America is God's own Country

America is God’s own country | AmericansTogether.org

Indeed, America is God’s own country!  It is a representation of everything God has created on this planet from sea to the shining sea.

We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We are represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture and religion. 

We are blessed with every possible faith that you can imagine on the earth, there is no other nation with this many faith representations as we are.

Together as Americans we believe in one God, no God and many God representations;  we believe him to be male, female and genderless; we believe it to be a being, non being and everything;  nameless and innumerable names.

We have green pastures, rivers, mountains, deserts, snow, rainfall, storms; we have cold to hot climates.

We have families who opt to live a simple life with no modern amenities and we families who live in lap of the luxury that is unmatched anywhere.

We believe in our immortal declaration of independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;”

Indeed, America is God's own country, a miniature universe represented by all of God's intentional diverse creation.We have the freedom to be who we want to be and achieve whatever we want to be.

God bless America!

Thank you

mike
Mike Ghouse, Speaker
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator onPluralism, Islam, India, Israel-Palestine, Politics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film " Sacred" to be released on 9/11 and a documentary "Americans together" for a July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com - Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
 

Memorial Day to mark 9/11 anniversary

NOTE -OUR EVENTS PUBLISHED

Published at: Thanks to Zahid KhanzadaGeo TV Pakistan - http://www.geo.tv/GeoDetail.aspx?ID=67363 
The News Pakistan:  http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-67363-Memorial-Day-to-mark-911-anniversary

 

Zahid A Khanzada

DALLAS: Dallas fort Worth (DFW) area interfaith community along with religious and civil leader’s observed Memorial Day to mark the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in USA.

Memorial day was held in Dallas Texas. Peoples from different walk of life gathered at the Unity church Dallas, this event was organized by America Together Foundation, Foundation of Pluralism and other organization. This purposeful event brought people of different faiths, races, ethnicities and other uniqueness together to feel the oneness of the nation and to feel indivisible, said Mike Ghouse who was the main organizer of this event.

The event starts with Marine Guards off, the ceremony followed by recognizing seven individuals who are making a difference in building a cohesive America.

The civic leaders including state Representatives, Mayors, council persons, Fire and Police Chiefs followed by 13 leaders also joined this events, they shared their wisdom and scriptures from their traditions.

They said every American must feel a sense of security, safety and freedom. If we can learn to accept the otherness of others and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Collectively, we are represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture and religion. We see God as one, none and many and in every form; male, female, genderless and non-existent, being and non-being, nameless and with innumerable names. America Together Foundation is committed to preserve this pluralistic heritage of America.

The attendees of the events were Civic & Elected leaders, State Rep Stefani Carter, Mayor Bob Townsend, Richardson, Mayor Bill Glancy, Farmers Branch, Mayor Steven Terrell, Allen, Mayor Ronald Jones, Garland, Mayor pro tem Laura Maczka, Richardson, Mayor Pro tem Marco Mejia, Lancaster, Mayor Pro tem Patricia Ledbetter, Desoto, Council Member Bob Garza, Carrollton, Fire Chief Raymond Knight, Garland

Police Chief Rex Redden, Carrollton, Fire Chief, John Murphy, Carrollton (family emergency), Dy Fire Marshall, Debra Carlin, Dallas, Major Karl Tinson commanding Officer. Sergeant Weeg .also the Community Leaders include ,Bob Mong, Shabnam Modgil, Johan Hamid, Carol Crabtree Donavan, Akram Syed, Dr. Basheer Ahmed.

Dr. Harbans Lal also the Religious Leaders who attend this event was Revathi Srinath, Peggy Larney,Chief George Akeem, Dana Lankford, Rev. Bill Matthews

On this occasion Awards were distributed to the religious and civic leadership of DFW area. Speakers said we are blessed in this endeavor with the support from people of all faiths.

On this Unity Day USA, they said the People of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture, and every background has accepted our invitation, healing, unity and security of our country.

9/11 Prompts Strong Muslim Commitment to America

Americans Muslims are fully committed to a strong, peaceful, prosperous and secure America. As Americans, we uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. Our faith reinforces the creed of "One Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all."

Continued at Huffington post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/911-prompts-muslims-to-ma_b_1867143.html

Published at
http://www.i4u.com/2012/09/neil-armstrong/mike-commitment-9/11-muslim-ghouse-prompts-strong-america

Israel Palestine commitment, part 2

Israel's security and justice to the Palestinians are directly proportional to each other. Hundred percent security for Israel comes with 100 percent justice to the Palestinians. A majority of people in the conflict understand this, but the leadership runs aground with short sighted false perceptions.


Huffington post on Israel Palestine solutions : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/commitment-to-israelpales_b_1263793.html


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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

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

9/11 and Dallas Muslims

You would be pleased to know that Muslims have taken initiatives to work towards a cohesive America and I am pleased to invite you to the 7th Annual 9/11 Memorial, the Unity Day USA on Sunday Sep 11 at 5:00 PM at the Unity Church of Dallas on Forest Lane. Details are at www.UnitydayUSA.com. Kindly rsvp to Unitydayusa@gmail.com Thank you

Mike Ghouse, Texas faith panelist
(214) 325-1916

Invitation to 7th Annual 9/11 Memorial
UNITY DAY USA -2011
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2011 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Unity church of Dallas, www.UnitydayUSA.com

6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230

www.Unitydayusa.com

We are pleased to invite you to the 7th Annual Unity Day USA; a purposeful event to bring Americans together. This is the 10^th Anniversary of 9/11, from this day forward we hope to effect the change to make. It is an initiative to come together to stand up for the safety, security and cohesiveness of America.

On this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and well being of our nation.

Unity Day USA is about re-affirming our faith in the goodness in humanity, and the longing for harmony and co-existence. The traditions include but are not limited to Native American, Atheist, Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Earth-traditions, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Wicca and Zoroastrians; thus it is an all inclusive event.

It is an experience to feel a sense of unity with fellow Americans that will bring a feeling of coming home to where we drop all of our identities and to be united together as an American family.

As Americans we uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. Our faiths reinforce the idea of one nation with liberty and justice for all.