What will Muslims do on Quran Burning Day?

A PURPOSEFUL EVENT : 10TH ANNUAL UNITY DAY USA

It is a purposeful event to bring Americans of different faiths, races, ethnicities and other uniqueness together to rededicate ourselves to our pledge; One nation under God with liberty and Justice for all. We will pray for peace, prosperity and security of our nation.

Last year the event focused on the positive response of Sikh community to the Wisconsin Shooting and this year, we will focus on the positive prayerful response of Muslim community to the planned Quran Burning by Pastor Terry Jones in Mulberry, Florida.

Event: 10th Annual Unity Day USA
Time: 8:46 AM
Date: September 11, 2013
Place: Mulberry Civic Center,
901 NE 5th St  Mulberry, FL 33860
http://www.cityofmulberryfl.com
RSVP- ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com Contact information - at the bottom

Press Conference: 8:00 AM

 PICTURES  INDICATE HOW IT WILL BE DONE IN MULBERRY, AS HAS BEEN DONE

PICTURES FROM UNITY DAY IN DALLAS

The 10th Annual event is moved to Mulberry, Florida - for a singular purpose - to mitigate possible apprehensions generated by the planned burning of 2998 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013. We hope the event restores our faith in the cohesiveness of America, and we the people will go on about our business of living our daily lives.

We honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution, and have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones freedom of expression.  Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to prevail for the common good of the world.

We hope, our mercy based message will remind those few Muslims elsewhere in the world that violence is not the way. We believe it may bring a change in the attitudes of followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety.

The full press release: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

WE WILL GATHER;
    to be together as Americans
    to express our gratitude to our men and women in uniform
    to honor individuals who have contributed to the well being of Mulberry, Florida
    to emphasize and appreciate diversity represented by America.
    to cherish the otherness of others.
    to commit to be good neighbors
    to rededicate our pledge to the peace, prosperity and security of America

Please join us with your family and friends to be together as Americans. Your presence is a valuable expression of unity. Along with our elected officials, civic, religious and business leaders, you help fulfill our common values and aspirations. Your presence fortifies our commitment to a pluralistic America.

As Americans, and as American of all hues, we uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. All our faiths reinforce the creed of "One Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all”.

On this Unity Day USA, we, the people of the United States of America of every faith, race and ethnicity, will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, safety, prosperity and the well being of our nation.

PROGRAM OUTLINE Event: 10th Annual Unity Day USA
Time: 8:46 AM

Date: September 11, 2013
Place: Mulberry Civic Center, 901 NE 5th St  Mulberry, FL 33860

FLAG CEREMONY

 

NATIONAL ANTHEM
(Preferably joined in by members of at least 7 faith traditions, if not all)

 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
To be led by the Hon. Mayor George Hatch of Mulberry

   
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgement of dignitaries- Suzanne

Thanking key volunteers - Curtis 

Thanking the Media- Butch

Appreciating the sponsors - Lynn 

PURPOSE 

Purpose - a new positive approach to conflict mitigation and rededicating to our pledge – one nation under God with Liberty and Justice for all- Mike

Blood donation – Dr. Bajwa (3 Minutes) about the nationwide blood drive 

GREETINGS 

Greetings from several religious traditions a few Video Samples;  City of Carrollton-II - City of Carrollton – Chicago Bible College


CIVIC LEADERSHIP
Mayors, Police and Fire chiefs, and Civic Leaders to share 3 minutes each – about their responsibility in treating each citizen with respect and dignity

HONORING THE ACTIVISTS
Those who have stood up for others

SPIRITUAL LEADERS

All-inclusive spiritual leaders will be on stage representing each tradition, and lighting a candle of the next, a symbolic gesture to be the light to others. Every available religious American representation in Polk County will be accommodated. This is not about sermons but about being together as Americans. Please beware, it is about Americans and included in the group will be Atheists, Pagans and other non-religious traditions.

PEACE PLEDGE

• I will I will speak up when there is injustice.
• I will speak up when truth is not spoken.
• I will make my words and my actions mitigate conflicts.
• I will do my share in nurturing goodwill for the benefit of all.
• I will do my share of peace work, without looking for others 
• I will do respect the God given uniqueness of each individual.
• I will do my best to live and let others live their way.
• I will do my best to nurture goodwill in everything I do.
  

