “necessary.” For that they were staunchly unapologetic. And both were Christian terrorists.

Their similarities even extend to the kind of explosive used in their actions. Both used a mixture of fuel oil and ammonium nitrate fertilizer which Breivik said he needed for his farm operations. The farm, it turned out, was rented largely because it was a convenient place to test his car bombs.

And then there is the matter of dates. McVeigh was fixed on the day of April 19, the anniversary of the Waco siege. Breivik chose July 22, which was the day in 1099 that the Kingdom of Jerusalem was established during the First Crusades.

·         The title of Breivik’s manifesto, which was posted on the internet on that day, is 2083; the date that Breivik suggested would be the culmination of a 70-year war that began with his action. Yet 70 years from 2011 would be 2081—why did he date the final purge of Muslims from Norway to be two years later, in 2083? I found the answer on page 242 of Breivik’s manifesto, where he explains that on 1683 at the Battle of Vienna, the Ottoman Empire’s military was defeated in a protracted struggle, thereby insuring that most of Europe would not become part of the Muslim empire. The date in Breivik’s title is the 400th anniversary of that decisive battle, and in Breivik’s mind he was recreating the historic efforts to save Europe from what he imagined to be the evils of Islam.

The threat of Islam is a dominant motif of his 1500-page manifesto, 2083: A European Declaration of Independence. The writing of a manifesto is a major difference between Breivik and McVeigh, who was not a writer; instead McVeigh copied and quoted from his favorite book, The Turner Diaries, a novel by neo-Nazi William Luther Pierce under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald.

McVeigh’s beloved novel explains his motives in a matter eerily similar to the writings of Breivik in his 2083 manifesto: he thought that liberal politicians had given in to the forces of globalization and multiculturalism, and that the “mudpeople”—non-White, non-Christian, non-heterosexual, non-patriarchal males—were trying to take over the country. To save the country for Christendom the righteous White, straight, non-feminist Christian males had to be shocked into reality by the force of an explosion that would signal to them that the war had begun. These were McVeigh’s ideas from The Turner Diaries, but they were also Breivik’s.

“The time for dialogue is over,” Breivik writes on page 811 of his manifesto. “The time for armed resistance has come.”

The enemy of this imagined cosmic war were “the cultural Marxist/multiculturalist elites” whom he regarded as the “Nazis of our time,” intent on “leading us [White Europeans] to the cultural slaughterhouse by selling us into Muslim slavery.” Breivik says, threateningly, to the “multiculturalist elite” that “we know who you are, where you live and we are coming for you.”

The manifesto is an interesting and eclectic document, something of a scrapbook of everything from his instructions for small-scale farming to a syllabus for a course on revolution that he’d love to see taught (complete with extensive bibliography that includes authors such as Immanuel Wallerstein, Theda Skocpol, and Eric Hobsbawm, and recommends as a textbook the book, Theorizing Revolution, written by my colleague at Santa Barbara, John Foran). It also includes theoretical and historical overviews of European history and political ideas, and an attempt to explain Muslim ideas and Islamic history, skewed in such a way to make it appear as if this major religious tradition were a single ideology eager to control the world.

The manifesto also includes a how-to manual for the creation of terrorist devices and acts of terrorism themselves—a manual not unlike the “Army of God” handbook created by Christian anti-abortion activists, most likely penned by Lutheran pastor Michael Bray. It advises on costumes that might be worn in order to avoid detection (including a policeman’s uniform).

Perhaps the most interesting section is Breivik’s day-by-day accounts of the weeks preceding the July 22 bombing and massacre, a chronology that ends with this matter-of-fact statement: “I believe this will be my last entry. It is now Fri July 22nd, 12.51.”

Moments later he posted the 1500-page book on the website before allegedly driving to downtown Oslo to detonate the bomb that killed 7 and shattered major buildings containing the offices of the ruling political party. Afterwards he reportedly donned the policeman’s uniform to gain entrance to the liberal party’s youth camp where he coldly murdered over 80 of the young people in a rampage that lasted more than an hour.

