Jews and Interfaith Sensitivity

Interfaith sensitivity about Jews | www.InterfaithSpeaker.com   

The story I am about to share is the very reason I write, speak and broadcast the knowledge about interfaith, in particular “Festivals and commemorations of the world”

In 2011, one of my Christian friends Kristen was on my team to invite people to attend the “Holocaust and Genocides” event – I am blessed to be first Muslim in the world who regularly commemorates the event to develop understanding between people of different faiths, races and ethnicities. More at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

Kristen lived in a Jewish neighborhood and grew up with many Jewish friends. When I called her up for updates, she was disappointed with the response she was getting, but I encouraged her to continue, as it is a difficult event to attend.

The following weekend, there was an art exhibit by a Russian artist and about 150 people came to the event, Kristen was there and was excited to call on her Jewish friends to attend the event, she came back disappointed for the silent stares she was getting.  She asked me to join her to invite another couple down in the corner sipping wine.

So here it goes, Kristen introduces me, “Rosie, this is Mike, and we are here to invite you to a celebration of the Jewish Holocaust event…” Literally, I fell off my chair, I had to cut her in, sorry Rosie, it is a Holocaust Memorial event, and it is a reflection on the cruelties within each one of us and how to put it off and learn to say Never again.  It is a somber event….’ There was a relief on the face of Rosie and her husband.  We carried the conversation forward and they did join us along with a few other friends.

Like Kristen most of us make the mistake, whenever there is a gathering of people, we associate it with celebration.  To understand this, it is like inviting a friend, “Please join me at the funeral home, and they are celebrating the death of our friend Mike, who passed away yesterday,” Personally, that is what I would want to happen upon my death, but most people including my wife, my kids and grand kids may not appreciate it.

There are three public events that I know, mind you, these are not celebrations – Holocaust commemoration (Jewish), Ashura /Muharram (Muslims) and the big one, Memorial Day, end of May. Please do not wish a happy…….. You can probably say I am sorry to hear the _____ Memorial event is coming up, I am with you, or my prayers are with you… or some such thing to show support.  I suggest you to visit the Holocaust Museum or attend our event in 2017 to learn about these.

As time permits, I will share different stories.

This is the first time in 10 years that I have not organized the Holocaust and Genocides commemoration event, it’s a difficult event for many to attend, yet an average of 300 brave souls have made it each time.  As a Muslim, why do I commemorate? The answer is in this article at Huffington Post called Holocaust and the Muslim Guy. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/holocaust-and-the-muslim-_b_4629509.html )

Why is it important to know about our neighbors and people of other faiths, races and traditions?  I let you imagine it and urge you to think about it, and if you are tempted write, please share it. I will publish it atwww.interfaithspeaker.com andhttp://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com - 

"Festivals of the World" is an educational series published by Mike Ghouse since 1993. When we live in the same communities as neighbors, we might as well learn about each other. The best way to build cohesive societies is for its members to participate in festivities as well as commemorations of each other, or at least understand each other's' joys and sorrows. Please note the simplicity in writing is designed for people of other faiths to learn and to know, so we can function cohesively.  This is too elementary for the followers of the faith, but informational to those who are not aware of the tradition.

Since 1994, I am blessed to have published essence of many, but not all festivals, as the time has permitted.  You are welcome to plug the name of the festival with my name in the Google search, more than likely, you will find information on major festivals and commemorations.

www.interfaithspeaker.comDr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics,terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net for his writings at TheGhousediary.com and several blogs listed there in. 

My first Yom Kippur Service

 Washington, D.C., Lincoln Memorial.

September 22, 2015

Although I am involved with Jews and Judaism for a long time, and been to Synagogues, done most things... this was my first Yom Kippur attendance.

As usual I felt home with the group, I did not know the songs, but the idea is same whether it is Muslims singing Milaad, Hindus singing Bhajans, Sikhs singing Shabad or Christians doing Carols... the spirit is same, you feel at peace, connected with the self and some time sanctimonious.

The Rabbi from Philadelphia floored me, this would have been clearly my sermon - conversation revolving around building cohesive societies, justice and accountability. I fully connected with his sermon, he will share it soon, then you can see our expressions are so similar.

He was all praise for Pope and indeed said similar things I have said and written about Pope Francis.

