Dealing with genocide and Holocaust across religious lines: What’s politics got to do with it?
By Wayne Slater | wslater@dallasnews.com
9:35 am on January 25, 2014 | Permalink
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/dealing-with-genocide-and-holocaust-across-religious-lines.html/
---
Mike
Ghouse is frequently introduced as ‘the first Muslim guy to commemorate
the Holocaust” with an appeal across broad religious lines. The idea is
to recognize what people have in common, regardless of their
differences as a way of lessening the conflicts, prejudices and
intolerance that has produced genocide. And to go beyond politics to
find common ground. On Sunday, a program attracting disparate groups
around the idea “Never again” is scheduled for Unity Church on Forest
Lane in Dallas, sponsored in part by Ghouse’s organization, the
Foundation for Pluralism. The event is entitled Holocaust, Genocides of
Native Americans and Gujart Massacre.The theme: Sparks of hatred and how
to extinguish them.
Mike Ghouse, speaker, writer and advocate of pluralism across religious lines
Ghouse
says he hopes attendees will walk out better appreciating the
sufferings of others and seeing “the perpetrator in us” as a way of
building trust across social and religious lines.
“I called
on my friends with the idea of commemorating the event, and thus began
this journey,” said Ghouse. “Education is the purpose; we have to learn,
acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have
inflicted upon each other, and we have to understand that our safety
hinges on the safety of all others around us.”
Ghouse says the
conference is designed as a comprehensive event where various human
failings, massacres, genocides and the murder of 6 million Jews in the
Holocaust will be addressed. The conference begins at 3 pm with an
American Indian genocide museum exhibit, then a program between 4-6 pm.
“I
have always believed, and I read the assessments of some of the best
brains, that if we can resolve the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e.,
security to Jews and justice to the Palestinians, most of the world
issues will collapse and a period of peace on earth will begin,” said
Ghouse.
“There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away
or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will
devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause,”
he said. “Shame on us that we justifying massacres by believing and
propagating that the victims deserved it or asked for it.”
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/dealing-with-genocide-and-holocause-across-religious-lines-whats-politics-got-to-do-with-it.html/
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Holocaust and the Muslim guy
Published by Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/holocaust-and-the-muslim-_b_4629509.html
Frequently, I am introduced in the following manner, "He is the first Muslim guy to commemorate Holocaust, and perhaps the first non-Jewish person to commemorate the Holocaust as well."
As a Muslim committed to building cohesive societies, it was an honor to step up to the plate. Quran 3:133, "And vie with one another to attain to your Sustainer's forgiveness and to a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been readied for the God-conscious." I am not driven by paradise, nor do I seek rewards. But it does mean building a cohesive world where no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. God-conscious simply means being caring and sensitive to all of God's creation; life and matter.
Of all the people on the earth, my mother would be pleased to know I am doing what it takes to be a "good Muslim," to respect, honor and protect the sanctity of life.
I have always believed, and I read the assessments of some of the best brains that if we can resolve the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of peace on earth will begin.
Commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for seven years is a fulfillment of a lifelong desire.
Here is how it happened.
When I was ten years old, I read just about every book my mother
read. She was indeed a voracious reader on religion and social sciences;
however, I was banned from reading certain books, and one of them was
"Eishmann 60 lakh Yahudiyon ka Katil" in Urdu language. That is
Eichmann, the killer of 6 Million Jews. My mother insisted that I was a
kid and I should not read the book, she was protective of her child.
However, I was able to sneak in and see a few horrible pictures which
had shut me down for the next 44 years of my life.
The
picture continues to influence me; it is about betrayal of a people. A
group of Jews were shoved in front of a ditch and then were shot into
the pit. The looks of helplessness on their face, as if looking at me
and saying, "you are not going to do anything about it?" They were not
complaining, but with all humility enduring the betrayal from the entire
world, it has been a difficult picture for me.
For the next 44 years of my life, I was not able to see the WWII movies with scenes from holocaust on the screen. I would turn the TV off and go into silence for a while, just could not get over the idea how people can do that to other people. There was fear in me, fear to witness that betrayal. They never begged any one to save their life and just stared into the spaces even without complaining. I have held them in a very high esteem for the dignified death they faced.
Fast forward: Sunday, September 11, 2005.
The first Public commemoration of 9/11 was initiated by Muslims, and we called it Unity Day USA to boldly bring together Americans of different faiths, ethnicities and cultures together to rededicate our pledge to the safety and security of America.
About 650 People attended the event including 10 Mayors and several Police and fire chiefs, FBI Chief, and clergy from every faith and civil leaders were represented in the event.
While Mayor Joe Chow of Addison was speaking, the Fire Alarm went off creating a panic. Remember, it was a 9/11 commemoration! Most people were dashing out of the building including my Jewish friends who sat in the front row, what I distinctly remember was the fear in their eyes, and that bothered me to no end. They were my guests and that is no way to treat the guests.
No human should be afraid of the other.
It was a false alarm; Mayor Simpson of Frisco announced it within 3 minutes. I asked the FBI Chief Guadalupe Gonzalez to assure the people and ask them to come back, finally, everyone made it back and took the seats waiting for the Fire Marshall to come and turn the Alarm off. I love Mayor Joe Chow, while all of this was happening he continued with his speech.
That fear prompted me to do something about it, not sure what. But I do know what Goethe had said, "When you are committed, all sorts of things will happen to you, and providence moves in and God paves the way to fulfill your commitment." In November, the United Nations made a proclamation to commemorate Holocaust on January 27, 2006. I said to myself, did God pave the way for me?
