Texas Faith: Profiting from war

So, we the good people, the people of faith should take the responsibility to speak out against war and seek to resolve the issues through a dialogue. Think about it, when God created animals, he equipped them with horns, fangs and paws to resolve their disputes, where as he did not give any of that to us – but gave us a tongue instead; to dialogue and resolve the disputes. - Mike Ghouse
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Texas Faith: Profiting from warRudolph Bush Follow @dallaspolitics Email rbush@dallasnews.comPublished: May 15, 2015 2:36 pm

In a recent news report Pope Francis was quoted as saying “Many powerful people don’t want peace because they live off war.” “Some powerful people make their living with the production of arms. It’s the industry of death.”

An unexploded bomb, an unused bullet, is an economic dead end to military manufacturers. America has been at war 93% of the time: 222 out of 239 years since 1776. Military cast-offs has led to the the hyper-arming of municipal police departments. Over half of the national budget goes to the military while our infrastructure crumbles and people suffer.

His comments echo those of former President Dwight Eisnehower, who warned us of the danger of a military industrial complex.

Is Pope Francis right? Is it time to reduce our war habit by reigning in arms merchants? And what role should our faith leaders play in urging leaders of free and unfree nations to resist the urge to war.

(Thanks to contributor Amy Martin for submitting this week’s question.)

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

Faith leaders shoulder one of the most important responsibilities to preserve peace and harmony of the world we live in, as they have passionately, voluntarily or professionally chosen to propagate God’s will to sustain peace on earth. This includes among other things, the obligation to urge the political leaders from holding on to the temptations of going to war.

And what is God’s will? In the simplest words, he created a fully integrated, interconnected world wide web in harmony and balance, and wants us humans, who are endowed with the ability to manage our surroundings to preserve and maintain that balance (Quran, 55:1-13) for our own good. It’s a physical world for survival and spiritual world for peace of mind and healthy living.

Whether it is God, evolution or big bang, whatever created the universe we live in, is in perfect balance, if not we would not exist. The planets perform their duty precisely; seasons change on time, life is programmed precisely through a sperm and an egg and everything else runs on schedule with of course built-in anomalies. On a micro level, if our own bodies are not in balance, we lose our health.

The Native American Chief, Seattle had said, “… we are merely a strand in this web, and if we mess with it, we mess the whole system and eventually ourselves in the end.”

We the people of faith are all mini- avatars of Krishna, who had said, whenever the world goes awry, when people don’t trust each other, lie, betray, mess with the families of others, and go off the tract of righteousness (dharma) and cause chaos and insecurity for all, and then the self balancing act automatically goes into gear. Krishna then adds someone or I will emerge from among you to restore the dharma. Wasn’t that precisely what Moses, Jesus, Muhammad (pbuh), Buddha, Rama, Zoroaster, Nanak, Confucius and all the great Shamans in native traditions did?

Every religion is a natural system of the society designed to preserve the creation both physically and spiritually. When the people of faith volunteer to communicate the word of God to sustain that harmony, we have to see that there is an action that goes with it.

Pope Francis is my hero, my mentor and a mercy to the mankind. I am glad he spoke, we have to consistently speak. Edmund Burke’s quote comes to my mind, “evil exists because good people do nothing about it.” Indeed war mongering exists because we have let it happen.

So, we the good people, the people of faith should take the responsibility to speak out against war and seek to resolve the issues through a dialogue. Think about it, when God created animals, he equipped them with horns, fangs and paws to resolve their disputes, where as he did not give any of that to us – but gave us a tongue instead; to dialogue and resolve the disputes.

To stop uncontrollable aggression by the others, war may be needed; otherwise, it shows we have not evolved from an animal to human. Those who seek war are incapable of dialoguing, they cannot think beyond bombing, killing, subduing and pushing others. We the faith leaders need to communicate that and take an assertive stand against wars and war mongers. 

Thanks to Obama, perhaps the first non-war monger president in a 50 year period, who has used intelligence to dialogue and resolve the issues rather than bomb, bomb and mess up others and mess ourselves. On my part, I have decided to camp out in front of the white house should a future president acts like an animal.

To read other Panelist's take, go to Dallas Morning news at - http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/texas-faith.html/#more-55465

Thank you
mike
Mike Ghouse, President
America Together Foundation
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism, Islam, India, Israel-Palestine, Politics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film " Sacred" to be released on 9/11 and a documentary "Americans together" for a July 4 release.  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 at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com - Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

What Jesus Means to Christians and Muslims

Each group claims their version of the truth is the absolute truth, which means the other group’s truth is not the truth. The source of all conflict between Muslims and Christians is about the persona of Jesus.

What Muslims believe is not the same as what Christians believe about Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is God incarnate or son of the God, whereas Muslims believe that he was a revered prophet. The immature human in each one of us resorts to calling the other a liar.

What difference does it make if Jesus is Son of a God or a prophet? Nothing changes, not a thing changes in the world except your belief, and that belief is nurtured and not natural. Meaning, you can raise a child to believe one or the other, he or she will grow up with that belief. Would Jesus change because of our belief? No, not all. He is who he is for Jews, Christians, and Muslims and Baha’i – others have not incorporated him into their belief systems.

