Friday Sermon in Cambridge, MA by Dr. Aslam Abdullah

FRIDAY SERMON IN CAMBRIDGE, MA | www.TheGhouseDiary.com 

What an inspirational sermon! Dr. Aslam Abdullah’s sermon had a universal message, meaning, whether you are Muslim or not, you would appreciate its content. He talked about the principle items Prophet Muhammad talked about in his last sermon –and had asked his followers to hang on to; equality of humankind, respect for women, non discrimination based on race or color of the skin, being just to fellow humans, accountability of one’s actions, and no one will bear others burden,  human rights, taking care of the neighbors and all of that stuffed with mercy and kindness.

He questioned, why none of the 56 Muslim majority nations have not incorporated those principles in their constitution, and yet call themselves Islamic? Then he said the declaration of human rights by the United Nations in 1948 and our constitution have those principles embedded in them.

I will ask him to at least write down the outline of his sermon if not, the whole sermon. It is worth listening to. The audience was in awe!  Rarely do people hear practical sermons that can change their lives in relation to fellow human beings.  The rationality and universality of Islam he talks is appealing.

This is the kind of sermon people want  to hear, it will open up the minds and truly understand the purpose of Islam or any religion for that matter – to create cohesive societies where no one has to live in fear of the other based on justice and mercy. 

We have to take care of our life here on earth and be just to it, life is an Amana ( trust) God has endowed us with, and we cannot sacrifice it for the Akhira (hereafter). Our problem is we fail to live a life for the sake of hereafter that is wrong. We have to be just to both.

The sermon and the discussions following that gave me a lot of hope and strength to my belief that a majority of people are moderates; they want to get along with all and live their lives and let others live theirs.  One of these days, we will do a survey of sermons as to which one’s were most remembered and what appealed to them. I bet with prejudice that sermons that respect all of humanity would be the most valued ones.

Dr. Aslam Abdullah, myself and several others are in Boston for the AFMI (American Federation of Muslims from India) Conference. Dr. Suhaib Siddiqi is our host and drove us to the Cambridge Mosque, one of the oldest Mosques, with us were Dr. Razia Ahmed, Dr. Iqbal Ahmed and Dr. Marryam Ahmed. We had some good discussions while driving back and forth and having the lunch.
I missed much of the sermon as we had parking issues, we had dropped Dr. Abdullah and and our friends at the mosque and went to park the car a mile plus away.  Dr. Suhaib Siddiqi is another enlightened Muslim that faces problems now and then.  After the sermon, he went to talk to the organizer of the mosque about the parking issue we had, the guy at the parking lot was rude, he did not allow us to park the car, even for the sermon giver, and we had only 1o minutes to start the sermon.  While he was sharing it, that rude man came and nearly shouted at him that he was a not a Muslim and is a hypocrite and the organizer should not listen to him... ... what?

What a shame, a few Muslims really push God aside and become God for the minute and pass judgments about others, a right only God has, it is time to push the right but new understanding in Islam - that is to declare any one less than a Muslim is a great sin of shirk- associating with God or usurping God's power. I demand any Muslim who declares other Muslim a Kafir to produce the contract from God that he was appointed as God's deputy, assistant or associate, if not, they need not talk.  Takfiriyat is wrong and must be rejected, it is an idea whose time has come - more at http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/05/shia-sunni-takfiris-not-acceptable.html

Dr. Aslam Abdullah and I think and write alike on most of the issues. It was a joy for me to hear him for the first time.  I follow him on facebook for a number of years but today was he first day I actually met him. I have given similar sermons at the Unitarian Universalist Churches all over Dallas area, by the way, I fit in the mould of UU, as Islam is similar to me to create a world of harmony and peace.