Sixty years after of the Holocaust, the United Nations finally established the Holocaust Remembrance Day on November 1, 2005. "At its sixtieth session, the General Assembly resolved that the United Nations would designate 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust; and requested the Secretary-General to establish a programme of outreach on the subject of the "Holocaust and the United Nations", and to report on the implementation of that programme at the sixty-third session of the Assembly (resolution 60/7).
I called on my friends with the idea of commemorating the event, and thus began this journey. Education is the purpose; we have to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other, and we have to understand that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us. It is a comprehensive event where all human failings, massacres, genocides and Holocaust will be addressed in one fashion or the other.
Yom HaShoah has been commemorated in Synagogues since the 50's, and
for the first time in history, others have joined in the commemoration,
it's just not Muslims, but people of all faiths have participated in the
interfaith pluralistic prayers. I just want to assure my Jewish friends
that you are not alone; we are with you in the most somber moment of
your life.
The first commemoration lifted a huge burden off me. I felt the relief. This was my calling - to build bridges. William and Rosa Lee Schiff, the holocaust survivors delivered a talk for over an hour - it was literally pin drop silence.
There are incredible stories associated with this journey. There was harassment, threats, bias, and prejudices from across the spectrum. Each group was about me, me and my pain.
We had many a tense moments, some were purely political, everyone was reluctantly ready to face them; it was the resistance to the inclusion of pain of others. Although I do not believe in divine intervention, a revelation came to me a few seconds before such an acknowledgment.
"Dear friends, it is painful to miss out the suffering of one people or the other, we do not want to live with the burden of consciously or subconsciously excluding the suffering of any, hence, to be fair to all, let's silently pray for every atrocity that comes to our minds, and pray for the relief of the victims, and punishment or release to the perpetrators" - Sounds simple? But that offered a magical relief to the people who were tensed up for that moment. Thank God, every atrocity was silently included in one's prayer or the other.
It has not been an easy story. A few have dropped me from their lists; a few did not want to see me ever again. People who taught tolerance were intolerant; a few people in the pulpit did not tell the truth to their congregants. Maria Arita of Fox News and I had a heart to heart on a few items. Maybe, I will write a chapter urging people and organizations to guard themselves from a few who can prevent good things from happening. Thank God, we have made through it all.
Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting peaceful functioning of a society and it is our duty, both individually and severally to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it. Indeed, each one of us needs to do our share of work. It is also our moral responsibility to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen.
The spark of hatred will not disappear through law and order, it would be temporary off the screen, but will reappear at every little conflagration. As civil societies, this has to be worked out for the long term good.
The injustice done in the past will not fall off the earth, it
lingers and eats away peace between individuals and nations, and we are
responsible to bring a closure to the loose ends of many a conflict, so
we all can trust each other and feel safe, and focus on the collective
prosperity of all.
The program will address preventing such occurrences, and most importantly, how to bring closure to these sparks and work on building cohesive societies, where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.
There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. Shame on us that we justifying massacres by believing and propagating that the victims deserved it or asked for it. We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:
Frequently, I am introduced in the following manner, "He is the first Muslim guy to commemorate Holocaust, and perhaps the first non-Jewish person to commemorate the Holocaust as well."
As a Muslim committed to building cohesive societies, it was an honor to step up to the plate. Quran 3:133, "And vie with one another to attain to your Sustainer's forgiveness and to a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been readied for the God-conscious." I am not driven by paradise, nor do I seek rewards. But it does mean building a cohesive world where no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. God-conscious simply means being caring and sensitive to all of God's creation; life and matter.
Of all the people on the earth, my mother would be pleased to know I am doing what it takes to be a "good Muslim," to respect, honor and protect the sanctity of life.
I have always believed, and I read the assessments of some of the best brains that if we can resolve the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of peace on earth will begin.
Commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for seven years is a fulfillment of a lifelong desire.
Here is how it happened.
When I was ten years old, I read just about every book my mother
read. She was indeed a voracious reader on religion and social sciences;
however, I was banned from reading certain books, and one of them was
"Eishmann 60 lakh Yahudiyon ka Katil" in Urdu language. That is
Eichmann, the killer of 6 Million Jews. My mother insisted that I was a
kid and I should not read the book, she was protective of her child.
However, I was able to sneak in and see a few horrible pictures which
had shut me down for the next 44 years of my life.
The
picture continues to influence me; it is about betrayal of a people. A
group of Jews were shoved in front of a ditch and then were shot into
the pit. The looks of helplessness on their face, as if looking at me
and saying, "you are not going to do anything about it?" They were not
complaining, but with all humility enduring the betrayal from the entire
world, it has been a difficult picture for me.For the next 44 years of my life, I was not able to see the WWII movies with scenes from holocaust on the screen. I would turn the TV off and go into silence for a while, just could not get over the idea how people can do that to other people. There was fear in me, fear to witness that betrayal. They never begged any one to save their life and just stared into the spaces even without complaining. I have held them in a very high esteem for the dignified death they faced.
Fast forward: Sunday, September 11, 2005.
The first Public commemoration of 9/11 was initiated by Muslims, and we called it Unity Day USA to boldly bring together Americans of different faiths, ethnicities and cultures together to rededicate our pledge to the safety and security of America.
About 650 People attended the event including 10 Mayors and several Police and fire chiefs, FBI Chief, and clergy from every faith and civil leaders were represented in the event.
While Mayor Joe Chow of Addison was speaking, the Fire Alarm went off creating a panic. Remember, it was a 9/11 commemoration! Most people were dashing out of the building including my Jewish friends who sat in the front row, what I distinctly remember was the fear in their eyes, and that bothered me to no end. They were my guests and that is no way to treat the guests.
No human should be afraid of the other.