Both the groups believe that they know the truth, because God has said so. You have to ask God, why he said two different things, and why should you be right and others be wrong. If you believe Jesus is son of a God, so be it, and so be it if he is a prophet. He loves us all the same, and if he were to walk on the earth today… do you believe he will not love you, even if you tell him he is no son of a God? If you believe that, you are yet to understand Jesus.

None of this matter to God, what matters to him is if you were good to his creation; life and environment. Good to fellow humans and responsible to create a cohesive society where each person lives without fear of the other.

The best option is to learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge – both the religions lay emphasis on forgiveness and taking care of the neighbor. None of us are alike in our thumbprint, taste bud and DNA – why should we be alike in our faith? What Muslims believe works for them just as what Christians believe works for them? You believe what you believe and I believe what I believe – let’s figure out living respectfully with each other.

I will be writing a series of short notes involving almost every religion. Over the years I have written over 800 pieces on Pluralism – of which 200 are at Dallas Morning News and 125 plus at Huffington post alone. You can check out www.foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com and on facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/PluralismCenter. Almost all of my articles are home at www.TheGhouseDiary.com

By the way, I am a big follower of Jesus without being a political Christian.

Thank you

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
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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 at www.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.

William and Rosa Lee Schiff, the Holocaust Survivors at the First Holocaust event by Muslims

The first Holocaust and Genocides event by Non-Jews was organized by Muslims in Dallas, Texas. The timing was perfect, right after a delicate situation in a 9/11 commemoration there was a need to address the issue of Holocaust and Genocides, and the United Nations unanimously passed the bill to commemorate Holocaust in their 60th General Assembly meeting on November 1, 2005. They designated January 27 of each year as Holocaust Memorial day, the date coincides with the liberation of Auschwitz.

The first event was organized on Sunday, January 29th and was addressed by the Holocaust survivors, Ms. Rosa Lee Schiff and the late Mr. William Schiff. This year, we will start with the Holocaust conversation followed by the Genocides of Native Americans and the Gujarat Massacre. This is a serious event for us to reflect on the inhumanity within each one of us, and learn to do our individual share of saying never again. 

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.

Holocaust Survivors Rosa Lee and William Schiff

Commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for seven years is a fulfillment of a life time drive to build bridges.

Of all the people on the earth, my mother would be pleased to know that I am doing what it takes to be a "good Muslim," to respect, honor and protect the sanctity of life.

A healthy society can be defined by how well it functions together, where no member of the society has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

Rabbi Haas, Mike Ghouse, Bernie Mayoff and William Schiff - seated Rosa Lee Schiff

Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting peaceful functioning of a society and it is our duty, both individually and collectively to track down the source of such hate and mitigate it. Indeed, each one of us needs to do our share of work. This hate takes many avatars including Anti-Semitism, racism, Misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia, and other ailments of the society. Untreated, they will erupt in violent and hostile expressions like crusades, inquisitions, 9/11, terrorism by individuals and nations, Holocaust, Genocides and Massacres.

The Jewish Christian conflict stems from Jesus' crucifixion; the Christian Muslim conflict has origins in how each sees Jesus, and the Jewish Muslim conflict took root in the late 1940's.  Much of the conflict with Native Americans, Native societies, Hindus, Pagans and others stem from forced conversions by the arrogance of Christian and Muslim missionaries.

Religion came into existence to save the mankind; most people get that right and a few don't. No religion teaches hatred or encourages hostilities. On the contrary, religions are committed to building cohesive societies where no has to live in discomfort or fear of the other. The bottom line of all religions is based on the Golden rule, "Do unto others as you would wish to have done unto you."
 

Mrs.Elan, Gil Elan (AJC) and Rabbi Haas

There is always a room for bringing a positive change, even if it were a small step. The Foundation for Pluralism, Memnoysne Institute and the World Muslim Congress have teamed up to find solutions, which begins with the acknowledgement of the problem and taking small healing steps.

We are pleased to invite you to join us for the 7th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event is set for Sunday, January 26, 2014 between 3 and 6 PM at the Unity of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230. Details are at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

The purpose of this event is education, and we hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to do our individual share of saying "Never Again".

The spark of hatred will not disappear through law and order, it would be temporary off the screen, but will reappear at every little conflagration.  As civil societies, this has to be worked out for the long term good.

What we need is to have a heart to heart dialogue with each community with a goal to acknowledge the differences and figure out how to live with each other with least conflicts. After all we are inextricably connected to each other in our day to day life.

The goal ought to be respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, anything short of that will leave unattended-sparks ready to flare up at short notice with the whiff of oxygen.

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.  What a shame it is to believe that the victims deserved or asked for it.

We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:

• Other people's suffering is as legitimate as mine;
•  It is easy to see ourselves as Victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us;
•  When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
• We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
•  The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from other's suffering.
•  A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened

Indelible Image that has influenced this writer

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear of the other -www.MikeGhouse.net

Pakistani Christians community hosts Christmas party in Dallas

NOTE: THIS BLOG IS STRICTLY MY WRITINGS, HOWEVER WHEN SOME ONE WRITES ABOUT ME, I HAVE INCLUDED HERE A FEW TIMES WITH A NOTE.
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Pakistani Christians community hosts Christmas party in Dallas

By Our correspondent Raja Zahid Khanzada
December 18, 2013 - Updated 636 PKT From Web Edition
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-130778-Pakistani-Christians-community-hosts-Christmas-party-in-Dallas

DALLAS: Preparations for a big celebrations of Christmas and New Year is on fast pace. Shopping Centers, Malls and streets are showing holidays festivities, while buildings are decorated with bright lights.