Like McVeigh, he thought that this horrible dramatic action would bring a hidden war into the open. Like many modern terrorists, his violent act was a form of performance violence, a symbolic attempt at empowerment to show the world that for the moment he was in charge. The terrorist act was a wake-up call, and a signal that the war had begun.

Behind the earthly conflict was a cosmic war, a battle for Christendom. As the title of Breivik’s manifesto indicates, he thought he was recreating that historical moment in which Christianity was defended against the hordes, and Islam was purged from what he imagined to be the purity of European society.

Breivik meticulously detailed what he expected to be the historical trajectory of this war through four stages, culminating in 2083. He expected that the forces of multiculturalism would be tough, and would resist the efforts to combat it. “It will take us up to 70 years to win,” Breivik writes on page 811, but adds that ”there is no doubt in our minds that we will eventually succeed.”

In the final phase, the civil war between the evil multiculturalists and the righteous few, a series of coup d’etats throughout Europe will overthrow the liberal forces. Then, finally “the deportation of Muslims” will begin, and European Christendom will be restored.

Is this a religious vision, and am I right in calling Breivik a Christian terrorist? It is true that Breivik—and McVeigh, for that matter—were much more concerned about politics, race and history than about scripture and religious belief, with Breivik even going so far as to write that “It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)).”

But much the same can be said about Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and many other Islamist activists. Bin Laden was a businessman and engineer, and Zawahiri was a medical doctor; neither were theologians or clergy. Their writings show that they were much more interested in Islamic history than theology or scripture, and imagined themselves as recreating glorious moments in Islamic history in their own imagined wars. Tellingly, Breivik writes of al Qaeda with admiration, as if he would love to create a Christian version of their religious cadre.

If bin Laden is a Muslim terrorist, Breivik and McVeigh are surely Christian ones. Breivik was fascinated with the Crusades and imagined himself to be a member of the Knights Templar, the crusader army of a thousand years ago. But in an imagined cosmic warfare time is suspended, and history is transcended as the activists imagine themselves to be acting out timeless roles in a sacred drama. The tragedy is that these religious fantasies are played out in real time, with real and cruel consequences.


Mark  Juergensmeyer  is Professor of Sociology and Director of Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the winner of the Grawemeyer Award for his book Terror in the Mind of God (UC Press). He is the editor of Global Religions: An Introduction and is also the author of The New Cold War? Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State and Gandhi's Way: A Handbook of Conflict Resolution, both from UC Press.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Pamela Geller and Norwegian Killer may know each other.

It is time for the FBI to investigate all serious links to terror.  The extremists among the right wingers continue to spew hate towards fellow citizens. Isn’t that how KKK resorted to violence? Al-Qaeda resorted to violence?  If unchecked, we may have more of these in Europe and America.

Pamela Geller was the instigator for so much of hate in 2010 with the Ground Zero Mosque. Check out Act for America for the hate spewed for fellow Americans. Geert Wilders duped our Senators and Congressman and had an audience with them about his movie Fitna, which was a blatant lie. Their rhetoric is causing tensions, arson in the Mosque in Tennessee and where will it lead to? If there is a link between the Jihadist rhetoric and destruction, could similar things evolve out of these outfits?

Remember Collin Powell's famous line? So what if he is a Muslim? Here is another one. Craig Murray, an Ambassador and Human rights activist writes, “That is indeed the point I am making. Plainly the links above are just something to give investigators a direction and indicate from where he drew inspiration. But where Muslims are concerned, internet links or the attendance at the same meeting has been deemed enough evidence to lock people up for years.”

I have appeared with Geller, Spencer, Gabriel, Horowitz and others on Fox with Sean Hannity, and I believe they have the potential to be peace makers. I do hope and pray that they focus their energies in peace making; they can be successful and be beneficent to the world. They have the entire right wingers and Tea Partiers with them.

