Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Texas Faith: Have Muslims effectively confronted terrorism within their own community?

The Muslim community should not apologize for the crimes they did not commit. They are as American as anyone, and have the same concerns about extremism, violence and terrorism. They should assert their rights, and consciously earn the support from the sane majority to speak up with them against the Anti-Muslim bigotry. We have to stand up for each other and build a cohesive America, where all of us can function effectively without apprehension of any - Mike Ghouse

 
 Texas Faith: Have Muslims effectively confronted terrorism within their own community?

  By  | Dallas Morning News | Published at 3:15 PM on April 30, 2013

The Boston bombings have heightened the debate over connecting religious affiliation with violence and militancy. There seems to be no doubt that the attacks were associated, at least in the minds of the alleged bombers, with Islam. The drumbeat to convict Islam is loud among some on the right. But many on the left, worried about being politically incorrect, have tried to explain away the hijacking of a major religion by virtually avoiding direct mention of Islam altogether. Neither approach is helpful.
Into the heart of this debate strode Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers. Activist and author Asra Nomani notes in the Washington Post that while others were avoiding or exploiting the issue, Tsarni confronted a central question head-on. Tsarni said his nephews had brought shame on the family. He confronted the dishonor of terrorism within his own community and denounced it. Normani wrote: The collectivist-minded Muslim community needs to learn an important lesson from Tsarni: It’s time to acknowledge the dishonor of terrorism within our communities, not to deny it because of shame.”

Have Muslims been as effective as they could be in publicly confronting terrorism within their own community? Is there a danger that Uncle Ruslan’s direct, blunt and unequivocal denunciation might feed anti-Muslim bigotry? Or is it exactly what’s needed?
Our Texas Faith had some strong ideas:
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism
Uncle Ruslan’s direct, blunt and unequivocal denunciation of terrorism mirrors what the Muslims do; day in and day out. Facts don’t matter to the right, and indeed it will feed anti-Muslim bigotry demanding a pound of flesh from the community. Muslims are sick of extremists just as everyone else.
In fact, most of the FBI terror suspects arrested after 9/11 were turned in by Muslims, and Muslims rejoice when one of those guys is arrested hoping and praying this to be the last one. Safeguarding America is the right thing to do and Muslims do their patriotic duty well.
I was on Hannity show twice in the last week, as well as on the national radio network. My last comment was, Muslims do condemn terrorism every time, more than their share in comparable situations, but they don’t get the microphone. “On your show Sean, I am condemning it, and almost all Muslims will do that if you stick the microphone in their face.”
Just Google, “Do Muslims condemn terrorism?” Sheila Musaji of the American Muslim has compiled anextensive list, and the Ontario consultants on religious tolerance sum it up as follows; “Actually, there are lots of fatwas and other statements issued which condemn attacks on innocent civilians. Unfortunately, they are largely ignored by newspapers, television, radio and other media outlets.”
If we are looking for each one of the 6 million American Muslims to condemn it individually, then we need to ask, did 318 Million of us Americans condemn the Newtown and other killings?

Muslim Americans are as effective in stopping terrorism as all Americans in stopping murders of 3300 Americans in the four months following Newtown shooting. Neither the New town terrorist, nor the Wisconsin killer were authorized by Americans, nor were the Tsarnaev brothers authorized by Muslims. A day before the terrorists were identified as Muslims, I boldly wrote in Huffington Post, so “What if the Boston terrorist turns out to be Muslim?”
What is needed?
The Muslim community should not apologize for the crimes they did not commit. They are as American as anyone, and have the same concerns about extremism, violence and terrorism. They should assert their rights, and consciously earn the support from the sane majority to speak up with them against the Anti-Muslim bigotry. We have to stand up for each other for a cohesive America.
...........

To see all the 9 responses, please visit:  
 http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-have-muslims-effectively-confronted-terrorism-within-their-own-community.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 Americaand 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 onSean 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 atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

What is Pluralism?

WHAT IS PLURALISM?

Pluralism is not a religion, but merely an attitude of respecting the otherness of others, and accepting the (God) given uniqueness of each individual. Hey, if you like the peach cobbler and I like the apple pie; does it make a difference to each other? Is your food taste superior to mine? Hell no!

