Texas Faith: How do you assess Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

How do you assess Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

The People of Dallas will honor Mandela by applying his principles, and initiate a symbolic reconciliation process with Native Americans on Sunday, January 26, 2014. The event is to commemorate the 7th annual Holocaust and Genocides event at Unity of Dallas. Details at: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

Published in Dallas Morning News's weekly column Texas Faith
URL- http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/12/texas-faith-how-do-you-assess-nelson.html

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
3:39 pm on December 10, 2013 | Permalink
How do you assess the complex legacy of Nelson Mandela?

There are so many ways to get into this question. So, let me start with these three quick summaries of his long journey:

In a powerful and controversial move as president, he set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid officially ended. The commission allowed those who testified about crimes in the apartheid era to step forward and tell the truth without fear of retribution. The sins of the past were acknowledged in exchange for individual amnesty.

On the other hand, Mandela was part of a group in the early 1960s that decided to take up arms against the apartheid government. They decided that rising up militarily against their oppressors was the best strategy. Of course, that was not the non-violent approach that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Mahatma Ganhdi embraced.And then there was this revelation in Bill Keller’s obituary of Mandela in the New York Times:


Mr. Mandela said he regarded his prison experience as a major factor in his nonracial outlook. He said prison tempered any desire for vengeance by exposing him to sympathetic white guards who smuggled in newspapers and extra rations, and to moderates within the National Party government who approached him in hopes of opening a dialogue. Above all, prison taught him to be a master negotiator.

There are many aspects of his long, storied and complicated fight for justice. So, let me stop here and ask you:

What do you make of Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?
Read on for some nuanced and insightful replies:

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

Despite the complexity of his legacy, Nelson Mandela’s powerful legacy is his inclusionary embrace of all people, just as Jesus and other spiritual masters did.

Mandela respected the “otherness” of others and accepted the God-given uniqueness of his fellow humans. For those who are committed to building cohesive societies, where no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other, Mandela laid a solid foundation for building such a society. I literally froze with admiration when I read, “And a guarantee that whites would not be subjected to reprisals.” That is a powerful statement and he must have taken lot of heat from some of the militants among the oppressed black majority, who were naturally raging to get even.

Mandela summed up his philosophy thus, “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination,” he told the court. “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized. But my lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Timothy Burke’s message sums up his legacy : “Mourn the statesman and the revolutionary and the terrorist and the neoliberal and the ethicist and the pragmatist and the saint and don’t you dare try to discard or remove any part of that whole. Celebrate him? Sure, but then make sure you’re willing to consider emulating him.”

Muslims may see him as living the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who lived a full life with all the pains and joys of life that a normal human would endure for the sake of public good. The Jewish people may long for a Mandela to resurrect social justice as their core value risking the overriding need for security with ultimate justice for the inhabitants of Israel-Palestine. Hindus may see it as someone who practiced the ideals of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum (the whole world is one family) and the Buddhists may appreciate his passive but positive action. Indeed, most religious people can relate with Mandela.

The people of Dallas will honor Mandela by applying his principles, and initiate a symbolic reconciliation process with Native Americans on Sunday, January 26, 2014. The event is to commemorate the 7th annual Holocaust and Genocides event. (www.HolocaustandGenocides.com) at Unity of Dallas.

It is about time we publicly acknowledge the wrong without fears of compensation. Native Americans deserve to be heard and acknowledged about their genocide, and we all need to put this hurt behind.

Indeed, Nelson Mandela's legacy of building cohesive societies will live on.

To read the responses of fellow panelists, please visit Dallas Morning News at: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/texas-faith-how-do-you-assess-nelson-mandelas-complex-legacy.html/#more-32419

Additional write ups:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/nelson-mandela_obit.html?pagewanted=6&_r=0
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2013/12/09/five-nelson-mandela-tributes-that-will-change-how-you-think/
• A Muslims' Prayer for Nelson Mandela http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-muslims-prayer-for-nelson-mandela.html

...............................................................................................................................
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.
...............................................................................................................................

A Muslim's prayer for Nelson Mandela

I was driving when NPR announced the death of Nelson Mandela. I pulled over in the shopping strip, closed my eyes, and prayed.  May God bless his soul and grace him with his eternal love. Mandela is with Allah now,  Amen! 
My instant response was to recite a verse from Quran 2:156 in Arabic, "(إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ) Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un." It simply means, we belong to God and to God we shall return.
 


