Texas Faith: Should leaders love their country more than their souls?

No matter how much a president loves his country, justice should be the core value to sustain the harmony and trust in societies and no compromise to be made.

URL- http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/02/texas-faith-should-leaders-love-their.html
 
Texas Faith: Should leaders love their country more than their souls?
By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
Dallas Morning News, Published on February 5, 2012

New York Times columnist David Brooks touches upon this theme in this essay. Here’s one excerpt:

“In the real world, a great leader is called upon to create a civilized order for the city he serves. To create that order, to defeat the forces of anarchy and savagery, the virtuous leader is compelled to do hard things, to take, as it were, the sins of the situation upon himself.

“The leader who does good things cannot always be good himself. Sometimes bad acts produce good outcomes. Sometimes a leader has to love his country more than his soul.”

That’s pretty disturbing. Should a leader really love his country more than his soul? If so, does that mean country should come before faith?

To me, this is one of the more challenging parts of the intersection of religion and politics. I would love to hear your thoughts about whether leaders must on occasion love their country more than their soul.

Fourteen panelists contributed to this forum, to read the contributions from all the panelists, please visit - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/02/texas-faith-should-leaders-love-their-country-more-than-their-souls.html/


MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and a Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism

Do the means justify the end? Both the politicians and spiritual masters have made those decisions and have justified their actions. But there is always a price to be paid for all such actions, either in the moral deprivation of the society or the long-term destruction of justice.

When it comes to justifying the means, the Second World War always jumps out at us, and we continue to justify the bombing of Hiroshima-Nagasaki and, of course, Germany. Even the anti-war pacifists among us justify it to save greater number of lives, and in particular preventing the annihilation of Jews in the Holocaust. The Torah and Qur'an share this wisdom, “Saving a life is like saving the whole humanity.” With a tag that killing one is like killing the whole humanity, have we been able to balance between the two?

President Lincoln balanced the need to keep the nation together for the right purpose, and it was difficult on him to justify the war. Indeed, he loved America more than his soul. He could have listened to his advisers and not gone to war and lived his life. But the America he envisioned, which we benefit from today, justified the means.

The drone attacks in Pakistan are killing innocent civilians and creating more hatred towards us than taking the individual bad guys out. In that case, the end does not justify the means and we must speak out against this nonsense.

The unjust Bush war had its price, which we will continue to pay in terms of carrying the spiritual burden of mass killings of the innocent and destruction of the nations who had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks on us. President Bush was a revenge-seeking machine rather than someone who wanted justice.

Unfortunately, not all people feel that way, but the torch bearers of the conscience will live through it and question ourselves for not protesting the war that brought untold miseries to others and us in terms of unemployment, foreclosures, suicides among our soldiers and plain destruction of our nation.

Animals settle their disputes by locking their horns or tearing each other apart. Humans, instead, were endowed with the ability to dialogue and bring resolutions to the conflict.

No matter how much a president loves his country, justice should be the core value that sustains the harmony and trust in societies.

Additional writing:

Of course, how many Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist leaders follow their religion?

Quran condemns offensive war, and no one is to wage a war against the other, unless it is in self-defense. The guidance even extends to the individuals, when someone throws you out of your own home forcibly, harasses you and your family, then you have a right to search, and wherever you can find them on your property, you have a right to shoot (American Terms) the invader and be not responsible for it. It further adds, if the intruded begs for mercy, he should be given a chance, for God loves those who forgive and create harmony in the society.

I believe in the Reagan Doctrine, peace through strength, use the strength to bring peace.  Animals settle their disputes by locking their horns or tearing each other, humans were not given the horns to do the same, and instead, they were endowed with the ability to dialogue and bring resolutions to the conflict. Reagan did that successfully.

Post morteming the events, no matter how much a president loves his country, justice should be the core value.


 ....... Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links. 

Muslim Intra faith dialogue in Houston

Ken Chitwood of Houston Chronicle asked the following questions about the intra-faith dialogue in Houston and here are my responses to the questions;

INTRA-FAITH DIALOGUE BETWEEN

SUNNI, SHIA, AHMADIYYA AND WD MUHAMMAD DENOMINATIONS 

Describe the outline of the event at the Asia Society. Who will be involved? What is the schedule? What is the format? What is the expected outcome?

