As we
become one with the nation, most of the attitudes towards Muslims, Hispanics,
Blacks and others will dissipate. What
does it take to be one nation? We have to be a part of it.
CFP is the only organization that has produced unbelievable number of articles on
July 4th and integration. We
need your help, please donate generously to make this program possible
PRESS RELEASE
Mike
Ghouse (214) 325-1916
President, Center for Pluralism, Washington, D.C.,
email: Mike@Centerforpluralism.com
Web: http://www.Centerforpluraism.com
July 4th event by Muslims for America and Center for Pluralism
Washington, D.C., Jun 30, 2017 - The Center for Pluralism and its Board of
Directors have every reason to be jubilant.
Each successive year, they see the vision of the Founding Fathers coming
to life, where every American is treated with dignity and respect.
Mike Ghouse, President of the Center said, “We are not a perfect union yet, but
a perfect union we will be, as we can continue our efforts to be an inclusive
society. The Fourth of July should not simply come and go; we must make it a
remarkable day. It should be a great happening to augment National Integration,
where Americans of all faiths, or no faith, races, ethnicities, nationalities,
political, sexual and other orientations come together to celebrate the oneness
of our nation."
This
year the Muslim contributions to America are highlighted. Each one of the Board Members is excited. Dr.
Karen Hollie-Thibodeuax, Fatima Argun, Sam Madden, Dana Lankford-Russelland the supporting team members OS
Modgil and Ali Azhar Fateh have provided extensive support. The encouragement and long term support for
Pluralism came from Ambassador Sada Cumber, Mr. Farooq Wazir Ali and Professor
Emeritus Dr. Harbans Lal who are genuinely committed to a cohesive America.
Muslims
have been contributors towards the wellbeing of the United States of America
from the very beginning from the declaration of independence on July 4th,
1776. Not only did they acknowledge the
new state, but the treaty signed with Morocco and the United States is one of
the oldest operating documents.
Per Wikipedia, Morocco’s Sultan Muhammad III was the first
world leader to recognize the sovereignty of the United States followed by Nederland’s
Johannes de Graaf and Tipu Sultan of Mysore (India).
According the Dr. Range Gowda, an authority on Tipu Sultan, “That Tipu Sultan
had fire crackers going up in Sriranga Patna, his Capital cheering America’s
independence. He faced the same enemy that the United States had faced: Lord
Cornwallis.”
JOIN THE CELEBRATIONS
What: July 4th Celebrations
Time: 2-4 PM ( right after the end of July 4th Parade at the National Mall)
Where: Farragut Square, Washington, D.C.
(right across from the Farragut West Metro) 912 17th St NW, Washington, DC
20006
FIRST 2 OF 3 LEADERS WHO
RECOGNIZED OUR SOVEREIGNTY WERE MUSLIMS
American
Muslims uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in the U.S.
constitution. Their faith reinforces the creed of "One Nation under God,
with liberty and justice for all."
“The
more integrated we are, the safer it is for every one of the 322 million
Americans to feel and live safely.” Mike Ghouse concluded.
The despicable “Perfect Man” bill
boards are appearing everywhere now, and like all humans, Muslims will respond
differently to it. They are not a monolithic group and are as diverse as God’s
creation. However, they have a choice to aggravate the conflict further or
follow Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad’s formula of conflict mitigation and
goodwill nurturence. After all that is
what the higher goal of Islam, Christianity or any faith is – restoring
justice, goodwill, harmony and peace on earth.
What did Jesus do when he was persecuted and placed on the cross? He said, “Forgive
them Lord, for they know not.” What did
Muhammad (pbuh) do when the miscreants pelted stones on him during his visit to
Taif? He was bleeding and was hurt, but
not only forgave, but prayed for them, for they knew not.
Most Muslims will follow the guidance
and pray for the well being of screwed up men and women. A few will struggle in forgiving them, and a
handful of them will hold grudges and animosity towards the men and women who
have placed those nasty bill boards? Those handful of Muslims who are angry are as
bad as the handful of Christians who violated the message of love that Jesus
preached, unless they are not Christians.
You cannot go wrong following the
Guidance from Jesus and Muhammad.
Jesus asked people to “follow him” and
Muhammad asked people to follow a coherent system called Islam. A majority of
people in all faiths believe in the beauty of their faith; however a few in
each group don’t get that right and abuse it to their advantage in making
enemies out of those who differ.