I am writing for the 1000th time, Judaism and Islam are mirror images of each other. Sadly, like all other religions, these two are no exceptions in having people claim to follow the faith, but really they do not. If every follower of every religion follows his or her religion, there will not be any problem.

In the pictures, I have taken a picture of the card I filled, as every one was asked to fill.
Good experience, thanks to my friend Ilan Leibowitz for inviting me.

Article about Yom Kippur is similar the talks I have heard today. 

Kali maa and infinite multi-tasking, and our inability to say, do or write about many things in one breath.

Not a day passes without someone accusing you of not including his or her issue in your talk, write up or act. Per the legend, only a woman, Kali Maa could perform many tasks at one time, she has multiple heads and hands to do that.  When Obama speaks, no matter how good his presentation is, there is always a group - anxiously waiting for him to recite their name, and everything else is meaningless to them if their group is not mentioned. 

It's not only Obama, everyone in the community service, a Pastor, Pundit,  Imam, Father, Rabbi, Gyaniji, Shaman or a religious head is also put to the same tests. During the month of Ramadan, I have heard a few Imams who drag their prayers to include every representation, and take a very long time to recite such inclusive prayers, yet that would not be enough. 

You are not an exception to such treatment and neither am I, and here is my experience. 

One of the three major annual events we hold is Holocaust and Genocides.  Given the 2 hours program, we divide it up into three segments; 30 Minutes for Holocaust and 20 minutes for a Genocide (of the 50 Genocides on our list), and 20 minutes for a Massacre, the rest of the time goes for other chores.

Two years ago, we included a skit in the program to knock off the consistent complaints. In the skit, I would go on the podium and start speaking, “Today, we are going to talk about Holocaust, Sikh Genocide and Gaza Massacre… “Immediately an individual who was assigned to play my father’s role would walk up to me and slap hard on my face… and I fall on the floor.  

He takes over the microphone and says, “I cannot believe you my son, I did not teach you to exclude others and talk only about yours.” I get up from the floor and grab the microphone and recite a long list of names about 25 Genocides until I ran out of breath….  and fall again. 

He grabs the phone again and says, “Oh I see now, sorry my Son, I did not realize you can pack only 25 names of Genocides in one breath and not all the 50 on your list.”

Those who do not show up to the events always complain that, “Mike you are biased, you did not include Kashmir Pundits or the Bosnia Genocide… My eternal question to them is why did you forget Rwanda? Why did you forget Pol Pot? Why did you forget…?

In the last 9 years, we have been able to talk about 12 or 13 Genocides, but always show the entire list on the screen, even then there are Genocides we don’t even know about.  Indeed, some day, I will write a book about dealing with some of the most difficult situations with different communities; – Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jews, African Americans, Native Americans and others.  

The first time we put the program together in 2006, a few members (just a few) of the Jewish community were on the edge and concerned about bringing up Palestinian Massacres (Sabra and Shatila).  We do talk about every one, we must see the inhumanity embedded in all of us to reflect and find solutions.  God has always been good to me and guided me during that critical moment in the opening speech,  in my invocation, instead of naming all the Genocides and Massacres, I called on a silent prayer and asked people to pray for the Genocides and Massacres they knew, to make it an all inclusive event. There was a sigh of relief on the faces of those few, wow! Silence is Golden.

 We have to learn our limitations, we are not Kali Maa or a computer to perform infinite multiple tasks in the given time, a single breath to a single hour.   

Now coming back to you, (the man who sent an email about me to groups) you can deal with one issue at a time.  The Yoga was the issue and that is what we dealt with.  If you want to talk about Kuwait Massacre, why didn’t you mention other massacres including Charleston Massacre? If you go to one of the Chinese buffets – why don’t you eat each one of the 72 items they have placed on the table?

When you leave early from a party – do you go to every one of the 50 fellow guests and say goodbye to them? If you do, I’ve to learn from you. 

Let’s be contributors and not complainers.  

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 

Happy Purim

Happy Purim to our Jewish friends across the globe.  Purim is one of the most festive of holidays of the Jewish people, it the story of freedom, a release from anxiety of being annihilated.  This has reference to a point in history where an evil man plots to annihilate the Jews, but the Persian king is persuaded by Esther otherwise.  It was a major victory and thus the celebration.  Happy Purim.