PROGRAM OUTLINE:


The Intrafaith Dialogue on Islam is a presentation of Boniuk Center's Bridge-Builder Series to be held at the Asia Society Texas Center,1370 Southmore Blvd, Houston, Texas 77004 on Thursday, Feb. 21st. There will be a reception @ 6:30 P.M. and the event will start at 7:00 P.M. Registration required due to limited seating at - InfoDeskASTC@AsiaSociety.org


The event will be opened by Mike Pardee, the Executive Director of the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance; he will introduce the officers of the Boniuk Center, Rice University and Asia Society.

The moderator Mike Ghouse, Religious and Cultural Pluralism Commentator, President of the Foundation for Pluralism and America Together Foundation will take the dialogue forward.  The event will be graced by a panel of four Imams representing four different traditions within Islam.

Imam Azhar Haneef, Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of the US, Silver Spring, Maryland. Imam Wazir Ali, Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur'an, Houston, Texas. Imam Moustafa al-Qazwini, Founding Director of the Islamic Education Center of Orange County, California, and Imam Dr. Zia Shaikh, Author and resident scholar of the Islamic Center of Irving, Texas.

This is an extraordinary event in the United States, if not the first, it certainly is a rare event of intra-faith dialogue among Muslims. Islam is a universal faith that has embraced every race, ethnicity, language, tradition and culture. Indeed, the Quran opens with gratitude to the lord of the universe and ends addressing the whole humanity as well in the last chapter. Our esteemed Imams will share about how they deal among themselves and with others. What makes one a Muslim and who sets the theological boundaries and its impact on generational differences? Is there a need for reform and what should be the focus in building cohesive Societies within and without?

We will touch upon the dynamics of Muslim societies here in the United States, as it resembles with the interactions within Asian societies. According to the latest Pew Survey 61.7 % of all Muslims reside in Asia and it behooves for the Asia Society to have a model dialogue to understand the dynamics.  Conflict within religious tradition is no news to the Jewish and Christian traditions, but how they accept each other is news.

We hope to close the event by 8:30 including a few questions and answers followed by refreshments for the attendees. Arrangement for nightly prayers called Isha is also made for Muslims who wish to join the prayers. 


WHO WILL BE INVOLVED?

The Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice “is dedicated to nurturing tolerance among people of all and no faiths, especially youth, and to studying the conditions in which tolerance and intolerance flourish.  Their mission is to understand the conditions that make peaceful coexistence possible and to promote these conditions locally, nationally and throughout the world.”

Asia Society has a similar mission, “?Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.”

Together, the Boniuk Center and the Asia Society have facilitated meaningful inter-faith and intra-faith dialogue series to promote understanding from within the diverse family of faiths and with other faiths. Indeed, they have had meaningful dialogue within the Christian and Jewish traditions, and now they are extending the opportunity to the Islamic tradition. 

 OUTCOME

This is a pilot project, first of its kind in the United States. The panelists and the moderator take this responsibility seriously,  and will lay the best possible foundation for future dialogue.

We hope to have consensus on a few issues, and acceptance of difreferences as well. The dialogue will be carried in the examples set by Prophet Muhammad, we will learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the uniqueness of each tradition with due respect.


You are a self-described "pluralist." Explain that position in your own words…

A pluralist is someone who respects the otherness of others. Indeed, if we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accepts the God given uniqueness of each one of the seven billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. In religious terms, pluralism is respecting every which way one appreciates or worships the creator.

Religion is about humility and not arrogance, humility builds bridges to create a better world, whereas arrogance is destructive and generates conflicts and resentment. After all God has not signed a deal with any one behind others back to claim superiority of one belief over the other. The purpose of religion is to bring peace to an individual and live in balance with what surrounds him or her; people and the environment.

My role as a moderator of the event is to facilitate the panelists to respond to the questions asked, and address some of the toughest issues with grace. We need to understand how cultural and generational nuances manifest themselves in various communities; the role of grace, fellowship, and forgiveness in their traditions; the effects of theological differences within family of faiths and if there is a need for reform, and what should be the focus?

