What is Pluralism?

WHAT IS PLURALISM? 
Pluralism is an attitude of respecting the otherness of others 

We have crystallized the definition of pluralism to, “respecting the otherness of the others and accepting the uniqueness of each one of us”. Pluralism is nothing but an attitude of live and let live, and it is applicable in every aspect of life including culture, society, religion, politics, gender, food, ethnicity, race and other uniqueness’s.

Our Objective is to prepare an individual to function effectively in a multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-sexually oriented society with least conflicts. 

In cultural terms, Pluralism is recognizing your culture as a beautiful expression of life to you, as my own culture is to me. When it comes to food, it is recognizing that you will almost always enjoy what your taste buds are trained to enjoy, you might enjoy a well done steak while, I may relish the medium rare I delight, or vice-versa.  Religiously, it is learning to honor the way you worship or bow to the creator in gratitude, your faith is divine to you as my faith is divine to me.  As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, faith is in the heart of the believer.

By the end of 2020, there will not be a major city in America, and perhaps in the world, 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.  If you live amidst others, you must also respect the otherness of others, as you expect them to do the same for you.You are who you are, and I am who I am. As long as we don't mess with each others space, sustenance and nurturance, and mind our own business, we all will do well.  If we can learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the God-given uniqueness of each one of the seven billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Pluralism is not a set of rules, it is simply the attitude of live and let live religiously, politically, culturally and socially.  We are committed to building cohesive societies, where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of a fellow being.

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 my personal choice, 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 bridges between cohabitants of the given space, communities and nations in creating that elusive kingdom of heaven where all live their lives without apprehension or fear of the other.

Ideal society is where, no individual has to live in apprehension or fear of the other, live his or her own life and let others live theirs. If we can learn to accept the otherness of others, and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

......

Mike Ghouse has done extensive work on pluralism and interfaith for nearly two decades and is considered an expert in monitoring the interfaith movements.  He has written over 150 articles on Pluralism at Dallas Morning News, nearly 100 pieces at Huffington Post, and together over 1000 pieces published in different media outlets. 

Mike has conducted 26 Workshops from Atheism to Zoroastrianism, and 520 hours of Radio talk show on every faith and tradition and nearly 100 Shows on Fox News with Sean Hannity. Organized and presented 35 major public events over a course of 20 years.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily. Talk/Text (214) 325-1916

His interfaith, Islam, motivational speaker profiles and CV are all linked atwww.MikeGhouse.net

Misogyny and Gender Pluralism

URL- http://genderpluralismcenter.blogspot.com/2013/11/misogyny-and-gender-pluralism.html

At the Gender Pluralism Center, we will explore if misogyny is religiously sanctioned or men took it upon themselves to make things work for them, and in the process, the un-intended consequence was making a villain out of God and religion.

A few Men tend to be insecure about their own worth compared to women, and devise ways to feel secure by causing women to be insecure. I am not talking about the Taliban in a far off land, but our own Taliban mind set right here in America denying women the right to choose what she does with her body, rejecting her equal pay or expect her to the husband.  

“A woman should behave like a woman” “Her place is home” echo the   conservative religious men from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and other traditions.

Women have put up with this crap from men far too long, it’s time we feel, act and talk like equals. The silence of the good people is considered an endorsement to the right wing views on women. Do the good men give permission to the right? If not, we need to speak up. We need to be good for some good values and not good for nothing people.

A good functional society strives to be just to every citizen, when justness becomes a norm in every aspect of life – be it between spouses, family members, members of the community, town, state and the nation, then people trust each other and mind their own business.

Don’t look to anyone group to blame, look at yourselves first. A sentence that I have been repeating lately is "for every Muslim ass, there is a Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh or other ass" add hole if you need to. 

This blog will make an effort to find the other bad guys for every one projected and blamed in the society.  Eventually we need to realize that individuals must be held accountable for their wrong doing, and not their religion.   

I believe everything on the earth is created to seek its own balance, whether it is matter or individual, family or a nation. Every one struggles to have that elusive equilibrium which goes off balance as regularly as it is desired to be in balance.

For years, Islam has been in the forefront of receiving the accusations, but when I study Islam, it is not the religion, it is the men.  The Christians find it convenient to blame the Old Testament, instead of doing the research and finding what God meant. 