Before I moved to Washington DC, I had planned on delivering Friday Sermons and have written several Sermons (need to find where they are) based on the following write ups:
1. Connecting with the Prophet -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/how-i-connect-with-prophet-muhammad_b_2547782.html

2. American Muslim Agenda -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/american-muslim-agenda-a-_b_5528706.html3. Fixing the Muslim Mistakes
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2014/12/fixing-muslim-mistakes.html

4. Is Akhira the root of Muslim Problem?http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2014/07/religious-pluralism-versus-intolerance.html

Articles on Quranic verses at www.Quraantoday.com
Civic  Islam at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
Sharia – www.ShariaLaws.com

Blasphemy   - http://BlasphemyLaws.blogspot.com
Apostasy – http://apostasyandIslam.blogspot.com

Profile - https://plus.google.com/108969690090944956820/about

Mike Ghouse is a motivational speaker, thinker and a writer and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him at www.MikeGhouse.net and most of his writings are at www.TheGhouseDiary.com

President Carter - American Muslims send their best wishes to President Carter

American Muslims send their best wishes to President Carter | This was released on 8/21 as a press release:

We send our respectful wishes to President Carter and pray for his speedy recovery. We also pray and wish him a longer life, and hope he can witness the fruition of his work that he started for lasting peace in the Middle East. He is a genuine peace maker and a blessing to the world – and the true earner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

http://news.yahoo.com/jimmy-carter-discuss-cancer-diagnosis-publicly-084102065.html

On August 20, 2015 - President Jimmy Carter announced that his cancer has spread to his brain and doctors in Atlanta found four "very small spots" of melanoma. Carter, who turns 91 in October, started receiving radiation yesterday.

Carter is one of the presidents who remained active with the American people building homes for the poor through the Habitat for Humanity. He was instrumental in eradication of debilitating diseases in Africa like the guinea worm. The President traveled around the world monitoring democratic process taking roots, and watching the genuine voting process.

He is the most gracious man; he kept smiling and dedicated his life for humanity. May God bless him a long life, and let the humanity benefit from his good work.

American Muslim Institution, a pro-active voice for American Muslims.www.AmericanMuslimInstitution.org

Added from News:

Crowd packs former President Carter’s Sunday school after his cancer spreads

Reuters | August 23, 2015 http://www.religionnews.com/2015/08/23/crowd-packs-former-president-carters-sunday-school-cancer-spreads/?

ATLANTA  (Reuters) After announcing that cancer had spread to his brain, former President Jimmy Carter had to teach an extra Bible class at his rural Georgia church on Sunday (Aug. 23) to accommodate well wishers.

Carter, 90, a lifelong Baptist and church deacon, has taught Sunday school for decades, and the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, is used to a throng.

The church’s website asks people to line up before 9 a.m., and attend an orientation before the 10 a.m. class.

The theme of the lesson was love, Carter told the 300 people who filled the church’s sanctuary, after briefly alluding to his health.

“We are studying the most important aspect of Christianity,” he said, and read from the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew: “I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

He mentioned his conflict resolution work, including the Camp David peace agreement and negotiating a nuclear program with North Korea, and said mediation can help resolve any conflict, be it between two countries or two people.

A smiling, comfortable-looking Carter, in a dark jacket and a bolo tie, spoke from the floor at the front of the room.

Carter taught a second Bible class before returning to the church sanctuary to pose for photos with people for more than a half an hour.

Pictures on the Atlanta Journal Constitution and on social media showed dozens of people lining up outside the church in the rural town of Plains, where Carter lives with his wife Rosalynn. One held a fan with Carter’s photograph on it.

The first person lined up at midnight, local television reported.

Due to the security detail for the former president, everyone was searched going into the church.

Carter began radiation treatment for his cancer on Thursday (Aug. 20), a week after announcing he had undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his liver.

Carter served as president from 1977 to 1981 and became active in humanitarian causes and monitoring elections after leaving office. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

(Reporting  by Mike Cooper and Fiona Ortiz.)

-----------Mike Ghouse

India’s Thaali on her 69th Anniversary of Freedom.

Happy Independence day to Indians | MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com

My dear Fellow Indians, 

As we proudly celebrate the 69^th anniversary of our independence, we must have a full Thaali in front of us to know our motherland sufficiently. It must have every ingredient in it from khatta, meetha, peekha, teekha, khara, patla, gada, sukha, kuchcha and kadva.

Thaali is a balanced plated meal with every ingredient in it; Sour, Sweet, saltless, tasteless, hot, liquidy, pasty, dry, wet and bitter respectively as the words in Hindi-Urdu or Urdu-Hindi translate it.

What does that mean? It simply means we have to live with good, bad and the ugly in each one of us in different proportions.