Norwegian Killer Linked to Tea Party and EDL – Craig Murray, Former Ambassador and Human rights activist. http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2011/07/norwegian-killer-linked-to-tea-party-and-edl/
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and a frequent guest on Hannity show and nationally syndicated Radio shows and Dallas TV, Radio and Print Media. He presides America Together Foundation and is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Over 1000 articles have been published on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, India and cohesive societies. Two of his books are poised to be released this fall on Pluralism and Islam. He is available to speak at your place of worship, work, school, college, seminars or conferences. His work is encapsulated in 27 blogs, four websites and several forums indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Friday, July 22, 2011

Norway, Terrorism & Counter Terrorism

First, we the people of all faiths, traditions and nations condemn the disgusting terrorist attack on Norway, killing at least eight and injuring scores. We extend our sympathies to the families and the victims of mindless terrorism.


Second, it is time to get rid of all the Terrorism experts that disgrace our television screens, Radio, Print and the Internet. Their advice to bomb and annihilate others has not worked and will never work. We cannot be safe if we keep threatening others with our might. Non-Violence approach will ensure that we all can live with freedom and without the fear of someone sticking it to us in our vulnerable moments.

Third, it is time to re-consider a long term policy on Terrorism; we cannot shut down terrorism with terror, when people take a position they dig in their heels and do more harm to themselves and others. Fact, religion, reason and logic are out of question for them, it’s you or me.

Full article is publication pending and will be available at www.TheGhousediary.com or http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/07/norway-terrorism-counter-terrorism.html


Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.  Over a 1000 articles have been published on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, India and cohesive societies. Two of his books are poised to be released this fall on Pluralism and Islam. He is available to speak at your place of worship, work, school, college, seminars or conferences. His work is indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Sharia Law documentary on Hilla

Hasan Mahmud, the author and producer of the Docu-Movie “Hilla” is driven by justice in general and justice for women in particular, a fundamental value of Islam. Indeed, if Islam were to be defined in one word, it would be Justice.
There were a lot of practices that Islam had negated but continue within a few societies. Culture runs deeper than religion, and some of the primitive practices like honor killing, female genital mutilation, and instant divorce without the consent of the wife continue till this day, even though Islam prohibits it.
Hilla is one such instrument; a deviant deterrent for men and women not to rush to divorce. If they do, the woman had to marry another man and fully consume the marriage and then if that other husband divorces her, she can come back and re-marry the first husband. What an agony! Even business is carried in such temporary marriages. Darn, that is again without her consent, the prophet liberated women and said, if a woman is unhappy with the marriage she can initiate divorce, it was a feminist idea in the 7th century while women were considered chattel everywhere in the world including Europe.
The Sharia laws like all other laws were devised to serve regret free justice. However the implementers have been men and mis-application of the law continues where ever there are divorces. Indeed, no society is free from the misapplication of laws including our own U.S of A. We have put many innocent people on Electric Chair in Texas.
This Docu-Movie is about dealing with Hilla marriage under Sharia law. The dialogues and characters of the Imam, father, bride, the teacher and college educated girl are authentic and are set in tiny Bangladeshi town. The language is Bengali with English subtitles. I have lived in a small village and a town and I can relate with the originality of the screenplay. I was absorbed and watched the 90 minute movie in one sitting.
When the movie Lagan was released, I wondered who is going to watch three hours of Cricket and the guys hitting the balls and fielders chasing it. But the movie became a classic and I have seen it twice and it’s been shown all over the world including Latin American resorts.
This documentary is gripping and dialogues are fascinating.
The Imam and the adopted father of the woman (her departed father’s friend and the Village-chief) want the marriage restored, as the husband, inadvertently uttered the words Talaq (divorce) three times inadvertently; it means the end of marriage, the divorce is final. What an oppressive tool!
They gather in the public square and bring all the books on Islamic jurisprudence, the Sharia books to read through to find solutions. It is a very powerful scene; the fact that so many books were to be read with different opinions will open up the eyes of those who are entrenched with a singular view. The local Imam asks the reader to read Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Shafii opinion as well. This deliberation needs to become a part of the culture to bring about a positive change. At the end the Quran wins in restoring Women Rights. A happy ending to the tension the viewer endures.
Hasan has subtly introduced a new norm in a small town environment. It encourages research and truthfully portrays the differences in opinions, it opens up people’s hearts and minds to do the basic thing; Justice.
Please watch and share
Scroll down for each one of the 15 parts of about 6 minutes each.
# # #
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and a frequent guest on Hannity show and nationally syndicated Radio shows and Dallas TV, Radio and Print Media. He presides America Together Foundation and is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Over 1000 articles have been published on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, India and cohesive societies. Two of his books are poised to be released this fall on Pluralism and Islam. He is available to speak at your place of worship, work, school, college, seminars or conferences. His work is encapsulated in 27 blogs, four websites and several forums indexed at MikeGhousedotnet.
 

