Jan 30, 2015 marks the inaugural of the first All Women’s mosque in Pico Union, Los Angeles. We have always appreciated contributing factors that bring people together and encourage independence. Although we welcome the new mosque, we have to consider the failures it denotes;
1. Failure on part of men; instead of working on a gender neutral mosque, they have denied equal access and equal caliber space to women in most Mosques.
2. Failure on part of women; instead of asserting their right, they caved in and created their own space – an unwanted chasm will be trending.
3. Failure on our part to recognize that it is not good for families to pray in different places regularly or on the day of Eid. Mosque is not just a place to worship, it is a community center, we need to remember this.
The new generation’s aspiration for a non-discriminatory mosque (the likes of Haram shariff) where men and women can pray and lead the prayers in the same space is harmed with this mosque. One of the many ways to rectify is for us to go to all places of worship and create a gender neutral space. The first generation immigrants may have difficulty with that, but that is what will happen in a decade or two. America is about equality, and so is Islam.
In fact Prophet Muhammad may be called the first women's libber for restoring their due rights for the first time in human history - by declaring that they are not men's chattel, (which was the case even in the United States up to the late 19th century), they can initiate divorce, and marriage, own their own property and business.... and more. After his death, societies went back to their old ways, it is time for correction.
As an example of what we can do to bring that sense of community , we started out in the month of Ramadan, a few of us have done our iftaars in Ahmadiyya, Shia, Sunni and WD Muhammad mosques and the various derivatives from these denominations. Who leads the prayer does not matter, but it is our Niyya that matters. We are there to pray and the Imam is just an instrument for that prayer. Thank God, we go to different mosques for Friday prayers, and have recorded diverse prayer formats and fast breaking practices for us to learn and respect instead of being dumbfounded. We have to respect the otherness of others and not look to it as right or wrong. Refer tohttp://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/
If we talk about Unity of the community, we need to do things that brings the unity.
Next time I am in DC, I will look for a progressive Muslim mosque where a woman Imam will lead the prayers to complete the full diversity cycle in Islam. I have prayed behind Imam of every denomination (yes!) and have led prayers for all denominations together in Mulberry Florida on the day of Quran burning event on 9/11/2013; which will be a part of the scene in the upcoming film; Sacred.
Let us peacefully do the things that unite us, if not, the chasm will get deeper and deeper, taking away from unity to disunity and separation of the same family members. Mosque is not just a place to worship, it is a community center, we need to remember this.
I just completed a full hours worth of conversation with a young man who was angry at his upbringing. He was raised in Sikh and Hindu traditions, he said he couldn't carry on a conversation with his father, raised with two (rather three) conflicting values in addition to the America values, he is angry at Sikhs and angry at Hindus. He called me off an article I wrote in Huffington post about how the unfinished social transactions keep messing people for years to comeand what we need to do responsibly.
I was debating about giving so much time for him… then I remembered, before I could give time to a guy some 20 years ago, he hung himself in his house leaving behind kids who were classmates of my kids. So, I gave in and decided to hear him out.
My time is cut out to do things that I need to do… but will write a piece and ask parents to spend time with their kids, let the kids talk with you freely without fear of being shouted down. Everyone loses when there is no communications. I just saw the movie American Sniper last night – the first scene in the movies is where the father shouts down at his kids. Should we raise kids who fear us, as if we are monsters? Sometimes the kids are your reflection or go the opposite. We need to look in to the mirror and see if we are worth passing it on to the next generation.
The biggest shock to me was this 35 year old knew his stuff and has virtually read everything I have written, the range of his reading threw me off completely. He was referencing to my Articles ranging from Atheism to Zoroastrianism and every one in between, to social issues of India, Pakistan and the United States. Temptation is there to hold a heart to heart conference with the youth – I would say my expertise would be in cultural and religious conflict resolution. It is an eternal debate about spending time, when you already spend half of you time in volunteering.
Thank
you Mike Ghouse (214)
325-1916
text/talk ...................................................................................................................... Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer
and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society,
gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is a staunch
defender of human rights and his book standing up for others will be out soon,
and a movie "Americans together" is in the making. He is a frequent guest
commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major
news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is
listed in 63 links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are
at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10
other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
The Message in the town hall meeting delivered by Obama was to have been
delivered by Modi. Politically, Modi had
difficulty in telling his party and its affiliates to back off, a splintered
India is not good for any one, jis may kisi ka sath nahin, us may kis ka vikas
bhi nahin.