Prophet Muhammad had time and again said, "Justice:" among people, within family, among nations and tribe is the key to building a successful cohesive society where no one has to live in fear of the other. The other word for Islam would be Justice - obviously that is not what you see in the world today. Neither do you see Jesus's teachings practiced by Christians or Jews follow Torah or Bhagvad Gita by Hindus.

To me all religions are equally beautiful and divine; no religion is superior or inferior to any. If any on claims superiority, he or she does not understand the nature of his or her religion. Religion is not about arrogance which kills relationships and balance in the society, but it is about humility, that which builds bridges between people.

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 atwww.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.

Urdu Hindi اُردو / हिंदी Mushaera on Pluralism

  URDU HINDI (اُردو / हिंदी ) MUSHA'ERA ON PLURALISM
INVITATION to URDU/HINDI SPEAKING FRIENDS
Saturday, June 29, 2013 – 8 PM – 11:00 PM
Unity of Dallas

We request you to participate in one or many ways;

To be our guest attendee.
To write a poem based on the theme of Pluralism
To recite your poem in the Musha’era/ Summelan
To be a volunteer
To be a sponsor

Selected poetry will be published in a booklet
 
If you want to bring a change to the society, be the propeller.

Hamari  تہذيب  (tehzeeb) ho, ya संस्कृति (sanskriti), we have always respected each other. However, that element of the culture is depleting and causing distrust and discomfort with each other.  Can we let this happen? I hope not. 

Poetry is one of the pillars of our  सभ्यता , تمدن and it is in our interest to leave a better world for our نسل, पुश्त or posterity.  Indeed, we can revive that tradition. 

Let us consciously work towards creating संसक्त  समाज,  معاشرہ  چسپندہ or  cohesive societies where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.  The mere idea of thinking and writing such thoughts in our poetry is seeding the future; indeed, this is a small step, and hope it will become a giant leap for the Urdu/Hindi speaking populations of the Subcontinent, برِصغیر, महाद्वीप in building cohesive societies.

This program will be a model program to be placed on the world wide web, and seek publication in major Urdu/ Hindi media. With your  सहायता, تعاون and help, we can invite the giants of poetry in Hindi and Urdu to write the poems, if they are in Dallas, they can recite it as well.

Pluralism in one sentence is about respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. It involves building cohesive societies and creating an environment where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

The words that best describe Pluralism in Hindi are: Anekāntavāda (Devanagari: अनेकान्तवाद) and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (Sanskrit: वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम) and in Urdu it is تَکثیریت (we are still looking for the right word).  

I have been researching, writing and speaking on Pluralism for the last twenty years with articles in Dallas Morning news (150), fortnightly in Huffington Post (50), Washington  Post (10)  and several other periodicals around the glove including live workshops (28)  and radio programs (520 hours)  on the wisdom and essence of all the beautiful religions.  And one of the three books called “Standing up for others” will be released at the Mensa Conference in Fort worth on July 4^th.

You can choose a variety of topics inclusive of religion, humor, culture, food, language and day to day living.  How do we get along respectfully with each other!
 
The poetry will be sensitive and respectful of every religion, race, ethnicity, gender, color and nationality. It’s a conscious step in advancing our culture of respecting each other’s uniqueness.  The completed poetry must be in by June 15th to make it to the book.

We hope to place a book in the hands of every major poet, कवि  and شاعِر.  Indeed, this will be a small step, and hope it will become a giant leap for Urdu/ Hindi speaking populations in learning to respect and accept each other’s uniqueness.

We seek funding for this project and I hope you can fund it generously.  You can make the check to America Together Foundation (foundation for Pluralism is its dba) or pay through credit card at: http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/

 
Contact:

Shri D. D. Maini
Irfan Ali (940) 565-1723
Amin Tirmizi (817) 663-3786
Noor Amrohvi (972) 859-0647


Thank you.