I have written a heartfelt article on Israel and Palestine, published in 3 installments at Huffington post.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/israel-and-palestine-moving-forward_b_1258261.html . You might understand the history of Jewish people to understand Purim.

The book of Esther (Borrowed from a Jewish site)

The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.

The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of G-d. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to G-d. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net 

Religion - My fascination with religions

www.TheGhousediary.com - My Fascination with religions

Religions fascinate me, although I was an Agnostic-Atheist for nearly 30 years of my life, I was respectful of religions and attended religious rituals of almost all religions.

In the last sixties and early seventies, I was a big fan of Dr. Abraham Kovoor, the father of modern Atheism, and also followed the writings of Mahatma Gandhi, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Swami Vivekananda, Allama Iqbal, Jiddu Krishnamurthy, Rumi, Dale Carnegie, and a German Scholar who wrote the book Man and Religion.

Some day, I will elaborate on this, but for now, here is the summary.

I am grateful to my father for opening the windows of knowledge to me. He was always kind and respectful to me. Except once, he never hit me or belittled me. I hope my kids can say the same about me.

On the day of Ramadan Eid celebrations,  the Muslims in my town (Yelahanka) gather near the mosque, and walk a mile to the outdoor Mosque by the cemetery to pray and pay respects to the buried ones; a beautiful Muslim tradition that I have come to respect even when I was an atheist.

On that particular Eid, I refused to go to prayers as I did not believe in God or the prayers. My father looked me over, I had dared him. He gave me a short lecture and explained – "One day, I will be dead and gone, and you will be living in this town and have to live with others. No one will trust or do business with you, including my Hindu friends if you do not follow a system. Religion is a part of the society and it is up to you what you do with your life… God doesn't need your prayers, but you have to live with others"…. of course, I went to the Mosque, had he pushed me, I would not have gone and would probably have hated religion. I wish all parents treat their kids in that fashion, particularly the rebellious ones.

Thanks to my parents, they had friends from many religious traditions and have carried on conversations with them in the most civil manner I can imagine. My mother had weekly conversations with the only Zoroastrian lady in town, whom we called ‘Parsiamma” Behramji and chatted with our neighbor Sugalchand, a Jain family.  

My 5th or 6th grade social studies book has never left me, it created a positive life time impression about religions. There was a page dedicated to each one of the great religious teachers including Krishna, Rama, Buddha, Mahavir, Jesus, Moses, Prophet Muhammad, Zoroaster and Nanak, and the there was a two page summary of each one of the faiths. Top it up with my parents consistent reminders from Quran - that each faith is beautiful to its believer and that we must acknowledge it. Faith is like a mother to the believer.  

Most of my friends that I knew and grew up with have a similar respectful attitude towards religions, including every member of my family. I will have to find that dream book, and see if it is still there, and if not why not?

I am concerned about the future of India, I wish Prime Minister Modi was taught in a similar school as I did. I went to a public Urdu Medium school,  and he went to RSS Madrasa where exclusivity is taught, and no mention of other faiths and traditions, had he gone to a school like mine, his language would have been inclusive and he would have wished festival greetings to Muslims, Christians and others.  
Of course, the leaders in Pakistan, Malaysia and other Muslim nations do not greet their Hindu, Christian and other minorities either. Do we want to be like them?  Or do we want to set a new standard of inclusion for them to emulate us? Are we leaders?

As a young man I attended the Mahabodhi (Buddhist) Society every Wednesday in Bangalore and went to Friday prayers in a nearby Mosque (I went to different Mosques) and joined the Bhajan Mandir across my home on Saturday evenings to chant the Hindu Kirtans. I enjoyed my lengthy conversations with Sikhs who came from the Air force base to our Flour Mill on Sundays, and like wise, I learned a lot about the Adivasis (native Indian tribals) and Banjaray who made it to our mill on Sundays.  

I listened to hours of conversation between my father Abdul Rahman, maternal grandfather Shaikh Hussain and a Shia scholar Hussain Sahib. My English Teacher Rama Chandra was a big Sai Baba devotee and my friend Fakhru Bhai was a Muslim Sufi, the three of us would spend Saturdays discussing religion. I grew up with our Christian neighbors Robert and Swaran Latha since I was three or four years old. The last time I met them was upon my mothers’ death in 2001.

