Mike Ghouse reacts to Osama Bin Laden’s death

Mike Ghouse reacts to Osama Bin Laden’s death and urges President Bush to repent.

On Monday, May 9, 2016 we will be celebrating end of darkness, as it marks the 5th anniversary of the death of Osama Bin Laden, the most wanted terrorist in the world in our recent history. He was caught, shot and slipped into the open ocean so no one can trace him ever.

This has special significance to Mike Ghouse; a Muslim American committed to building cohesive societies and had made commitment on the day of 9/11/2001.   His reaction was captured by Fox News’ Melissa Cutler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXBmmuGLxYY&feature=youtu.be

Five years ago, the most wanted terrorist in the world was brought to an end; he was shot and his body was let go in the wide open ocean.

This brought a major closure to the families of 2998 fellow Americans killed in the 9/11 terrorist act. They know now that the terrorist murderer is gone.

It brought closure for me personally as well.  The story began on 9/11/2001 on the day of 9/11, I was on the radio all day long trying to bring some coherence to public out of the chaos created with 9/11, got the local mayors, religious and civic leaders on the air.  By the end of the day, the public did what we suggested – Donate blood, Fund raisers for the men and women in the uniform, and interfaith prayers and the clarity that we have an individual who is responsible and we were going to get him.

Thanks to President Obama and his team for bringing closure to this anguish, and thanks to him for restoring the rule of law that was shamelessly violated. Osama Bin Laden was the fountain head of terrorism and he was taken out with no ‘collateral damage.’

The rule of law is;  you punish the criminal, and not his spouse, siblings, kids, family members, friends, religion, clergy, mayor of your town or the nation. We terrorized two nations and harassed innocent people around the world, we created unwanted anxiety in the hearts and minds of fellow Americans. We owe an apology to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq and bring a closure to our untapped guilt and at least find peace within.

I urge President Bush to be man enough to repent for the deliberate destruction and deaths of innocent people on his watch, thousands of them if not a million. The world will forgive him if the gathers up the courage and listens to Jesus and becomes a peace maker as repentance.

Salvation to each one of us comes through repentance, forgiveness and or punishment.

My personal story of 9/11 and its many variations is read over endlessly. http://www.theghousediary.com/2014/09/11/911-my-personal-journey-from-2001/

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, Interfaith Wedding officiant, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine, motivation, and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him (63 links) atwww.TheGhousediary.com

Get that confederate flag down

The confederate flag is unfortunately associated with racism, instead of becoming a becoming our heritage,  it represents hate for fellow Americans who are Black.

Should we allow symbols of Nazi Flag, Swastika, SS, Crusades symbols, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden (we did not bury the guy), Milosevic and the Spanish Missions as our heritage? Should we allow them on public buildings, because they were an ugly part of our heritage? 

Doesn't  it continue to keep the flames of hatred alive, as was the case of Dylann Storm Roof and others who seek refuge in it when they are hateful? 

The flag represents our heritage no doubt, but rightfully belongs to the Museum as President Obama has articulated. 

This flag continues to stir up tensions and fears, we need to build an America where no one has to live in fear. Those who love the flag will lose nothing, they can still have it in their homes but not flying in the public. They have a right to make their children live in silos, and unfit to live in the society where all of God's creation works, plays, and lives together.

If you agree, please sign the petitions:

1. Change Org https://www.change.org/p/south-carolina-governor-get-that-confederate-flag-down
2. White House - https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/take-confederate-flag-down

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Thank you,
mike ghouse   
(214) 325-1916

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 atMikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com 

Muslims back Obama by a smaller marign than 2008

Muslims back Obama, but by smaller margin than in 2008

http://www.religionnews.com/politics/election/muslims-back-obama-but-by-smaller-margin-than-2008 (the article is copyrighted hence, the link)

 

Note:  Except a few pieces, where something is written about me or my quotes are included in religion news, Dallas morning news, Star Telegram, or other periodicals,  all other pieces in the blog are written by me, the other blogs I have are combined – with my pieces as well as the article of interest written by others.   Omar quoted me in the linked article

My comment Posted at Religion News article

As a Moderate Republican, after due consideration, I have switched to Obama along with several Republicans. We prefer a stable administration rather than a chaotic admin by Romney, who may flip the nation upside down on day #1 repealing everything like a cranky kid. Things are going great and we cannot afford to mess it up. I urge my fellow Republicans to put America first, then the party, we owe it to America.