Pakistani Christian Cultural Society of North Texas hosted a big Christmas Party. The party was attended by a large number of Pakistani Christian families living in North Texas as well as people from across other faiths.

The Key note speaker of the event was Dr. Nathan Shahid Jaleel who runs an organization Friends of United Christian Hospital in Lahore. The group is collecting funds to help the hospital in its finances.

Addressing the gathering Dr. Jaleel said that Bible's teach love of God and service to humanity, and Jesus Christ message also direct us to serve humanity.

He said this is the reason Christian community built this hospital in Lahore after Pakistan's independence, as the hospital still serves poor, needy and humanity at large. He said that this is our duty, who are living overseas to provide funds to the hospital in order for its smooth functioning, for which his organization is collecting funds.

Program organizer Javaid Samuel Gill and his wife Erum Gill thanked audience for their presence on this special occasion. Addressing the gathering they said that, they celebrate Christmas every year with people of Christian and inter faith communities, which provides an opportunity to all to sit together and socialize.

A well-presented Program was professionally moderated by Nina Rahat Gill, and Bakhtawar Gill. Dr. Samuel Gill and G Salik read the Christmas message, Pastor Saleem Gill, Pastor George Maseeh, Pastor Alexander Williams, and Mike Ghouse held special prayers.

Prominent community leaders including American Muslim Democratic Caucus Co-Chair Syed Fayyaz Hassan, Pakistan Television's retired Managing Director and several TV play writer Shahid Mahmood Nadeem, Pakistan American Association President Dr. Amer Suleman, Dr. Javed Ajmal, Naeem Chaudhry, Dr. Sadiq Jaleel, poet Syed Younus Ejaz, Tariq Hashmi, Noor Amrohvi, and Shah Alam and South Asia Democracy Watch President Dr. Qaiser Abbas were in attendance.

Mr. Irfan Ali and Mike Ghouse congratulated Javed Samuel and Erum Samuel for a beautiful Christmas program. Special prayers were offered for families of attendees as well as for Pakistan and its wellbeing was also in presenter's prayers.

Children of Mrs. Sumbal Javed and other prominent leaders presented special musicals where Javed Samuel played harmonium with his wife playing Sitar and Bakhtawar played Tabla as children presented "Sohni Dharti Allah Rakhe".

Local artists including Pastor Saleem, Alishpa Hafiz, Nina Gill, Zach Solomon, Kamran and Hafeez presented traditional Christmas Carol. Local poets including Syed Younus Ejaz, Noor Amrohvi, Tariq Hashmi, and Dr. Shamsa Qureshi put together a poetry session with relevance to the occasion of Christmas.

The Cultural Association also presented appreciation plaques to several of honorable guests including Dr. Amer Suleman, Dr. Sadiq Jalal, Dr. Raj Kumar, Raja Zahid Khanzada, Rahat Samuel Gill, Agha Ziaullah Khan, Samson Shahbaz, and others.

A sumptuous and elaborate dinner was also served and Santa Clause distributed gifts to children. Santa danced with others on popular music which brought the festivities to all participants.

Also published in Geo TV - http://www.geo.tv/article-130778-Pakistani-Christians-community-hosts-Christmas-party-in-Dallas

Indian American's committment to Pluralism.

Tracing the roots of my quest for Pluralism.

I am an Indian American, and take immense pride in the pluralistic ethos of India.  Indeed, I have made a commitment to nurturing those values, and share them with fellow Americans in my talks, articles and media appearances.   Let me be clear; everything is not hunky dory,  India has deep scars and wounds that need healing, these wounds** if not treated, will continue to be a drain on nation's spiritual health. At times, the frustrations can reach the tipping point leading into riots, massacres and Genocides, in the process hurting every one.

Collectively, as Indian Americans, we contribute to the richness of America in the fields of medicine, science, engineering, biology, politics, religion, information technology and smart corporate management. However, the time has come for us to give fullness to our participation by contributing in social sciences.
As a social scientist, my contribution would be sharing my motherland's pluralistic heritage with my homeland as a gift to America.  By the way, India was one of the first three nations on the earth to recognize American independence in 1776, it was Tippu Sultan, the head of the state of Mysore (Karnataka) then along with Morocco and France.

Two decades of research work on Pluralism

In the last twenty years, through Asian News Magazine (1993-2001), Asian News Radio (1996-2001), Desi TV (1996), Yahoogroups (2003 -now), and various blogs like Mike Ghouse for India, Sulekha (1999 - now) and several (30) sites for each topic, I have shared our pluralistic heritage.

The Asian News Magazine featured the essence of every religion, and the multi-cultural aspect of India and its inclusiveness, the Asian News Radio featured weekly hour dedicated to presenting the essence of religious festivals so we can learn about each other. We also produced more than 500 hours of talk show radio on religion, every beautiful religion, Pundits, Pastors, Imams, Rabbis, Shamans and Religious clergy from each faith joined me daily to share the wisdom of his or her religion, indeed, Atheism and pluralism had its own slot.