Prophet Muhammad taught that "To
overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It
is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the verse 41:34, “Good and evildeedsare not equal. Repel evil with what is
better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your
dearest friend.” This is a guarantee from God and a challenge to Muslims.
If Muslims claim to be followers of the man who was called “mercy to mankind”
shouldn’t they think, act and talk like him? Similarly, shouldn’t the followers
of Jesus really follow him?
Dr. Zia Sheikh, Imam of the largest
Mosque in Texas, and author of Silencing the Critics writes, "No
amount of cherry picked sources quoting weak accounts can taint the facts that
Prophet Muhammad was the most influential person in history, affecting positively
not only his immediate surroundings, but continents thousands of miles from his
ancestral Homeland. History bears witness that he changed society after society
in a positive way, so much so that he is loved by people today even more than
those people loves their own children."
It is a game to a handful of miscreants
to irritate Muslims for no good reason, and I am sure many will be easily
angered, forgetting how they should behave.
Muslims are to be a mercy to mankind, and no one should fear a
Muslim. Everyone should feel safe around
a Muslim and Muslims are to be a just, kind and a merciful people. If Muslims
play their part and act like a Muslim that Prophet Muhammad taught, no one will
be messing with them nor will they get irritates, instead they will pray for
them.
Freedom of Speech
There is one value that Americans value
the most: Freedom of speech. It is an
alien idea in most parts of the world, you have to be an American (born or
naturalized) to understand this phenomenon.
This is what defines us – we are fiercely free and freedom fanatics, after
all we live in the land of the free and the brave. We all need to work on integrating our
values on freedom, and then all of us will be on the same page.
Muslim Americans have a built-in advantage in becoming the defenders of free
speech. The Quran insists in chapter 2,
verse 256, “Let there be no compulsion in faith” and Prophet Muhammad had once
said, “You cannot compel anyone to believe anything against his or her will.”
Finally, as a Muslim, I do not condemn the nasty bill boards,
but I forgive them, for they know not and I urge Muslims to pray for them in
the steps of Jesus and Muhammad (pbut). Let’s be the blessed peacemakers.
Once we understand freedom, a core
American value, respect and live it, some of the conflicts will go
away. You might enjoy this humorous satirical short video about liberty.
Dr. Mike Ghouse has dedicated his life to the mission of building
a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
He is a pluralist, thinker, writer, activist, speaker (Pluralism,
Interfaith, Islam, Politics and foreign policy) Interfaith wedding officiant
and a news maker. More about him in 65 links at www.MikeGhouse.net
The Nation is bracing to manage the chaos coming through the nation wide Anti-Sharia rallies planned by Act for America, an organization committed to pit one American against the other and destroy the fabric of our nation. American Muslims firmly believe in free speech and are not opposing or participating in it, but are concerned about the safety of Americans.
These rallies are bad for America, it will generate a lot of animosity towards fellow Americans, and you will see blatant harassment of fellow Americans on the streets, schools, subways and public places. It will cause law and order issues and make it increasingly difficult to manage the nation and cities in America. No one will be at peace; the ones who intend to frighten and the ones who are apprehensive will not live in peace, it is a mess for all Americans, is this the America we want?
The ideal thing to do is to sit down and have a dialogue and discuss the issues and find solutions. Some Americans are afraid of the word Sharia, and it is the duty of American Muslims to allay those fears. The Center for Pluralism, an organization for all Americans has taken the responsibility to inform, educate and bring security to each one of the 323 Million Americans through Education. A Symposium on Sharia is in the making, and Republican Congressman Pete Sessions and Democratic Congressman Andre Carson have initially agreed to support this initiative. We will invite individuals like Pamela Geller, Brigitte Gabriel on one side and Muslim Imams on the other to present papers and let public listen, learn and absorb. We want to do the right thing for America.
Brigitte Gabrielle, my frequent combatant on the Sean Hannity show at Fox News is organizing nationwide Anti-Sharia rallies on June 10th. Her organization, ACT for America is divisive and pits one American against the other. Our organization, Center for Pluralism (CFP) on the other hand is inclusive and brings Americans together under one flag for the safety and security of Americans. I urge Ms. Gabriele to consider withdrawing this gratuitous act and join us in a civilized conversation on Sharia in a symposium we are planning. Let’s stay focused on peace and prosperity and not conflicts and confusion. What is Sharia?