We did not have any Jews and Baha’is’ in our town; if not more than likely we would have attended their festivities as we did with others. However, I made it up with Jews, here is that part of my story; Holocaust and the Muslim guy. and also with Bahai's as I am closest to being a Bahai and perfectly align with Unitarian Universalist. My father was a Mayor of the town and his friends were mainly Hindus, and Bellur Muniyappa was the closest of them.   They discussed politics every day, yes every day in the evenings. 

While I was in Saudi Arabia, I had the greatest exposure to people from 40 different cultures and nationalities. I was the Chief Cashier with Fluor corporation, and every one of the group leaders came to me with bills for reimbursement in Shedgum, Saudi Arabia. I learned about each one of them, and additionally, I developed my abilities to understand English in just about every accent.

Coming back to Dallas, I published a paper called Asian News (1993-2001) and the information about all religions and festivals became a major item. In 1996, I started the first commercial radio for the Asian community called Asian news Radio, and again religion was a major part of it.

Between 2004 and 2005, I did 520 hours of Radio show, an hour a day, 5 days a week and it was called “Wisdom of religion, all the beautiful religions of the world” and did 100 hours each of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism and 50 hours on all other religions including Atheism. We completed Torah, Bible, Quran, Bhagvad Gita and other books on the show. 

In 2005 and 2006 two sets of three hour workshops were done for 13 traditions from Atheist to Zoroastrians and everyone in between.

In 2009 I camped out for a whole 9 days at the Parliament of World’s religions in Melbourne and attended every possible religious event I can. I moderated a few Panels and presented a few papers.  I danced with the Pagans, animists, and spent time with the Native Australians and their Museum.

Here in Dallas, I have been to most places of worship, and took my children to them as well.

Thanks to Huffington Post and other news papers I continue to write the essence of festivals, all the major festivals of the world and God willing I will continue the work. The work is also logged at www.FoundationforPluralism.blogspot.com and www.TheGhousediary.com

The Foundation for Pluralism came into being, when my application to be a member of Thanksgiving Square was rejected in mid Nineties, because I did not fit into a pigeon hole, at that time, I was a Humanist (another name for Atheist) and was told to belong to some religion. I said to myself, we need an organization that includes all humanity, thus the Foundation for Pluralism was officially born, even though it was in practice since 1993.

Ironically, I my application was rejected in an Atheist group in 2006, when I wanted to become a member and include them in our Unity Day program.

Presently, I am a member in most of the religious groups. Do you know God is a life member of every religious group I belong to? LOL!
I regret not completing my PhD in religion, but pleased with the amount of work I have done on religions, all the beautiful religions.

I must say, pluralism runs in my veins. Please feel free to read my yet to be updated profile as pluralism speaker at: http://www.mikeghouse.net/InterfaithSpeaker_MikeGhouse.asp

Thank you

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
............................................................................................................................... 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. He is a staunch defender of human rights and his book standing up for others will be out soon, and a movie "Americans together" is in the making.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

Sanity Prayers for American Jews and American Muslims

URL -http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/07/sanity-prayers-for-american-jews-and.html

The conflict should not tear the Jewish Americans and Muslim Americans apart; instead it should bring us together to build a cohesive America, and hopefully cohesive societies across the world where no human has to live in fear of the other.


The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is a humanitarian one, and it would be wrong to label it as Jewish and Muslim or between Judaism and Islam. We have to guard ourselves from labeling each other as enemies which we are not, and we shouldn’t be. Of course a few among us look to the other Americans as if they have wronged us. No, none whatsoever. 

On the other hand we need to ask people to appreciate the efforts of Jewish and Muslim peacemakers in the United States who are making every effort to find solutions. Calling it a Jewish Muslim problem amounts to belittling their efforts. Let’s guard ourselves from such short sightedness.

Rabbi Elana Zelony of congregation Beth Torah in Richardson affirms the above, “With all the media about violence between Muslims and Jews, it's easy to forget that many of us are yearning for peace. We will gather to strengthen one another with our prayers and affirm a vision of a peaceful world.”