 I will be invoking the practices of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in how he dealt with the conflict and refer to the ideals embedded in Chapter 109 of Qur'an that I teach in conducting a civil dialogue.

Why are you hosting this event?

This event is critical to setting the tone of dialogue among Muslims, and as a pluralist activist Muslim, who regularly interacts, speaks, writes and visits Mosques of every denomination with no prejudice, this is a God-given opportunity for me to moderate this event and I thank Michael Pardee for this opportunity.

I hope to educate, and motivate people in creating a cohesive environment to work, socialize and function effectively, and offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

The  deep commitment I have in building cohesive societies, where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the fellow human is matched by my extensive work in inter and Intrafaith.   I have been teaching and conducting workshops on every religion including Atheism, have done 520 hours of radio talk show on every religion, and write weekly at Dallas Morning News and each one of the article weaves through at least three religions in a given article, I write regularly at Huffington post, and many periodical around the world. Additionally I have a strong presence on National and Local TV and Radio media.

My dream is to initiate a course and teach pluralism and co-existence, and a book is in the making as a text. 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 one of the many choices, and further down the road, a significant number will proclaim that my way of life is not superior or inferior to any.

By the end of 2020, there will not be a major work place in America or other places, where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working, eating, playing, marrying, and doing things together.
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 societies, communities and nations in creating that elusive kingdom of heaven where all of us can live  without apprehension or fear of the other.
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. (Foundation for Pluralism, Pluralism Center)

Being a Muslim, I am deeply committed to nurturing the pluralistic values embedded in Islam (World Muslim congress). The role of a Muslim is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, most people get that, a few don’t, just as with any other religious group.

 
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links. 

 
What do you think Asian Muslims have to add to the general conversation regarding Islam in the U.S.? Texas? Globally?

Muslims like all humans are designed to be free; a majority of Muslims live in Asia and nearly 2/3rds of them live in democratic environments. They deeply believe in freedom of speech and pluralistic values taught in Qur'an and the prophet. They grew up in an environment where they interacted, went to school, worked with and inter-married Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others. Respecting the otherness of others comes naturally to them.

Most Muslims feel Americans live a more Muslim life than Muslims in the Muslim majority nations. The biggest value is the sense of equality and humility imparted in every ritual aspect of Islam, which they see it practiced in America every day, even the president stands in the line to take his (hope her some day) food when he is with our soldiers. Justice is the other most important value to them and they love the American Justice system.

Muslims have much to contribute to the well being of the United States through the Islam they practice and of course, Texas has one of the largest Muslim populations in the United States.  The Asian Muslims have a great potential to affect the outcomes of the world in shaping pluralism and co-existence. The late Gus Dar of Indonesia, where the largest number of Muslims live, has done remarkable work in Pluralism, and his highness Aga Khan of the Ismaili Muslim community (predominantly Asian) has dedicated a center for pluralism in Canada. In the United States, Dr. Eboo Patel, and I, Mike Ghouse (both Asians) are relentlessly pursuing and nurturing pluralism and its value in building effective societies where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.

 Why is such a conversation as this panel will be having timely?

At this precise juncture in history, the Ahmadiyya Muslims are persecuted in Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and the Shia Muslims are harassed and killed in Pakistan daily, and oppressed in Bahrain, Iraq and other places. The Saudis and Iranians are at odds and refer to each other as Shia and Sunni, Ahmedinejad was cautiously received in Egypt, and he was treated as an outsider. These developments are getting worse by the day and there is a need for a way out.


I am glad the Asia Society is living up to its mission, “generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.” Indeed Boniuk center is nurturing tolerance through these dialogues. I thank them for facilitating this. I am deeply committed to pluralism and have been working on it for the last twenty some years and it’s a joy for me to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill. Indeed that is how I have defined the role of Muslims at my other organization; world Muslim Congress.

This dialogue is a small step for the Muslim kind, but a giant leap for humanity. I hope it will encourage more dialogue and full day conferences with a single goal; mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, the theme in every action of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

I hope this conversation becomes a catalyst for positive changes that the two organizations and the foundation for pluralism and world Muslim congress aspire to achieve. 

