The Ghouse Diary: Muslims Speaker

Showing posts with label Muslims Speaker. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Texas Faith - A Muslim's Christmas

A Muslim's Christmas | www.TheGhouseDiary.com

Then there’s Christmas spending. This year, shoppers around the country expect to spend $882 for gifts, up from $861 last year, according to a survey by American Research Group. Everyone loves getting and giving gifts, but for many families it means more credit card debt and even economic ruin.

Amid the rampant commercialism of secular Christmas, how do you and your family keep the focus on the original meaning of the holiday?

What things can you do to make a difference in the lives of the poor, the sick and the grieving in what is supposed to be a happy season?
The

For those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, I’d also like to hear your views.

Published at Dallas Morning News on December 9, 2015 11:49 am by Joel Thornton

Texas Faith: When Baby Jesus Meets Neiman Marcus
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/12/texas-faith-when-baby-jesus-meets-neiman-marcus.html/

At the link, 10 other panelists have written on the same subject.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters
A Muslim’s Christmas

I am not a Christian, but a follower of Jesus’ teachings, so I celebrate the essence of Christmas and what it stands for. Every week, I quote Jesus’s wisdom somewhere or the other. He is one of my seven magnificent mentors along with Prophet Muhammad, Pope Frances, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and my father Abdul Rahman.

One of the most frequently used words during Christmas season is peace. Indeed, it is a reflection of the innermost desire within each one of us, whether we are Christians or not. Christmas is an annual milestone that intensifies the desire to have peace for oneself and for the world.

Christmas evokes kindness, empathy and goodness toward fellow beings; it’s a euphoric feeling of renewal that Jesus taught to the world, it is a sense of completion one feels when he or she finds in tune with humanity. Jesus showed the way by embracing the whole humanity regardless of who they were. He is my hero, he is my mentor, and he is the first known pluralist on the earth. Christmas is a celebration of that refreshed feeling.

Jesus holds a special place in everyone’s heart, but particularly among Christians and Muslims, making up over half the population of the world.

The Muslims call him Isa-Masih, the one who heals and one who brought life to the dead. The name of Jesus appears 27 times in Quran and one of the 114 Chapters is dedicated to Maryam, Mother Mary and the virgin birth.
Quran, Surah Al-Imran 3:49 (Asad):

“I have come unto you with a message from your Sustainer. I shall create for you out of clay, as it were, the shape of [your] destiny, and then breathe into it, so that it might become [your] destiny by God’s leave; and I shall heal the blind and the leper, and bring the dead back to life by God’s leave; and I shall let you know what you may eat and what you should store up in your houses. Behold, in all this there is indeed a message for you, if you are [truly] believers.”

Indeed, Muhammad Asad interprets it as,

“it is probable that the ‘raising of the dead’ by Jesus is a metaphorical description of his giving new life to people who were spiritually dead; cf. 6:122 – “Is then he who was dead [in spirit], and whom We thereupon gave life, and for whom We set up a light whereby he can see his way among men — [is then he] like unto one [who is lost] in darkness deep, out of which he cannot emerge?” If this interpretation is — as I believe — correct, then the “healing of the blind and the leper” has a similar significance: namely, an inner regeneration of people who were spiritually diseased and blind to the truth.”

Following Jesus is a tough calling.

It means we have to be prejudice free; free from ill will and malice, must be willing to forgive and embrace those whom we don’t like. Indeed, Jesus taught us to create the kingdom of heaven on earth, where no human has to be apprehensive of the other. It was the same calling by Moses, Krishna, Muhammad, Buddha, Mahavira, Nanak, Confucius, Bahaullah, Zarathustra and all the spiritual masters from different traditions, their mission was to bring an order in a disorderly world, restore trust in each other with kindness care and dignity to everyone in the society.

Christmas is also a day of expressing our gratitude for everything we are blessed with, least of which is breathing, ability to smell, see, touch and care. Then, someone needs to be thanked, beginning with the creator all the way to someone who gave you hope to live.