If you worship kneeling and I worship standing - does it make a difference to you or I? You enjoy your practice and I do mine. Is my religion superior to yours? Hell no! Each religion brings harmony within an individual and with fellow beings. More at: www.PluralismCenter.com


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 his work through many links.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Early voting begins today

BE AN ACTIVE CITIZEN – BE A PART OF YOUR CITY

One of the many duties of a citizen is to elect the right representative to govern so we can have the right dudes and dudettes in the governance. Indeed, the early voting begins today in most of the City and Municipal elections – just google your City and go the to City site – and you will have the polling booths listed there. This enables one to be active and participative Citizen. It just takes 10-15 minutes at most during early voting with shorter or no lines.

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

Friday, April 26, 2013

Speaking up for Bangladeshi Hindus

BANGLADESHI AMERICAN HINDU COMMUNITY.

Tonight, I will be at the fund raising dinner with the Bangladeshi Hindu community in Dallas. We have to stand up with those who have been oppressed and harassed everywhere in the world, and whose basic human rights have been violated. As a Muslim, I stand up with all those who have been oppressed and invite you to join me. Prophet Muhammad had said, the best one among is one who speaks out against injustice, that is the least we can do. If you can donate generously, please call me at (214) 325-1916 and talk with me - you can be a part of the event.

I wrote a press release to this effect a while back:
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/03/muslims-condemn-brutal-attacks-on.html

The following report is difficult to watch, but remember those who have endured this: http://hrcbmdfw.org/files/22/hr_reports/entry328.aspx




Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Interfaith disappointements

This essay is dedicated to the Muslim Interfaith activists.
The biggest disappointment in the interfaith world comes when your friends, who are usually rational in their approach to say this with ease, “These acts of terrorism are done in the name of Islam. I do not think the others were done in the name of Christianity etc. With the exception of Islam, other Religions variable accepts responsibility for the actions of their followers.” or this from an immigrant who has carried the baggage from overseas to this land, “Their silence angers me.. Especially when there was a bomb scare at my daughter’s school this week. I don't like it..and you know me, I love everyone... But they don't make it easy...” and this from an octogenarian who has been a part of the interfaith dialogue for the last 20 years, “Qur'an teaches them to lie”.

It is frustrating; if you are out there in the trenches, you will fully understand it. There is a saying in India, "after you hear the Ramayana (story / play) for the entire night, how dumb of you to ask, what was the relationship between Rama and Sita?


When you hear that kind of ignorance after years of exchanges, the instant feeling that comes to your mind is to walk away from it. Instead go make the money with that time,  take the vacation and pay Sadaqah (Voluntary Charity) to
 extinguish the guilt, to feel good about not doing enough of the unselfish good.


That was a fleeting feeling, I have recouped since then. We cannot let impatience take over or throw us into the rotten business of score keeping and getting even. It will create a bigger wedge. We just cannot let our short term feelings temper the long term good of the society.



There are thousands of us out there from every faith tradition spending days and nights to build a cohesive society, where each of us learns about the other, and earns a respectable space in the society, so all of us can learn to respect the other and live our lives. 


My mentors are Prophet Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. among others. Everything they did was to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, it was for the common good of humanity.

This pulls me to the wisdom of Bhagvad Gita, my 2nd favorite book after Qur'an, “You have a right to perform your duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action, never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.” The guidance is similar in all religions. God (Qur'an) says to the Prophet, don’t be frustrated if people don’t get your message, your job is to do the dharma, the duty to deliver the message, and it’s up to me to bless the guidance.

A majority of the articles I write weave through the wisdom of several religions and we need to continue to do that. No matter what hurdles or frustrations we go through, we cannot let anyone derail us.

I thank my interfaith friends for writing those unpleasant words,  there is a whole lot more out there,  worse than this,  and unfortunately it 
comes from the wisest people in the interfaith circles. I am glad they wrote this, and it reminds us,  we have a lot more work to do.

What prompted this?

My weekly article in Dallas Morning news | The righteous mind of Tsarnaev Brothers.

3,300 Americans have been killed in violence since the Newtown Massacre. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or the Denver murderer authorized by Americans Christians to kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI. Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own -

continued: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/texas-faith-righteous-mind-of-tsarnaev.html

Response I

The  long term ideal would be for us to uplift ourselves in public policy, no one should look at the criminals race, religion or ethnicity. I hope a day will come when Muslims don't have to condemn the acts of these criminals, and they should not be held accountable for the crimes of the criminals who follow a similar faith,  just as you and I would not go to jail for the murders committed by a family member. They committed the crime and they get blamed and punished, not anyone else.  

As a civil society, we have the responsibility to sort the right from the wrong. We should not buy into the alibis of the criminals, first they committed the crime, and then they want to dupe us (all of us) into believing that Islam made them do it. As long as they sell this idea and we buy it, the blame gets shifted and we bark at the wrong tree. Islam did not commit the crime; these men did it and must be punished to the maximum extent of the law.