First, let’s deal with the good.  Like all of you, I am proud of my motherland India, and my homeland America, both are God’s own countries, let me tell you why.

We are a full representation of the universe. As a nation we are made up of Adivasis, Atheists, Bahais, Bos, Buddhists, Christians, Dalits, Hindus, Jains, Jewish, Muslim, Sikhs, Tribal’s, Zoroastrians and every possible grouping.

 
Our Motherland is represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture and religion. We see God as one, none and many; and in every form; male, female, genderless and non-existent, being and non-being, nameless and with innumerable names.

We are proud of our nation, it’s a beacon of freedom to the third world, where people mind their own business and live their own lives with free will.

We have to be grateful to our founding fathers, each one of them for going to jail and getting beat up, but worked for creating a better world for us.

Every day when I open my blog about India, I salute their utterly unselfish valor. I am not listing their names deliberately, as I don’t want to miss any, there were so many of them, but I request you to write the names that come to your mind in the comment section below, by next year, I hope we will have a complete list to work from. Believe me, I can write the names, I have passed my IAS and I know my India well. 

After the independence, we were blessed with a visionary leader Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru for nurturing and delivering a pluralistic India to our generation (born after independence). Dr. Ambedkar gave us a solid constitution that will carry us far out into the next millennium; Maulana Abul Kalam Azad laid a great foundation for education with the IIT’s that India is cherishing now. Sardar Patel, the iron man kept the nation together.  I shudder at the thought of so many other nations that have gone haywire. Despite Gandhi being shot by an extremist, we did not run amuck, and did not go the wrong way; thanks to Nehru and Patel for saving the nation and putting it on the right path.  The two legged balanced path of social cohesion and economic prosperity.  I salute all the four and others who have shaped India.

Please remember this cycle; Nehru sought help from America to upgrade the steel plants and our infrastructure, at that time, the Americans thought we were not capable of handling the new technology.  That is when the Soviet Union jumped in and became a partner in our progress. When the Union broke, America was ready to accept India as equal partner and here we are today. Prime Ministers Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh have delivered a capitalistic, ready to flourish India to Prime Minister Modi.

Modi gave a lot of hope for change and I hope we realize that, however, his eerie silence on issues is tearing the social cohesion apart, causing the nation to be a one legged nation.  We cannot be blind to it, we must acknowledge it, and all of us must join together and ask him to restore the social dharma back again. If Modi speaks, people will listen. He needs to speak tough and take us back to  “live and let live” philosophy of India.

My request to Modi is to watch for the chumchas, those who assure him that everything is alright, but everything is not alright, true followers will tell him like it is and not let him fall in to the abyss.

If you are a genuine supporter of Modi, become his critic, tolerate criticism from others, and help him fix the problems rather than bulldoze them or remain silent. Demand the release of Teesta Salvad, a great patriot of India. I would praise Modi, if he stops his chumchas from shutting a critical voice of the nation. I will guarantee you this, without the voices of Teesta, democracy will be the loser and our freedom would be the victim.  Remember Emergency rule?

We must commit ourselves to genuinely free ourselves from pettiness, free ourselves from our prejudices towards fellow beings, free ourselves from treating a fellow Indian less than ourselves and we must certainly shelve the arrogance that God favors us and not others. 

We must also commit to defend the freedom of others, we must cherish the otherness of others and let everyone freely breath, drink, eat, wear or believe whatever suits them, and crush the thoughts of forcing others to behave the way we want them to behave. No one shall be a slave in free India.

An Indian is an Indian is an Indian, period.

For over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of pluralism - it has embraced Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i and Zoroastrianism to include in the array of the indigenous religions; Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.  

We may want to consciously start thinking and acting as one people, one people within a nation and a community and one people globally.

Our combined philosophies believe in one world; Hinduism describes the world as Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum, the whole world is one family, the idea of Ek Onkar (one) in Sikhism, and idea of one family that we are all created from the same couple as Quran puts it and Jesus embraced every one regardless of who any one is... similar philosophies are grounded in all our religions.  

A few don't follow their own heritage and resort to thievery, loot, murder, terrorism, rioting, rapes, infanticide and other evils that destroy the fabric of the society,  but a majority of every group goes about their own way, living their life with struggles and ease and don't even bother others. We should build upon the 99% of population and not on the less than 1% that does not follow any principles.