It is easy to destroy the relationships with reckless language, and I urge everyone to use the language that restores goodness.  Of course when passions are flared, anything short of telling the other is 100% right amounts to outright rejection by both sides. That is the precise reason we have problems, we need a few of us who are willing to speak sanity. Let’s take this as an endurance test of our wits. I hope we come out unscathed as conflict mitigaters and goodwill nurturers, and not the ones who mess up.

Shaheen Khateeb of Indian American Muslim council shares the note from Andrea Winters of Pace University, "It really was lovely dinner and opportunity to reconnect- and share- felt good, all the more because of what is happening in the world. Very painful.. but it is heartening to know that important connections can be made and kept despite all the bloodshed elsewhere. Now the world has to figure out what to do about the bloodshed.”

Here is a summary of the conflict in the most simplistic expression;  

1. The Palestinians are made up of Christians, Muslims and others, before the creation of Israel, even the Jews from the area were referred to as Palestinian Jews.

2. When Jews were persecuted or discriminated throughout Europe and the US respectively, Arab and Muslim nations were a safe haven for Jews for nearly 1300 years of Islamic existence and India and Hindus for nearly 2000 years after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

3. The Israeli Palestine issue is not thousands of years old as some blabber, it’s just 67 year old, since Israel was carved out of Palestine in 1947. There were no significant flare ups between Jews and Muslims until then,  while Europe was bent on annihilating Jews in the same period of time.

4. The United Nations rightfully took the responsibility to settle the Holocaust survivors in the then Palestine. The land was given to Immigrant Jews (even the United States refused a Jewish refugee ship to land on our shores), and it was handled poorly without proper local consent and cooperation,  instead of dialogue and kindness people resorted to fighting and denying each other’s rights.

5. Shamefully, the fight for the land began and continues today, the Jewish settlers are robbing the land from the Palestinians, bulldozing their homes, and building their own settlements, there is no rule of law and justice.  

6. The biggest shame is on a handful of Rabbis, Imams and Pastors who are maligning their religions and justifying their holy books to kill each other, it is their personal hate and anger that is the problem and not Judaism, Islam or Christianity.  

7. When justice is compromised,  no one will live with a full sense of security or peace.

SOLUTIONS

There is a solution; we have plenty of land here in Texas, we should welcome the Jewish settlers ; at least they can build it guilt free. We have been subsidizing Israel with over $3 billion a year; and we can reduce it to $1 billion for one year and use the funds to offer them federal lands to build their settlements. It will create a lot of Jobs in the United States and peace in the Middle East.

We can offer the same deal to Palestinians; let’s welcome them to the United States to raise their families in peace and prosperity instead of fighting a daily battle for survival and their own land. We can help compensate the Palestinians from the same funds and offer lasting solutions for them as well.

There are always people who eke out their living by evil means. Indeed, they have successfully built up prejudice against Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular, and many of us Americans have lost a sense of fairness and justice.  There is no reason for us to be prejudiced against any people; we need to fight that instinct and live a prejudice free life.  We don't have to be unjust to either Jews or the Palestinians (Christians and Muslims).

I have been to several Mosques during this month of Ramadan, and it was good to hear supplications seeking justice and relief to the Palestinians, but no hatred towards Jews was expressed and that was the right thing to do. What a relief it was to know that the bad guys are not Jews, Judaism or Israel, but the leaders who are hell bent on seeking revenge.

I am disappointed in the members of Senate to have voted unanimously in favor or Israeli leader’s short-sightedness in justifying revenge, two wrongs doesn’t make it right, the first wrong was by Hamas for firing the rockets and the 2^nd wrong was the revenge seeking by the Israeli government (not Jews, Judaism or Israel) both caused by occupation and blockade.

Shame on our democracy where sycophancy took over and ditched the very essence of freedom; dissent. Not a single Senator had the balls to disagree? We the people are not that sheepish, are we?

Shame on our elected representatives, instead of bringing security to Israel and Justice to the Palestinians, their false belief has made sure Israel is not secure for a long time to come by encouraging military solutions, instead of a forging a dialogue between the two. Damn them for funding furthering Iron dome and damn them for funding Gaza to rebuild their homes to be destroyed again. What a waste of our funds!

I am glad to see Muslims and hopefully Jews, Christians and others use the place of worship to seek God’s help and guidance in finding the solutions; security for Israel and Justice for the Palestinians. I do hope the moderate Jews, Christians and others besides Muslims speak up against any hate sermons and justifications of rockets or revenge in their places of worship.