It was a false alarm; Mayor Simpson of Frisco announced it within 3 minutes. I asked the FBI Chief Guadalupe Gonzalez to assure the people and ask them to come back, finally, everyone made it back and took the seats waiting for the Fire Marshall to come and turn the Alarm off. I love Mayor Joe Chow, while all of this was happening he continued with his speech.
That fear prompted me to do something about it, not sure what. But I do know what Goethe had said, "When you are committed, all sorts of things will happen to you, and providence moves in and God paves the way to fulfill your commitment." In November, the United Nations made a proclamation to commemorate Holocaust on January 27, 2006. I said to myself, did God pave the way for me?
Sixty years after of the Holocaust, the United Nations finally established the Holocaust Remembrance Day on November 1, 2005. "At its sixtieth session, the General Assembly resolved that the United Nations would designate 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust; and requested the Secretary-General to establish a programme of outreach on the subject of the "Holocaust and the United Nations", and to report on the implementation of that programme at the sixty-third session of the Assembly (resolution 60/7).
I called on my friends with the idea of commemorating the event, and thus began this journey. Education is the purpose; we have to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other, and we have to understand that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us. It is a comprehensive event where all human failings, massacres, genocides and Holocaust will be addressed in one fashion or the other.
Yom HaShoah has been commemorated in Synagogues since the 50's, and
for the first time in history, others have joined in the commemoration,
it's just not Muslims, but people of all faiths have participated in the
interfaith pluralistic prayers. I just want to assure my Jewish friends
that you are not alone; we are with you in the most somber moment of
your life.
The first commemoration lifted a huge burden off me. I felt the relief. This was my calling - to build bridges. William and Rosa Lee Schiff, the holocaust survivors delivered a talk for over an hour - it was literally pin drop silence.
There are incredible stories associated with this journey. There was harassment, threats, bias, and prejudices from across the spectrum. Each group was about me, me and my pain.
We had many a tense moments, some were purely political, everyone was reluctantly ready to face them; it was the resistance to the inclusion of pain of others. Although I do not believe in divine intervention, a revelation came to me a few seconds before such an acknowledgment.
"Dear friends, it is painful to miss out the suffering of one people or the other, we do not want to live with the burden of consciously or subconsciously excluding the suffering of any, hence, to be fair to all, let's silently pray for every atrocity that comes to our minds, and pray for the relief of the victims, and punishment or release to the perpetrators" - Sounds simple? But that offered a magical relief to the people who were tensed up for that moment. Thank God, every atrocity was silently included in one's prayer or the other.
It has not been an easy story. A few have dropped me from their lists; a few did not want to see me ever again. People who taught tolerance were intolerant; a few people in the pulpit did not tell the truth to their congregants. Maria Arita of Fox News and I had a heart to heart on a few items. Maybe, I will write a chapter urging people and organizations to guard themselves from a few who can prevent good things from happening. Thank God, we have made through it all.
Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting peaceful functioning of a society and it is our duty, both individually and severally to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it. Indeed, each one of us needs to do our share of work. It is also our moral responsibility to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen.
The spark of hatred will not disappear through law and order, it would be temporary off the screen, but will reappear at every little conflagration. As civil societies, this has to be worked out for the long term good.
The injustice done in the past will not fall off the earth, it
lingers and eats away peace between individuals and nations, and we are
responsible to bring a closure to the loose ends of many a conflict, so
we all can trust each other and feel safe, and focus on the collective
prosperity of all.
The program will address preventing such occurrences, and most importantly, how to bring closure to these sparks and work on building cohesive societies, where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.
There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. Shame on us that we justifying massacres by believing and propagating that the victims deserved it or asked for it. We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:
- Other people's suffering is as legitimate as mine;
- It is easy to see ourselves as Victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us;
- When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
- We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
- The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from other's suffering.
- A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened
- Ultimately co-existence and every one's safety and peace should be the driving thought.
William and Rosa Lee Schiff, the Holocaust Survivors at the First Holocaust event by Muslims
The
first Holocaust and Genocides event by Non-Jews was organized by
Muslims in Dallas, Texas. The timing was perfect, right after a delicate
situation in a 9/11 commemoration there was a need to address the issue
of Holocaust and Genocides, and the United Nations unanimously passed
the bill to commemorate Holocaust in their 60th General Assembly meeting
on November 1, 2005. They designated January 27 of each year as
Holocaust Memorial day, the date coincides with the liberation of
Auschwitz.
The first event was organized on Sunday, January 29th and was addressed by the Holocaust survivors, Ms. Rosa Lee Schiff and the late Mr. William Schiff. This year, we will start with the Holocaust conversation followed by the Genocides of Native Americans and the Gujarat Massacre. This is a serious event for us to reflect on the inhumanity within each one of us, and learn to do our individual share of saying never again.
I have always believed, and I read the assessments of some of the best brains that if we can resolve the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of peace on earth will begin.
Commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for seven years is a fulfillment of a life time drive to build bridges.
Of all the people on the earth, my mother would be pleased to know that I am doing what it takes to be a "good Muslim," to respect, honor and protect the sanctity of life.
A healthy society can be defined by how well it functions together, where no member of the society has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.
Hate
is one of the many sources of disrupting peaceful functioning of a
society and it is our duty, both individually and collectively to track
down the source of such hate and mitigate it. Indeed, each one of us
needs to do our share of work. This hate takes many avatars including
Anti-Semitism, racism, Misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia, and other
ailments of the society. Untreated, they will erupt in violent and
hostile expressions like crusades, inquisitions, 9/11, terrorism by
individuals and nations, Holocaust, Genocides and Massacres.