There is not a public forum where I have not been inclusive. A few years ago, one of the business radio stations (AM 1360) in Dallas was doing a show about ‘giving’ during Christmas season. They invited a Rabbi and a Pastor and wanted me to fill in for Islam, and I did with a condition that I am allowed to acknowledge and mention charity in every faith including Hinduism, Baha'i, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and other traditions.

For two years we conducted two sets of workshops called Understanding Religion, all the beautiful religions (Atheism was part of the learning). We had a Rabbi, Pastor, Pundit, Imam, Shaman and respective religious ministers joined  in presenting a three hour workshop - on each faith. Funds permitting, I hope to recommence the workshops, and create a replicable model. The idea was to demystify the myths about each faith. Two of the most misunderstood faiths are Hinduism and Islam, and we cannot let people rot in mis-information, we have to do our share of the work in creating a bettter world. Of course, finding the truth is our own individual responsibility.

Each one of us is capable of standing up for others, when we do that; all of us would be safe. We cannot demand peace, when we are not peaceful within, we cannot ask others to be hateful, when we are full of it.

Media Presence

As President of the Foundation for Pluralism, I contribute an article a week to the Texas Faith column at Dallas Morning News for over two years, and just about every piece weaves through several religions. The articles appear regularly at Huffington Post, and occasionally at Washington post. Heck, when I wrote a tribute about my late wife, father and mother, I found them reflecting the values of most religions, if not all.

The TV, Radio, Print, Web and Social Media has been good to me, giving me a strong national and local presence including Sean Hannity’s Show on Fox News (over 50 appearances), and many nationally syndicated Radio shows.

Over 1500 articles on the topic of Pluralism, Interfaith, Politics, India, Israel, Middle East, Islam, Human rights and conflict mitigation have been published. Major news papers in the United States and across the world, including Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, European and other Asian Nations have carried them. I have not checked if Timbuktu news papers have carried them as well.

The international forums including the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia; the Middle East Peace Initiative in Jerusalem; and the International Leadership Conference in Hawaii, Chicago and Washington have also provided me the platform to speak about Pluralism.

It is a blessing to have served as a commissioner for the City of Carrollton and president of many a organizations including Home Owners Association, North Texas Cricket Association, and a board member of several non-profits such as the Dallas Peace Center.

No matter where I go, my identity is Indian.

Indian democracy

We are the original Pluralistic Democracy in the world, and can serve as a model to nations where they are experiencing co-emergence of multiple religious people in work place, schools, dining, playground and different aspects of living. They all can look up to India about moving forward despite the difficulties, India's diverse population has successfully co-existed for centuries in relative harmony. Thanks to the founding fathers for embracing that tradition and opting for a Secular democracy upon Indepedence in 1947. Where else on the earth, can you have personal conflicts resolved through your own religious guidance? Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Jains and others have their personal laws to square with the personal and family issues as an option. America can benefit from such practices.

Unresolved Issues

I am glad; we are a pluralistic democracy rather than an autocratic, monarchic or dictatorial system where critical issues take time to resolve through consensus, rather than imposition.  Because of the nature of our governance, we have piled up unresolved conflicts that will take time to heal. Among them are; Sikh Massacre, Babri Masjid-Ram JanamBhoomi, Kashmiri Pundits, Gujarat Massacre, misogyny,  and discrimination against the minorities. There are other issues, but my focus is social issues.

We should not dump these issues onto the next generation, we are conquering the space, we can conquer our prejudices too, that is the greater Jihad (inner struggle) Lord Krishna and Prophet Muhammad had called for. The nation is moving forward despite the issues, and we need to take the initiative and bring closure to them in our life time. They will not go away by burying our heads in the sand.
Standing up for others

Standing up for others is the right thing to do, every human goes through a period of invincibility to vulnerability, if we don't stand up for those who are vulnerable, then who will stand up for us when we are vulnerable?

The idea of alms, charity, taking care of the elderly, weak, sick and the children is a common theme in every religious tradition. It is indeed the insurance for every one's well being. I cannot be at peace when others around me aren't, and hence it behooves me to take care of the ones who need assistance. 

It’s been my life time honor to stand up for everyone from Atheists to Zoroastrians and every one in between (www.StandingupforOthers.com ). 

Inclusive attitudes are cultivated

Our sense of responsibility is akin to wearing the seat belt. If you live in America, and don't wear the seat belt in the car while you drive, not only you feel guilty, but certainly uncomfortable. It was not the case before the seat belt was made mandatory for the driver and the front seat passenger. It is indeed a consciously learned behavior. I feel the same sense of discomfort, when I get to the podium and not mention or include different religions in the speech. My only fear is excluding others in the public square even by mistake.  To allay that fear; I have learned to start my speeches with Pluralism greetings and prayers that are inclusive of every one including my Atheist friends (Pluralism Speaker).

Thanks to my father, mother, and grandfather who lived their lives as an example inculcating Islamic pluralism in my brothers and the sister, like millions of Muslim parents whom you may have not met.  In my talks, I share small examples and incidents where small things do matter. We learned the Islamic version of Vasudaiva Kutumbukum; the whole world is one family.  