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

India's unfinished social contract

Indeed, the story is same with most nations. Injustice will not go away, no matter how much we fake it, it builds up and is likely to erupt engulfing everyone into its flames, in the end everyone loses. The long term security of a nation hinges on justice and fairness (Dharma) to every Citizen. 

As Indian Americans, we gripe about our limits in the society, we do shout discrimination, we do scream when so many Indians were denied visas. We hate when a Guru, a student or a politician is denied a visa to the United States.  We have also carried huge discussions on Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley, believing that because they converted to Christianity they made it… there is resentment.


These issues are not going to go away, they sit with us, not with all of us though, but if someone attacks those attitudes, whoever can speak out for us, we become fans of such person. When I attacked SenatorWilliams and Pastor Jeffress for their ignorant comments about Hindus, I got huge support. Similarly if a Hindu speaks out for Justice to others, he or she will be liked as well.


In the United States, resentment was building up in the 50’s with Rosa Park, Selma, Montgomery and other incidents, the black panthers came in to being, the situation would have exploded had it not been for the civil rights and equal opportunity acts led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  Americans together quickly cured the explosive situation.


Injustice will not go away, no matter how much we fake it, it is likely to erupt, and engulf everyone into its flames, at the end, everyone loses. The long term security of a nation hinges on justice and fairness (dharma) to every Citizen. Indeed Satyameva Jayate.

As Indians, we have to consciously bring closure to many of the unfinished issues, our language has to be inclusive, whatever affects one Indian, should be felt by all, if not we are deficit in our humanity.

I am glad; we are a pluralistic democracy rather than an autocratic, monarchic or dictatorial system where critical issues take time to resolve through consensus, rather than imposition.  Because of the nature of our governance, we have piled up unresolved conflicts that will take time to heal. Among them are; Sikh Genocide, Babri Masjid-Ram JanamBhoomi, Kashmiri Pundits, Gujarat Genocide, misogyny,  and discrimination against the minorities as well as the majorities in schools and jobs. There are other issues, but my focus is social issues.
 

HISTORIC INDIA

The old wounds like the Somnath destruction, indiscriminate killing of Hindus have remained on the psyche of Hindu Indians. It was expressed during Gujarat, to show Muslims their place and to show Sikhs their place during the Sikh Genocide of 1984. We have allowed resentment to flourish towards each other, and the politicians have used us suckers very well. Yes, you and I both. We need to face things squarely and find sustainable solutions.


There is a need for a serious national dialogue where Muslim Indians disown those freaky kings who wreaked havoc on fellow Indian Hindus. Muslims need to continuously disown Aurangzeb and Ghazni.  I seriously doubt if there is any Indian today who is a descendent of them, or has inherited their loot. Today’s Muslims are not responsible for what  the kings did, indeed, most kings, whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Budh or otherwise have made their business to annex the next land, rob the rich, steal from the temples and fill their coffers. Hindus on the other hand need freedom from that pain, and they need to realize that Muslims have nothing to do with what those kings did.We need a national declaration from Hindus and Muslims releasing each other from the past and together forge a new future, and constantly guard ourselves from falling into the old pit.


INDEPENDENT INDIA

Our constitution has flaws and we need to seriously make some amendments. The Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists are categorized as Hindus. Even here on my Radio show in Dallas in 2002, a friend said Jainism was an offshoot of Hinduism and it was immediately objected to, it's happened a few times. We need to learn to recognize the sovereignty of each faith and tradition and honor them for their distinct belief.  If you don’t think, it is a problem, wait until this happens to you.


This is a real story, an American Christian said Salaam Alaikum to a Hindu, or Namaste to a Muslim –most of us smile, as we don’t see that as a problem. However my Hindu friend and the Muslim friend,  were quick to point out the biggest mistake of that’s man's life and spent time teaching them, fortunately neither were denigrating the other. Once I said Salaam to an Egyptian looking guy, he was ferocious and said, I am not a Muslim, no Salaam to me.