President Obama’s speech is a reflection of my essay written a week before his address, “Republic Day’s pluralistic Message to Modi and Obama.” The message is identical.
I urge you to read the article Republic Day Message to Modi and Obama at www.TheGhousediary.com and compare it with.
I believe, Modi means good. He is figuring out a way to move away from
“exclusively for Hindus at the cost of others” to inclusively for all Indians
for the benefit of all. He is committed
to do that. If he fails, we all fail, and if he succeeds, all of us will benefit
from it.
The glory was written all over Modi's face, he was looking for this moment.
Obama’s dosti (friendship) meant everything for him, as if he was seeking approval, indeed Modi was in the seventh
heaven.
After the humiliation he went through
about the denial of visa, he was desperately looking to get out of it, his ego
did not permit him to apologize or at least say sorry for what happened. One of
the ways of doing praischit or repentance is repairing the damage without
humility. This is Modi’s way of saying
sorry.
He is passionate about getting his name written in Gold in the Indian History, and that is good if he earns it. May
he succeed in his endeavors and remove all the obstacles his own party members
and its affiliates are placing in his path.
I trust our democracy to keep him within the guard rails.
Obama is
inherently a Pluralistic individual who believes in respecting the otherness of
others, and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. Obama
is one of the inclusive individuals in the likes of Pope Frances, Mahatma
Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and a few other great
men and women.
Obama is
as committed to building cohesive societies as I am, where no one has to live
in apprehension or fear of the other. It was this thought that prompted him to
remind his audience about those lofty ideals embedded in India’s constitution.
A
majority of Indians have experienced discrimination in one form or the other,
and he was appealing to both the discriminated and discriminators.
Invoking Article 25 was a reminder to the rabble rousers among the Sangh
Parivar that India’s stability hinges on following the rule of law. You are a
successful nation today because of that. Look at Pakistan where it is today
because of not abiding their secular charter.
His reference to his own
experience being a minority was powerful! He gave hopes to the Dalits, Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs and other minorities. “Look it is not easy, but education is
the panacea, it increases your chances to be the change. I did not have it easy
either.”
His statement, “‘every person has
the right to practice their religion and beliefs and not practice it if they
choose so without any persecution.’ Was a direct reference to the harassment
Muslims and Christians face with stupid statements like “your holy place is not
in India” “you cheer for Pakistan Cricket Team” “forced conversions” “Ghar
Wapsi” and other stupidities that do not contribute towards the wellbeing of
anyone.
I wrote, “Mr. Modi, the Battle is
not between Hindus and Muslims, it is between Good and the bad, good is
represented by those who mind their own faith as Quran advocates or Bhagvad
Gita suggests – it’s your own Karma that will determine your outcomes; there is
no compulsion in faith, whereas the evil is represented by hurting and
discriminating others for differences in belief. Let every Indian be free
to breathe, drink, eat, wear or believe whatever he or she wants to. I hope
your party supports your stand.”
Invariably,
what I write comes out in his speeches a few days later. I am glad it happened
that way. I guess if you are inclusive and don't have a bias towards others,
similar thoughts and actions flow out of you.
Thank
you mike Mike Ghouse (214)
325-1916
text/talk ...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer
and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society,
gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is a staunch
defender of human rights and his book standing up for others will be out soon,
and a movie "Americans together" is in the making. He is a frequent guest
commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major
news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is
listed in 63 links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are
at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10
other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
Just came out of the IMAX Theater watching 2 hour 14 minutes of
shooting and killing, of course it is reflective of the name of the movie. We
were at war with Iraq and unfortunately wars dehumanize others. Chris Kyle, the
hero of the movie calls them savages, just as we were savages to them. Our
soldiers and theirs were fighting for their lives. I stand by our soldiers, they do what is asked
of them to do and I thank them for their service.
The romantic part at the beginning of the movie was filmed beautifully. How a
small conversation can lead into a relationship was so natural and done with
ease, it was done very well. Sienna Miller gets high marks for her acting. The
birthing scene looked so real, for a few moments I had to ponder if it was real
or acted out. In the first scene, the father shouts down at his kids, and I knew the set up for who he was. Should we raise kids who fear us, as if we are monsters? Sometimes the kids are our reflection or they go the opposite way. We need to look in to the mirror and see if we are worth passing it on to the next generation.
Bradley cooper did his part very well, he gave superb performance particularly
when a kid picks up a missile and he was aiming at the kid to save fellow
soldiers, and he kept saying no, no to himself and held on to the trigger. I
must say Clint East wood has done a fabulous job getting great acting out of
that kid. At the very end, his reaction to the dog barking was filmed very well. Wars have messed up several of our veterans and their rehabilitation should be more important than asking them to go to war.