On this day, and every day from here forward, make a pledge to yourselves to talk about in terms of us Indians - and not Malyalee, Gujarati, Bengali.... or Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isaee. Don't expect others to jump and say the same, give them the time and if you are consistent for at least a year, you will see others emulating you.

Indian democracy is a shining example to the world, where the people have peacefully transferred the powers.
 
Through the years we have expressed the highest degree of maturity on handling extreme situations; the more divergent opinions we hear, the larger our heart grows, the bigger our embrace would be and we can cushion more differences. Let’s continue to honor the concept that there is always another side to the story, as finding the truth is our own responsibility. I am proud of my heritage and am proud to be an Indian-American.

Click and enjoy:

 

Our National Anthem National Anthem 2 Twenty Patriotic songs on click India's Map

Jai Hind

Mike Ghouse

http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com

PATRIOTIC SONGS

• Apni Azaadi ko hargiz hum
• Vande Mataram - AR Rahman
• Vande Mataram
• Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna ab
• Saray jahan say achha -1
• Saray Jahan say achha - lata
• Mere Desh Ki Dharti
• Mera rangde basanti chola
• Kar chalay hum fida,
• Jahan Daal Daal par sone
• Hum laye hain toofan say kishti
• Hai preet jahan ki reet sada
• Ganga Meri Maa ka Naam
• ai watan ai watan, tujh ko
• Ai mere pyaare watan,

• Aao bachcho tumheien sire
• A jo des hai tera - Shahrukh
• A desh hai veer jawanon ka

Happy birthday to Pakistan | Happy Independence day

Happy Independence day to all the Pakistanis | TheGhousediary.com
67 Years ago today, Pakistan was born. Indeed it was created out of the British India on August 14, 1947 and then on the next day, August 15, 1947, India celebrated her independence.   

As a Muslim Pluralist, I have always worked on the concept that we all belong to the same family born from Adam and Eve, and that God has chosen for each one of us to be born in a different communities, nations, religions and races.   

Back in 1993 (to 2000), I started a Newspaper called Asian News, with a page dedicated to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

In 1996, I started Asian News Radio, the first commercial radio in Dallas which continues today as Fun Asia Radio.  After 2000, I did different programs, and one of them was during the month of August, every morning 7-8 AM from the 1^st through the 15th of the month.    

Each day my team shared a different aspect of the subcontinent from the cultural, geographic, ethnic, cuisine, clothing, cultural, singing to politics to national heroes of all the three nations, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh with identical history. I had a great team to do the full hour of program with Sandhya doing shehar ka chakkar, Tamim doing one thing, Gayathri focusing on literature and Najma playing the songs.

What remains nostalgic to me was August 14^th and 15^th – on those two days, I took live calls asking Indians to sing the Pakistani national songs on Pakistan Day, and it was amazing so many Indians had learned the songs, and vice versa happened on the 15^th, our Pakistani friends sang Indian national songs. What a joy it was to hear the goodwill sprouting from the lips of fellow Subcontinentians. 

The Partition was difficult and intense - with people moving from one land to the other and vice versa, perhaps it was the greatest human migration in a single month ever. Of course it came with massive suffering - people killing and butchering each other on both sides. Unless we both learn to acknowledge that the suffering and infliction of misery was mutual, we will continue to harbor ill-will and die with it.

I urge my fellow Subcontinentians, whether they are Pakistani-Americans, Indian Americans, or Bangladeshi Americans to acknowledge the suffering but never reduce or discount other's suffering, and please do not inject ill-will in the hearts of your children towards the other. Some of our kids may buy our baggage and continue to hold ill-will even here in America, but most kids reject our hatred for the other. I had to work hard with my Son when was mistreated by the Pakistan kids in the mall, I am glad he does not hold any bias towards Pakistani people despite the treatment he got. Some people will live with hate and ill-will until they die and never receive the true freedom.  Its time we do the right thing. 

On my part, I am blessed to have so many friends in all spheres of life including Pakistanis, I am a life member of the Pakistani Society of North Texas, and almost joined the Pakistan American Association of Texas before I moved to Washington. I also run the Dallas Pakistanis yahoogroups for the last 14 years, with nearly 1000 members, it has been the only reliable source of information for the community. Now, there are other groups and glad to see them all thrive.  