Indeed, Pluralism flows in my veins, and that is respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us.

Boldly changing the course of history

My father was a Mayor of the town of Yelahanka in the fifties, and we always had construction work at our apartments or remodeling at our historic house, originally owned by the founder of Bangalore, Hon. Kempe Gowda in the 16th century. My father was a maverick, and dared challenging the abusive but prevalent norms of the society, he had the Dalits (shameful word: Untouchables) work at our place, my mother would make them tea or give them food in the plates and cups we used, it was a big no-no in the society at that time, you ‘kept them' away from your house, just as it was for the Blacks in America then. I am proud of my father, and my mother for supporting him in breaking the uncouth norms. He was constantly called on to quit, and at times threatened, but the dare devil held on to his ground firmly and the town loved him dearly and gradually followed his example.

I saw humiliation in the eyes of men, women and children, who came to collect water from the public tap on each corner of the street, the upper caste person would wash the tap three times before he or she collected the water. It was difficult for me, and I played out my share of the drama and mumbling in protest. Despite the significant progress made, we have a long way to go in the housing discrimination, indeed, even in America we have ways to go, but we are all going forward.

As I am writing this, I grudgingly acknowledge that I have learned nothing new; my father did everything that I am doing now, Gee, a drop of tear rolls down my cheek in reverence to Mahatma Gandhi for becoming a catalyst in uplifting the down trodden and restoring their God-given dignity to them. I just have to pray for the Mahatma for saving the Indian souls by getting rid of guilt from ours minds, by having us open our hearts and minds toward the fellow beings, just as MLK did in America. 

Early influences of Pluralism

Early on in my life, even though I had chosen to be an atheist, and I stayed the course for the next thirty years, but never looked down on any faith like a few of my fanatic Atheist friends do. I have had the opportunity to know and learn about different faiths and sub-cultures. I went to Mahabodhi (Buddhist) Society on Thursdays, Mosque (Muslim) on Fridays, and Bhajan Mandir (Hindu) on Saturday nights. The Interaction with my Jain neighbors and friends, and my mother’s Zoroastrian friend was productive.

The Saturday afternoon discourse between the Shia Scholar and my Sunni maternal Grandfather and my father laid the foundation of civil dialogue for me. Then, I enjoyed the interaction with Sikhs, Adivasis, Tribals, Khandaris and Banjarans at our mill where we grounded their grain in to flour. The Sikhs were in the Air force and the Tribals were breaking the nearby hills into crushed stone manually, I felt connected with all of them, and did not feel a barrier between me and them.

In the first few years of my childhood I spent Christmas evenings with our neighbors, and I was also dressed up as Krishna with the Makhan (butter) when I was a baby. In my college days, I had serious dialogue with my English Teacher Ramachandran, a Saibaba devotee and my weaver friend Mohamed Fakhru, an Islamic scholar in his own right.

The only religious group I did not interact in India was the Jewish community, but learned about Eishman, the killer of six million Jews, the book was in Urdu language, and my mother prevented me from reading, as she was concerned about her child’s well being, but it created a sense of incompleteness in me for not reading the forbidden book. The completeness to my life came when I organized the first Holocaust commemoration event in 2006 in Dallas. It was the first such event in history, by non-Jewish people. It is our moral duty to understand the atrocities we humans have inflicted upon each other and educate others to say no to such tragic events from even seeding.

I have spent a lot of time reading, I was always in the library and I enjoy going to the Libaray to this day. Some of my early influencers were Mahatma Gandhi, Jiddu Krishnamurthy, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Swami Vivekananda, Allama Iqbal, Buddha, Abraham Kavoor, Dale Carnegie and a German Scholar who wrote about comparative religions.

It is a blessing to have seen Mahatma Gandhi twice in my dreams in the early 70’s with Bangalore University’s Vice Chancellor Narsimaiah, and the next time in early part of 2000. In both instances, all he said was, son you have work to do and patted on my back, and that has been my inspiration all along to commit to pluralism. It was Gandhi for me.

Gender Pluralism
 
We grew up with Gender equality, the four brothers and the sister were equals in every aspect of life. My father never treated my mother any less, he always consulted her and regretted when he did not. I would have been a farmer or a politician in India, had my mother not insisted, and my father listened to her, here I am today. The images we grew up with were of gender equality, treating men and women the same. The four of us brothers and our sister have all agreed to share the proceeds of the sale of the property of our parents equally. We never questioned it and never thought there could be difference in inheritance laws.

In the early sixties, we had our first woman mayor Mrs. Puttama (she had a little restaurant) in my town Yelahanka, and nearly twenty years later when I visited San Francisco, celebrations were on for electing the first woman mayor in America; Diane Feinstein! I said wow! 

Communal riots

My father is my hero and opened the doors of wisdom to us. Pluralism indeed runs in my family. He taught us one of the biggest lessons of my life in social cohesiveness and dealing with extremism that I continue to reflect in my talks, acts and write ups.