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
America Together foundation
2665 Villa Creek Dr, Suite 206
Dallas, TX 75234

email: MikeGhouse@aol.com   

url - http://pluralismcenter.blogspot.com/2013/05/mushaera-on-pluralism.html

Urdu - Hindi Musha'era (poetry session) on Pluralism

INVITATION to URDU/HINDI FRIENDS
Saturday, June 29, 2013 – 8 PM – 11:00 PM
URL: http://pluralismcenter.blogspot.com/2013/05/urdu-hindi-poetry-session-on-pluralism.html


We request your participation in many ways;

To be our guest attendee.
To write a poem based on the theme of Pluralism
To recite your poem in the Musha’era/ Summelan
To be a volunteer
To be a sponsor 

 















Rsvp to: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com
Selected poetry will be published in a booklet*
The event will be broadcasted live by FunAsia TV

Hindi/ Urdu poetry pretty much covers every topic on the earth, however this is the first time a complete focus is given to pluralism. Pluralism is live and let live, and it is about respecting the otherness of others. We hope we consciously lay a foundation of advancing our culture of respect for the uniqueness of each other.


Samples of the poetry or short stories of people doing good things without a barriers, will be posted in the comment section below, and you can turn that into a poem.

For details, please contact

Janab Davendra. D. Maini
Janab Irfan Ali (940) 565-1723
Janab Amin Tirmizi (817) 663-3786
Janab Noor Amrohavi (972) 859-0647
Janab Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916

www.FoundationforPluralism.com
email: Mike@FoundationforPluralism.com

The poetry will be about Pluralism and building cohesive societies.

Pluralism in one sentence is respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. Building cohesive societies involve creating an environment where no human has to live I apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

A panel representing at least five faiths is in the making.

Pluralism in religion, society, politics, culture, food, clothing...

If you wish to write the poetry, please contact Mike@FoundationforPluralism.com

* The poetry will be selected by a committee. It has to be sensitive and respectful of every religion, race, ethnicity, gender, color and nationality. It’s a conscious step in advancing our culture of respecting each other’s uniqueness and accepting each other for who we are. The poetry must meet the literary requirements. The completed poetry must be in by June 15th to make it to the book.

Thank you

God belongs in our hearts and not in school

The need to keep God in our hearts is important, he remains a loving God, but when we project him in public square or schools, it has a chance to hurt one child or the other, who does not see God the same way as others. Should we not respect that individual?

Would God like any one of his children be hurt invoking his, her or its name?

There 'may' be a way out, if we all can agree that God is a convenient name to the energy that caused, sustains and terminates life, and each one of us can respect each others' belief that it could to be a male/ female or genderless, one, none and many, nameless/ multiple names, existent or non-existent being, specific or generic... isn't that causer universal? Shouldn't we?

Isn't better to keep God in our hearts than dump him in school and hurt him? Have we not created him in our own image, as others have in their own image?
 

 

I see a lot of sense in keeping God to ourselves, and within our hearts. We can always pray anytime and anywhere, one the bus, in the shower or in a quiet moment. Until such time when all of us can accept to school prayers, not the majority, but the unanimity across the board, we need to respect this particular law. Our model is something other nations can emulate some day, a model where every human is valued for who he is, what he eats, drinks, wears or believes. As long as one’s actions do not affect public safety, he or she should have the freedom to do anything. My freedom hinges on freedom of others that surround me.

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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.

Texas Faith: Is the Religious Right’s considerable influence on politics over?

Like most of the right-wing conservatives, Pastor Robert Jeffress lives in a bubble believing in self-aggrandizing information, and aggressively seeking to take advantage of his microphone to get ahead of others in the business of influence. He has done that both in politics and religion and has failed miserably. Continued: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/12/texas-faith-is-religious-rights.html
 
Texas Faith: Is the Religious Right’s considerable influence on politics over?

The Texas Faith blog is a discussion among formal and informal religious leaders whose faith traditions express a belief in a transcendent power – or the possibility of one. While all readers are invited to participate in this blog, by responding in the comments section, discussion leaders are those whose religion involves belief in a divine higher power or those who may not believe in a transcendent power but leave room for the possibility of one. Within this framework, moderators William McKenzie and Wayne Slater seek to bring a diversity of thinkers onto the Texas Faith panels.

This week’s question has two parts: 1) Should Christian conservatives in the future follow Jeffress’ advice and avoid making prudential issues in which voters can disagree part of their central moral agenda? And 2) even if they do, will it make any difference? Is the era of religious right’s considerable influence on politics a thing of the past?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas


Pastor Jeffress is a politician in the religious garb, not a good politician but the one scanning for opportunities to his advantage, his advice is yet to make sense.

Like most of the right-wing conservatives, he lives in a bubble believing in self-aggrandizing information, and aggressively seeing to take advantage of his microphone to get ahead of others in the business of influence. He has done that both in politics and religion and has failed miserably.