These criminals are way too smart; they want to deflect the blame to an intangible item like religion to save their tail. We should not let them blame a religion, any religion for that matter. Get them, just like we do with all criminals. Major Nidal yelled Allahu Akbar before opening the fire that is not an Islamic act, he used it reflexively – the words are to be used when you are praying.

Criminals will commit the crime any way, God does not matter to them, morals mean nothing to them, life has no value to them, and punishment does not deter these men – the Tsarnaev brothers, McVeigh’s and 50 others. Rachel Maddow has listed many of the criminals at: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/

Response II

Its human to err and human to misunderstand. The greater call is to know each other. This article explores the phobias we all have about knowing the truth. In this case, I urge you to read 5 verses before and after, and you may find yourselves freer with lesser bias. It’s frightening to be free

Response III

Although no community is responsible, or should be responsible for the actions of the individuals that profess similar faith, similar origins of ethnicity or similar race, Muslims have done more than their share.

The Muslim community has done everything possible to guard the safety of fellow Americans, and nearly all of the bad guys caught by the FBI were reported by Muslims. Indeed the NYPD surveillance report violated civil rights, but the outcome absolved the Muslim community from radicalization.

GOP Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House’s homeland security subcommittee said this week: “Ninety-nine percent of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but the fact is, that’s where the threat is coming,” and added, ““If you know a threat is coming from a certain community, that’s where you look.”

As a Muslim I welcome this with a caution to Congressman Peter King: No witch hunting, sir. You will do more harm to the cohesive fabric of America than those terrorists could ever do. Please heed the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr. He said “Injustice to one is injustice to all.” Inflicting apprehension on Muslims is drilling fear in all Americans.

In the retreat a month ago, where representative King, Ambassador Bolton and almost all of the Fox commentators were present - Sean Hannity gave me the stage and assured that he is after the radicals and not Muslims, and I am glad to hear a modified tone of Representative King. Two nights ago, I was with him on TV with Buchanan - Sean kept his word from the retreat that he would not attack Islam or Muslims but the radicals among Muslims,  and I salute him for the same. Indeed it was repeated on the radio show two days ago with Brigitte Gabriel and Steve Emerson.

Response  IV

ISNA is exonerated by the Federal judge from the charges of co-conspiracy. CAIR would have been shut down by the FBI, if they were co-conspirators. No one can BS us that these organizations will not let the FBI investigate them. I was able to articulate the ISNA part with Hannity on his Radio show yesterday with Brigitte Gabrielle and Steve Emerson. Indeed, I asked both of them to take history lessons - terrorism did not exist significantly prior to the Munich bombing in 1971. All the problems of terrorism we see have its seed in the Israel Palestine conflict. If we can work security to Israel and Justice to the Palestinians, we can mitigate most of the problems. Pat Buchanan on Hannity was parroting that Muslims don't condemn terrorism. I asked him to Google and look up the site www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

And since the last two days the site is visited over 150,000 times.

Sean Hannity

A few Muslims have been on my tail, some of them hate me outright for being on Fox – a non-Muslim thing to judge others without knowing a thing.  Although I have not been able to say everything my Muslim friends expect me to say, I have been able to offer a semblance of another point of view on his show.

When he said, I respect you, and will be careful in distinguishing Muslims and Radical Muslims, it was worth my time and my three years with him, and every ounce of humiliation in the first 5 shows was worth it.  Indeed, he has kept his promise most of the times. I salute him for that; not only that, Representative King and others present in the retreat have adopted that tone that I have quoted above.

As a community, some of us do not deal with conflicts well. We mirror the right wingers– we don’t negotiate with terrorists. Hell, then who do you make peace with? Mother Teresa has said something to that effect.

Hannity is indeed a good guy, and if we learn to see his point of view (my article at Dallas Morning on the topic), and then he will see our point of view. It is a good example of engaging with patience.

We have a lot of work to do.

This note is dedicated to some of my Muslim interfaith friends who are in the trenches, dealing with the tough questions, embarrassment, doubts and concerns in their public meetings with fellow humans of different faiths.  

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/04/interfaith-disappointements.html

Thank you.