The Jewish Christian conflict stems from Jesus' crucifixion; the Christian Muslim conflict has origins in how each sees Jesus, and the Jewish Muslim conflict took root in the late 1940's. Much of the conflict with Native Americans, Native societies, Hindus, Pagans and others stem from forced conversions by the arrogance of Christian and Muslim missionaries.
Religion came into existence to save the mankind; most people get that right and a few don't. No religion teaches hatred or encourages hostilities. On the contrary, religions are committed to building cohesive societies where no has to live in discomfort or fear of the other. The bottom line of all religions is based on the Golden rule, "Do unto others as you would wish to have done unto you."
There is always a room for bringing a positive change, even if it were a small step. The Foundation for Pluralism, Memnoysne Institute and the World Muslim Congress have teamed up to find solutions, which begins with the acknowledgement of the problem and taking small healing steps.
We are pleased to invite you to join us for the 7th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event is set for Sunday, January 26, 2014 between 3 and 6 PM at the Unity of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230. Details are at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
The purpose of this event is education, and we hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to do our individual share of saying "Never Again".
The spark of hatred will not disappear through law and order, it would be temporary off the screen, but will reappear at every little conflagration. As civil societies, this has to be worked out for the long term good.
What we need is to have a heart to heart dialogue with each community with a goal to acknowledge the differences and figure out how to live with each other with least conflicts. After all we are inextricably connected to each other in our day to day life.
The goal ought to be respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, anything short of that will leave unattended-sparks ready to flare up at short notice with the whiff of oxygen.
There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. What a shame it is to believe that the victims deserved or asked for it.
We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:
Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear of the other -www.MikeGhouse.net
The first event was organized on Sunday, January 29th and was addressed by the Holocaust survivors, Ms. Rosa Lee Schiff and the late Mr. William Schiff. This year, we will start with the Holocaust conversation followed by the Genocides of Native Americans and the Gujarat Massacre. This is a serious event for us to reflect on the inhumanity within each one of us, and learn to do our individual share of saying never again.
I have always believed, and I read the assessments of some of the best brains that if we can resolve the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of peace on earth will begin.
 |
| Holocaust Survivors Rosa Lee and William Schiff |
Commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for seven years is a fulfillment of a life time drive to build bridges.
Of all the people on the earth, my mother would be pleased to know that I am doing what it takes to be a "good Muslim," to respect, honor and protect the sanctity of life.
A healthy society can be defined by how well it functions together, where no member of the society has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.
 |
| Rabbi Haas, Mike Ghouse, Bernie Mayoff and William Schiff - seated Rosa Lee Schiff |
The Jewish Christian conflict stems from Jesus' crucifixion; the Christian Muslim conflict has origins in how each sees Jesus, and the Jewish Muslim conflict took root in the late 1940's. Much of the conflict with Native Americans, Native societies, Hindus, Pagans and others stem from forced conversions by the arrogance of Christian and Muslim missionaries.
Religion came into existence to save the mankind; most people get that right and a few don't. No religion teaches hatred or encourages hostilities. On the contrary, religions are committed to building cohesive societies where no has to live in discomfort or fear of the other. The bottom line of all religions is based on the Golden rule, "Do unto others as you would wish to have done unto you."
 |
| Mrs.Elan, Gil Elan (AJC) and Rabbi Haas |
There is always a room for bringing a positive change, even if it were a small step. The Foundation for Pluralism, Memnoysne Institute and the World Muslim Congress have teamed up to find solutions, which begins with the acknowledgement of the problem and taking small healing steps.
We are pleased to invite you to join us for the 7th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event is set for Sunday, January 26, 2014 between 3 and 6 PM at the Unity of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230. Details are at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
The purpose of this event is education, and we hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to do our individual share of saying "Never Again".
The spark of hatred will not disappear through law and order, it would be temporary off the screen, but will reappear at every little conflagration. As civil societies, this has to be worked out for the long term good.
What we need is to have a heart to heart dialogue with each community with a goal to acknowledge the differences and figure out how to live with each other with least conflicts. After all we are inextricably connected to each other in our day to day life.
The goal ought to be respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us, anything short of that will leave unattended-sparks ready to flare up at short notice with the whiff of oxygen.
There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. What a shame it is to believe that the victims deserved or asked for it.
We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:
- Other people's suffering is as legitimate as mine;
- It is easy to see ourselves as Victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us;
- When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
- We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
- The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from other's suffering.
- A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened
 |
| Indelible Image that has influenced this writer |
Why Only Mike Ghouse? by Shah Alam Siddiqui
Article by Shah Alam Siddiqui.
Is his all activities are going against of humanity? Or it is in the
right direction of humanity. If he is doing something positive for the
community, for the different believers, then why we should not support him and
extend our cooperation to him for the betterment of the human cause. Together
we can stand strong and it is my believe that one day our dream will come true
when all the believers of different faiths will live in peace and prosperity. We
should join hands to hand with Mike Ghouse to make this planet a beautiful
place to live.
January, 29,2014
Why
Only Mike Ghouse???
By Shah A Siddiqui
It was my second year to attend the seminar on Holocaust & Genocides.
Every year has been organized by the Foundation for Pluralism and American Together Foundation. This year
the focus was on Native American Indian genocide in the American history.The
venue was as usual the Unity Church of Dallas's beautiful auditorium. Before I
elaborate the manifesto of this very well organized annual program under the
superb management of Mike Ghouse, I will praise for the punctuality of his all
events, whether it is a small get together or big event , starts on time and
ends on time without waiting for the people to accumulate and fill the hall.
This gesture of his punctuality shows the discipline in his life.