Even though it is a movie, we can see the ravages of war, and destruction of
families. War is the stupidest thing we as Americans have allowed it to happen.
I fault our President and Vice President for lying to us and cooking up weapons
of mass destruction and linking Iraq to 9/11. The movie was not about facts, so
it carried the same fictional theme.
I wish Bush had listened to the world and the United Nations. We paid a huge
price for his stupidity. The war mongers are fine but our soldiers are not,
they are traumatized and are suffering. Pay a visit to the VA Hospital and you
see it. We still owe an apology to the
Iraqi people who did no wrong to us. It’s a burden we have to carry. Next time
around no president is going to war without our consent. I will do
my part as a patriotic citizen – to demonstrate against war. We have another
idiot itching to go to war with Iran. We need to shut him up before he fucks up
America with his cooked up lies.
Here is the synopsis of the movie, “U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper)
takes his sole mission -- protect his comrades -- to heart and becomes one of
the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only
saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite
grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family
back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he
finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.”
Clint Eastwood kept you glued to the movie. When you think about it, a simple
story is made into a gripping story. Produced
and Directed by Clint Eastwood with Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller
Thank
you mike Mike Ghouse (214)
325-1916
text/talk ...............................................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer
and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society,
gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is a staunch
defender of human rights and his book standing up for others will be out soon,
and a movie "Americans together" is in the making. He is a frequent guest
commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major
news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is
listed in 63 links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are
at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10
other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
Modi's suit is talk of the town. As usual there is criticisim for the cost of the suit - One Million Rupees (~$16,000). Here is the positive aspect of it.
Courtesy BBC
ABP TV reports, PM Modi wore the personalised suit for tea with visiting US President Barack Obama. At first glance it appeared to be a black and gold pinstriped suit, but closed inspection revealed that the stripes were actually the Prime Ministers full name. It is estimated the suite cost nearly Rs. I million (approx $16,000).
Being a democracy everything should be questioned, the declarations of American independence has this beautiful sentence in it, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Indeed, we the governed should always keep the government on their toes.
I am glad Modi spent a lot of money on the suit. This is good for the economy, and good for every Indian. Why shouldn't the PM wear the best?
How do we raise the standards of the nation then?
Don’t we wear the best in our weddings, jobs interviews?
THIS IS HOW IT WORKS:
If we pay Rs 50,000 for cloth, and 50,000 for stitching, you can see the number of jobs it creates if we have 1,000 suits. However, if we pay 500 and 500, the employment drops dramatically, and those who get 500 will have less disposable income to buy things, and that will cut the jobs of what they consume… and that will ultimately cut your salary, why pay you so much? And if that is cut, you buy less, buy smaller home, smaller car, and that will cut the other jobs….
We all should spend, that is how we progress and the wealth multiplies.
The money we make is because people are willing to pay us more for the work we do, a little more than it is worth and that is the fodder for economic growth.
Next time someone (any one in any field) talks about the cost of Modi suit – tell them, how about cutting your salary by tenth?
Richness and spending is good.
The only two evils of richness are; hoarding the money under the pillow, as it does no good, and taking advantage of the workers in their situation, that would be evil.
Being rich must be admired, it is good. They don’t eat the money, they spend it, and that creates jobs. The only people that create jobs for you and me are the ones with money by opening factories, shops, software companies.
Everyone’s standard goes up when we let everyone get paid well.
Responsible capitalism is the best thing that has happened. In the United States and India should wholeheartedly emulate it. Then comes sab ka vikas, of course to sustain the vikas, social cohesion is a must – if splintered along religious, caste lines, India will not make it. That has been my consistent message for over a year now.
One of the most beautiful aspects of Hinduism is that it sees God in everything. The creator and created are not two different things, but one and the same, as a result "respecting the otherness of others" becomes a way of life. Indeed, that is how we at the Foundation for Pluralism have defined Pluralism - i.e., respecting the otherness of others for genuine co-existence. God is about love and not hate. The Hindu greeting Namaste invokes the God in each other to come together to talk and act goodness.
However, when it comes to abuse and misuse, Hinduism is no exception, it is a business for the self appointed guardians of the religion. They are obviously looking for gains to be had and have hijacked the pristine Hindu faith, just as the self appointed guardians of other religions have done it. They have mangled up the pristine religion whose purpose was to bring peace within an individual and with what surrounds him/her; people and the universe.
