Since 9/11, Americans across the political spectrum have been asking, “Who are the authentic moderates of Islam, and where are they?” And, “Who speaks for American Muslims?” Talk show hosts, journalists, lawmakers, interfaith authorities and thought leaders have asked: Where are moderate Muslims to join the debate on social, civic, religious and political issues, including racism and violent extremism?
Their spokesman is Dr. Mike Mohamed Ghouse, who recently has moved to Washington, D.C.
Dr. Ghouse is a proud, unapologetic Moderate Muslim and a passionate advocate of Pluralism in religion, society, politics, race, dining, clothing, dancing, sports and every aspect of life. He is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator who is considered an authority on Pluralism and Interfaith relations in America, and he offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
Who is a Moderate Muslim? Some one who lives his life and let others live theirs, and some one who minds his own business. He or she will not look down upon other people's faiths, traditions and practices, but considers them to be as unique as his or her own, but never inferior. In every group; religious, social, national, political or racial, there is always the right and extreme right who is intolerant and wants to impose his or her ideals on others. The left and extreme left on the other hand has no boundaries. Moderates are usually 90% of any group, but they do not engage in anything and mind their own business and take up when things when they really get out of hand. The new breed of Moderates like Dr. Ghouse are full of passion to save the nation and the communities for the common good of all Americans.
What is Pluralism? It is simply, he says, “respecting the otherness of others, and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us. When we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.”
He is respected by his peers as a patriotic American and firmly stands for the American values such as the freedoms established by the First Amendment. In fact, Dr. Ghouse considers the U.S. Constitution a sacred document that respects and honors every human being. He exalts America’s immortal Declaration of Independence. While living in Dallas for more than three decades, he became a fixture at Veteran’s-Day ceremonies and July 4th parades. He has spoken at innumerable luncheons for homeless veterans and visits with veterans at VA hospitals. Dr. Ghouse drives around the Veterans’ cemeteries on Memorial Day and offers prayers for all those who have defended our freedom. He will fight and defend the freedom of America any time and all the times.
Dr. Ghouse also served as a Commissioner at City of Carrollton, Texas for two terms.
He has contributed significantly to the richness of America, and his gift to America would be the gift of Pluralism, an old attitude emerging as a new discipline that he intends to teach and promote through workshops. Dr. Ghouse hopes to train America’s candidates for higher office regarding what the founding fathers meant when they declared that “all humans are equal.”
Dr. Ghouse believes in building a cohesive America, where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other and which will be achieved through personal interaction. To that end, he has organized 17 Thanksgiving celebrations; 12 Unity Days USA; and 10 ceremonies to honor victims of Holocaust and Genocides.
Dedicated Both to Islam and to ‘the Other’
Dr. Ghouse defines “moderate Muslim” as someone who respects the otherness of others and accepts the God-given uniqueness of each person in God’s creation. He has published more than 1000 articles on diverse aspects of Islam and maintains a blog on Quran, Sharia, Blasphemy, Apostasy, Hijab, Reforms, Ramadan, Women’s issues and community relations. He is driven by the pluralistic wisdom in Quran, and his mission is authenticated by many a verse from Quran, including 49:13, which generally means because each one of us is created to be an unique individual, we are bound to have conflicts between family members, nations, religions and communities, and it is because we don’t know each other and when we start to genuinely learn about the other, myths disappear into thin air and peace dawns on us.” There is a full video of his talk on Pluralism in Islam.
Print Media: Dr. Ghouse has published more than 3000 articles on a variety of topics, of these, there more than 1000 on Pluralism, including 225 pieces on Pluralism in the “Texas Faith” column in the Dallas Morning News and 130 articles at Huffington Post. He also has published articles on politics, foreign policy, movies, sports, culture and motivation.
TV and Radio: Dr. Ghouse has appeared in more than 150 TV shows, including 102 with Sean Hannity alone. He has served as subject expert hundreds of times on nationally syndicated radio. Many listeners have heard his informed opinions at the time of the Quran Burning issue in Mulberry, Florida, and the period of Quran Bashing in Dallas Texas. He notably defended the 9/11 Mosque in Lower Manhattan, and he has blogged on the Peter King investigations and other issues. He is in the forefront of dealing with issues and offering pluralistic solutions.