....... 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.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Texas Faith: The Righteous Mind of Tsarnaev Brothers

3,300 Americans have been killed in violence since the Newtown Massacre. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or the Denver murderer authorized by Americans Christians to kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI. Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own - continued: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/texas-faith-righteous-mind-of-tsarnaev.html




Texas Faith: The Righteous Mind of the Brothers Tsarnaev 
By Bill McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist | Published 11:46 AM -04/23/2013


The part of the Boston story that mystifies me is how two brothers reportedly led fairly normal lives after they came to Boston, but then something flipped and their thinking grew rigid. So rigid that they decided to blow up innocents along the Boston Marathon route in order to make a statement.
How does something like that happen?
Jonathan Haidt argues in his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion that the righteous mind can readily shift into combat mode in political and moral arguments.We launch rhetorical grenades, which impress members of our own group, writes Haidt. But that does little to change the minds of our opponents, especially if they are in combat mode, too.
Of course, the Tsarnaev brothers did more than launch rhetorical grenades. They chose murder over the hard work of persuasion.
“If you really want to change someone’s mind on a moral or political matter,” Haidt counters, ” you’ll need to see things from that person’s angle as well as your own. And if you truly do see it the other person’s way — deeply and intuitively — you might even find your own mind opening in response.”

In other words, it is risky business trying to persuade people. The 
exercise may prompt us to change our own minds, which can be unsettling.”

So, here’s the question for you: Is it possible to keep the combat mode of the righteous mind from kicking in? If so, how?

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

 

America’s success in creating a cohesive environment to work and function effectively has hinged on a can-do attitude. Indeed, we have a choice “to keep the combat mode of the righteous mind from kicking in” or we can opt to let things go sour. But at the end, we have to restore the balance. We cannot function in a chaotic society.
Jonathan Haidt’s statement is certainly unsettling. The idea of seeing another person’s angle takes time, patience and humility. There is a fear in us, that knowing another point of view might change us, and we strongly resist it. On the surface, it amounts to self-negation, compromise or giving up on our own values, but shamelessly some of us demand the same from others.
The Tsarnaev brothers chose murder over the hard work of persuasion. They simply did not understand how democracy functions.
The Muslim community has done everything possible to guard the safety of fellow Americans, and nearly all of the bad guys caught by the FBI were reported by Muslims. Indeed the NYPD surveillance report violated civil rights, but the outcome absolved the Muslim community from radicalization.
GOP Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House’s homeland security subcommittee said this week: “Ninety-nine percent of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but the fact is, that’s where the threat is coming,” and added, ““If you know a threat is coming from a certain community, that’s where you look.”
As a Muslim I welcome this with a caution to Congressman Peter King: No witch hunting, sir. You will do more harm to the cohesive fabric of America than those terrorists could ever do. Please heed the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr. He said “Injustice to one is injustice to all.” Inflicting apprehension on Muslims is drilling fear in all Americans.
Since the Newtown massacre, 3,300 Americans have been killed in violence. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or Denver murderer authorized by American Christians to kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI.

Added 

Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own. US News on NBC reports that Dzhokhar has admitted to acting alone. 

As a society we need to make an effort to be inclusive in everything we do, from schools to places of worship and work place, a new culture of cohesiveness needs to emerge, where no one feels alienated. We need to watch for those, who have difficulty in resolving conflicts through dialogue and fall prey to the temptations of taking other's life.

To see all the 7 responses, please visit:  
 http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-the-righteous-mind-of-the-brothers-tsarnaev.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 Americaand 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 onSean 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 atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

In Memory of Dadski Everett Blauvelt 1916-2013

IN MEMORY OF EVERETT A. BLAUVELT
JANUARY 14, 1916 – APRRIL 21, 2013
On his 97th birtday with Lili Blauvelt - Jan 14, 2013
This morning Dadski Everett Blauvelt gracefully took his last breath, and departed on his eternal journey to be with God. He lived his life to the fullest, and I have come to admire this man for the last 36 years!

It’s a great personal loss to me. He has been a great father figure to me since 1977, and the Mike part of my name was his calling and I am here in the United States because of him. I have affectionately called him Dadski along with his daughters and son.


My family and I mourn his loss along with his wife Lily, daughter Mary and her husband Mike, son Ashley and his wife Shirley and their family, daughter Becky, her husband Paul and their family – and the extended family and close friends.

The funeral will be arranged next week. He was a devout Mormon.

God willing, I will be writing a full tribute on him, to express my gratitude and respect for this great man – Everett Blauvelt.