Muslim Women and Gender Issues in Mosques

At a school in Canada, the volunteers put a temporary barrier between high school boys and girls within the same cafeteria space for the Friday congregational Prayers. A Canadian Muslim organization is plugging the gender issue here to complicate the matters. You cannot tag that as a gender issue if you understood the culture of not only Muslims, but Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Zoroastrians. Full story at- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muslim-women-and-gender-i_b_896904.html

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on Islam, Pluralism, interfaith and cohesive societies – All his work is indexed at www.mikeghouse.net

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Texas Faith: What value should we place on compromise?

Whether they are Republicans or Democrats, compromising their integrity for political gains is bad; that is screwing America.

They should not have positioned themselves by digging their heels. Newt Gingrich's call not to compromise is dumb. He should have shown leadership with America's interest in his heart calling for research and advising his party to do what is right for America, and not what is right for the GOP in 2012 - Mike Ghouse.


When it comes to making big decisions, probably most of us like to think that we are guided by a set of principles. They provide a moral, ethical compass. So, I welcome your thoughts on the value we should place on compromise. In some ways, it really is a dirty word. But without some compromise, society can't function. How do we deal with this conundrum? - Bill McKenzie, Dallas Morning News.


Eleven Texas Faith Panelists address the issue at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/07/texas-faith-what-value-should.html
and here is my take:

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

President Truman famously said, "Give me a one-handed economist! All my economists say, on the one hand on the other." A French proverb is more decisive, "One bad general is better than two good ones." Both of these statements are expressions of exasperation and impatience.

We don't need an economist with one hand nor do we want a bad general. Thank God for the turmoil we are going through, I rather see the Congress, Senate and the Administration exhaust themselves debating, fighting and accusing each other on raising the debt ceiling and cutting the expenditures. At stake are $2 trillion to $4 trillion, along with the larger $14 trillion debt. This has serious implications and these men and women have taken responsibility to find the answers. Let them work for a change, let there be passions exchanged, ultimately the average Joe should win.

America is better off with diversity of opinions than slam dunk political decisions that we have to endure. Thanks to Hannity, O'Reilly and their ilk for stoking fears about the impending changes in political philosophy. It puts the burden on the administration to find answers.

Compromising their integrity for political gains is bad; that is screwing America. They should not have positioned themselves by digging their heels. Newt Gingrich's call not to compromise is dumb. He should have shown leadership with America's interest in his heart calling for research and advising his party to do what is right for America, and not what is right for the GOP in 2012.

The winners should be the ones who compromise from their untenable positions for the good of America, that's who should ultimately win; Americans, and not Democrats and not Republicans.

The American public restored the checks and balances in 2010 by not giving both the houses to the same party. It was the Republican unilateralist war that bolstered our deficits and heaped irresponsible consequence on an average American family, and it was the Democratic unilateralism that pushed for the unproductive bail outs that has accelerated the ruin.

A decision is sustainable if all parties debate and own it and see its benefits to America. Let us intimately learn about the consequences of their decision through the endless debating rather than positioning. American public should not be underestimated by the politicians, whoever compromises for a political gain will be routed out, hurting America once again with unilateralism, which is responsible for the current fiasco.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Muslims Celebrate the birthday of Imam Mahdi

The diversity in Islam is incredible, God tests out our tolerance to see if we are capable of accepting different versions of Islam, a majority of us believe in Universality, as we so proudly label God as the God of universe, not ours exclusively. We do the same with Prophet Muhammad; mercy to mankind and we have to lift ourselves to emulate to become a mercy to mankind. We continue to learn about respecting the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has prophesized.