President Obama is not bragging on his record of turning around a free falling economy, delivering stability for America, protecting women's rights, recognition of every American on an equal footing and securing America’s health, diplomacy that is producing results, and restoring respect for America in the community of nations by treating them on an equal basis instead of pursuing a bullying foreign policy that will build resentment towards us, and endanger our freedom.

America is one of the greatest nations on the earth because we adhere to the rule of law, protecting each other and protecting the civil rights of every American.

Obama has restored respect in the community of nations by understanding that we deal with the people and not individuals.  Ultimately it is the people who honor the treaties and not the individuals. Dictators come and go, but relationships between nations endure. More about it at Huffington post or TheGhouseDiary.com

Obama rightfully sided with the public in Egypt, rather than Dictator Mubarak. The diplomatic genius of Obama managed the affair smoothly without anti-American demonstrations in Egypt; the public saw us as their ally and not a supporter of their oppressor. Had we supported the oppressed Iranians against the Dictator Shah, Iran probably would not have gone fundamentalist or even theocratic; they would not have held us hostage either, as we would have been on their side.

The morality of drone warfare becomes justifiable when its purpose is to remove the specific cancerous cells, and prevent damage to the fabric of the society at large.

Drone warfare is one of the greatest inventions of civilization. It has allowed us to take Anwar Awalaki out (One of the top Al-Qaeda operatives) with least collateral damage and minimal revenge multiplier. No significant group has shed tears for this man or Bin Laden.

However, the abuse of drone warfare has gone too far in killing nearly 500 civilian innocent children. We don’t like the terrorist killing innocent men and women. Why should they like us when their innocents are being killed? President Obama needs to back off and just hit the criminals, as Americans we need that guarantee.

Who am I to worry about Israelis and Palestinians? What inspires me to be involved in the Israel Palestine conflict? Due to its length, it is a three part article at Huffington post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/israel-and-palestine-moving-forward_b_1258261.html

Mike Ghouse, Dallas
www.MikeGhouse.net

 

 

Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11?

TEXAS FAITH: Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11?

Abstract:   Jews need sincerity and not duplicity. Native Americans need an apology and there is a good amount of phobia embedded in Hindus about conversions. We believe in Jesus as a Prophet and not as a son of God. Unless we deal with tough issues about our differences, we will continue to fake being nice to each other and brood with ill-will within. There is indeed improved understanding among faiths since 9/11. But there also is deepening suspicion among them. One is spiritually motivated and the other is political.  Please note, most of my writings are inclusive of all theist and atheists traditions, we all inhabit the earth and we need to figure how best to co-exist cohesively.

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Since September 11, 2001, many conversations have taken place among Muslims, Jews and Christians. There are official interfaith conversations occurring all over the globe, where participants dig into each other's texts. And numerous personal dialogues have been established over the last decade. Many of us have learned more about the three Abrahamic faiths since September 11, 2001 than perhaps we knew before that day.

But here's this week's question, which is simple in its wording but not necessarily simple to answer: Do followers of the three Abrahamic faiths really understand each other better since 9/11?

Eight Texas Faith Panelists including Mike Ghouse weighs in at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/09/texas-faith-do-jews-christians.html

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

There is indeed improved understanding among faiths since 9/11. But there also is deepening suspicion among them. One is spiritually motivated and the other is political.

We were better off when we knew very little about each other. But as we faced the hostage crisis in 1979, the evangelical foray into politics, the Baptist convention on harvesting poor souls and finally 9/11, religion moved on to center stage. It will get better when we know more about each other.

On September 11, 2001, I was on the radio in Dallas attempting to make sense out of the chaos of the day and pave the way for relevant actions. Interfaith-faith prayers, blood donation and fundraising for the men and women in uniform were all in place by evening. The fog was clearing up. Osama bin Laden was the bad guy and Muslim-Americans had nothing to do with his actions, nor did they authorize him to terrorize any one. Indeed, he placed a wedge between Americans that still needs to be undone.

Atheists, Baha'i, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Jews, Native Americans, Pagans, Sikhs, Wicca and Zoroastrians along with area city mayors, FBI, police and fire chiefs and community leaders graced the first interfaith event in Frisco. Out of which a new tradition evolved called Unity Day. It continues year after year.