I was very much impressed when I had attended last year's event on Sikh massacre and I was
participating as a speaker on the genocide of Urdu speaking Pakistanis in
Bangladesh in 1971 by the Mukti Bahini forces. This event was widely attended
by the Indian Sikh and Hindu community besides of local dignitaries from the
American offices. In my column in Urdu Times I had criticized the missing
numbers of Pakistanis where, only 3 or 4 were present at the event to support
the Sikh community on their memorial program of Sikh genocide in 1984 in all
over India.
I will quote here the saying of John F Kennedy "Geography
has made us neighbors.History has made us friends. Economics has made us
partners and necessity has made us allies". Those whom God has so
joined together, let no man put asunder" what a beautiful quote is that,
and if we all start thinking in this way the world can be a wonderful place to
live with harmony. Mike Ghouse in his program, always spreads the word that "speak up for others and stand up for
others" Unfortunately, as a human being our mental capacity is went below
average for the others. We should come out of the shell of self centered
policies and be useful person of the community.
Come to the point of the symposium on American-Indian genocide in the
17th century, which is a Stigma on the forehead of powerful civilized country
of the world. The lobby was nicely displayed with the posters and pictures on
the topic of Native American genocide. It was very good exposition of the
history and frankly speaking, it was my first ever chance to attend a symposium
on the extermination or genocide of Native Americans. I have had a little
knowledge of Native Americans that this
tribe were brutally killed and exterminated by the conquerer. Christopher
Columbus was also one of those who ordered to kill Native Indians during his
governorship and. I read about the brutality that Columbus once punished a man
found guilty of stealing corn by having his ears and nose cut off and then
selling him into slavery. There are many ore stories about him.
In the expo lobby, I met with one spiritual Mexican man whose nickname
was "Gorilla" who told the story of being named "Gorilla"
which was interesting, but his real name is
Ricardo Cervantes and he showed us a black shiny round stone plate about
an inch thick and a spiritual torch burner. Later he displayed in the
auditorium the lighter and the stone with the noble history of his ancestors
related to stones and prayed or those who left this world for the betterment of
the human being.
Mike Ghouse also introduced me with a prominent historian, lecturer of
Full Blood American Indian, Citizen of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Peggy
Larney, who gave us a brief information on the Native American holocaust.
At the symposium there were a couple of very impressive speakers like
Civic Leader and Native American Representative
Steve Melendez, who briefly took us back to the history of the Native
American Genocide in which more than 100 millions were brutally vanished from
the earth.
There were many speakers like Coke Buchanan, Alan Keith, Michael
Losurdo, Constance and I heard one speaker Gurvinder Singh of Sikh massacre in
1984 and also one Indian-American Civil right activist Sajee Gopal on Gujrat
killings of Muslims in 2002 they both delivered very impressive and touch
speech on the subject. Very young keynote speaker Mary Ann Thompson-Frank, who is also a Civil Right activist delivered her
speech with charismatic style and gripped the audience to listen to her
findings and experience to visit Rwanda. She shared a very useful information
to the audience.
A short documentary prepared by CNN and presented by International
correspondent Christian Amanpour on Jewish genocide was also displayed for the
audience. In the documentary the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland was
focused which dragged me to my visit of this camp in 1986 when I was posted on
a diplomatic assignment there. The Jewish Holocaust has a horrible heart wrenching stories and in the
concentration camp one can see and feel the pain and pesky scenes even after
more than seven decades. I have written my memoir about this visit.
I had a very little knowledge about the genocide of native Americans,
but in this symposium and its exhibition gave me a vast picture of this
barbaric ethnic cleansing of a tribe where hundred of thousand of pregnant
women killed with their babies in the womb and the invaders used different
killing methods like infesting with deadly epidemics of diseases in women
and children. New born babies were also not spared and got killed by the occupying
soldiers. I read different slogans
printed in the flyer regarding the genocide. One interesting slogan of British
soldiers was " The only good Indian
is a dead Indian". In fact, this slogan reminds me when the British
soldiers use to put signs in different public places in Indian subcontinent
before partition that" Admission of dogs and Indians are prohibited"
etc.
This wonderful symposium and
exhibition was full of knowledgeable materials and information. I can say it
was an educational symposium or convention on the native American Indians and I
congratulate Mike Ghouse for doing this wonderful job on his own.
I will again criticize our Indian and Pakistani community for not
attending and supporting the cause of Native Americans on their genocide. I
know this is history now, but to remember the history keeps you energized to
face the consequences.Thanks a million to God that we are now living in a civilized country and we did
not go through the atrocities the people from the other communities have gone
trough and we are reading their stories.
I would like to come to the title of this article " Why only Mike
Ghouse???" most of my readers can understand the concept of this article
but most of the readers will just ignore
knowingly. First, I would like to say
something about Mike Ghouse that whatever he is doing is a noble work. In the
beginning when he started his 'Pluralism' mission to bring the different faiths
at one platform, it was a rubbish and provocative act for other believers,in my
opinion and I was very against of his all these activities being propagated his
'Pluralism' "faith" among the communities of different faith and
cultures. I moved from Chicago in 2001 to this beautiful city Dallas and since
then I have been listening Mike Ghause 's radio program and different papers
and literally I use to hate him because of his illogical theories
on pluralism and I thought this guy must be an '' atheist" or he
hates Pakistanis or Muslims. In the beginning, in 2001 when I moved to Dallas
from Chicago
I started listening his radio program and most of the times I use
to call on his radio show and complain for not being fair with Pakistanis and Muslims and
after listening and reading his articles about 'pluralism' I deadly gone
against Mike Ghouse and thought that this guy is against Muslim ideology. By
the time passes away, I use to read his
emails and couple of times I saw him on the Fox TV show with 'Sean
Hanity show' in favor of the Muslim cause defending Muslims in the 9/11
scenario and after that I saw him on different occasions on Fox Tv and read his
articles in 'Huffington Post' newspapers and in groups of community emails, gradually,
I changed my opinion about Mike Ghouse. I extended my full support for the
cause that Mike Ghouse is carrying alone on his shoulder for the humanity. He
is serving the community in all walk of life, regardless of religions and
ethnic backgrounds. He is trying to bring an impossible dream into reality and
that is harmony, brotherhood and sincerity within the different communities.