You may enjoy the following videos delivered to a gathering of 1200 Christians in Chicago bible Study class that I attended.  I sound like a preacher in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3a8wX6SXQ . A benediction for Obama's inauguration is here and hope you like it as well - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/president-obamas-ideal-inaugural-benediction_b_2481579.html#es_share_ended


Most of us Indians meet and greet for a few minutes in a year, and want to keep it that way. Very few of us have a genuine interest in putting off sparks. If you do take the time, you will find what is going on in each Indian, the resentment towards fellow Indian is quietly simmering inside, and It needs to be addressed, not suppressed or do the typical Indian thing, “there is really no problem”.

We need to dig deeper and remove such sparks for the long term good of the nation and the each one of us. Hate towards the other eats us alive, we need Mukti from it.
 
What happened to Sikhs was not an instant reaction, there was some unfinished business brewing among communities that erupted and resulted in the Genocide, same goes with the Muslim Genocide in Gujarat. We cannot brush aside these issues, the sparks were there, we need to dig up and find solutions, if not, this will happen again.

Indian Muslims should not be criticized for Pakistan either, they chose to stick with India, and any accusation should be shameful and condemned by every one of the 1.2 Billion Indians. We all need to jump on those Idiots who point their fingers at fellow Indians who are Muslims.

Just because the Prime Minister is a Sikh, the President may be a woman or a Dalit, the injustices toward Sikhs, Women and Dalits do not stop. People are getting along on the surface, one more event like Indira Gandhi happens, then you can see all that hatred burst up into flames. If we are patriotic Indians, we need to feel the hurt of all Indians and fix the problems.

We should not dump these issues onto the next generation, we are conquering the space, we can conquer our prejudices too, that is the greater Jihad (inner struggle) Lord Krishna and Prophet Muhammad had called for. The nation is moving forward cautiously, but unless we bring closure to the issues, we may not feel the goodness in our hearts. The issues will not go away by burying our heads in the sand.

We need to collectively apologize, forgive and restore justice to the victims of such genocides.

What makes sense is for Hindus to take the lead in bringing Justice to all, Muslims to stand up for Hindus, Jains to stand up for Dalits, and Sikhs to stand up for Christians…. Stand up for others, we can change India. You and I will die and be gone, but it is our duty to quit blaming others and find solutions. At least, let it begin with you and me.

Of course, had it not been for Hindus a whole lot more Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits and Christians would have been massacred out, had it not been for Muslims, a whole lot more Hindus would have been driven out of the valley. Thanks to the good ones among us for standing up for others. 

Right now, the GOI has denied Amnesty Int’l to investigate the atrocities of Sikh Genocides; we need Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Christians and Buddhist Indians to take this forward. We can take on one issue at a time. "Injustice to one is injustice to all" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

We need at least five committed individuals to initiate a committee at the Dallas Peace Center to take this forward comprising Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Christian, Dalit and Buddhist, and of course a Sikh Volunteer as well.  

URL-  http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2013/02/indias-unfinished-social-contract.html


HONORING SIKHS - http://911unitydayusa.blogspot.com/2012/09/viii-annual-unityday-update-pictures.html
COMMEMORATING SIKH GENOCIDE - http://holocaustandgenocides.blogspot.com/2013/01/6th-annual-holocaust-and-genocides-sikh_23.html

Mike Ghouse is a former Board Member of Dallas Peace Center with a life time commitment to the center and its work. Please visit DallasPeaceCenter.org for details. 

 ....... Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Valentine's Day message

VALENTINE DAY'S UNIVERSAL MESSAGE
FOR MY SINGLE, COUPLED AND MARRIED FRIENDS

Love has no bounds. Indeed, its a relationship of caring between husband and wife, mother and son, father and daughter, mother daughter, brother sister, brothers, sisters, friends, uncles, aunties, Granpa and Gramma, friends, and any one you care about. Valentine's day has moved from an exclusive rendezvous between two lovers to an universal meaningful expression of caring between any two people, and as a futurist, I see this morphing into a universal affection day within a decade.

Throughout the history of language, words have taken on new and expanded meanings; Valentine's Day is no exception, and eventually, it will become an all inclusive romantic day. 

Please feel free to say happy valentine's day to your sister, mother, brother, daughter, dad, uncle or a friend. It is a much bigger word now than it started out to be. Take them out for dinner and send them flowers to let them know that you care if you are the only one for them at this point in life.