Now "Hindu Mahasabha" a Hindu group within the family of political Hinduism called Sangh Parivar has decided to install the statues of the newly created God, Godse in temples across India. Godse is the killer of Mahatma Gandhi. Is that going too far? Let me be clear; its political Hinduism and it does not represent Hindus of the world.
It is time for Moderate Hindus to speak up**(note below).
A Bollywood film called "Oh My God" - depicts a scene towards the end, where the men in God-Business were installing a statue of the hero as the new God of the helpless, assuming he was dead in the hospital. But the hero wakes up and runs to where they were having the installation ceremony and destroys the own God Statue of him, pulling the masks off the men who were going to mint money with the newly created God, ready to do business. A similar message was given in the film "PK" where people can be easily misled and duped.
Obviously, every religion has a majority that understands the beauty of its faith, and goes about doing good to fellow beings and mind their own faith and family. However, there is a small group within each faith that is intolerant and hell bent on annihilating the other. They don't believe in dialogue, and instead resort to the primal instincts of animals, who settle their disputes by locking in their horns, tearing up the other with their fangs or bloodying the opponent with their paws.
We desperately need a Swami Vivekananda's avatar to teach the ideals of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum; meaning the whole world in one family. Ironically, we also need a Jesus to teach these stray men what love means, what love they neighbor means.
Thank God, except the Naxalites in India, the other minorities like Dalits, Muslims and Christians have not gone haywire and resorted to extremism despite the provocations and pressures on them to obey.
I am not sure, if the majority of Hindus are ready for a New God, a God who killed Mahatma Gandhi. Godse is God to them because he saved the nation by killing Gandhi who was inclusive of Muslims, Dalits, Christians and others.
Hindu Mahasabha did not come into being to teach and preserve the values of Hinduism, but was founded to hate the other, particularly Christians and Muslims. If they learn to love fellow humans including Christians and Muslims, then the organization will cease, as it will have no purpose to exist anymore.
I have always stood up for Hinduism against misunderstandings about it and will continue to do that, as I have done with all other faiths including Paganism and Atheism, that is the right thing to do. I strongly believe in the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum expressed in Dharmic faiths, and the idea of the whole world is one big family born from the same couple taught in the Abrahamic faiths. All of us need to genuinely believe and practice it. http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/04/standing-with-hindus.html
The way forward is to respect the otherness of others, accept the God given uniqueness of each one of the inhabitants of the land. Let every one eat, drink, wear, worship or believe whatever the hell they want to believe in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. If we can do that, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
Mike Ghouse is committed to a cohesive India, where all Indians can live without the fear of the others and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
# # #
Hindu Mahasabha to install Godse statue in temples
Obama is one of the all embracing individuals in the likes of Pope Frances, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and a few other great men and women.
The first time I read Obama's speech was in 2007, a friend forwarded his speech he gave to the Illinois State Senate, it was pluralism in all its glory. Since then I have followed almost all of his speeches, been critical of some of his policies but mostly written his pluralistic side in some 60+ articles.
President Obama’s speech is a reflection of my essay written a week before his address, “Republic Day’s pluralistic Message to Modi and Obama.” Invariably, some of what I write comes out in his speech a few days later. I am delighted with this and here is a challenge for the youth, particularly Indian Youth to find the commonalities, thoughts and ideas between his speech and my article.
I am glad it happened that way. I guess if you are inclusive and don't have a bias towards others, similar thoughts and actions flow out of you. Most of the articles can be found by Googling Mike Ghouse Barack Obama and some of the links are included on the left panel of this site www.TheGhousediary.com
Now I wrote the Republic Day's Pluralistic Message to Obama and Modi, published a week or two before his speech was delivered. Here we go again, to my delight it is a reflection of what I wrote.
So, I have set up a challenge to youths of India in particular. Find me ideas, thoughts, points, and suggestion in Obama's speech in my article.
REWARD
Its $100 reward to the one who can find most commonalities between the speech and the article and $50 for the second most commonalities. The deadline for the entry is Friday, February 13, 2015 and the length can be from 600-1000 words, more is ok if it makes sense. Please use common language, and not the words that require repeated references to the dictionary.
Thank you mike Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916 text/talk
...............................................................................................................................Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is a staunch defender of human rights and his book standing up for others will be out soon, and a movie "Americans together" is in the making. He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
Hail to Chancellor Merkel, a great patriot and a leader!