When the evangelicals ganged up on Romney, and unleashed Santorum as the conservative candidate, Jeffress came down on Romney, ruefully representing the Baptist Church and denouncing Romney’s Mormonism. The Moderate Republican majority dumped Santorum and other candidates with sectarian views and opted for Romney, who represented moderation at that time, but when Romney donned on the conservative avatar to clutch the nomination, Jeffress was out again with an embarrassing compromise; supporting Romney.

The moral agenda of the conservatives is to stand firmly against abortion, and same sex marriage, whereas Americans want to live by the First Amendment: government out of religion and their lives. Ironic as it may sound, the conservatives wanted to impose their views on others, and go against the very essence of constitution they purportedly want to uphold. If I were his congregant, I would have advised him to preserve the dignity of church and stay out from falling flat on his face again.

On religious side, Jeffress made a preposterous statement, “Qur’an is a false book written by a false prophet….” to a standing ovation from his congregation. He knew he was wrong and did not take up my challenge, “that if he finds faults with Qur’an, I will convert to his Faith, if not, I asked him to be a blessed peace maker that Jesus had wanted us to be. We held the Quraan conference anyway with 10 non-Muslim religious clergy and honored him for causing the truth to be otherwise. Details at www.QuraanConference.com

The era of religious right’s considerable influence on politics is indeed a thing of the past.

# # #

Published in Dallas Morning News. Message from all contributors at:
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2012/12/texas-faith-is-the-religious-rights-considerable-influence-on-politics-over.html/

# # #
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.

Majlis e Aza, Maulana Hayder Shirazi

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/12/majlis-e-aza-maulana-hayder-shirazi.html

I attended the Majlis-e Aza, a Shia Muslim gathering at my friend Aftab’s home, over 50 families attended to listen to the visiting Maulana Hayder Shirazi in the Majlis (gathering).

The experience was spiritually enriching and broadening my horizons of accepting the otherness of others. Indeed, it is time for us to get to know each other, we don’t have to agree or disagree with our madhabs (denominations) and rituals, but we can develop the capability to respect each other and find solutions to live in harmony. We need to include in our teaching, that disrespecting Allah's creation, fellow humans, amounts to disrespecting God. Indeed, God says in Quran, killing one person amounts to killing the whole humanity, and saving one life is like saving the whole humanity.

Two teenagers sang the Marsiya (melancholic songs) followed by a chorus, “Mere Abbas Jahan ho” it was powerful and moving.  Abbas was the 32 year old brother of Imam Husain (as). He was Imam Husain (as) and Islam's flag bearer. He is known for his utmost loyalty to Imam Husain. He was brutally martyred by Yazid's (self proclaimed, evil king) army when he went to fetch water for the very young children within Imam Husain's family who had been thirsty for more than 3 days.

Ali Asghar  was a six month old son of Imam Hussain, who was prevented from getting water from the river for his sick child, while he was waiting and holding Asghar in his arms, Yazid’s men (evil king) shot an arrow at the baby and martyred him. This sad story is a reminder of what the evil is capable of doing, and the need for us, each one of us, to speak out against evil things happening in our daily lives.

The program began by praying for a Shia girl killed in Pakistan. I felt the surge of blood in my veins, what is happening to Pakistan?   During this Muharram (first month of Islamic Calendar and the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain on the 10^th) an endless number of Shia Muslims were killed,  a few weeks ago a bus was stopped and all the people were asked to get out, and they killed each one of the 19 Shia in the bus, sparing the Sunni. This is simply not acceptable. Until we feel the suffering, and until we stand up for the rights of others be it Muslim or not, the humanness in us gets depleted. These Murderers are disrespectful to God.

Like all minorities around the world, the Shia, Ahmadiyya, Hindus and the Sikhs minorities in Pakistan are constantly harassed and hounded. As I reflect upon it, the issue is much bigger than Shia-Sunni, it is the majoritarian arrogance that wants to oppress the minorities.  It takes violent form in Pakistan, but takes different avatars in different places including our own United States, Israel and other nations. Even though we are a blessed country, we still have bigots running and saying things that don’t make sense. Thanks to the founding fathers for making this nation respect the rule of law, which ensures every citizen, a relative safety. 

The civility of a nation hinges on how it treats its weak, its women, its minorities and the ones in the ditches.  