Christmas is also a time to wish well to someone you don’t like and benefit from the idea of forgiveness Jesus taught. There is nothing like the feeling you get from wishing someone well. Try it, may this Christmas bring you peace of mind and free you from all that hurts.

By the way, it was a new life for me when I got baptized in the name of God in River Jordan some six years ago, where Jesus was baptized in the name of same God. I observe Lent and attend Easter Mass, and enjoy Christmas carols and looking forward to opening what Santa has for me.

As a Muslim I will be celebrating Christmas, recommitting myself to listen to Jesus and follow his path, and in my Islamic tradition, I will reflect on chapter 19 of Quran, dedicated to Maryam, Mother Mary, and pray on his birthday. I will pray that we all honor his message of creating peace and building cohesive societies where no one has to be apprehensive of the other. Amen!

Merry Christmas y’all.

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine Terrorism and foreign policy. Over 3000 Articles have been published on the subjects. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and bulk of his writings are at TheGhousediary.com

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Iran deal is a good deal for America, Israel, Iran and the world

I was with Sean Hannity and Pamela Geller about the Iran deal today. It is relayed across 250 Radio Stations in America, find yours at http://www.hannity.com/pages/find-a-station/

Audio -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crpb_egC_EQ

We vehemently disagreed on the issue. I am for the deal, Sean and Pamela were against it. Sean is wrong again as he has been about Egypt, I told him that Morsi will not last and he has not. Unfortunately Egypt is not in the hands of people but with a tyrant who has no qualms in murdering people. We should condemn that. That's a familiar path treaded by Saddam, Shah and Gaddafi.

It is always good to debate, discuss and find the issues that need further knowledge. Hannity is wrong on the deal, it is the best thing that has happened – It is good for Israel, America, Iran and the world. I am writing a full article on this topic.

Khomeini did not say to wipe out Israel, he said about ending the Zionist regime, but not Jews, not Judaism and not Israel. Juan Carlos has written about it.

I do not agree with Khomeini on that, every group of people have a right to self determination and security of their people, so do Zionists. Even, we do the same if we disagree with the others; regime change.

Iran deal it good for Israel, one less threat to them; good for the United States, lower gas prices and more disposable income to Americans It is good for Iran, it will bring some sanity to the region, instead of nuclear proliferation it will lead to cooperation, and it is good for the world peace. Obama has prevented Iran from becoming North Korea. Thanks to him.

Click to Enlarge

Please check the above, it is by the Jewish organizations. . its good stuff - click on the image to see larger version. Mr. Netanyahu is the pied piper who will hurt Israel's long term security with his destructive attitude, he will isolate the country of Israel by slapping the worlds 6 powerful nations on their face that the agreement they made is wrong, no, he is wrong and not the world.

The American Jewish people are not with him either, but some of the evangelicals are...who want to make a villain out of Jesus. Instead of Jesus coming back on his own terms, these dudes want him to come now and that comes with being unjust to the Palestinians, as if Jesus does not care about human life.

You should read some of the Jewish intellectual writings to understand the genuine needs of Jewish people; long term security.

I don't trust the Mullahs, but don't trust Netanyahu's government either, but I trust the people of Israel and people of Iran. Neither should be hurt.

This is the first non-war mongering president in a long time and he is not eager to go to a reckless war and screw up America while messing up others nations. God bless him.

God gave humans an ability to talk and resolve the issues, whereas animals were endowed with horns, fangs and paws to resolve. Obama has done what humans ought to do.

More Later:

Geller/Ghouse square off on “European Refugee Crisis”

solsticewitch13.blogspot.com/.../gellerghouse-square-off-on-european.ht...

21 hours ago - Pamela Geller, President of American Freedom Defense Initiative and Editor & Publisher of Atlas Shrugs and Mike Ghouse President of the America Together ...

Geller/Ghouse square off on “European Refugee Crisis ...

linkis.com/youtube.com/GellerGhouse_square.html

7 hours ago - Pamela Geller, President of American Freedom Defense Initiative and Editor & Publisher of Atlas Shrugs and Mike Ghouse President of the America Together ...