Angela Merkel has understood the concept of Patriotism very well, more than any other name sake conservative in the world. A Patriot sees to it that the nation comes together for the good of every one; a patriot will not let the nation splinter. A great patriot builds a nation and forges all its factions to act cohesively.
Angela Merkel has chosen the right path. In a divisive world where the leaders are sacrificing the long term good for short term political gains, and putting the nation on a destructive path of exclusion of a those who differ, Merkel has done the right thing; choosing inclusion.
Reuters reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday Islam "belongs to Germany", in a clear repudiation of anti-immigration protesters gathering in Dresden and other cities. Merkel said her government was doing everything it could to ensure migrants were being successfully integrated into German society regardless of their religion.
I salute her and I am proud of her for saying, “Islam 'belongs to Germany”
It is tempting to fall prey to the vociferous bunch who claps endlessly when a short-sighted leader talks about pushing “them’” to the corner, forcing “them” in to obedience”. They assume that the wisdom is with them and an eternal battle of rights follow, she showed the leadership and did not fall for the fake conservatives and showed them what a genuine conservative patriot is all about; a nation builder.
Yes, there is none like her and let me tell you why. It takes just one to take the bold step to change the history and Chancellor Merkel has just done it.
Let me give you recent parallels that shaped major events.
President Obama, made a bold statement about accepting same sex marriage – the nation followed him, state after state accepted it– the ones who were opposed flipped, we still got ways to go, but it was his singular stance that changed the nation.
Pope Frances took bold steps of inclusion of Gays and Lesbians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Atheists. In one single stroke he fell many barriers between the people.
What Merkel has done will have pave the way for positive acceptance of Muslims in Germany. Every human wants to be included, and when that Jesus’s embrace wraps every one, the nations will become stronger and will function effectively.
Here is a lesson for Netanyahu, Modi, Sharif, and other leaders who fall prey to the claps and sacrifice the long term goodness of the nation for the short term pleasures of praises. May God guide everyone to see the goodness in inclusion, aka Pluralism! Pluralism is simply an attitude of learning to respect the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of God’s creation. When we do that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
mike Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916 text/talk ............................................................................................................................... Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is a staunch defender of human rights and his book standing up for others will be out soon, and a movie "Americans together" is in the making. He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are atwww.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
1. Complain, hold rallies and demonstrate 2. Write, speak and challenge 3. Attack the other
There is a better way- i.e., To know the other Phobias are baseless fear of others
Q. Why do others fear Muslims? A. Because they don't know us.
Quran 49:13 and several verses say the best ones among you are the ones who learn about each other. Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance of the otherness of the other, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
How will they get to know us if we sit at home and talk and talk?
Join us on Sunday 3-6 PM at Unity of Dallas 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75234 details www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
When a group of people from overseas visits the United States to understand religious landscape of America, I am blessed to receive them and conduct half a day workshop to familiarize them, and address their concerns and issues.
I see three groups of people in a given year and generally they are Muslims from Albania to Zaire and every one in between. I have met with the Muftis of China and Russia to religious ministers from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Chad.... and the like.
Today, I met the British Muslim youth and for the first time in a decade, the conversation was without translators! It was funny, in the beginning I was speaking with a slow Rick Perry speed as though a translator was going to translate, then I realized my conditioning! It was funny, they probably thought I had speech impediment.
Shan Bhagat and Rizwan Ali - Thank you for the facility.
My expertise is studies in religious, social, political and cultural pluralism and have been researching, watching and shaping the trends and writing and speaking for the last 22 years. There are over 800 articles written up on Pluralism - 200 of them are published in Dallas Morning News, and over 100 at Huffington post and other places. There are another 1700 articles, and about 900 are on Islam, the rest are motivational, inspirational, sports, movies, festivals, India, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine and human rights including standing up for others, add to this 520 hours of Radio talk on "Understanding Religion, each beautiful religion" and 26 workshops to learn the wisdom of every tradition including Atheism.
Our conversation ranged from dealing with social and political issues during peace times as well as conflicting times starting with the film clip about building a cohesive America. Dealing with the right wing Americans, and civic engagement to bring positive outcomes.
It was a joy to have the conversation with this group, they were thoughtful, critical and above all inclusive! Most of them were open to the idea of reaching out to people of other faiths to build cohesive societies, it was an extended topic. They said, I was speaking to the choir and I liked that very much and gives me hopes that we are doing things to make our lives better.
The British Muslims have similar issues as we do; dealing with right wingers. The non-sense falsities spread by Gov. Bobby Jindal and Fox News this week about "no go zones" for non-Muslims in UK, France and Europe is a myth.