He stands up for Ahmadis, Bahais, Buddhist, Christians, Sikhs, Hindu,
Jains, Ismailis and of course for Muslims as well. He attends all kinds of
worship as a gesture to show his and community's cooperation with them.
The teaching of Islam is very broad who clearly speaks about brotherhood
and harmony to the others and the other religions also support the same
gesture, none of the religion teaches hatred or violence among different
believers. This is a hard work which Mike Ghouse is doing alone under his own
flag of 'Pluralism' .
Symposium cum exhibition on Holocaust and Genocide by Saeed Qureshi
Note: Article not written by Saeed Qureshi
Upright Opinion
January 27,
2014
Symposium cum exhibition on
Holocaust and Genocide
By Saeed Qureshi
Let me first of all warmly compliment Mike
Ghouse and his companions for holding the Seventh Exhibition cum Symposium on a
crucial phenomenon that we all know as holocaust. This august event took place
on January 26 in the spacious hall of the Unity Church of Dallas.
Holocaust is a dreadful and ghastly dimension
of human civilization that has been happening since the dawn of civilization
and perhaps even earlier than that. Let me quote one important episode from the
known history preserved in Bible and also in the holy Quran. When Prophet Moses
liberated the Jewish nation from centuries old stranglehold of the Pharaohs who
were the mighty emperors of their own time, they marched into the Sinai desert
and settled there for 40 years. Thereafter they perpetrated the first distinctly
documented genocide of the peaceful population in the land of Canaan. They
killed the inhabitants including the infants indiscriminately and with savagery
that is beyond description.
The Jewish nation itself suffered terrible
genocides at least four times in history: one at the hands of Babylon Empire, second
under the Roman Empire, third in Spain and fourth in Nazi Germany. The Muslims
too faced the similar appalling genocides. Apart from other cities of Muslim
rule, the Mongols, laid waste the capital of the Islamic caliphate Baghdad in
1258 and killed 1.6 million Muslims. This mass annihilation of Baghdad is
recorded as the most heinous genocide carried out during the Middle Ages.
Besides the Muslims suffered terrible
genocides in Jerusalem, Alexandria and Spain at the hands of the victor
Christian crusaders. In Spain where they ruled for seven centuries, they were entirely
massacred and expelled along with the Jews. Those left somehow were finally
deported in 1609. In history the Muslims, the Christians and Jews have been
alternating in killing each other adopting a parched earth drive and ethnic
cleansing policies. England passed through a spell of genocides at the hands of
Romans and Vikings in early times.
Holocaust and genocide can be treated as
synonyms carrying the diabolic connotation that implies the wholesale massacres
and extermination of a race of segment of human beings. During the last two
centuries several grisly genocides have taken place.
The British colonial armies in their frantic
onslaught to expand the abominable colonialism marched on the vast continent of
America. Those who arrived first were called pilgrimages. Their beastly
annihilations of the local population have no parallel in history. They kept on wiping off the local population
called native Indians with such a diabolic obsession that continued till it
culminated into a civil war between the federalists and the co federalist.
The native inhabitants called red or native Indians
and now American Indians were easy prey to their superior weaponry and fighting
tactics. The natives fought back with primitive arrows, batons and swords against
the merciless pogroms of the invaders who were more like bounty hunters. The
natives’ mainstay of living, cattle and buffaloes were totally wiped off. They
were infested with deadly epidemics of diseases like small pox to die if left
alive from the pointblank shooting of the well armed and disciplined killers.
Even children sucking their mothers’ breasts were not spared. The slogan of the
British generals was that “only good Indian is dead Indian”. Approximately 100
million native Indians perished in this the most macabre genocides in the human
history after Mongols’ curse.
The exhibition of the Indian genocide displayed
extremely heart wrenching and harrowing scenes making the onlookers wonder how
human beings could be as callous and barbaric as to slaughter a helpless,
primitive and defense segment of human race.
The exhibits and graphics showed huge piles of
dead bodies with killer soldiers standing aside with devilish smiles on their
faces after performing this hideous job. The copies of the scrolls, orders and parchments
issued by the British commanders were also displayed. In those documents reflects
the hate and obsession to kill the local population without any compunction. The
exhibition continued from 3p.m.to 7 p.m. when the whole program came to close.
I was thrilled and rather entranced by the
presentations and speeches’ during the two hours session conducted in the main
hall of the church. The speakers’ spoke about the Native Americans holocaust,
the 2002 Gujarat massacre and the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India. The Jewish
holocaust at the hands of the Nazis in Germany was portrayed in video clips,
prepared by Christiana Amanpour, the celebrated CNN anchor. Mike Ghouse, the principal
organizer of this phenomenal yearly event told his side of the story about the
genocide.
The keynote speaker and host of this memorable evening Mary Ann Thompson-Frank
expressed her empirical impressions about the Rwandan genocide in which 800,000
humans were killed. Mary is immensely knowledgeable, highly articulate
with flair of oration. She was eloquent,
vocal and gave an excellent account and grasp of the subject and kept the
audience riveted to her discourse. I was personally greatly impressed by
fluency and candor in dishing out her thoughts and observations. This highly fruitful
and greatly enlightening session included a peace pledge by Mike Ghouse
followed by a poignantly sad and moving Native American Mourning Song.