During the communal riots in Jabalpur (India) in the early sixties, both Muslims and Hindus were killed in the mayhem, as it happens every time. I wish every father in India, America and elsewhere teaches this lesson to his kids. He was crystal clear on his take; He told us the "individuals" are responsible for the bloodshed and not the religions. If we get the guy who started the conflict and punish him for disturbing peace, rather than calling it a religious issue for the communities to jump in and aggravate it further, we would have saved many lives. He would emphasize that you cannot blame the intangible religion and expect justice, we must blame the individuals who caused it and punish them accordingly for disturbing the peace and thus bring a resolution to the conflict by serving justice. He said you cannot annihilate, kill, hang or beat the religion, then why bark at it?

What is pluralism?

Simply put, it is respecting the otherness of the other and accepting the uniqueness of each one of us. In cultural terms, it is recognizing your culture as a beautiful expression of life to you, as my own is to me. When it comes to food, it is appreciating the Rice you enjoy over the Naan I delight, or vice-versa. For Americans, it is medium rare stake versus the well done. In religious terms, it is learning to honor the way your worship or bow to the creator in gratitude, is as divine as my own.

Our future is Pluralism.

By the end of 2020, there will not be a major work place America or India and other places, where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working, eating, playing, marrying, and doing things together.

We need to prepare ourselves for those eventualities to prevent possible conflicts and lay a good foundation for nurturing goodwill and effective functioning of the societies.  Exclusive communities will become a thing of the past. (Foundation for Pluralism, Pluralism Center)

Being a Muslim, I am deeply committed to nurturing the pluralistic values embedded in Islam (World Muslim congress). The role of a Muslim is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, most people get that, a few don’t, just as with any other religious group.

Pluralism is our future, and as a futurist, based on the trends, I foresee, that two generations from now, we would be comfortable in saying, my religion, culture or life style is one of the many choices, and further down the road, a significant number will proclaim that my way of life is not superior or inferior to any.

They will consider ‘claiming superiority’ would be sheer arrogance and religion (a major part of life to many) is believed to imbue humility that builds societies, communities and nations in creating that elusive kingdom of heaven where all of us can live  without apprehension or fear of the other.

We are one nation

We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We are 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. Indeed, we must preserve the pluralistic heritage of America.

About India
We are Adivasis, Atheists, Baha’is, Bos, Buddhists, Christians, Dalits, Hindus, Jains, Jewish, Muslim, Sikhs, Tribals, Zoroastrians and every possible grouping. We are Brown, Black, White, Yellow and green with envy and phir bhi dil hai Hindustani (My heart is Indian).

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 heritage - a multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-regional and multi-linguistic society, where we have come to accept and respect every which way people have lived their lives. 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. 

What we need to do

We may want to consciously start thinking and acting as one people, one people within a nation and a community and one people globally. It's like home when we are conflict free.  I do hope each one of us purges any bias towards the other, there is joy in being free from ill-will. Try to be free from it this day forward… free from anything that prevents you from being a part of the parts or the whole. 

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

The book and the Movie

Insha Allah, my book, The American Pluralist will be released shortly, it is a chronicle of how things work in bringing the communities together, it is dedicated to India’s pluralistic heritage; India’s gift to America.  

The movie is about building a cohesive America, where no American has to live with anxiety, apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. One must be free to live his or her life to the fullest in pursuit of happiness.

I believe the civility of a nation is determined by how it treats its weak, economically backward, the men and women in ditches, the voiceless, its women and the minorities.


A few links referred to in the writing are:

1. The Ghouse diary . www.TheGhouseDiary.com
2. Curriculum Vitae - http://www.mikeghouse.net/MikeGhouse-CV-09192012.pdf
3. My profile -  http://www.mikeghouse.net/Profile.asp
4. Mike Ghouse for India - http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
5. My Real name - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-name-is-mike-ghouse.html
6. Pluralism Speaker - http://www.mikeghouse.net/InterfaithSpeaker_MikeGhouse.asp
7. Muslim Speaker - http://mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp
8. Linked in profile -  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=3451402&trk=tab_pro
9. Foundation for Pluralism - www.FoundationforPluralism.com
10. World Muslim Congress - www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
11. Quraan Conference - www.QuraanConference.com
12. America together Foundation - www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com
13. Standing up for others - www.Standingupforothers.com
14. Reflections Annual Holocaust and Genocides - www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
15. Unity Day USA - www.UnitydayUSA.com 
16. 30 Blogs - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/11/mike-ghouse-list-of-sites-and-blogs.html
17. Video- Trailer Americans Together - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8
18. Video- My story, Part I -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiQeOo9oEs
19. Video- My story, Part II - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiQeOo9oEs
20. Video - My latest talk at Gurdwara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNxrf8fFU0I
21. Video-  July4th Tippu Sultan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXNS365UEw4
22. Video - Quraan Translation/Bhagvad Gita - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZOFLQSAOhA
23. Video - Immigration Rally - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrjU0KULv-Y
24. Video- Pluralism Prayers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mc9D9guPMY
25. Video- Pluralism greetings, Chicago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3a8wX6SXQ
26. Video - There are over 200 links on the YouTube.