 
SPECIAL MUSLIM PRAYER

( 3-4 Minutes)Muslim prayers and supplication for the safety and security and unity of our nation. Pray for the well being of all Americans, and seek forgiveness for all of us, and may God guide  Reverend Terry Jones to become a be blessed peace maker. Pray for the goodwill of the people of Polk county and Mulberry City, and pray for a cohesive America, where no American needs to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear or fellow Americans.

CONCLUSION REMARKS

Mayor Hatch and one of the top officials will make the remarks.

BLOOD DONATION

FUNDING FOR THE EVENT

Please donate to defray the costs. All donors over $100 will be listed on this site. If one or two individuals want to sponsor, we would really welcome it. It will save us time.  Donate at http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/ 

 VIDEO MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS AND PASTOR JONES

A VIDEO MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS AND PASTOR JONES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsQq-tbJ89k&feature=youtu.be

 

1. PLANNED MUSLIM RESPONSE TO PASTOR JONES QUR'AN BURNING URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

4. A PROPER RESPONSE TO INFLAMMATORY ACT - SAUDI GAZETTE
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130821177617

5. FOR MUSLIMS IN AMERICA, A NOVEL PROTEST - TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/From-Muslims-in-America-a-novel-protest-against-quran-burning/articleshow/21982162.cms

6. TAMPA BAY FOX NEWShttp://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/23233567/2013/08/22/pastor-wants-to-burn-3000-korans-in-mulberry

9. MUSLIMS PROTESTS - MULBERRY LEDGER
http://www.theledger.com/article/20130820/news/130829938

 A FEW CURRENT PICTURES:

 

MULBERRY MAYOR HON. GEORGE HATCH

LAKELAND MAYOR HON. GOW B. FIELDS

THE MULBERRY UNITY DAY TEAM - MIKE, CURTIS, SUZANNE, LYNN
AND FRIEND SUSIE (NOT ON THE TEAM)

All the original pieces related to the Quran burning even are at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com 

HOW UNITY DAY WAS BORN
http://911unitydayusa.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

Unity day 2009

Unityday 2006

CONTACTS:

The Mulberry Unity Day USA Team

Suzanne Carter (727) 479-5041
Linda Jezard 
Curtis Rahman (863) 430-7553
Lynn Broom (863-662-8511


Thank you.
Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
email: SpeakerMikeGhouse@Gmail.com 

http://quranburningpastorterryjones.blogspot.com/
www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com

www.FoundationforPluralism.com
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
www.UnitydayUSA.com 

With all that hype after Trayvon Martin about Florida being not a good place for blacks, here is a living proof of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream. We were gathered as the son of a slave (Gow B. Fields), the son of a former slave-owner (George Hatch, the mayor of Mulberry) and me, an immigrant who promotes pluralism. Together, we rededicated our pledge to one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. Mike Ghouse
URL - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america.html

TEXAS FAITH: Is MLK’s dream for America achievable?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
4:01 pm on August 27, 2013 | Permalink

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. January 1964

Is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America achievable?

At heart, King was a minister, not a politician. He relied upon the Scriptures to inform his views of equality, along with his own experiences. He studied theologians like Reinhold Niebuhr, as well as philosopher-leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. And he led interfaith groups on marches, not Republicans or Democrats in their caucuses.

In short, he was more prophetic like Amos or Isaiah than political like JFK or LBJ. The prophets of old presented a vision for their people, whether the people liked it or not.

Similarly, King presented a vision, a modern one where he imagined “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

But is that dream realistic? Are we too constrained by our own natures to realize that kind of harmony?

In Time this month, author Jon Meacham hints at this dilemma when he writes:

“The death of Jim Crow is an epic story, but it is no fairy tale, for the half-century since the 1963 March on Washington has surely taught us that while African Americans are largely living happier lives, no one can sensibly say that everyone is living happily ever after. The dream of which King spoke was less a dream to bring about on this side of paradise than a prophetic vision to be approximated, for King’s understanding of equality and brotherhood was much likelier to be realized in the kingdom of God than in any mortal realm.In Washington to demand legislative action, King spoke as a minister of the Lord, invoking the meaning of Sermon on the Mount in a city more often interested in the mechanics of the Senate.”

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas

Indeed Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America is realistic and achievable with this caveat: bigotry will always be a part of every society. Since his famous “I Have a Dream” speech 50 years ago, we have seen significant achievements for which we should be grateful.