First, let’s get the position of American Muslims out of the way. They have fully subscribed to values enshrined in our constitution and strongly believe in the law of the land. Like all Americans, they have taken a pledge to defend, protect, honor and preserve the laws of the land. We are all on the same page.
Secondly, they and their institutions are not seeking or asking for the type of Sharia that ACT for America is opposing.
Muslims around the world, like many Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and others believe that their religious laws are God’s laws to follow. As a matter of fact Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, correctly points out in his book that since the Constitution of the United States follows God’s laws which are consistent with the Quran, the U.S. is Sharia compliant. Many of the things that we hear of and abhor, such as an adulterer being stoned is not called for in the Quran. These are not God’s laws but a cultural phenomenon.
Classification of Sharia Based on the accountability factor, responsibility and authority to enforce the laws, the Muslim Sharia laws can be classified as Personal and public in nature.
Personal Sharia is a covenant between an individual and God, the accountability, performance or lack of performance of such covenants is between God and the individual and not anyone’s business. Examples: Praying, fasting, Charity, pilgrimage (Hajj), caring for neighbors etc.
Public Sharia on the other hand is a covenant between two or more individuals where the third party administers its execution. Examples: Divorce, inheritance, rape, theft, business or personal contracts, Marriage gift (Mahr) etc. Performance of lack of it becomes a public issue and the third party’s decision is binding on both the parties and is subject to penalties and punishments. The issue
Sharia law like any other law of the land was designed to serve justice to its followers. A century after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the emerging community was facing newer problems and thus the religious men at that time decided to create a body of law to address the conflicts. Most of the laws were derived from their understanding of Quran and Prophet’s practices, but some were from cultural practices at the time, and thus are technically not Sharia. Many a Muslims consider it as divine law and as such amendments have been non-existent in the context of changing world. In contrast, the US constitution has allowed amendments throughout its existence to reflect the prevailing norms and commonly acceptable values of the society.
Conflicts
Muslims like any group of people want justice and they believe the American laws serve the needed justice, and hence they chose to abide by the American Laws for resolving conflicts between two individuals.
However, some of the immigrant Muslims steeped deeply in religion wanted to follow the laws they were familiar with just as Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other wanted to follow their customs. As an example a Catholic who marries cannot re-marry under God’s law in their tradition unless the marriage itself was never recognized in the eyes of God. This is known as an annulment and the Catholic Church enforces this law of God as they see it.
Muslims have never asked that their laws be applied in all disputes but personal disputes, applicable to the individuals to give them comfort and a sense of justice.
Given the political and economic conflicts we had with a few nations including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan and other Muslim majority nations, we equated their practices like cutting the hands of the thieves, lashing or stoning the adulterers, forcing women to wear face veil and denying equal space for women as the crude form of Sharia. But in reality, none of this is even in the Quran. It is more culture based and has nothing to do with Islam. As an example, Death Penalty is not universal in all the States of the United States. Even though most of Americans laws have origins in Sharia-like laws, we have moved away from them, indeed they are appalling thoughts in America today.
Most American Muslims are clear what they want, but for a few who have made irresponsible statements that has fueled the anti-Sharia drive. This is a legitimate fear that drives concerned Americans to attack it preemptively. No American wants to live in tensions or fear of a fellow American. Sharia will continue to frighten fellow Americans, if we don’t talk with each other and educate ourselves in this area. The Muslim segment of the Center for Pluralism is committed to do that.
American Muslims are not looking for the public Sharia (as practiced in Saudi, Iran or other Muslim majority nations) to be implemented in America. However, a few men and women saw the opportunity to oppose Sharia that no Muslim group or institution had even requested it to be implemented. They made a business out of it and nearly $100 Million dollars have been earned by the opposers of the Sharia – a gratuitous act, and waste of public time.
Sharia will not make it in America even if Muslims were to become a majority in the year 2117, a hundred years from now. An overwhelming majority of American Muslims have no appetite for the kind of Sharia that fellow Americans fear.
For example, Muslim’s don’t want their hands cut-off, don’t want a woman having a baby out of wedlock to be buried in the ground and stoned to death. They do not want lashes for adultery. American Muslims really don’t want that kind of Sharia, and American Muslims realize it is not what God wants.
The Man made Sharia is not divine and it is not about justice, fairness, mercy and kindness, where as God’s Sharia is about justice, fairness, kindness and mercy which is not practiced anywhere.