** There are many such issues, that no one has dared to bring a resolution, for example; the atrocities committed by some of the kings from the Mughal era have deeply wounded the psyche of our Population, Hindus among us are hurt and are subconsciously enslaved to the idea of getting even with Muslims, who have nothing to do with what those kings did, and Muslims on the other hand have not washed their hands completely off the Moghuls, as if they were our relatives. The Sikh Genocide of 1984, the Gujarat Genocide of Muslims, the abusive treatment of Dalits (the misclassified lower rung of the society), and the unchecked reservations system has boomeranged discriminating the well qualified because they are not classified in the lower rung. These will not go away, the simmer inside and act out in denying simple opportunties of life to another Indian. Shame on all of us, that we have not let a fellow Indian feel secure in the pursuit of his or her happiness.We should not let economic problems

Jai Hind

Mike Ghouse
In Summary; ----------
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. 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 everything you want to know about him.

Mike Joins the board Israeli-Palestinian confederation

I am pleased to join the Israeli-Palestinian confederation committee to participate and contribute towards the peace process for the people of Israel and Palestine. With full empathy and affection for both the peoples, I have consciously chosen to remain detached from taking sides; however, you will find me critical of the leadership as well as a few individuals in the process.

It is based on the lessons I have learned from my parents, who remained objective on the issues of world affairs and being “just” was their approach to life. In an article at Huffington Post, I wrote about my life time (jihad) struggle in applying the “just” values to the conflict between the people of Israel and Palestine and I am pleased to copy the following two paragraphs from that article:

My father is my hero and had opened the doors of wisdom to me. He taught me one of the biggest lessons of my life in social cohesiveness and dealing with extremism that I continue to reflect in my speeches, acts and write ups.

During the communal (religious) riots in the early '60s, both Muslims and Hindus were killed in the mayhem. I wish every father in India, America, Israel, and elsewhere teaches this lesson to his kids. He told us the "individuals" were responsible for the bloodshed and not the religions; he would emphasize that you cannot blame an intangible like religion and expect justice, we must blame the individuals who caused it and punish them accordingly for disturbing the peace and thus bring a resolution to the conflict by serving justice. He was crystal clear: You cannot annihilate, kill, hang or beat the religion, so why bark at it?

We have to come to grips with the reality that other people's suffering is as legitimate as our own; it is easy to see ourselves as victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us, when we don’t feel others’ pain,  turn the other way or not speak up when we see others are wronged.

When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope; we can value others suffering without lessening our own; the overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from feeling other's suffering, making a less of a human of us. A sense of responsibility for creating a better world needs to be awakened, and ultimately safety and peace for everyone should be driving our thoughts. One will never be at peace when others around are not.

In the many articles I have written, there are times when an Israeli or the Palestinian may feel that I have not stood up enough for them that is because of my struggle to be just; I rather fail in my struggle than lose my sense of fairness. Deep down I believe the Jewish and Palestinian people want the Americans to be honest and sincere and take a tough stand and end this conflict that is consuming them eternally. 

Joining the Israel Palestine confederation is one more step for me in my quest for Justice for the people. I believe if we can be a tiny catalyst in bringing a resolution to the a sixty year old conflict, and not thousands of years as some politician point,  a majority of the conflicts that were mothered by this conflict will fade and solutions will emerge.

Mike Ghouse

. . . . . . . 

ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER MEMBERS

About the members of the organization, copied straight from the website: http://www.ipconfederation.org/about-us.aspx  

Dallas school districts controversial use of religious buildings

Dallas Morning News writes a report on the topic and includes some of my comments in the article following my notes.

The School District’s  decision to hold the commencement ceremonies at churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious buildings without restrictions does not bode well in the long haul.

A few religious places will be generous in their offer; however, it implies an association with that place of worship and carries the baggage in the long haul. What if the new pastor is a bigot and has a problem with gay or lesbian kids or kids of other faiths. It is always the individual that drives the society towards ill-will or goodwill. Why do we need to subject ourselves to such whims?

We are a pluralistic society and deeply want our kids to grow up and interact with the real world out there that comprises people of different faiths, races, ethnicities and sexual orientation. A religious building does not offer such an environment, even with a few exceptions.

The Federal court just rejected a referendum in Oklahoma to ban families from seeking guidance from international or Sharia law to resolve disputes among family members even though 70% of the voters had approved it. In California proposition 5 met the same fate years ago and the Farmers Branch overwhelmingly approved the anti-immigration bill, which is in the courts now.

I would suggest the board members not to vote for this motion; the school will end up squandering money on legal suit rather than children’s education.

As a pluralist, I do welcome this, but since we are still not there we have to hold this off.
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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com
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ACLU warns Dallas ISD against plan to allow graduations at churches
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS Staff Writer thobbs@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20120113-aclu-warns-dallas-isd-against-plan-to-allow-graduations-at-churches.ece
Published: 13 January 2012 12:26 AM

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is warning Dallas ISD to “tread cautiously” on loosening restrictions to allow graduations at churches and other religious facilities.

Dallas school trustees discussed the proposal at Thursday’s board briefing. Two of eight trustees voiced concern about the plan, which will be considered Jan. 26.
The change would eliminate a clause that prohibits commencement exercises from being held at churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious sites without permission of the superintendent, and only under extenuating circumstances when no other nonreligious facility is available.

District officials said the change is being proposed because some schools have for years been using churches for graduations. The schools, which were not aware they were violating board policy, raised the issue with district administration, they said.
But the ACLU of Texas said in a news release Thursday that it cannot understand why DISD would consider changing what the group calls a “neutral policy.” It also noted that such a change could result in legal proceedings.