But while we are trying to know more about each other, more needs to be done. Here are a few examples;

* Mosques in Dallas/ Fort Worth area opened their doors right after the 9/11 incident. As Christians walked in, they were naively welcomed by yet-to-be trained volunteers who said, "We believe in Jesus as a Prophet and not as a son of God." However, the volunteers were trained to welcome without conflict the very next week.

Of course, back in the 8th Century, a Syrian bishop had declared that Islam was a false religion. That declaration has remained in the psyche of a few Christians forever.

Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas reiterated the statement and added, "Quran is a false book written by a false prophet." He was asked to prove it but failed.

There are several verses in Quraan that are mistranslated for political gains. Steve Blow in Dallas Morning News quoted me, "In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders. Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews."

One such difficult passage is "Kill the infidels wherever you find them." Ten such propaganda verses were read to separate the myths from reality. They were not read by Muslim clergy, but by Baptist, Mormon, Protestant, Catholic, Unitarian, Methodist, New Age, Unificationists, Sikhs, Hindu and others at the Quraan Conference

*Shamelessly, anti-Semitism continues to operate under the radar. The anti-circumcision bills in San Francisco and Santa Monica were irksome to some, but frightening to others. Indeed, there are still a few Christians out there who cannot shake off what Fred Phelps was demonstrating with reckless posters such as "Christ Killers."

The Judeo-Christian phrase was thrown around in the 40's to build relationships between Jews and Christians. A whole industry of opportunists was born from it. The support for Jews by Billy Graham, Richard Nixon, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Glenn Beck and other chest thumpers have ulterior motives. They want to cash in on the name of Israel and perhaps convert them. Jews need sincerity and not duplicity to feel genuinely secure.

*Native Americans need an apology for the destruction of their religion and there is a good amount of phobia embedded in Hindus about conversions. Some of them feel that Governors Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal made it in politics because they converted to Christianity.

*The spiritual balance in the community needs to be restored through observing and following the Golden Rule, which is treat others as you would like others to treat you. Although we have failed in the past, such as when the city of Plano rejected a permit to build a Hindu temple in the early 80's and Richardson did not permit a Muslim school to open there in the mid-1990s, we still have come a long way. Thank God, those are now history and the public in the metroplex welcomes diversity.

* Interfaith meetings are still social gatherings. Leaders from smaller groups are invited as tokens rather than to genuinely get to know each other. Unless we deal with tough issues about differences, we will continue to fake being nice to each other and brood with ill-will within. There is plenty of room for honesty to grow and mature.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of other people and accept the God-given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. One of these days we will get there. Meanwhile, I am pleased to invite you to the 7th Annual 9/11 Memorial, the Unity Day USA on Sunday September 11 at 5:00 PM at the Unity Church of Dallas on Forest Lane. Details are at www.UnitydayUSA.com

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References:
Steve Blow – Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece

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List of difficult passages: http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2010/12/difficult-passages-in-quraan.html

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Quraan Conference program sequence: http://quraanconference.blogspot.com/2010/12/quraan-conference-program-sequence.html

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam. Mike's work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ and you can find all of his current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

Anders Breivik a Christian Terrorist?

The title “Christian Terrorists” will anger the right wingers, they will deny it vehemently, the fact remains; terrorists have no religion. There should be no such thing as Muslim terrorist or Islamic Terrorist either. Most the people around the globe see it as the act of bad guys from among them. 

We may seriously consider stepping out of being imbeciles in allowing every idiot to plaster a religious label for his act. The evil men are seeking to shift the responsibility of paying for their crime to an intangible non-entity called Religion so they can go scot free shooing some of us dogs to bark at Religion and many a right wingers do that; bark at each other’s religions.


Religion came into being to restore the social order, it was the case for Moses, Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and Nanak and on and on… their intention was not to create a private club with ownership resting in a few “chosen” ones. Their message to the people was to take a look at their solutions, which will build trust, justice and ultimate security for everyone.

Professor Mark Juengensmyer presents, “The similarities between suspected mass killer Anders Behring Breivik and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh are striking.” And further compares the loonies of Bin Laden and others. None of them had religious backgrounds.