Who could have imagined that within 50 years of sharing his dream, the biggest part of his vision would have been actually achieved? Barack Obama, who genealogists say has ties to a slave through his mother’s family, is the most powerful man in a country where blacks and whites once couldn’t drink water from the same water fountain.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an activist more than a philosopher and a religious leader. He understood justice is the bottom line for “natural” societies. All that has evolved in nature or created by the God were programmed to seek a built-in balance to sustain. Balance is the natural status of all creation; life and matter.

To be unjust was to be unnatural, and he said, “injustice to one is injustice to all.” King was committed to restore the dharma: righteousness. To paraphrase Quran, God said, he does not deprive any of his creation with his love and sends an equalizer (peace maker) to to every tribe and a nation to bring about a balance. And Lord Krishna in Bhagvad Gita says, whenever the societies lose that balance, someone from among them will emerge to restore it. Martin Luther King, Jr. was prophetic in that sense. Otherwise, why would any one chose an enterprise that did not benefit him personally like the Prophets?

I’m in Mulberry Florida today to counter Pastor Terry Jones’ burning of 2,998 copies of Quran. I am using a peace model to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill. Just two days ago, I knew no one, and today we have been able to bring together two mayors. We also were in the Mulberry Ledger, Tampa Bay Fox News, and a whole lot of diverse communities to set up our September 11th Unity Day USA event. Humans crave for justness, and its natural for them to gravitate towards it if beckoned.

One of the two mayors I met was Gow B. Fields. He is the mayor of Lakeland and an African-American. It was so good to hear his dream, and we connected instantly. Both of us want to see a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of a fellow American.

With all that hype after Trayvon Martin about Florida being not a good place for blacks, here is a living proof of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream. We were gathered as the son of a slave (Gow B. Fields), the son of a former slave-owner (George Hatch, the mayor of Mulberry) and me, an immigrant who promotes pluralism. Together, we rededicated our pledge to one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream lives on.

To read all the columns by fellow panelists, please visit Dallas Morning news at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america-achievable.html/

Mayor George Hatch and Mike Ghouse

Mayor Gow Fields and Mike Ghouse

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: Would you want to live to 120 years old?

The ability to extend life is a beautiful gift from God and he wants us to enjoy the good things he has bestowed on us. Indeed, we are discovering beneficence in everything that surrounds us to enhance the quality of our life. That includes living longer. Of course, I want to live forever, but stagnancy may not be in creators plan. - Mike Ghouse

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
3:31 pm on August 13, 2013 | Permalink

Would you want to live forever?

Okay, maybe not forever. But what do you think about what’s called “radical life extension?”

The Pew Research Religion and Public Life Project recently polled Americans about how they feel about efforts to keep people living well past 100. Not so surprisingly, the answers broke down into different categories when the researchers looked at this question by religious group.

For example, more than 50 percent of white evangelicals, white mainline Protestants and white Catholics thought “radical life extension” was a bad thing. But more than 50 percent of black Protestants thought it was a good thing. And 49 percent of those who believe in an after-life also thought this was good.

To me, that latter finding was the most interesting part of the survey. More people who believe in an after-life liked the concept than those who don’t believe in an after-life. (Fifty-eight percent of the latter thought extending life up to 120 years or so is not a good thing.)

So, what do you think of “radical life extension?”

Are we “cheating death” as the title of an Atlantic piece suggests? Or are we merely availing ourselves of all the advancements in science and medical technology?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas and speaker on interfaith matters

The ability to extend life is a beautiful gift from God and he wants us to enjoy the good things he has bestowed on us. Indeed, we are discovering beneficence in everything that surrounds us to enhance the quality of our life. That includes living longer. Of course, I want to live forever, but stagnancy may not be in creators plan.

The scriptures and traditions extol the gift of life. “Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission.” Native American theory of existence.

II Corinthians 9:8, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and provide in abundance for every good work”.

Quran 55:4-10, “He has created man and imparted unto him articulate thought and speech; and has spread earth out for all living beings.”

Bhagvad Gita 7:21, “if a person desires to have material enjoyment and wants to have such facilities from the material demigods, the Supreme Lord gives.”

Torah, 33:1, “ There is a closing benediction for all the tribes in which Moses reminds them of the abundance they are to enjoy and the goodness that God has bestowed upon them.”

Sikhism: “Giving or enhancing life through organ donation is both consistent with, and in the spirit of Sikh teachings.”

Not too long ago, when you reached 50 you were considered old. In the year 1900, life expectancy in the United States was 46 years, and it jumped to 65 in 1950, and by the turn of the century it was 74. The Center for Disease Control places life expectancy at 78.7 years now, whereas the average life expectancy in 1776 was 35 years.