The Islamic information center of Washington DC shared the announcement of celebration of the birthday of Imam Mahdi ( July 17) one of the great grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, May God Bless them both.
The topic is about the Messiah.

The diversity in Islam is incredible, God continuously tests out our tolerance to see if we are capable of accepting different versions of Islam. A majority of us believe in universality of Islam and pleased to label God as the God of universe (Rabbul Aalameen) and not ours exclusively. We do the same with Prophet Muhammad; mercy to mankind (Rahmatul Aalameen) and it behooves us to lift ourselves to become the mercy to mankind.

We continue to learn about respecting the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had prophesized.

The Islamic Information Center shared the announcement of celebration of the birthday of Imam Mahdi (July 17) one of the great grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, May God Bless them both.

Mahdi is the promised Messiah in Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions. Indeed every tradition anchors their faith on a day when justice will be served to the whole human kind. It is a dream and it is a hope of individuals and groups. Different scenarios have been painted out by different groups from dooms day to resurrection and the bottom line remains the same; justice for everyone.


The Jewish people are still waiting for that Messiah, Christians and Muslims believe Jesus was the one and he will return to establish and re-build the kingdom of heaven where no one will live in apprehension of the other.

It is amazing how the Neocons among Muslims, Christians and Jews give a political spin to the story to suit them. The Muslim Neocons believe that when Jesus comes back he will destroy the evil forces and establish Islam and the Christian Neocons have spread the falsity that Muhammad will come and Slaughter every one or forced them to become Muslims. While the Christian Neocons believe that “their Jesus” will come and convert every Muslim, Jew, Hindu and others to Christianity. Any hatred must be verified, why do the religious right have to tell lies about others?

How gross their spin is! Jesus will restore justice to humanity by messing others and converting them to Christianity or Islam. Convert he will everyone to common humanity that is spiritual aspect of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, the essence is same in all traditions and religions; Justice to prevail at the end through any one call him Messiah, Jesus or any name, the idea is same.


Within Islam we have different understandings as well; the Sunnis believe in the return of the Messiah whereas the Shia denomination believes that Imam Mahdi is the one and he will be back whereas the Ahmadiyya Muslims believe Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the messiah.
Islam is large enough to absorb all the strands regardless of what the politically oriented Muslims are bent on denigrating each other. Indeed, we can see the wisdom in the Prophet's predictions that we will divide ourselves into 73 tribes. He understood the human fitra (nature) and prepared us to accept it instead of making arrogant claim to be the best, the best among us indeed is the one who is pious and who serves humanity.

This is inspirational and describes the end times well, “The Prophet of Islam proclaimed, Listen to the good news about the Mahdi! He will rise at the time when people will be faced with severe conflict and the earth will be hit by a violent quake. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will fill the hearts of his followers with devotion and will spread justice everywhere". I was looking for a statement like this for nearly two decades.


Indeed that is the very basic to human nature justice and equity. If not now, it gives us solace knowing that the world would be better place some day. Contrast this with the fabrications by Christian Neocons that Prophet Muhammad will come in the end times and slaughter every one or force everyone to become Muslim.




I believe nature is created to have a balance; physical and spiritual. In this game tyrants get away with murders and injustices, there was Hitler, Stalin and Bin Laden and a host of the heads of the states who have ordered bombing of innocent, uprooting families, the only thing an ordinary person can hope justice is belief in the end times where everyone will be accountable. The idea that everyone will pay for it restores hope and takes the burden off of us.

Mike Ghouse is Committed to building cohesive societies – details at www.mikeghouse.net


# #

Here is the Press release.

(WASHINGTON DC -- July 17, 2011) The Islamic Information Center celebrates the birthday of Imam Mahdi, one of the great great grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, May God Bless them both.

This holiday is being marked by hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world, and is a joyous occasion.