“DISD should tread cautiously in this area,” Lisa Graybill, ACLU of Texas’ legal director, warned in the news release. “The current policy provides a safeguard to ensure commencement exercises are held in appropriate, nonsectarian locations where all students, their families, and school personnel feel equally comfortable. Changing the policy could ultimately result in a constitutional challenge and costly litigation.”

The ACLU of Texas also submitted a public information request to the school district, asking for information that includes costs for off-site events and the reason for the proposed change.

Board President Lew Blackburn said that neither he nor school attorneys have a problem with the proposal. Blackburn said that he has attended graduations at churches and that nothing religious occurred.

Several Dallas school trustees, including Bruce Parrott and Carla Ranger, said they were unaware of the ACLU’s misgivings when they discussed the matter at Thursday’s meeting. Parrott and Ranger voiced concerns about the proposal during the discussion.

 pointed to a similar situation that involved the separation of church and state in the Irving school district last year. The ACLU of Texas had contacted that district with questions about a plan to hold graduations at The Potter’s House church. In response, district officials decided against the move.

“We don’t need to be involved with any lawsuit,” Parrott said. “We’ve got a policy; let’s just adhere to the policy.”

Ranger voiced similar concerns.

“We all know there have been problems in other places because of this very issue,” she said. “Removing this would put us in a situation that we don’t want to be in.”
The vast majority of religious leaders contacted Thursday agreed that the school district should not make such a change.

“I would suggest the board members not to vote for this motion; the school will end up squandering money on [a] legal suit rather than children’s education,” Mike Ghouse, a Muslim and president of the Foundation for Pluralism in Dallas, said in an email.

The Rev. Daniel Kanter of First Unitarian Church of Dallas said in an email that “it could make people uncomfortable to have their graduations in a house of worship, and we shouldn’t be putting citizens in that situation.”

He added: “Unfortunately, some people of faith might also have prohibitions about attending events in a house of worship other than theirs.”.

But the Rev. Trey Graham, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Melissa, said in an email that he “applauds the school board” for considering the change. He said the district shouldn’t be deterred by possible legal action by the ACLU.

“The elimination of this restriction makes sense for the school district financially, logistically and relationally,” Graham said. “Financially, school districts can often save money by utilizing church facilities at lower cost than other large meeting places.”
Graham said that his church’s facilities are often used by school, civic and community groups that need meeting space. “We consider the use of our church’s space by outside groups as another way to positively impact our communities,” he said.
Staff writer Holly K. Hacker contributed to this report.

Faith leaders on DISD proposal

Several religious leaders from North Texas, including regular contributors to The Dallas Morning News’ Texas Faith blog, weighed in on a proposal to allow Dallas ISD schools to hold graduation ceremonies in religious facilities. Here are excerpts from their comments:

Ric Dexter, Northeast Texas area leader in SGI-USA, a Buddhist lay organization

“I can’t imagine any religious facility that would be willing to remove or cover over a symbol of their reason for being, simply not to offend some of the graduates. While most Christians would have no problem with a crucifix as a backdrop, I wonder if they would feel as comfortable with Shiva or Buddha overlooking this important moment in their children’s life.”

Trey Graham, senior pastor, First Baptist Church Melissa

“Our church’s facilities, on multiple campuses, are often used by school, civic and community groups who need meeting space at times that do not interfere with our regular church ministries. We consider the use of our church’s space by outside groups as another way to positively impact our communities. The threat of legal action by the ACLU should not deter school board personnel from making this sensible change.”

Katie Sherrod, Episcopal lay leader, Fort Worth

“I don’t know what freedom of religion and freedom from religion is worth, but way too many U.S. soldiers have died to defend those American values. However much money the district might save by using religious buildings doesn’t even come close to being worth sacrificing that. While Christian children and parents might be OK with sitting under an image of the crucified Christ, I doubt it would be comfortable for Jewish children and their parents, given how often the crucifixion has been used as an excuse to persecute Jews. And I’m trying to imagine how some Christians would feel about having their child’s graduation in a mosque.”

Mohamed Elibiary, spokesman, Islamic Asssociation of North Texas/Dallas Central Mosque

“We would advise DISD to slow down its consideration to change the current neutral graduation venue policy and instead launch a broad stakeholders’ feedback effort. It is a fact that some faith communities with larger percentages of new immigrant constituencies will view this policy change as biased towards certain denominations, such as megachurches, with the large facilities to lease to the school district in the first place. Public schools were partially established more than a century ago so that various segments of the American public can find that uniting neutral ground that reminds all that despite numerous differences, we are still all equal Americans, civically speaking.”

Mike Ghouse, a Muslim and president of the Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

“It implies an association with that place of worship and carries the baggage in the long haul. What if the new pastor is a bigot and has a problem with gay or lesbian kids or kids of other faiths? It is always the individual that drives the society towards ill will or goodwill. Why do we need to subject ourselves to such whims?

“We are a pluralistic society and deeply want our kids to grow up and interact with the real world out there that comprises people of different faiths, races, ethnicities and sexual orientation. A religious building does not offer such an environment, even with a few exceptions.”

Holly K. Hacker