Then the second thought shook me up from my prayers. How would Muslims receive my response? It took me back to a severe situation I had encountered in April 2003.  Prophet Muhammad's and Buddha's birthday fell in the same week, and on my Radio shows "Wisdom of religion, all the beautiful religions" I wished Peace be upon Buddha and Peace be upon Prophet Muhammad as I do with all the spiritual masters. 

All hell broke loose, I was told to apologize for mixing the two individuals, and that I cannot say Peace to them in the same breath. A fatwa was in my face making my marriage null and void per some technicality. This is an age old technique employed by clergy in all religions, to frighten and to ex-communicate, thank God for the guts he has blessed me with. After considerable exchange of words, I told him to go ahead and make my day, and no one has made my day yet, except the death threats I receive when I am on Hannity show. 

As a Muslim committed to nurturing the pluralistic values embedded in Quran in building cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. I am driven to express the sentiments of a majority of Muslims, who have prayed for Nelson Mandela, the man of peace in their own hearts. 

God says (Quran, Bhagvad Gita and Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the holy book of Bahá'ís) that whenever a societies go in disorder, someone from among them will emerge and restore the righteousness. God assures that he loves us all and sends a man of peace to every community. Indeed, blessed are the peace makers (Jesus).

Nelson Mandela was one of the righteous individuals; he was committed to freedom, liberty and justice of his people, by extension all people. The Bhagvad Gita says, the whole world is one family, i.e., Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum. 

Quran 49:13, "O people, we created you from the same male and female, and rendered you distinct peoples and tribes that you may recognize one another. The best among you in the sight of GOD is the most righteous. GOD is Omniscient, Cognizant." Indeed, Mandela in the sight of God is the most righteous one.

God does not discriminate between Muslim, Jews, Christians and others, Quran [2:62] "Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians or anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day (accountability of one's actions), and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

So as a Muslim, I prayed for Nelson Mandela, and it is time we all become like God and honor every human regardless of his belief.  May God keep his wisdom and the flame of freedom alive! Praying for him in essence is rekindling the spirit of freedom within us.

He is one of my heroes, and I am influenced by his unselfishness and his larger embrace of humanity.

Nostalgic day.

I can never forget the Sunday,  February 11, 1990. I was emotionally charged up on that day, and  was glued to the TV to watch the historic event happening in my life time; the release of Nelson Mandela from the South African Prison. I choked, and I cried.

Freedom is the most cherished value for me, and to see freedom at last for a man in an apartheid nation was worth crying. A new tone of democracy was going to be set in the world for the first time in the predominantly Black African Nation.

Can you imagine the power Mandela held? He shook the empire, they could have easily killed or poisoned him, but they did not have the guts to do that.

What made Gandhi, Mandela, and MLK successful?

None of them had anything to gain, all they wanted was justice and harmony in the society, and that was their drive, when you become unselfish, you can do a lot of good to the world.  It begins with learning to respect the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Nelson Mandela is one of my mentors.  Some of the other joy-teary moments that I can recall are - release of Mandela, fall of the Berlin wall, Obama's election night,  Peace treaty between Israeli and Egypt, Peace between Ireland and England, Aung San Su Kyii's release and Freedom at last for the Egyptian people, and now his departure.  This is my way of honoring him.

What made these men and women unique and powerful? They were free from the pettiness and were all embracing and affectionate like the spiritual Masters of all religions.  Several things were common to them; among them are:

1) No wall between them and another soul
2) No religious and political boundaries for them
3) No preference when it came to serving another human
4) The good they did, benefited larger humanity than self
5)  Justness was a paramount value for them
6) No bone of prejudice in them.
7) Their world is the same size as God's world. 

God bless Mandela, Amen!
...............................................................................................................................
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 has done that throughout his life as an activist. 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 all his work through many links.

Praying for Nelson Mandela; the symbol of freedom

URL - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/06/praying-for-nelson-mandela-symbol-of.html

Sunday, February 11, 1990 was a heavy day for me, I was glued to the TV to watch the historical event happening in my life time; the release of Nelson Mandela from the South African Prison. I choked, and I cried. And again, today is a heavy day for me. I am anxious about his health. He is in his last days of his life, the president of South Africa has given up on Medicine and counting on blessings and prayers from the people around the world. May God keep his wisdom and the flame of freedom alive? 

Praying for him in essence is rekindling the spirit of freedom within us.

Freedom is the most cherished value for me, and to see freedom at last for a man in an apartheid nation was worth crying. A new tone of democracy was going to be set in the world for the first time in the predominantly Black African Nation.