To learn more about
Imam Mahdi and his role in the modern world, please read IIC's "Imam Mahdi Information Packet", available for free download by simply clicking on the image below! http://www.islamicinformationcenter.org/images/stories/pdfs/ImamMahdi.pdf?utm_source=Islamic+Information+Center&utm_campaign=414d01d69e-Interfaith&utm_medium=email

"Civilizations were born and destroyed many times throughout human history, but a few concepts persist in the collective beliefs of various cultures.
One of these is the belief in a final savior that will come at the end of the world. Notions differ as to who this character is or what the conditions of the end of the world will be.
Nevertheless, the belief in a just leader who will bring truth and justice to a world of chaos and corruption is widely observed in various cultural and faith traditions, especially in those of the Abrahamic traditions. In Islam, this branch of eschatology refers to the tradition of Imam Mahdi, the leader who will lead all of humanity to the path of truth and consciousness.

Imam Mahdi has several titles, be he is generally known as the 'Mahdi', or the spiritual leader who is 'rightly-guided'. Born in 868 AD, Imam Mahdi entered a period of occultation, or divine hiding, that would protect him from his enemies, and will return when he is called forth by God to fulfill his mission. This mission is necessarily one of returning justice and balance to the earth in a time of great tyranny and chaos.

Imam Mahdi will return alongside the Holy Prophet Jesus, son of Mary, to usher in a golden era of peace and tranquility.

Imam Mahdi represents the justice of God in this earth, and will answer the cries of the helpless, oppressed, and downtrodden.

The Prophet of Islam proclaimed, "Listen to the good news about the Mahdi! He will rise at the time when people will be faced with severe conflict and the earth will be hit by a violent quake. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will fill the hearts of his followers with devotion and will spread justice everywhere".

Friday, July 15, 2011

Sharia and 2012 Elections

DO THE REPUBLICANS UNDERSTAND SHARIAH?
www.ShariaLaws.com

As American Muslims we are committed to the safety, security and prosperity of America. That's a pledge we take seriously and act upon it.  We are considering a Sharia conference in every major city in the US to demystify the myths about it. Every Republican candidate is talking about it without a clue and much of his/her talk is anti-fellow Americans, rather Anti-American. It is embarrassing to hear their ignorance when a good reporter asks questions.

Sharia will become a dominant theme in the 2012 Presidential Elections; the one who speaks the loudest earns the tea party support assuming that Tea Party represents the main stream Americans.  I am not sure, if we the Americans would gulp down their rhetoric or would have the time to question the veracity of the comments.



The responsibility falls squarely on us, the American Muslims to become contributors and participants in the well being, peace and prosperity of America.



We are considering a Sharia conference in every major city in the US, it will be professionally developed with the help of our Imams and Scholars and those who have problems with it. We have to answer every possible question that there is. If you are cooking things up in your mind and judging, you must be a darn Republican.

If you have the will, it’s easy to do it.

Muslims together can work and build a safer and secure America for every one of the 301 Million Americans.  This is your conference in your town, organized and managed by you. I hope all of us can call ISNA, CAIR, ICNA and other national organizations to take this project up.

 We can do this for under $ 5000.00 per city. I have done over 40 events including the ones over 600 attendees within that budget.  We should not expect the national organizations to put this event out, we have to do it on our own with their supervision to standardize the event. You’ll have to raise the funds locally- 100 Muslims $50/each or other combinations will do it. The question we have to ask is, are we willing to do it or find it comfortable to talk about our love of Islam without doing a thing.
   

I am a volunteer and will be happy to assist anyone anywhere. 
Together we can come up with great plans and just do it.

For the starters, I have pulled a few key articles together; there are much better articles out there, Insha Allah, we will gather them all and urge Muslims to post on their sites, the more places it is published, the better off we are.  

10 ARTICLES

The articles range from simplicity for a lay person to understand  ( Sumbul, Nezar , Nasim, Amjad and Mike’s articles) to Mainstream press writing ( Amy Sullivan and Justin Elliott),  to Scholarly presentations ( Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci and  Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq) . I hope to gather article critical (Plenty) of Sharia as well. If you know a great article, please share, together we can complete the spectrum and add value to its understanding. I further request that you post this on your site or ask those who have a site to post. The more it shows up in search engines, the better off we are collectively.