On the day of 9/11, he was on Radio all day, taking calls from Mayors, religious and community leaders across the City to bring coherence to the chaos created on that day, and ever since, he has dedicated that day every year to serve and unite Americans for a strong America.
Politics: A political independent, Dr. Ghouse says that he votes for the candidates who put America first, whether he or she is a Republican or Democrat. He refuses to compromise his loyalty to America with loyalty to a political party. He maintains a blog on Politics and has written more than 300 columns on politics in America. He has written about Presidents Bush and Obama, and presidential candidates Clinton, McCain, Romney, Gingrich, Cain, Perry, Christie, Bush, Trump and Carson.
Foreign policy: Dr. Ghouse has always taken a moderate approach toward foreign policy issues and offered pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, including but not limited to Israel, Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and other nations.
Human rights: Dr Ghouse has stood up for the rights of every human regardless of his or her affiliation and has been writing a forthcoming book titled, Standing Up for Others, Standing up for the rights of all; from Atheists to Zoroastrians and every one in between including Native Americans, and the LGBT community. This book will be dedicated to Sean Hannity, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and Harbans Lal (his first boss) with a special note.
Quran: It is one of the most misunderstood books on the earth, even by Muslims. He sees it as a pluralistic document to build cohesive societies, where God is not an exclusive property of anyone but a universal energy that belongs to all, loves us all, and cares for our well being. Dr. Ghouse is producing a short book addressing the myths and facts about Quran, and this book will be dedicated to Pastor Bob Roberts of Texas, the big name among Evangelical Pastors and Imam Zia Shaikh from Irving, Texas, both of them have understood the full meaning of pluralism, i.e., respecting the otherness of others.
Film: Sacred is a full feature film, and it is about changing perceptions about Muslims and Muslims adopting the non-violent principles enshrined in the teachings of Jesus Christ, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Mahatma Gandhi.
Documentary: Dr. Ghouse’s documentary film in progress is premised on America’s promise that all humans are created equal. He believes that we have seen a tremendous progress since independence, but we have a lot more to do. A rough draft of the film is in a video clip at www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com
Pope Francis: He is a blessing to mankind, and is one of the greatest human beings of this century. Dr. Ghouse has written more than 25 articles on Pope Francis with lots of love and admiration for the man.
Dallas Morning News: "Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it? If that has been you, Mike Ghouse ought to be your hero."
Phyllis Curott: Vice Chair, Parliament of Worlds Religions," Mike Ghouse has the courage of his convictions - he carries a spark of inspiration that can only be called Divine. It illuminates the world around him, enabling him to see clearly the beauty and grace that resides in every sacred path and in each person who walks that path.”
Religion News Service: " (RNS) A Florida pastor plans to burn a pile of Qurans on the 9/11 anniversary, and interfaith activist Mike Ghouse says, “It is not what (the pastor) will do, it is what we do as Americans and American Muslims that matters.”
Phillip M Ramsaroop: "I
first met Dr. Ghouse in the mid-nineties as Past President and a member of the Board of the Dallas
Fort Worth Hindu Temple and as a member of the Chapel Committee of Thanksgiving
Square in Dallas, Texas. I was
pleasantly surprised, though a Muslim, he participated and volunteered his time
and resources on the Hindu Temple’s projects and activities. I later discovered that he did the same for
other religious and cultural communities"
Mulberry Ledger : "The book burner (Terry Jones) came to Mulberry in hate and the Muslims (Mike Ghouse) came to Mulberry in peace to counter the hate. The Muslims summed it up best when they prayed for the fallen heroes who died on 9/11.”
Saudi Gazette: "Thank you for your commitment towards a peaceful solution, Mike. It is the media who should thank you for your commendable cause."
Bill Matthews: "Mike Ghouse’ exemplary work for pluralism exudes acceptance to bridge beyond imagined differences to express the exemplary conviction that humanity lives and thrives on working together towards common goals, to overcome fear, suspicion and prejudice."
Links to the writings of Dr. Mike Mohamed Ghouse