While we Americans express it by presenting red roses to our loved ones, the Filipinos will break another record; the number of people kissing at the same time, Brazil will have another major festival on her beaches celebrating love. You are welcome to share other such expressions.

On the other side of the world, a few frustrated ones will go to the other extreme. A handful of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshi Hindus and Muslims will go on bashing and harassing the people who want to spend their time in peace. They ransack shops that sell the cards, and have a record of beating up couples in restaurants. If I were a peacemaker, pundit or an Imam, I would actively seek these men to respect the otherness of others, and ask them to join for tea and laddus (dessert) at the Temples, Mosques or other places of worship and have them fall in love with God,  and sing songs praising the lord, instead of bullying others on the street. We need to pave the way for people to respect the "otherness" of others.

Sadly, some of you are going to feel lonely, if you miss the love in your life; you have an opportunity to fulfill it. There is plenty in you that you can give by feeding the homeless, visiting lonely patients in the hospitals or nursing homes, disadvantaged women and children, our veterans... share whatever little you have with them including the time and just listening to them. When a homeless person asks, give whatever you can, that is the most affectionate thing to do, you will enrich yourselves far greater by sharing.

The best thing you can do for yourselves it to take an hour away from every one, and reflect on your life without blaming any one and figure out how to change it. Your love does not have to be expressed in the romantic sense, channel it out with family members, or a good old friend, or just by yourselves by caring for them, and doing things un-asked, and without any expectations of reciprocation.

There is nothing more peaceful than knowing yourselves, consider appreciating what ever you have, and accepting the way you are without wishing to be something and someone else. You don't need to compare with any one on the earth, there is none like you, you are one in 7 billion; you have your own unique thumb print, eye print, dna, taste bud, colors, foods, smells, sights... by God, you are your own model! When you accept that you are unique with your problems and joy, you will find peace and love.

When you love yourselves, i.e., you do not wish you had things others have but be content with what you have, you do not wish to look like someone else and be happy that you can at least breathe, you do not wish to wear like someone else, you do not want to talk like some one else, and do not want to live like some one else, then you have accepted your uniqueness that God gave you (ok, the genetic, if you don't believe in God), when you do that, you are in love with yourselves.

Don't forget, if your love makes you humble, you become the honey and attract good friendships, on the other hand if you become arrogant that others are inferior to you, you stink, and repel like hell and no one would want to be friends with you.

Make the commitment and just do it, if you like it recommend it to your friends.

If you are not single and have a spouse, listen to these songs and see if they express you.

I dedicate these three songs to Yasmeen, my dear wife.

Kenny Roger's, you decorated my life: I particularly like the line which says, there is no rhyme or reason that is what love is all about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkPFSt326c

Ronnie Milsap's, what a difference you made in my life,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ni1WPGEZtg&feature=fvst

Muhammad Rafi's ai Husn Zara Jaag in Urdu/ Hindi,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_qGtHjM6Oc

and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's, aap say mil kay in Urdu/Hindi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixRn65ImoRQ

My expressions would be incomplete without honoring the poet of love, Mirza Ghalib, one of the greatest romantic poets of all times who composed his poetry in Urdu/Hindi and Farsi.

Ishk per zor nahin, hai a o aatish ghalib
Ke lagaye na lege, bujhaye no bujhe.

Affection is that flame O Ghalib,
you cannot lit or extinguish it deliberately,  it just happens.

There is a beautiful Hindi/ Urdu song for the people who are platonic friends, it is one of my top ten favorites! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9oufp_mc30

I have seen the twinkle in those eyes,
let love remain love, and not give a name to it,
leave it alone and don't label a relationship to it,


Happy Valentine's Day.

HUFFINGTON POST: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/valetines-day-universal_b_1275148.html

....... Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links. 

So what if Brenan is a Muslim? Part 2

I agree with you, it does not suit me to use the expletive, and I humbly acknowledge it.

My apologies to you and others who have expressed their dislike or not.

The note was in response to the calls, Sean Hannity announces my website and his text goes out to a million of his followers, many of whom are following me as well as chasing me. I was getting non-stop calls from all over the United States as if I am the Pope of Muslims. Nagging questions like, he (Brenan) is a Muslim in closet, he has connections to God knows, what are you going to do about it.... and did you know he is a Moslem?