This distinctive and remarkable seminar would add another feather
in the cap of Mike Ghouse and his associates in highlighting and rekindling an
issue for the civilized nations to reflect and ponder how to foster love and harmony
among the people of this planet mother earth. It should serve as a grim
reminder and resounding lesson for the human race that never again any genocide
or holocaust be allowed to happen.
Such seminars and symposiums emit the divine and cardinal message
that the age of barbarians and beast is over and we should all live in harmony
and peace and work in unison for the collective good of the entire human race.
Those who voluminously collaborated and sponsored in this effort among others
were ‘Muslims Together’, ‘American Indian Genocide Museum’, Mnemosyne institute
and Foundation for Pluralism. A sumptuous dinner was served at the end to all,
the speakers and the spectators alike.Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Texas Faith: Is it crazy to pray for your team to win the Super Bowl?
IS IT CRAZY TO PRAY FOR YOUR TEAM TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL?
God does not take sides in Super Bowl, why should he? He, she or it does not micromanage our lives either, nor does he favor one over the other. God is just and merciful and created a world of harmony, and gave us the free will and emotions to manage the balance within and with what surrounds us; life and matter. Mike Ghouse
My weekly take on issues at Dallas Morning News: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/01/texas-faith-is-it-crazy-to-pray-for_28.html
TEXAS FAITH: Is it crazy to pray for your team to win the Super Bowl?
By Wayne Slater
wslater@dallasnews.com
12:01 pm on January 28, 2014 | Permalink
Two things Americans take seriously are religion and football. With the Super Bowl set for Sunday, here’s a question: Why do so many people pray for their favorite sports team to win? Is it just a ritual? An act of faith? Or a hedge, just in case?
A new survey finds that half of American sports fans say they believe God or a supernatural force is at play in the games they watch. That includes Americans who pray for God to help their team (26 percent), think their team has been cursed (25 percent) or more generally believe God is involved in determining who wins on the court or in the field (19 percent).
So is God the 12th man on the field at kickoff when the Broncos and Seahawks meet in the big game this weekend? The Great Odds Maker in the Sky?
The Public Religion Research Institute finds that football fans are the most likely to pray for their own teams to win. About one-third say they ask God to intervene in games. When it comes to whether God rewards religious athletes with health and success, about half of Americans say yes, about half say no. The belief that God will help religious athletes was most prominent among white evangelicals (62 percent) and non-white Protestants (65 percent). When it comes to the religiously unaffiliated, only about 20 percent feel that way.
So why do so many Americans pray for God to help their team? Or believe that God rewards religious athletes?
Do they really think God works this way? Or like Pascal’s wager, do people figure — hey, I’ve got doubts, but what if it works, what if it’s true? Why not be on the winning side?
We put that question to our Texas Faith Panel and the result was a funny, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining set of answers from some of the smartest people on matters of religion and faith in Texas. It’s not so easy as you might think. Some of the answers might surprise you.
Herewith a perfect bit of pre-Super Bowl Sunday reading. MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas
An old friend fits Pascal’s wager perfectly. He did not believe in God, but went to church on Easter and Christmas just in case there is a God, and he would conclude, I want to play it safe. What we cannot earn, we want it miraculously.
Ghalib, the legendary 19th century Indian Poet is known to have said a couplet on just about every aspect of life, and he wrote:
Ham ko Maloom Hay Jannat Ki Haqeqat Lakin
Dil Kay Khush Rakhnay Ko Ghalib Yeh Khyal Acha Hay
I know the truth about heaven; mere hallucination,
however, it is a good idea to believe in pleasantries for the moment.
In the Super bowl scenario, we root for our favorite team, and when it dawns on us that our team is not doing well ‘hope’ takes over. The average person goes into the belief-gear and expects a miracle to happen, like an interception or a fumble.
Indeed, God is the last resort for those who believe in divine intervention, and we daydream about a positive change without working for it. It’s a game of chance, and not a bad idea to believe in the pleasantries.
If neither of the teams is our favorite, our approach towards the game is different, we enjoy the competition, and we root or hoot depending on a good play rather than supporting or praying for a team. Our sobering attitude stems from a realization that when two teams go to play, only one wins, and any team can win any time.
No matter how rational we pretend to be, emotion rules! That is the reason so many Americans pray for God to help their team win. We don’t care how much the fans of other teams are praying, we want ours to win.
When there is an interception, some of my Muslim friends scream out loud with joy “Allahu Akbar” – God is great! What should the fans of other team say? God is not great? Fortunately, we rarely blame God if our team loses.
God does not take sides, why should he? He, she or it does not micromanage our lives either, nor does he favor one over the other. God is just and merciful and created a world of harmony, and gave us the free will and emotions to manage the balance within and with what surrounds us; life and matter.
To read the other opinions, please visit Dallas Morning News at : http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/texas-faith-is-it-crazy-to-pray-for-our-team-to-win-the-super-bowl.html/#more-33616
...............................................................................................................................
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 a book with the same title is coming up. Mike has a strong 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.
...............................................................................................................................
Monday, January 27, 2014
Oped News - Holocaust and Native American’s Genocides event in Dallas organized by a Muslim.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Holocaust-and-Native-Ameri-by-Mike-Ghouse-Apprehension_Arrogance_Crusades_Education-140125-349.html
The first Holocaust and Genocides event was organized by Muslims in Dallas, Texas, after the United Nations unanimously passed the bill to commemorate Holocaust in their 60th General Assembly meeting on November 1, 2005. They designated January 27 of each year as Holocaust Memorial day.