------ ------

Sharia in one Gulp – Mike Ghouse

Sharia in its simplest form is a how-to manual based on the Qur'an and the Hadith (Prophet Muhammad's sayings). It is a human effort to understand the concept of justice enshrined in the Qur'an for day-to-day living.

-
http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/sharia-in-one-gulp.html
-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/sharia-law-not-in-america_b_653250.html 

------ ------

What Sharia law actually means – Justin Elliott

Sharia is more than simply "law" in the prescriptive sense. It is also a methodology through which a jurist engages the religious texts to ascertain divine will. As a jurist-made law, the outcome of this process of ascertaining divine will is called fiqh (positive law), which is the moral and legal anchor of a Muslim's total existence.
http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-sharia-law-actually-means.html

------ ------

Who's Afraid of Sharia? – Sumbul Ali Karamali

Hasn't the whole notion of shariah in America gotten a bit out of control? No, it hasn't -- it's gotten hugely, obscenely, ignorantly out of control. Aha! The six principles must be about killing infidels, veiling women, stoning people for adultery, honor killings and female genital cutting, right? Nope.


------ ------

Sharia the law system inspired by the Quraan - Wikipedia

Sharia is often referred to as Islamic law, but this is wrong, as only a small part is irrefutably based upon the core Islamic text, the Koran. Correct designations would be "Muslim Law", "Islam-inspired", "Islam-derived," or even "the law system of Muslims."This is well known to most Muslims, yet Sharia is always referred to as "based upon the Koran", hence it is the "will of God."
http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/03/sharia-law-system-inspired-by-quraan.html

------ ------

Sharia is Not what you think it is – Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid

When some American pundits call sharia, "a growing threat to the United States," Muslim Americans wonder what in the world are they talking about. Sharia is overwhelmingly concerned with personal religious observance, not with constitutions and laws.


------ ------

The Myths of Sharia Law in America – Amy Sullivan

If you are not vitally concerned about the possibility of radical Muslims infiltrating the U.S. gove
rnment and establishing a Taliban-style theocracy, then you are not a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. In addition to talking about tax policy and Afghanistan, Republican candidates have also felt the need to speak out against the menace of "sharia."

http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/myths-of-sharia-law-in-america-httpwww.html

------ ------

Sharia – Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq

"While Islam under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad brought liberation and freedom from human bondage and ushered in scientific, technological, economic and cultural progress as part of a dynamic civilization, the Shariah as it is being presented today seems to do (and probably promise more of) just the opposite. Why? In this essay, it is argued that one pivotal problem has to do with some fundamental misunderstanding about Islam and Shariah.


------ ------

Sharia, Fiqh and Islamic Law – Imam Dr. Yusuf Ziya Kavakci

Dr. Kavakci is one of the 500 most influential Imams in the world
Sharia recently became a hotly debated subject. Archbishop of England made a statement at the middle of many statements, that has given the opportunity of Islamic law and Shari to be discussed and debated by westerners and some times the discussion apparently was taken out context. It is, as I believe, a fact that Sharia, Fiqh in its early stages got established and developed in the wide area of the world, mainly where Roman law was dominant.

http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/sharia-fiqh-and-islamic-law_15.html

------ ------

Demystifying Sharia - Nasim Rehmatullah and Amjad Mahmood Khan

Shariah is a misunderstood and misused concept. Critics of Islam frequently employ terms like "creeping shariah" to stoke fear amongst the masses. The Park 51 controversy and the increasing media focus on Islam provide an opportunity to educate Americans about the true teachings and practices of Islam concerning shariah.

http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/demystifying-shariah.html

------ ------

Sharia law is not a threat – Nezar Hamze, Cair


You can’t turn on the news these days or pick up a newspaper without seeing or reading about Islam, Muslims or Sharia law. Unfortunately, most of what you hear is from politicians with a religious viewpoint or media outlets creating an illusion of an enemy.


------ ------

Mike Ghouse committed to nurturing the pluralistic values embedded in Islam.  More about him at www.MikeGhouse.net