My response to that question was the title of the topic, so I captioned the article to make the point. So what if he is? Actually Collin Powell had used the same phrase minus the expletive.

Now, to your other question, perhaps because you don't have the first knowledge of what I do (as a volunteer); Here is the elaboration of the response I wrote to my other Indian friends, with whom I connect fairly well and respect.

" (name) ______,  I was equally mad when a council man in Dallas pointed his finger at the other and said "You  people" to a Jewish man. I was outraged and wrote that in Dallas Morning News in 2005. When Bush did not sign the bill to allow the Wicca (another religious tradition) Veterans in Arlington Cemetery to have their own headstone, I went ballistic. When the state Senator Williams of Kentucky called the Governor names for participating in Bhoomi Puja in E-Town, I was jumped all over him and wrote in Huffington post, when the Pastor from Kansas called Jews, Christ Killers and staged rallies in front of the Holocaust Museum and a few synagogues and Texas Jewish post, I was there with the Jews protesting against the pastor.. . I have worked with the Dept of Justice to include Jain symbol in their symbols of religions, have held the rallies against the Gujarat massacre and held a program about Sikh and Bangladeshi Genocides…

Yes, we have condemned strongly against the plight of Hindu Pundits of Kashmir in our Holocaust and Genocides programs...wrote and generated calls to the Russian embassy in DC to pull back the ban they were working on banning Bhagvad Gita, challenged Moscow for usurping the Hare Krishna Temple land, condemned the desecration of temple in Trinidad, condemned and wrote to the Minister of Malaysia to punish those idiots who threw the head of a bull in the Temple in Kuala Lumpur... 15 years ago, I got threatening calls from a few right winger Catholics for defending the bishop in Lisbon who allowed a Hindu couple to get married in the church and they place Ganesh Icon on the altar, which got the bishop fired...and I got nasty calls from some of the idiots, they said, shame on you to defend the idol worshippers. It is easy to back off isn’t it, that is what most chickens do, thank God; I will not be pushed around when it comes to standing up for others.

Nanak, no one asked me to do this, Hindus did not ask, Jains did not ask, Christians did not ask, Jews did not ask... I did it because it is the right thing to do. It is not just them, when someone attacks a Muslim for his religion I will fiercely go after him, and I have gone after Sunnis in Bahrain for being brutal to their Shias, Armadas in Pakistan, Bangladeshi and Indonesia, even here...  We hold a lot of interfaith dialogues, no one pays me or asks me, but I always include all religions, Hinduism, your faith is never missed in my writings. Look at Dallas Morning news – 112 articles, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Islam, Judaism… are all weaved in each article.

I hope you will stand up for every one regardless of their religion, if you have stood up for a Jain, Sikh, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Buddhist, Baha’i, Adivasi, Dalit…  please share, we need more people who do that to change the world.

Here are some of the links:

• Standing up for Hindus, there is a lot more to be added to this, some day:  http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/04/standing-with-hindus.html
• Standing up for Christians http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/01/standing-with-christians.html
• Standing up for Sikhs http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/08/standing-up-for-sikhs.html
• Standing up for Jews http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/02/standing-up-with-jews.html
• Standing up for Immigrants http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrjU0KULv-Y
• Standing up for Gays and Lesbians http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/05/standing-up-for-gays-and-lesbians.html
• Standing up for Atheists http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/04/speaking-up-for-atheists.html
• Standing up for others http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/02/standing-up-for-others_05.html

After I finish compiling all others, I will compile what I have done for the oppressed among Muslims. Since it is my religion, I am doing at the end. 

Aren’t you and I taught in India, that you feed the guests first and eat in the end, did not your mother and my mother ate after all the family was fed?  I am doing nothing different than that, and I hope my fellow Muslims understand that.

Unless we stand up for others, why should anyone stand up for us?

Please share your experience of standing up for Jains, Sikhs, Muslims, Adivasis, Tribals, Dalits, Bahai, Jews, Christians and others... it is good to hear that.