William and Rosa Lee Schiff
(image by Mike Ghouse)
Mike Ghouse addressing the first Holocaust Memorial
(image by Mike Ghouse)
7th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event
(image by Mike Ghouse)
Holocaust pictures
(image by Dallas Holocaust Museum)
We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:
1. Other peoples' suffering is as legitimate as mine;
2. It is easy to see ourselves as victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us;
3. When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
4. We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
5. The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from others' suffering;
6. A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened.
Holocaust and Genocides
(image by Mike Ghouse and MaryAnn Thompson-Frenk)
The first Holocaust and Genocides event was organized by Muslims in Dallas, Texas, after the United Nations unanimously passed the bill to commemorate Holocaust in their 60th General Assembly meeting on November 1, 2005. They designated January 27 of each year as Holocaust Memorial day.
The first event was organized on Sunday, January
29th, and was addressed by the Holocaust survivors, Ms. Rosa Lee Schiff and
the late Mr. William Schiff. This year, we will start with the Holocaust
conversation followed by the Genocides of Native Americans and the Gujarat
Massacre. This is a serious event for us to reflect on the inhumanity within
each one of us, and learn to do our individual share of saying never
again.
William and Rosa Lee Schiff
(image by Mike Ghouse)
I have always believed, and I read the
assessments of some of the best brains, that if we can resolve the
Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the
Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of peace on
earth will begin.
Commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for
seven years is a fulfillment of a lifelong drive to build bridges.
Mike Ghouse addressing the first Holocaust Memorial
(image by Mike Ghouse)
Of all the people on the earth, my mother
would be pleased to know that I am doing what it takes to be a "good
Muslim," to respect, honor, and protect the sanctity of life.
A healthy society can be defined by how well
it functions together, where no member of the society has to live in
apprehension, discomfort, or fear of the other.
Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting peaceful functioning of a society
and it is our duty, both individually and collectively, to track down the source
of such hate and mitigate it. Indeed, each one of us needs to do our share of
work. This hate takes many avatars including anti-Semitism, racism, misogyny,
homophobia, Islamophobia, and other ailments of the society. Untreated, they
will erupt in violent and hostile expressions like crusades, inquisitions,
9/11, terrorism by individuals and nations, Holocaust, genocides, and massacres.
7th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event
(image by Mike Ghouse)
The Jewish-Christian conflict stems from Jesus'
crucifixion; the Christian-Muslim conflict has origins in how each sees
Jesus, and the Jewish-Muslim
conflict took root in the late 1940s. Much of the conflict with Native
Americans, native societies, Hindus, pagans, and others stem from forced
conversions by the arrogance of Christian and Muslim missionaries.
Religion came into existence to save mankind; most people get that right and a few don't. No religion teaches hatred
or encourages hostilities. On the contrary, religions are committed to building
cohesive societies where no one has to live in discomfort or fear of the other. The
bottom line of all religions is based on the golden rule, "Do unto others as
you would wish to have done unto you."
There is always a room for bringing a
positive change, even if it were a small step. The Foundation for Pluralism,
Memnoysne Institute, and the World Muslim Congress have teamed up to find
solutions, which begin with the acknowledgement of the problem and taking
small healing steps.
We are pleased to invite you to join us for
the 7th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event set for Sunday, January 26,
2014, between 3 and 6 PM at the Unity of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX
75230. Details are at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
The purpose of this event is education, and
we hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to
do our individual share of saying "never again".
Holocaust pictures
(image by Dallas Holocaust Museum)
The spark of hatred will not disappear
through law and order; it would be temporary off the screen, but will reappear
at every little conflagration. As civil societies, this has to be worked
out for the long-term good.
What we need is to have a heart-to-heart
dialogue with each community with a goal to acknowledge the differences and
figure out how to live with each other with least conflicts. After all we are
inextricably connected to each other in our day-to-day life.
The goal ought to be respecting the otherness
of others and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of us; anything
short of that will leave unattended-sparks ready to flare up at short notice
with the whiff of oxygen.
There is a shameless cruelty in us; either we
shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it
will devalue o ur own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own
cause. What a shame it is to believe that the victims deserved or asked
for it.
We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:
1. Other peoples' suffering is as legitimate as mine;
2. It is easy to see ourselves as victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us;
3. When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
4. We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
5. The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from others' suffering;
6. A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened.
Holocaust and Genocides
(image by Mike Ghouse and MaryAnn Thompson-Frenk)
Mike Ghouse is committed to building
cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear of the other.
Dallas News: Dealing with genocide and Holocaust across religious lines
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/dealing-with-genocide-and-holocaust-across-religious-lines.html/
Mike Ghouse is frequently introduced as ‘the first Muslim guy to commemorate the Holocaust” with an appeal across broad religious lines. The idea is to recognize what people have in common, regardless of their differences as a way of lessening the conflicts, prejudices and intolerance that have produced genocide. And to go beyond politics to find common ground. On Sunday, a program attracting disparate groups around the idea “Never again” is scheduled for Unity Church on Forest Lane in Dallas, sponsored in part by Ghouse’s organization, the Foundation for Pluralism. The event is entitled Holocaust, Genocides of Native Americans and Gujart Massacre.The theme: Sparks of hatred and how to extinguish them.
- Mike Ghouse, speaker, writer and advocate of pluralism across religious lines
“I called on my friends with the idea of commemorating the event, and thus began this journey,” said Ghouse. “Education is the purpose; we have to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other, and we have to understand that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us.”
Ghouse says the conference is designed as a comprehensive event where various human failings, massacres, genocides and the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust will be addressed. The conference begins at 3 pm with an American Indian genocide museum exhibit, then a program between 4-6 pm.
“I have always believed, and I read the assessments of some of the best brains, that if we can resolve the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of peace on earth will begin,” said Ghouse.
“There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause,” he said. “Shame on us that we justifying massacres by believing and propagating that the victims deserved it or asked for it.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)