Pamela Geller - 7 new articles - Tea Party Command Center

teapartyorg.ning.com/forum/topics/pamela-geller-7-new-articles-3

2 hours ago - 1 post - ‎1 author

Geller vs Ghouse Debate on Iran Nuclear Deal on @SeanHannity Radio ... Sean Hannity posted the debate that Mike Ghouse, Iranian nuke supporter, and I had ...

Various from Pamela Geller's Atlas Shrugs 9/11/2015 ...

https://boudica2015.wordpress.com/.../various-from-pamela-gellers-atlas...

4 hours ago - Geller vs Ghouse Debate on Iran Nuclear Deal on @SeanHannity Radio. iran Sean Hannity posted the debate that Mike Ghouse, Iranian nuke supporter, and I ...

Sean Hannity - Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/SeanHannity/timeline

8 hours ago - 'Republican presidential candidate @[6934857868:274:Mike Huckabee] said ..... Initiative and Editor & Publisher of Atlas Shrugs and Mike Ghouse President

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

Sunday, November 2, 2014

30th Anniversary of Sikh Genocide, a survivor writes his story

Survivor of Sikh Genocides writes on 30^th Anniversary.
Published at:

Dallas, Texas, October 31, 2014. It’s been 30 years since the Sikh Massacre took place in New Delhi; justice is still not served to the victims and their families. The fanatics among Hindus went on a rampage of killing 3000 Sikhs within a week, just because they were Sikhs and nothing but that. The Moderate Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others have condemned the acts of the fanatics.

As we have been learning about the mind set of criminals regardless of what religious garb they don, invariably they deny – some even say, why bring it up, there is no problem now. They are lying to themselves, the sparks of hatred are potent, and can catch the fire any time.

There is a criminal lurking in each one of us, we need to find him and destroy him before he eats us out from within. If we justify the rapes, murders, killing, massacres or genocides by believing "they asked for it" "they ignited it" or worse "they deserved it", then we have a serious problem and need to find a release.

What is needed is to face the problem squarely, acknowledging the wrong doing, and apologizing to the victims and finding mukti, the Jain Dharma offers a great phrase – Michami Dukadam, that is clean each other’s slates and start afresh.

Injustice is the mother of Adharma – i.e., everything that is wrong in the society stems from injustice, and Martin Luther King said, injustice to one is injustice to all at the end.

I hope one day, India will focus on cleaning up its dirty stains – there are many unfinished items on our plate that prick the nation from time to time. The hatred against the other is part of that mess.

Prime Minister Modi believes that when there is prosperity, most of the nagging things will go away, I hope they do. But I believe until we sit down face to face and acknowledge the evil in each one of us, and commit to go forward dumping the old baggage, we will be limping along. We need to reboot our souls, hearts and minds.

The following write up is from a Sikh Survivor of the 1984 Sikh Massacre. It is a shame that many a families are still waiting for the whereabouts of their loved ones missing for over 30 years. The Indian Government has a responsibility to take this up, to bring relief to the victims of these massacres. I do hope Mr. Modi, as the Prime Minister of the nation, who claims to be a Hindu, acts like a Hindu and restores Dharma – the righteousness and justice to fellow beings.

Pritpal Singh has spoken at our Holocaust and Genocides events and I am pleased to share his story with you, please feel free to share wherever you like.

The Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress is commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for the last seven years, as a step towards reconciling with each other and learning about each others pain and suffering of each of us humans on this planet.

Wayne Slater of Dallas Morning News wrote, “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.”

“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. “We should be ashamed of ourselves in justifying the massacres by falsely propagating the myth that the victims deserved it, or asked for it.” It shows an absence of intelligence.
Our event is comprised of 3 segments; Holocaust is the anchor event every year, then Genocides and a Massacre. We have been able to address many Genocides around the Globe, as well as the Massacre of Bangladeshis in 1971, Sikhs in New Delhi in 1984 and Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.

The criminals are still at large and need to be punished to restore peace of mind to the victims and their families. That is the least a head of the state can do for his countrymen and it is good for the psyche of the people.