It is time for the FBI to investigate all serious links to terror. The extremists among the right wingers continue to spew hate towards fellow citizens. Isn’t that how KKK resorted to violence? Al-Qaeda resorted to violence? If unchecked, we may have more of these in Europe and America.

We need to investigate the effects of hate spewing out of Pamela Geller, Brigitte Gabrielle, Robert Spencer and host of them out there. We need to hold them accountable as accessories for any violence generated by them.

Religion dispatch - http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/4910/is_norway%E2%80%99s_suspected_murderer_anders_breivik_a_christian_terrorist/

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies, details at www.MikeGhouse.net
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Anders Breivik a Christian Terrorist?

By Mark Juergensmeyer

The similarities between suspected mass killer Anders Behring Breivik and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh are striking.

Both were good-looking young Caucasians, self-enlisted soldiers in an imagined cosmic war to save Christendom. Both thought their acts of mass destruction would trigger a great battle to rescue society from the liberal forces of multiculturalism that allowed non-Christians and non-Whites positions of acceptability. Both regretted the loss of life but thought their actions were “necessary.” For that they were staunchly unapologetic. And both were Christian terrorists.

Their similarities even extend to the kind of explosive used in their actions. Both used a mixture of fuel oil and ammonium nitrate fertilizer which Breivik said he needed for his farm operations. The farm, it turned out, was rented largely because it was a convenient place to test his car bombs.

And then there is the matter of dates. McVeigh was fixed on the day of April 19, the anniversary of the Waco siege. Breivik chose July 22, which was the day in 1099 that the Kingdom of Jerusalem was established during the First Crusades.

·         The title of Breivik’s manifesto, which was posted on the internet on that day, is 2083; the date that Breivik suggested would be the culmination of a 70-year war that began with his action. Yet 70 years from 2011 would be 2081—why did he date the final purge of Muslims from Norway to be two years later, in 2083? I found the answer on page 242 of Breivik’s manifesto, where he explains that on 1683 at the Battle of Vienna, the Ottoman Empire’s military was defeated in a protracted struggle, thereby insuring that most of Europe would not become part of the Muslim empire. The date in Breivik’s title is the 400th anniversary of that decisive battle, and in Breivik’s mind he was recreating the historic efforts to save Europe from what he imagined to be the evils of Islam.

The threat of Islam is a dominant motif of his 1500-page manifesto, 2083: A European Declaration of Independence. The writing of a manifesto is a major difference between Breivik and McVeigh, who was not a writer; instead McVeigh copied and quoted from his favorite book, The Turner Diaries, a novel by neo-Nazi William Luther Pierce under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald.

McVeigh’s beloved novel explains his motives in a matter eerily similar to the writings of Breivik in his 2083 manifesto: he thought that liberal politicians had given in to the forces of globalization and multiculturalism, and that the “mudpeople”—non-White, non-Christian, non-heterosexual, non-patriarchal males—were trying to take over the country. To save the country for Christendom the righteous White, straight, non-feminist Christian males had to be shocked into reality by the force of an explosion that would signal to them that the war had begun. These were McVeigh’s ideas from The Turner Diaries, but they were also Breivik’s.

“The time for dialogue is over,” Breivik writes on page 811 of his manifesto. “The time for armed resistance has come.”

The enemy of this imagined cosmic war were “the cultural Marxist/multiculturalist elites” whom he regarded as the “Nazis of our time,” intent on “leading us [White Europeans] to the cultural slaughterhouse by selling us into Muslim slavery.” Breivik says, threateningly, to the “multiculturalist elite” that “we know who you are, where you live and we are coming for you.”

The manifesto is an interesting and eclectic document, something of a scrapbook of everything from his instructions for small-scale farming to a syllabus for a course on revolution that he’d love to see taught (complete with extensive bibliography that includes authors such as Immanuel Wallerstein, Theda Skocpol, and Eric Hobsbawm, and recommends as a textbook the book, Theorizing Revolution, written by my colleague at Santa Barbara, John Foran). It also includes theoretical and historical overviews of European history and political ideas, and an attempt to explain Muslim ideas and Islamic history, skewed in such a way to make it appear as if this major religious tradition were a single ideology eager to control the world.

The manifesto also includes a how-to manual for the creation of terrorist devices and acts of terrorism themselves—a manual not unlike the “Army of God” handbook created by Christian anti-abortion activists, most likely penned by Lutheran pastor Michael Bray. It advises on costumes that might be worn in order to avoid detection (including a policeman’s uniform).