Thank God for blessing with a firm belief that we are all from Adam and Eve, and that I have no barrier between me and another human. No barrier at all. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) asserted that no human is superior to the other in his last sermon, and I believe in it whole heartedly. 

The most important thing is listening - I have listened to the tragic stories from several of my Pakistani friends the torture and butchery they withstood during the partition, and have heard first hand from many of my Indian friends how their sisters and mothers were raped in front of them... The story is same on both sides, man becomes animal in distress, religions does not matter to the beast in those moments of insecurity. 

On this independence day, may I ask you to acknowledge the atrocities Indians have committed on you, and forgive them. You will find Mukti, Nijaat, Nirvana and salvation in it. When our hearts are filled with goodwill, everything is possible.

May I also ask you to stand up for every Pakistani, no matter what faith, race or class he or she belongs to.  If you have friends from Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Parsee, Jewish, Shia, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Bohra and other communities, call them and wish them Azaadi Mubarak, and let them know that you care about them, as well as willing to defend their God given right to be who they are. Don't worry if others don't do it, its your own conscience you have to honor. Just do it and if you have the time, please write to me the goodness you felt in you.

Please see the movie "Bajrang Bhaijan" -it is a beautiful movie about a Pakistan girl lost in India and how she was brought back to Pakistan by an Indian who had nothing to do with Muslims. Here is my review http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2015/08/bajrangi-bhaijan-oscar-contending-movie.html 

I wish a very happy independence day to both the Pakistani and Indian friends. As an Indian, I will write and if possible speak some where about India. 

Jinnah's speech on August 14, 1947:http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/constituent_address_11aug1947.html

Pakistan Paindabad !

Please check about what I am doing in Washington now.  - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-personal-note-about-my-work-in.html

Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.comand 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

A purposeful life by Mike Ghouse

TheGhouseDiary.com

Have you found your life to be purposeful? Congratulations if you have, If not, it is time to find out, don't run, it is easy, and with that and you'll find comfort, a lot of comfort in knowing who you are,  and what you want to do with your life. No one is free from problems and no one's life is easy either, we struggle through it daily. 

The purpose can be as simple as minding your own business, as my friend and father figure Everett Blauvelt had said, or becoming President of the United States, the biggest headache job in the world. It is doing what you feel comfortable with. The most successful life is living the life you want to live. Please remember, no purpose is noble, superior or inferior, it is simply meaningful to you if you can get to do what you want to do.

I have found my purpose, and I hope you find yours, please take the time to review this blue print. The best thing you can do for yourselves is it to take 'an hour' away from everything and everyone, and reflect on your life. There is nothing more peaceful than knowing yourselves.

 This is for you, a blueprint for a successful life- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/2014-a-blueprint-for-a-pu_b_4517662.html . If this helps you, please share it with others, it is too simple, but works as many of my friends have said so.

Ok,  my purpose in life is to work towards creating a cohesive world, where no human has to live in anxieties, tensions or fear of the others. It is achieved by learning to respect the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us.

Thanks for giving me 10 Million plus views on Google search:   https://plus.google.com/108969690090944956820/about 

God bless you!

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com 

Bajrangi Bhaijan - An oscar contending movie

It is one of the most powerful movies made in Indian Cinematic history.  There have been some remarkable films that set a new trend and this one sets the standards for a new genre of films, rather than the typical boy and the girl in romance and the difficulties they face.

The hero of the film is an innocent Pakistani girl who had lost her ability to speak, so she travels to India with her parents to seek saintly blessings to restore her voice. In the process she gets separated from her mother and the girl was lost, but fortunately runs into a reluctant man, the second hero, who ultimately takes her back to her family in Pakistan despite all the bureaucratic tangles. The story is really about the genuine humanity embedded in all of us, in spite of our raising.

I have had a lot to absorb from the film. The most important thing is every one of us is created to be a good human, and shamefully, the parents are usually the villains, who instill prejudices and hatred in their kids towards others.  What a shame to poison their own children!