Mike Ghouse

www.MikeGhouse.net

1984: My Struggle & Inspiration

According to famous Czech writer Milan Kundera, "the first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long that nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was... The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." We are here today to continue that struggle. Never had the citizens of independent India experienced state sponsored genocide against its own people.

After the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi, for three days the well-organized mob with explicit instructions from the federal government went to loot, destroy, rape, eliminate every identifiable Sikh on India. Iron rods, crow bars, kerosene, and firearms were provided to mobs. Voter lists, ration lists, and school registration lists were used to identify & track Sikhs, Gurdwaras, and Sikh businesses.

Slogans like "blood for blood" were shown repeatedly on state controlled TV. Rumors were circulated about the violence against Hindus in Punjab to incite hatred against Sikhs in India. Sikh soldiers were disarmed and confined to barracks while army was deliberately kept outside Delhi until 11/4. All this occurred in the presence of police who ignored the violence or at times aided in it. The police officers who deviated from this order were neutralized and records were manipulated to destroy paper trail and to protect criminals from prosecution. For the Sikh victims, the police refused to record FIR (First Information Reports) or falsified them.

According to NY times, there was complete censorship of the press. The relief measures were inadequate. VM Tarkunde, retired justice of the Indian Supreme Court, stated "Two lessons can be drawn from the experience of Delhi riots. One is about the extent of criminalization of our politics and the other about the utter unreliability of our police force in critical situation." According to government report the number of Sikhs killed in Delhi was 2733; HS Phoolka, Delhi high court lawyer, estimates 4000; Affidavits have been filed for 5015; Madhu Kishwar, editor of Manushi, estimates 10,000. These estimates are just in Delhi while the killings occurred throughout India.

Rajiv Gandhi justified the Sikh murders, rapes, loot & arson by saying, "When a great tree falls, earth trembles." The result of the violence against an easily identifiable minority was winning 414/533 seats in the parliament for Congress Party of India. Even the opposition party, Sangh Parivar, stated the Sikhs invited the attacks.

There have been 11 commissions & inquiries but no high level politician or law enforcement official has been convicted despite eye witness accounts and abundant of evidence. On the other hand, the perpetrators were awarded cabinet positions, governorships, and party chief positions. The lack of accountability against the organizers of the Genocide paved the way to the violence against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.

Pogroms will continue to occur in India unless the State acknowledges and records these violations in a transparent & honest manner, toward cleansing itself of the people and the institutions that perpetrate these crimes and addressing the survivors' rights to knowledge, justice, and reparation.

I, as a survivor of the Sikh Genocide of 1984, wait for a day when the citizens of India will demand and display the very ideals of unity, justice, and healing as the citizens of America illustrated after the Wisconsin massacre in 2012. So, my dear brothers & sisters, we cannot forget the killings of innocent people no matter where they occur. Instead, we ought to remember, revive, and respond like our fathers & mothers did. They sought Inspiration from within and channeled their energy toward discovering their role in pursuit of Justice.

Pritpal Singh

INTRODUCTION

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on important and complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place.

Mike is a frequent guest on Fox News, (The Hannity Show), and has been interviewed on nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He is a member of the Texas Faith panel of Dallas Morning News and writes on issues facing the nation every week. He has spoken at international forums including the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, in Melbourne, Australia, Middle East Peace Initiative, in Jerusalem, the International Leadership conference, in Hawaii, and in Washington

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of those different from ourselves. The World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. Heavily involved in both, Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and has produced outstanding public events to bring Americans together of different religions, ethnicities and races on common grounds of building a safe and secure America.

He is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the interfaith movement, cohesive societies, Islam, India, hope and world peace. Over 1000 articles of Mike’s have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
C
oncerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other. We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies. Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

Mike is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the Interfaith Movement, Cohesive Societies, Islam, India, Hope and World Peace. Over 1000 of his articles have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net

To engage Mike in a dialogue, conference or a talk, write to Ghousespeaks@gmail.com and email dedicated for this purpose or you can call him on a short notice at 214.325.1916