Perhaps the most interesting section is Breivik’s day-by-day accounts of the weeks preceding the July 22 bombing and massacre, a chronology that ends with this matter-of-fact statement: “I believe this will be my last entry. It is now Fri July 22nd, 12.51.”

Moments later he posted the 1500-page book on the website before allegedly driving to downtown Oslo to detonate the bomb that killed 7 and shattered major buildings containing the offices of the ruling political party. Afterwards he reportedly donned the policeman’s uniform to gain entrance to the liberal party’s youth camp where he coldly murdered over 80 of the young people in a rampage that lasted more than an hour.

Like McVeigh, he thought that this horrible dramatic action would bring a hidden war into the open. Like many modern terrorists, his violent act was a form of performance violence, a symbolic attempt at empowerment to show the world that for the moment he was in charge. The terrorist act was a wake-up call, and a signal that the war had begun.

Behind the earthly conflict was a cosmic war, a battle for Christendom. As the title of Breivik’s manifesto indicates, he thought he was recreating that historical moment in which Christianity was defended against the hordes, and Islam was purged from what he imagined to be the purity of European society.

Breivik meticulously detailed what he expected to be the historical trajectory of this war through four stages, culminating in 2083. He expected that the forces of multiculturalism would be tough, and would resist the efforts to combat it. “It will take us up to 70 years to win,” Breivik writes on page 811, but adds that ”there is no doubt in our minds that we will eventually succeed.”

In the final phase, the civil war between the evil multiculturalists and the righteous few, a series of coup d’etats throughout Europe will overthrow the liberal forces. Then, finally “the deportation of Muslims” will begin, and European Christendom will be restored.

Is this a religious vision, and am I right in calling Breivik a Christian terrorist? It is true that Breivik—and McVeigh, for that matter—were much more concerned about politics, race and history than about scripture and religious belief, with Breivik even going so far as to write that “It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)).”

But much the same can be said about Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and many other Islamist activists. Bin Laden was a businessman and engineer, and Zawahiri was a medical doctor; neither were theologians or clergy. Their writings show that they were much more interested in Islamic history than theology or scripture, and imagined themselves as recreating glorious moments in Islamic history in their own imagined wars. Tellingly, Breivik writes of al Qaeda with admiration, as if he would love to create a Christian version of their religious cadre.

If bin Laden is a Muslim terrorist, Breivik and McVeigh are surely Christian ones. Breivik was fascinated with the Crusades and imagined himself to be a member of the Knights Templar, the crusader army of a thousand years ago. But in an imagined cosmic warfare time is suspended, and history is transcended as the activists imagine themselves to be acting out timeless roles in a sacred drama. The tragedy is that these religious fantasies are played out in real time, with real and cruel consequences.

Courtesy: http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/4910/is_norway%E2%80%99s_suspected_murderer_anders_breivik_a_christian_terrorist/

Mark  Juergensmeyer  is Professor of Sociology and Director of Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the winner of the Grawemeyer Award for his book Terror in the Mind of God (UC Press). He is the editor of Global Religions: An Introduction and is also the author of The New Cold War? Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State and Gandhi's Way: A Handbook of Conflict Resolution, both from UC Press.

Mike Ghouse admonishes Brigitte Gabriel on Hannity Show

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/05/mike-ghouse-admonishes-brigitte-gabriel.html

(This note in parenthesis added on Sunday at 8:30 PM - Dr. Akbar Ahmed's take, I am thrilled to see my reflections and words in the links and articles below are also reflected by Dr. Ahmed, I hold him very high and it is a delight for me - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/may-6-2011/the-death-of-osama-bin-laden/8775/ )
 

Today, Brigitte and I were at each others throats on Hannity's nationally syndicated radio about Bin Ladin.  The half hour segment was aired twice. It was all done while I was driving from Houston to Dallas, a total of 9 hours on road consuming nearly 6 hours of NPR and other talk radio shows. I must thank Hannity for updating on facebook, twitter and announcing several times on the Radio and giving prominence on his website -http://www.hannity.com/guests  I did not realize I have such a huge audience and I am yet to respond to the hundreds of emails I get.

I am pleased several guests after me including Oliver North took the same position as I did.