The pope resigned today, and hopes the new one will be open to all faiths and not be biased against any. I was going to write about it in Dallas Morning News on Monday, but simply ran out of time. Some ten years ago, the Baptist convention in Atlanta had said bad things about Hinduism, I had written to their convention at that time, and I have faced off with their president from two years ago in defending Catholics on the national radio.

I request each one of us not to judge others without knowing or hearing the hearsay.

Thank you.

 Reference: http://republicanmoderates.blogspot.com/2013/02/so-fucking-what-if-john-brenan-is-muslim.html

  .... Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India,interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

So fucking what if John Brenan is a Muslim

SO FUCKING WHAT IF JOHN BRENAN IS A MUSLIM?

As a Muslim I am sick of the radicals among us, and as a Republican I am sick of the radicals among us. The one gratifying fact is, we can find them all quarantined in one cess pool of GOP. Thank God much of the GOP is clean, and it is time for us to pray for these sickos.

URL - http://republicanmoderates.blogspot.com/2013/02/so-fucking-what-if-john-brenan-is-muslim.html

It is time for us, chicken shit moderate Republicans to speak up before they ruin the GOP and lose the house in 2014. We need Patriotic Republicans to speak up for the sake of our nation. The majority of us Republicans are good, caring sensible moderate humans.

As a Muslim, I was sick of the radicals among us who attempted to take over and represent Islam with their extremism label, and it took us nearly ten years to condemn them to retreat. We still have many years to subdue them, but we do have the balls to do it over a period of time for the sake of common good of humanity. This is the decade of moderation, and caring for the whole humanity.

As a Republican, I will do my share of the common good and urge fellow Republicans to do the same; we owe it to our nation to preserve a strong two party system through legitimate arguments and discussions. We need to speak out against filth, and shout out against the rhetoric like John Brenan is a Muslim, so what if he is? What the fuck is your problem?

Statistically these radicals are insignificant in numbers; they are not even a sample to call them a representation of the group. It would be dumb on our part to encourage them to believe that they express the sentiments of the people, they are not, and we need the polls.  Whether they are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Republicans or Democrats or the other, they will continue to terrorize the majority of their respective group, if we let them.

Not a day goes without some dumb-ass fellow Republican making an ass of himself and sadly herself as well. I was going to write a journal on the stupidities of my party members… then gave up; it will take up all day long. I do hope more and more Americans will see the ugliness.
 

It is time for Chris Christie, John Huntsman, Colin Powell and their likes to jump in. I do expect President Obama and Speaker Boehner to speak out against this, wouldn't you?

First they came for Muslims, and I did not speak up,
because I was not one of "them";

Then  they came for Jews, and I did not speak up,
because I was not one of "them".

They exhausted Mexicans, African Americans and Catholics,
and I did not care, because I was a protestant.

Finally they ambushed me, and shamelessly I am cursing at the others
for not giving a shit about me.

I have rarely used an expletive, that is not me, but I could not express my frustration without these words, I cannot see my America shattered by the few ugly ones.

.... Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Ghouse on Hannity Show on Fox News Tonite

Sean Hannity offers the conservative perspective, and I will be on his show tonight to offer pluralistic solution on issues of the day. A moderate's point of view for our friends on the right as well as the left, to see the bigger world. I may not talk a whole lot, but I will precisely make a few points.  This must be my 40th or 50th appearance on the show, I don’t keep track of it nor do I save it any more.

TONIGHT ON HANNITY SHOW @ FOX TV
8:30 PM EST | Monday, February 11, 2013

In the last few weeks, Sean Hannity has been called names on my forums and the Facebook, what we need to realize is that Hannity is a patriotic American who keep our government in check. I am glad Hannity does not give a pass to Obama or any one. Had he grilled President Bush, we would not have been in the mess we were. Obama should not be spared either, no matter how good he is. 

We don’t have to agree on anything, but we have to talk, even if it is unpleasant. My favorite media heroes are those who nail the respective governments down, and keep them on their toes. Imagine an America without criticism, but without it, our democracy will not be fully functional.  

http://www.hannity.com/guest/ghouse-mike/10804

 

Mike Ghouse, President,
America Together Foundation

........ Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.