I will be visiting a few places of worship in the coming weeks and I hope to hear nothing but peace and goodness in our churches, temples, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship.

Let’s pray:

Dear God guide us from keeping the places of worship free of malice
Dear God lift us above pettiness
Dear God give us guidance to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill.
Dear God remove hatred and bias towards fellow beings.
Dear God give us strength to speak up against bias and hatred in our gatherings.
Dear God strengthen the sense of Justice in our hearts and souls.
Dear God don't let a few stray Jews and Muslims justify killings

Dear God please don't make them a villain or bigot out of you.

Dear God please don't allow claims of one to have deals with you behind other's back.
Dear God strengthen empathy towards fellow beings in our hearts.
Dear God help us heal our relationships between fellow Americans.
Dear God help us become instruments of peace and harmony.
Amen

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesive work places. He offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His information is at www.MikeGhouse.net

Movie: Son of God

The good, bad and ugly aspect of human beings is proportionately set in the movie and well put together. A good movie to see.  I am glad to see the human element at works in sending Jesus to crucifixion rather than honing on the Jewish factor. It is time to separate the two and quit blaming the Jews; it has gone on far too long and the singular cause of much of the anti Semitism and the persecution of Jews. I am also happy that Pope Francis has taken steps to rectify this.

 As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, faith is in the heart of the believer. Jesus says if you believe me, you'll see me. It’s not easy for Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Zoroastrians and Baha’i to see a tangible God having a son, whereas it is difficult for Christians, Hindus and others to relate with an invisible, formless, and a genderless God, let alone an offspring. 

We have to learn to respect the otherness of others to create peaceful societies. I cannot demand one to enjoy an apple pie while the person enjoys peach cobbler, or push someone to enjoy a well done steak where as he or she enjoy the medium rare. There is no compulsion in who, what and why any one likes what he or she likes.

One has to believe that God has set up the situations for Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, Krishna or others, as a part of the overall teaching methodology. If you went by logic, a lot of things don’t make sense in any religion.

As always, I am trained to see the technical flaws in the movies. When Jesus was on the cross, they show a close shot of his right arm under the Horizontal piece of wood, in the middle of the length of the arm, there was a piece of rope tied to wrap the wood and his arm – that rope shows loose on the top, as if the arm is not hanging and pulling the rope close the wood on the top side. The other one was the boat in the beginning on the Sea of Galilee, it was a studio thing, and they did not make an effort to look real either.

...............................................................................................................................
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 a book with the same title is coming up. Mike has a strong 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.

Dallas News: Dealing with genocide and Holocaust across religious lines

By Wayne Slater
wslater@dallasnews.com
9:33 am on January 25, 2014 | Permalink

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http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/dealing-with-genocide-and-holocaust-across-religious-lines.html/


Mike Ghouse is frequently introduced as ‘the first Muslim guy to commemorate the Holocaust” with an appeal across broad religious lines. The idea is to recognize what people have in common, regardless of their differences as a way of lessening the conflicts, prejudices and intolerance that have produced genocide. And to go beyond politics to find common ground. On Sunday, a program attracting disparate groups around the idea “Never again” is scheduled for Unity Church on Forest Lane in Dallas, sponsored in part by Ghouse’s organization, the Foundation for Pluralism. The event is entitled Holocaust, Genocides of Native Americans and Gujart Massacre.The theme: Sparks of hatred and how to extinguish them.

Mike Ghouse, speaker, writer and advocate of pluralism across religious lines

Ghouse says he hopes attendees will walk out better appreciating the sufferings of others and seeing “the perpetrator in us” as a way of building trust across social and religious lines.
“I called on my friends with the idea of commemorating the event, and thus began this journey,” said Ghouse. “Education is the purpose; we have to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other, and we have to understand that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us.”
Ghouse says the conference is designed as a comprehensive event where various human failings, massacres, genocides and the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust will be addressed. The conference begins at 3 pm with an American Indian genocide museum exhibit, then a program between 4-6 pm.

“I have always believed, and I read the assessments of some of the best brains, that if we can resolve the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of peace on earth will begin,” said Ghouse.

“There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause,” he said. “Shame on us that we justifying massacres by believing and propagating that the victims deserved it or asked for it.”