A few days ago, I wrote a note about him, which I have reposted, following a profile composed by Mary Blauvelt;

Beloved “Dadski” - Lieutenant Everett Ashley Blauvelt, U.S.N.R

Everett Ashley Blauvelt, Lieutenant, U.S.N.R.  Born January 14, 1916 on the kitchen table at home in Vallejo, California to Lt. Commander George Russell Blauvelt and Effie Mary Ryan Blauvelt.  He had two brothers and two sisters:  George Russell, Jr. (who died at 3 months of age), Helen, Lloyd and Edith. 

Because his father was in the Navy, the family moved around in California and Washington.  Dad worked at various jobs at a young age to help support the family during the depression.  He graduated from Bremerton (WA) High School in 1934, went to work as a general helper in the Navy yard for a few months, then signed up for Forestry at the University of Washington for two years.  Then went to Metropolitan Business College in Seattle where he took courses in accounting. 

He worked at various jobs, and then in 1940 got a job working on a Navy supply ship that hauled materials to build an air base in Sitka, Alaska.  In January, 1942, he left that job, went back to Seattle and applied for the Navy, completed preflight training and went to navigation school.  He was then given his commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and obtained his navigator wings.  He was assigned to V Bomber 107 Squadron (he was an aerial navigator in a B24 Liberator), South Atlantic Fleet and stationed in Natal, Brazil where his job was convoy and anti submarine work between Natal and Ascension Island. 

In 1943 Everett was transferred to Dallas (where he met and married Norma LaVerne Blauvelt) and then was transferred to navigation school in Shawnee, Oklahoma. 

In June, 1946 he retired from the Naval Reserves and went to work for Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia as an accountant.  During the 12 years he worked for Aramco, he and his family (LaVerne, Ashley and Mary) vacationed extensively in Europe, the Middle East and the Orient. 

 In 1958 he purchased a sporting goods store in Lake Tahoe, California and the family settled there for 10 years.  In 1968, the store failed and he obtained a job in Vietnam working for Pacific Architects and Engineers.  He later divorced and met and married, Hue Thi Blauvelt (“Lili”) and they had a daughter, Rebecca.  He moved the family to California, where he worked for a few years at Philco Ford, then moved the family to Dallas and he went back to work in Saudi Arabia and worked for Fluor corporation, dba as Fluor Arabia in Uthmaniyah, Saudi Arabia until he retired in 1981.  He joined the Mormon church and is a devout Mormon.  He is a man of wit, charm and principle.  He is our Beloved Dadski.

Praying for Dadski
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/praying-for-dadski-everett-blauvelt.html

PRAYING FOR DADSKY EVERETT BLAUVELT

These pictures were taken on January 14, 2013 – on the 97th birthday of my friend. I have been visiting him at the Nursing home for the last three days, this morning I went with my son and daughter to see him. He was sleeping… and I quietly whispered “Dadsky”, and he opened the eyes, stretched his hand and acknowledged, and also acknowledged Jeff and Mina. That was a blessing to me and I felt good that I was able to connect with him in his last few days. 
















When I lost my father in 1977, Everett and I were working in Saudi Arabia, I was in Shedgum and he was in Uthmaniyah, both were managing the finance departments of Fluor Arabia in the Eastern Province, it was a gigantic $5.3 Billion Natural Gas Liquificiation facility, the largest of its kind in the world at that time.

Caring as he is, he would ask about my family and always was lending his ears to hear me out. He became a father figure to me and has been one for the last 35 years! Even now, when he was in fairly good health a year ago, he always asked about Yasmeen, Jeff, Fern and Mina, and at times he has asked about Ella, Jeff and Mina’s mother.

He has hung the small gift I brought for him from Australia and pointed it out to me; he looks up and thinks about me. What a great soul he is! This is a great lesson we all can learn – to care about others and listen to the ones we care. I have been doing that, but I need to do more of it.

The “Mike” part of my full name; Mike Mohamed Ghouse is his gift, he affectionately called me Mike, and when I came to the United States, I made that a legal part of my name. Indeed, I was wondering on Friday night, if I would have ever come to the United States, had he not encouraged me. One day, he actually told me to go the US Embassy in Dhahran, and I asked him why, he said go there now and I did, the US Embassy handed the passport to me with a visa stamped on it, he asked me to stay at his home in Richardson and I stayed with Lily, Becky and his family for about 4-5 months before I moved out on my own. I am grateful to Lily; she fixed food for me, as I had no idea of cooking at that time.

He is in his last few days at the hospice and I have been praying for him. He is happy and ready to be beamed up. He has lived his life well, a life of caring and positive energy. I love the peaceful smile of a winner on his face. He is the first Mormon I met in life and is a great example of being a good Mormon.


URL -http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/in-memory-of-dadski-everett-blauvelt.html