I need to get the MP3 (?) Audio version and upload on my site, when I googled I found this particular one amusing;

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8978654-hannity-demands-obl-photo-in-spite-of-danger-to-us-troops-citizens

Hannity's guest Brigitte Gabriel also demanded the photo, saying Obama should not have given Osama a dignified burial at sea, rather we should have desecrated his corpse by wrapping it in bacon and putting it in a sideshow for people to see for a dollar. Gabriel was admonished by guest Michael Ghouse for such an immoral idea, saying Americans are better than the extremists. Ghouse said we have better morals and are about justice, not revenge, hate or escalating violence. Gabriel said we need to show anyone who might mess with us that they will be killed and their bodies desecrated.
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Laura Hornbeck wrties on facebook :: I heard some of your comments today on the radio, Mike. Thank you. You spoke clearly and your appeal to a "higher standard" was most timely. It's so natural, in a way, to respond to evil with hatred. To want to, as Brigitte said, "wrap Bin ...Laden's body in bacon and show him to Americans." But being natural usually isn't being godly. That's what is so incredibly hard about Jesus' teachings to love one's enemies, to even bless those who curse us.

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I quoted the Bible hate not the sinner but sin, there is a great wisdom in it. If we want the world to be a better place, we have to set the example and not lower ourselves to the ones we believe are wrong.  

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Dallas Morning News - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/05/texas-faith-would-you-have-san.html

Fox 4 News - http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/050211-north-texans-react-to-bin-laden%E2%80%99s-death

Huffington Post - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/05/muslims-rejoice-end-of-icon-of-evil-era.html

 

Would you have sanctioned the death of Osama bin Laden?

Twelve Panelists have weighed in on it, you can see the struggle in the responses, and many have take an approach similar to mine.  I am happy that he is gone, but I killing him was not the right thing.  I wrote this piece 3 days ago, and at least three of the writers have taken a similar stand, the link to the other 11 points is given below.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

No, I would not have sanctioned the death of Osama Bin Laden.

First of all, there was no need to have killed the man, when the Seals encountered Bin Laden they could have released gases or other elements to knock out and capture him alive. We need to hear more about it from the Navy Seals, if in fact they were in danger to have shot him twice in his head?

The right thing would have been to put him on the trial, just as we did with the Nuremberg, Saddam Hussein and other trials. We could have learned a lot more about his other secret plans that may still be attempted by his loyalists. The world would have witnessed that we care about the rule of law and reinforced it through a time honored process.

Secondly, it has set a bad precedent. Even though the end result benefits humanity, the means were not kosher. It has opened up the doors for others to replicate, thus we 'may' have lost the moral upper hand to stop others from extra judicial killings.

Thirdly, no religion permits one to kill the other. Torah and Quran and other holy books do not see any wisdom in killing the other without an imminent threat to one's own life. Both the books say, to save a life is like saving the whole humanity and the corollary to that is to kill a human is like killing the whole humanity. What is the difference between somewhat pregnant and pregnant? Jesus condemned the sin and not the sinner.

I am glad his body was respectfully dropped in the sea instead of a ground burial. If the choice was given to Bin Laden, he would have preferred this over a ground burial which could have become a shrine to his followers, and that is not acceptable to a Wahhabi Muslim. The last rites were indeed handled appropriately and the Muslims appreciate that. God loves the one who forgives and lives in peace with himself.

Finally for the record, I stand opposed to assassinations, killings and death penalty. Unless it was in self defense, we are morally wrong in killing Bin Laden.

However, it feels good that he is not alive anymore. Mind you, that is different than cheering for his death which we should not do.

His end brings a sense of relief and closure to families who have lost nearly 3000 of their loved ones. Muslims have more to rejoice than others; they were not only victims of his terrorism like all of us, but were also subjects of harassment by several governments around the world, in the airports as well as employment and ordinary acts of life. The Sikh community also endured the grief out of mistaken identity. We pray that the Taliban mind set and the oppression of women in Afghanistan also comes to an end.

It is one of the best news items Muslims have had in a decade; it brings a sense of relief and hopefully restores the relationship between Muslim and Non-Muslims in building a cohesive America. Thank God, an evil era has come to an end with the death of this man.

Mike Ghouse committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

You are welcome to share your point of view at

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/05/texas-faith-would-you-have-san.html