The children grow up to become a hindrance to peace and prosperity of a nation.  Most of the kids raised in Madrasass and RSS schools have a wall around them and find it hard to connect with others and see another point of view. Do we fault the kids? Not all, it is their parents and teachers!

For Centuries, India has been a blessed nation where people of different faiths have interacted with each other, went to work and schools together, and they see the movies together and attend funerals, weddings and other ceremonies.

However, there is a trend of separation growing and it must be curbed, before it is too late. There is a problem is with the teaching; the kids are raised in seclusion and limited knowledge about each other, and whatever little they know about the other is negative. In the long run it breeds more conflicts and tensions for all. One cannot prosper and live in peace when others around him are not.

A true patriotic Indian would considers every Indian his larger family, same goes to Pakistan or any other nation. Once we start denying the otherness of others to others, arrogance creeps in and we start feeling we are somehow better than the other. Damn us for such arrogance, that is what kills the society and relationship, all of us are going to die one day and will either be buried or cremated, we are done with you, no matter who you are. I hope you felt agitated with this paragraph, and I am glad you did, make an effort to treat every one as equal and see the sense of serenity you feel inside.
 

The film portrays the power of humanity that takes over you, no matter how much bigotry is pumped into us. The other hero of the film had the opportunity to be a human despite his training to reject Muhammadans (Muslims) in his own subtle ways in the movie like not wanting to enter into a Mosque or not wanting to gesture Muslim greetings,  Do all such kids get the same opportunity to be a good human?

A few scenes show Pluralism at its height – i.e., respecting the otherness of others.  When the hero discovers that the girl eats meat, he concludes that she is not a Brahmin, when she sits in a Mosque and puts the head scarf on, he understood her to be a Muslim girl – Initially he was trained to keep away from Muslims and murmurs that she is a problem for him, but the power of the connection he had with the girl makes him cross his own bias – and feeds meat to the girl, even though he does not. This is what a genuine pluralism is about and I have wanted to make a clip about it for the last several years from my own experiences, and I will do that one of these days.

When the Imam drops the hero to a safer place in Pakistan, the hero had difficulty in saying Khuda Hafiz, whereas the Imam goes ahead and says Jai Shree Ram to him – causing him to think about his own bias – by saying Khuda Hafiz he does not become a Muslim, it is merely a word to communicate good wishes of safety.  It’s my dream to see a day, when people greet each other with Namaste, Salaam, Shalom, Jai Jinendra, Satsri akaal or other phrases as synonyms. There are many videos about it; here is one that I did in front of a thousand audiences in a Chicago Bible college in a seminar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3a8wX6SXQ . When the girl says Jai Shree Ram at the end, it is a beautiful expression of good wishes.

If you are prejudiced towards Muslims, Hindus, Jews or others, for God’s sake don’t poison your children; let them grow up to be free individuals who care about fellow humans. Ask yourselves a simple question - do you know enough good about Hindus or Muslims more than what you have chosen to believe the negative things about the other? Is this prejudice eating you?

Again, a majority of all people are good people, as witnessed in the movie, people will come around for goodness, goodness is natural to us and we gravitate towards it. If you don't, forgive your parents for making you bias, and get out of it and enjoy the freedom without prejudice. 

Note: If you wish to add your comment, not an ordinary one, but a powerful one in less than 50 words, I will include it as your quote when the full article is published.

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com 

Chattanooga Killings- Fox and Friends with Mike Ghouse on Sunday

Sunday, July 19, 2015
Talking points in development for 

Mike on fox and friends

Sunday morning 

The most tempting responses to the shooter in Chattanooga are, "monitor the mosques", "watch out for Muslims, " watch out for "bearded Muslims",  "converts" or those who visit Pakistan or Yemen,  and a whole lot of other rhetoric that is malicious towards fellow Americans. 

Directing Hate and ill will towards a group of people is the wrong thing to do. 

Individuals commit crimes and individuals are punished...

This kind of talk has nothing to do with finding solutions but raking up meanness in us. It's a dumb and irresponsible act of blaming someone else instead of finding the wrong doer, this is simply not acceptable. I don't want any excuses from the law enforcement, nor diversions. I want results. 

The dialogue we need to have is, how do we deal with sickos? Sickness is a common factor and is not exclusive to any race, religion or region. 