While sitting in this particular Majlis, for a few brief moments, I asked myself, are we not all Muslims? We eat the same food, we look the same and we speak the same language, and most of us espouse the same faith. What causes the hatred and ill will that is going on in Pakistan? Why do we exclude others in our conversations?

Of course, the Maulana addressed the Shia more than once; after all it was a Shia gathering. The same thing happens at the Sunni, Bohra, Ismaili or Ahmadiyya gatherings; their talk does not include other Muslims at all.   

 Yet, I have heard the all-inclusive-prayer, even today, as in every Mosque I have been to, “Allahum maghfirli wali walidaiyya wali ustadhi wali jam'il mu'minina, wal mu'minat wal muslimina wal muslimat - Dear God! Forgive me and my parents, and my teachers, and all the believers, the Muslim men and women.” Do we mean it or we just recite it to get it over?    You cannot seek peace for just one, and not the other, as our peace hinges on peace to others. 

 Well, that is the case with every place of worship I have been, whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism or Buddhism.  That is contrary to the teachings of all religions, each one of them ….taught to get along and respect the other.  We have to learn to know each other, the more we know the other, the less conflicts we would have (Quraan 49:13).

Maulana Hayder Shirazi has that calmness on his face that generates tremendous respect for him, a humble man, as most of the Imams I have known in Dallas.  He is visiting from London and studied in Qom, Iran for 14 years! I was glad to hear that they also teach about other denominations of Islam, as an optional subject.  The teachers are Shia who teach the Sunni version of Islam, I am sure it will be honest, as I have known the Sunni Imams who respectfully talk the Shia version, as Shia understand it.

Maulana talked about loyalty and obedience to the principles, and elaborated Ateeullaha o Ateeur rasool very well. If you are not loyal to your wife, and vice-versa, more than likely you will not be loyal to the creator, if you don’t listen to parents, more than likely…. I was watching the youth listening to him attentively. He communicates well with his message.

He also talked about Tasweef; that is procrastination. He shared the story of two brothers from Baghdad who went to India, and one of them could not go to Hajj while the other did. The point he was making was, if you postpone Hajj, you can justify it to perform next year, or when you get older, or if it is about repenting, we cannot wait till the last breath, as we may not get the chance to repent it. His advice; do it now.

He was talking about the Ghayab Imam, or the Imam who would appear one day, and he will, if we do our part, be righteous. 

The Haram and Halal conflicts ends with life on the earth, he said one would be free from such conflicts in heaven. God can do anything kun fa ekoon, he just thinks and it happens. 

He was telling the story of Karbala  and when he narrated the part, where Yazid wanted Zainab be killed and brought to him in disgrace. Thanks to Munawar-Ali Abbas for sharing the following, "Zainab was the sister of Imam Husain (as). She accompanied Imam Husain (as) to Karbala. After the brutal Martyrdom of Imam Husain (as) by the army of "evil king," Yazeed (la), the women and children of Imam Husain (as) were made captive by the army of Yazeed (la). They were all taken in great disgrace and were tortured from Karbala to Kufa, and from Kufa to Syrai (Shaam)."

She would not compromise her principles but willing to die for it instead. The adults started crying out loud, and for a few minutes, I was the only one who did not. As the story progressed, listening to the humiliation of Zainab endured against Yazid’s unabashed harassment, I could not hold myself from crying. I just could not believe I did that. It felt good to intensely feel the suffering, humility and pain. You always salute those who stand up for the righteous principles.

At the end of the program, everyone got up and followed the unique Shia ritual, of beating the chests with both hands; it was loud and in unison and went on for about 15 minutes. The chanting was “kat gaye aale Muhammad ke gharanay walay” - martyred are the prophet’s family members. 

Everyone was deeply involved in the chanting and the chest beating, and momentarily I felt odd…and out of place, but was admiring the bonding it was facilitating. There was a temptation not to be an odd ball and do what others were doing… but I was severely fighting within myself, then I chose not to, as it would be something other Sunni or other Muslims cannot replicate, but we need to know each other.  My comfort increased when I invoked Pluralism ideals in me that we all have to learn to respect the otherness of others, and we do not have to agree with each other, but be respectful of each other. Indeed, that model was provided by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as expressed in the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsbuwRSnvNY

And that is what knowing each other means in Sura 49:13 is expressed in the following video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDwxcz65XY

The food was good, it was lentil-meat with Naan and Halwa!