I am also kicking myself – two weeks ago, my friend Sante Chary and I briefly talked about jumping in the plane and go visit Nelson Mandela, we had to go through a lot of rig morale to see him, we dropped the idea. Sante has a distinction among many things – to have an envelope signed by nearly eight US Presidents and several world leaders. He is a go getter and gets things done. Sante is one of the few friends where he and I have nothing to trade, nothing to gain, but just wish and support each other in our endeavors. I like this guy!

Can you imagine the power Mandela held? He shook the empire, they could have easily killed or poisoned him, but they did not have the guts to do that. What made Gandhi, Mandela, and MLK successful?

None of them had anything to gain, all they wanted was justice and harmony in the society, and that was their drive, when you become unselfish, you can do a lot of good to the world.  It begins with learning to respect the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Nelson Mandela is one of my mentors.  Some of the other joy-teary moments that I can recall are - release of Mandela, fall of the Berlin wall, Obama's election night,  Peace treaty between Israeli and Egypt, Peace between Ireland and England, Aung San Su Kyii’s release and Freedom at last for the Egyptian people. 

What made these men and women unique and powerful? They were free from the pettiness and all embracing and affectionate like the spiritual Master of all religions.  Several things were common to them; among them are:

1) No wall between them and another soul
2) No religious and political boundaries for them
3) No preference when it came to serving another human
4) The good they did, benefited larger humanity than self
5)  Justness was a paramount value for them
6) No bone of prejudice in them.
7) Their world is the same size as God's world.  

Here is information about him at Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela

...
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 has done that throughout his life as an activist. 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 his work through many links. 

My Civil Heroes and President Obama

MY CIVIL HEROES

The following individuals were/are bent on uplifting the human spirit, and gave hope to the world! A world, where justness prevails, and no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.

Please note, these are my favorites, you have your own, Ceaser Chavez for example is hero to many, and I admire him, but I did not spend time learning about him. We all have to accept the limitations of our time per day and how much we can learn.  

My list includes; Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Aga Khan, President Carter , President Obama* (a reserved entry), Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Nana Saheb (Maternal Grand father), my father and Mother.

Several things were common to them; among them are:

1) No wall between them and another soul
2) No religious and political boundaries for them
3) No preference when it came to serving another human
4) The good they did, benefited larger humanity than self
5)  Justness was a paramount value for them
6) No bone of prejudice in them.
7) Their world is the same size as God's world.  

As a pluralist, who respects the otherness of others and accepts the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, I have come to like Barack Obama. Ever since I read his speech in 2007 delivered in the Illinois state senate, way before he announced his candidacy,  I have become his fan. That speech was an epitome of pluralism and inclusiveness. The inclusiveness that Jesus and every great spiritual master taught.

If I get a chance, I will put together a few statements by tomorrow, and I feel certain that most of it will be reflected by Obama in his speech on Monday. 


I have written 65 Pieces about him including cheers and Jeers, appreciation and criticism. My reservation has been on two fronts, he blew the opportunity to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and the idiotic drone attacks on innocent civilians, these are his two major flaws that will prevent him from becoming one of the greatest political leaders in human history. I have written a few good pieces on the topics and hope to meet this guy, and I believe I can achieve an understanding between the two peoples in the Middle East and coast them towards acceptance of each other. The Israelis need to have a sense security (explained in detail) and Palestinians need basic justice, both can be achieved, if he musters up the courage to do the right thing, regardless of the attacks from a few.

Obama will go down in the history as one of the greatest presidents, and I believe he will bring fruition to what Carter started. He is indeed a catalyst in bringing America forward to become God’s own country, where the uniqueness of every human is valued. He gives meaning to the idea of a Republic, our Republic where individual rights are valued and not run over by the mobcracy. 

*** I am a Republican, a moderate one like Chris Christie, John Huntsman, Colin Powel, Schwarzenegger and many more. I request my fellow Americans not to judge the GOP by the morons out there representing the party. It is time to speak out, and speak out I will… hopefully by the end of this year. 

The stability of our nation and health of our democracy is dependent on a strong two party system. Most of the evil in the past has occurred when either Republican or Democrats were in all the three branches of Government. Stupid though they are, I like the house in the hands of Republicans, they provide an ugly check, and it ensures that, we the people are not bulldozed. Obama has done a great job in bipartisan support in passing the aid to Sandy, and now on getting both the parties to develop a responsible gun ownership policy. 

Updates at www.TheGhouseDiary.com,
Thanks to Sean Hannity and friends for promoting this Blog.

(4 photos)

I am a follower of them!