How do we track the jihadi mindset of Abdulazeez or the sickos who walk into a school and shoot innocent children in new town, massacre Gurdwara worshipers in Wisconsin, a blow up the theater in Denver or go on a shooting spree at McDonald in San Diego...  

Peter King's investigations proved he was wrong in his bias. 94% of terrorism in the U.S. Is attributable to white supremists... 

We need an acknowledgement from all that we do have sickos among all of us, and we do have warped up men Among Muslims just like in any other group, and we all need to monitor more consciously and continue to report any dangerous talk.

As Muslims we have an obligation to self monitor our mosques, where philosophical conversation is turned into extremist understanding- for example dying for the sake of Allah. I'll expand on this on the show.

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 the peace in a society and it is our duty to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it. We have an obligation to build cohesive societies where no american has to live in fear of the other.

Thank you,

Mike Ghouse

(214) 325-1916

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A Tv and a radio commentator. Info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com 

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Mike Ghouse on Voice of America about Iran deal, Turkey and Ferguson

My talking points for Voice of America Radio, Washington, D.C 

Turkey

Turkey has allowed 6 F-16 Falcon fighters to operate from their Incirlik air base to do the sorties over ISIS territory.  We had enough of the evil acts from the ISIS, it is time to stop them from killing people, destroying the heritage of the nations and forcing women to be sex slaves.

Way back in September 2014, in an Op-ed at Huffington Post, I had urged President Obama to use the Quranic method, to give them warning, if they don’t stop killing, drone them and save the innocent lives of Christians, Yazidis, Shias and others.   However, if they retrieve, we have to stop. 

I would rather round them up and question them, and demand them to show where Quran tells them to do such evil things. I hope that will put an end to the false propaganda against Islam, and let the world focus on evil in men. Religion is never the problem; it is the evilness in men.

We have the world with us, and it is time to stop them and that is the right thing to do.

2    Iran Deal

a.     This is the best thing that has happened – It is good for Israel, America, Iran and the world. I am writing a full article on this topic.

b.    Netanyahu is possibly the worst enemy of Israel – he is isolating the nation from the rest of the world. Six Powerful nations Russia, China, UK, France, Germany and US are in this together to ensure Iran does not go nuclear behind everyone’s back. They have made this deal in good faith for the protection of Israel.  

c.     It is good for Israel and what does Netanyahu do? He slaps them in their face! 

d.     Why should they like this man?

e.     We have to guide the world’s anger towards Netanyahu, the pied piper of Israel, instead of the people of Israel.

f.       The Republicans want to double down on this, shame on them, if they do not pass this bill, I would question their loyalty? Are they allowing a foreign leader to be disrespectful of our president? Shame on them.

g.     I am sure there a few good Republicans out there who want to do the right thing for America, Israel, Iran and others, but will they do the monkey see, monkey do? That is obedient conformists and jump like sheep instead of exercising their minds?

h.    Mother Teresa said – if you want peace, go talk with the enemy

i.       Chinese Quote – if you want to get rid of the enemy for good, make friends with them.

j.       Obama has precisely done that, and this is a major paradigm shift in our foreign policy – it is sensible and the righteous one

k.     Obama said, super powers don’t response to talks – he is right, we cannot be yelling at each other, one has to be an adult. I hope the Republicans act like adults as well.

l.       Obama is right again, it is the best way for Iran not to get nuclear weapons.

m. Reagan had that wisdom, and he dealt with Russians while they had their missiles pointed at us. Of course every Republican is eager to claim to be a follower of Reagan – but very few of them are

n.    Negotiate with enemies

o.     Hardliner on the Iran side are as ugly as ours are.

p.    Netanyahu does not get it, he is not comfortable with peace, he has got to be on the edge and keep the Israelis and Americans on the edge.  

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Behjat Gilani and Mike Ghouse on VOA

      

Ferguson after one year
The police chief says, "They were criminals, they weren't protesters," Belmar said – aren’t they innocent until proven guilty? We should demand an apology from this officer.  Instead of mitigating the bad race relations, this guy aggravates by killing.  Aren’t they not trained to hold the trigger?

I question the police training to produce these men who are too eager to pull the trigger.

Mike Ghouse, speaking for America Together Foundation.

Thank you,

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com