Insha Allah, I will be writing the essence of Hanukkah, Christmas and other festivals in December, so we can now about each other. Please make an effort to participate in Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Ahamdiyya, Ismaili, Deen Mohammad and other Muslim events. To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill.

Thanks to Munawar-Ali Abbas and Tahira for the corrections,  their comments are included below.

Related articles about getting to know each other

• Huffington post - Centrality of Imam Hussain http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muharram-2011-centrality-imam-hussain_b_1117929.html
• Imam Hussain, epitome of Justice http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/imam-hussain-epitome-of-justice-and.html
  
  
• Day 5 of Ramadan, Momin Center http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-5-of-ramadan-2011.html
• Who is a progressive Muslim http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2011/11/who-is-progressive-muslim.html

• Ramadan day 8, Imam bargah http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan-day-8-imam-barga-e-hujjat.html

• Ramadan day 17, Momin Center http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/08/ramadan-day-17-shia-momin-center.html

• Shia Massacred in Pakistan http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/03/shias-massacred-in-pakistan.html

• Muharram together http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/muharram-time-to-come-together.html

• The Shia sunni Strife http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/07/sunni-shia-strife-economist.html

• Saudi cleric- shia infidels http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/01/saudi-cleric-shia-infidels.html

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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.

Texas Faith: Why do we say grace over a meal, including at Thanksgiving?

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/11/texas-faith-why-do-we-say-grace-over.html


Expression of gratitude is the ultimate balancing act in everyone’s life. We know from whom we receive the good and to whom we offer our gratitude. The absence of a simple “thank you” creates an imbalance in the relationship and spiritual energy while a simple “thank you” will tie the loose ends and restore the balance - Mike Ghouse

 
Texas Faith: Why do we say grace over a meal, including at Thanksgiving?

The Texas Faith blog is a discussion among formal and informal religious leaders whose faith traditions express a belief in a transcendent power – or the possibility of one. While all readers are invited to participate in this blog, by responding in the comments section, discussion leaders are those whose religion involves belief in a divine higher power or those who may not believe in a transcendent power but leave room for the possibility of one. Within this framework, moderators William McKenzie and Wayne Slater seek to bring a diversity of thinkers onto the Texas Faith panels.

But why do we say grace over a meal, including a traditional one like the Thanksgiving dinner?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

Life is a self-balancing act. Everything we do and say is spiritual as well as a real-life transaction that moves the needle from balance to imbalance, and back to balance.

The mechanism is built around forgiveness, repentance, service and gratitude. These values are a product of co-existence and inculcated through religious teachings. However, atheists would also achieve the same without invoking God.

The accountant chants that for every debit there is a credit. The physicist has proved that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. And the doctor declares that blood lost from the body of an individual must be replenished with an equal amount of blood to sustain life.

As a spiritualist I say, for every wrong we do, an equal amount of energy is drained from us. And for every good we do, energy is recouped. We are constantly receiving and giving energy. Intake and output must be equal to have a healthy living, or else we are thrown off balance.

For every hurt we hurl on others, an equal amount of burden gets dumped on us. Until we say “sorry” and repent genuinely, the energy balance within us deteriorates. The transaction remains incomplete.

Why do we say grace over a meal?

Expression of gratitude is the ultimate balancing act in everyone’s life. We know from whom we receive the good and to whom we offer our gratitude. The absence of a simple “thank you” creates an imbalance in the relationship and spiritual energy while a simple “thank you” will tie the loose ends and restore the balance.

When the giver is not identified, to whom do we give thanks? The accident we got out of safely, the job we did not lose or the meal we are able to have must be accounted for. 

For believers, that source is identified as God, and it behooves them to say grace over the meal. The transaction will be fully complete when we become considerate to those who do not have the same basic things in life as we do. Prophet Muhammad had said when you have nothing to give to others; the least you can give is hope, and a smile to let them know that we care.

Published in Dallas Morning News. Message from all contributors at:
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2012/11/texas-faith-why-do-we-say-grace-over-a-meal-including-at-thanksgiving.html/

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace making, foreign policy, Islam, Israel, India, Pakistan, interfaith, and cohesion at work place or social settings. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a strong presence on national local TV, Radio and Print Media, and 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.