Advances in public health, lower infant mortality, disease control and healthy living have contributed to living longer. Indeed it has more than doubled since our independence. In the first 125 years we increased the life expectancy by a mere 11 years, whereas in the next 113 years it went up by 32 years. Life expectancy has nearly tripled!

We are not “cheating death” as the title of an Atlantic piece suggests. Life is God’s gift, and to protect and preserve it is a moral obligation. Thanks to the advancements in science and technology, we can appreciate the creator even more. Quran 55:13, “Which, then, of your Sustainer’s gifts can you disavow?”

To read all the responses from other Panelists - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/texas-faith-would-you-want-to-live-to-120-years-old.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 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.

Pastor Looking for New Place to Burn Qurans Due to Flooding in Mulberry

Pastor Looking for New Place to Burn Qurans Due to Flooding in Mulberry

Pastor Terry Jones, Pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Bradenton.

ERNST PETERS | THE LEDGER

By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER

Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 4:38 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.

MULBERRY | Terry Jones is searching for a new place in Mulberry to burn 2,998 Qurans on Sept. 11 because his first site is under water.

Bill McKinney, the Mulberry resident who offered his home for the protest burning, said Tuesday the event won't take place in his yard because it's flooded.

Jones, a Florida pastor who's organizing the protest, said he remains committed to staging the event near Mulberry and is looking for another site.

"I'm not worried," he said Tuesday. "Something will come along."

Tuesday afternoon, Jones, and a friend and his daughter drove around Mulberry looking for possible sites, including the Carter Road Sports Complex on South Carter Road. He hasn't found one yet.

McKinney said he's disappointed he had to cancel two weeks before the protest, but he doesn't expect his 1-acre yard to dry out before then.

"This is an old cow pasture," he said, "and with all the rain, I've been under water for about a month. If it wasn't for my property being under water, this (event) would happen. I haven't changed my mind about that."

McKinney, 58, said the water is up to his 4-year-old grandson's knees.

McKinney, who lives off Shepherd Road, said he told Jones Tuesday he would have to find another venue. He said no one has pressured him into pulling out of the protest.

Despite plans by groups to challenge his protest, Jones said he won't be intimidated into leaving the Mulberry area.

"If we have to, we will fill up the back of a pickup truck with (Qurans) and set them on fire in front of City Hall," he said. "We are going to do what we're going to do. We will stay within the confines of the law, but we will push it as far as we can."

Jones said he plans to burn 2,998 Qurans in memory of each American lost in the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. He staged a similar event in March 2011, burning a single Quran and sparking deadly violence in Afghanistan.

Jones said he didn't set out to stage this latest protest in Mulberry. He was searching for a location earlier this summer after selling the Dove World Outreach Center, his church in Gainesville, when McKinney stepped forward, saying he shares Jones' ideology.

"I really wanted to do this," McKinney said Tuesday. "We have got to stop the Islamification of America. They said they were going to take over America and we have to take them at their word."

McKinney, who said he's a faithful man but practices no specific religion, said he doesn't consider Islam a religion, but rather a geo-political system.

"If it's a religion, that gives it standing and protection under our Constitution," he said.

He said he'd been telling Jones for the last month that his yard might be too soggy for the event.

The call from McKinney on Tuesday sent Jones to Mulberry in search of a new location. He said his church has purchased land near Bradenton for a new worship center, and he could stage the Sept. 11 protest there, if need be.

"But we are determined to go ahead and keep it here," he said during his visit to Mulberry. "People are expecting it to be here."

Jones said he's anticipating about 20 to 50 participants.

Since Jones announced his plans in July, others have scheduled Sept. 11 events in Mulberry to counter the protest.

Suzanne Carter-Moore, who grew up in Mulberry, initiated a Facebook page entitled "Not In Mulberry Terry Jones," and the Dallas-based World Muslim Congress is bringing its annual Unity Day ceremony to Mulberry.

Mike Ghouse, resident of the World Muslim Congress, finalized plans Monday for the celebration designed to counter the burning of the Muslin holy books with peaceful prayer.

Ghouse said the ceremony celebrates the unity among faiths and ways in which communities promote that unity.

"We want (the protestors) to know that violence is a behavior that will not be tolerated," he said.

The Muslim group also is sponsoring a blood drive in conjunction with the ceremony.

[ Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached atsuzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533-9070. ]