When I was talking about Prophet Muhammad's examples of being Amin, and the post-story thoughts about Najran Christians and Hudaibiyah treaty - I thought there might be some resistance, but it was a joy, and they clarified it that it was not a radical thought.
I loved this group for being so interactive and open to newer expressions in Islam. I hope to be available to them in the future. They can turn British society around to be more inclusive through their initiatives we discussed today.
When I get the time, I will write the details of this productive constructive conversation.
We have to accept that every society is composed of right wing, left wing, intolerant, ultra liberal and moderates. We have to chart a course with the give situation.
Here is the outline:
PROPHET MUHAMMAD & COHESIVE SOCIETIES
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the ultimate peace maker, indeed he was called Rahmatul Aalameen, that is mercy to the whole humanity. He believed in building a cohesive society, where no human had to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.
Towards this goal, the first Sunnah or the tradition he established was the Amin Model, a peace building citizen. Indeed, to be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker who mitigates conflicts and nurtures goodwill.
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
It is this hypocrisy that is offending the people of the world, if you have a powerful lobby, rules don’t mean a thing, and freedom of press applies only to Muslims. Mike Ghouse # # #
Texas Faith: Taking offense in the name of faith Rudolph Bush - Dallas Morning News Published:
The murderers of 12 people in the office of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo justified their actions as revenge for offenses against their Islamic faith. The magazine’s cartoonists reveled in their role as secular provocateurs in the tradition of Voltaire. There is no question that their cartoons were offensive, and not only to Muslims but to devout Catholics and Jews as well.
Their murders cannot in any way be justified and their murderers’ justifications were condemned by people around the world, including many Muslims. Mustafa Riad of the Union mosque in Montpellier, France said this: “To a cartoon you reply with a cartoon, to a drawing with a drawing, to a newspaper article with a newspaper article… But you don’t reply with guns.”
But surely, when any of us sees our deeply held faith and beliefs held up for ridicule it offends. As Pope Francis said: “One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people’s faith, one cannot make fun of faith. There is a limit. Every religion has its dignity … in freedom of expression there are limits.”
Is that so? Is there a limit to what we can express about one another? What is the moral responsibility of the offender? What is the responsibility of the offended? How do we defend our faith against provocation while respecting the freedom of another?
Our panelists consider these questions on the jump.
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas
Freedom of speech is the God given right of humans and must be guarded vigorously. Despite the warning, Adam and Eve chose the forbidden fruit. Was God upset with them? Did he slap them for making their free choice? That’s our genesis and that is in our DNA, and of course there is a price to be paid for having that freedom.
I have relentlessly defended the freedom of speech, and indeed making a full feature film call “Sacred” about the Quran burning incident in Mulberry, Florida. As Muslims we did not condemn Pastor Terry Jones actions nor did we curse; instead we heeded God’s advise in Quran, 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. We listened to Jesus and, “turned the other cheek”, meaning do not aggravate the conflict, same idea was followed by Prophet Muhammad’s non-violent conflict resolutions approach and “Prayed (both interfaith and intrafaith) for the goodwill of the miscreants” through his many examples including the Taif Story.
It saddens me that a few Muslims resorted to violence killing 12 people, claiming to defend the Prophet, as if he needs their protection. Quran expressly forbids taking another life, unless it is in self-defense. I have offered Muslim Solutions to the conflict.
Is there a limit to what we can express about one another? I am completely against the limits; it will be abused any way. I am for education about building cohesive societies. we all have to grow up to be tolerant on one hand, and learn to be respectful of what is dear to others, that includes learning to get the bad guys for their bad acts, and not aimlessly bark at a religion, an intangible.
In case of Charlie Hebdo, as a society, many of us were overjoyed and eager to malign Islam instead of focusing on the individual criminals. It is a dangerous thing to do, as it cause every one to blame the religion and let go of the bad guys.
The problem is not with freedom for speech, but with the element of discretion. When we have a choice to decide what is allowable or not, the freedom of speech becomes vulnerable to implementers' bias. The conflicts arise not from freedom of speech but from abuse of discretion.
The Sun Times from UK has published a cartoon where Prime Minister Netanyahu is building a wall with the Palestinian blood and body parts, a few concerned members of the Jewish community are calling it Anti-Semitic, and demanding apology and retrieval of that cartoon and there is almost a threat lurking in it. More than likely the Sun Times will apologize and withdraw. It is this hypocrisy that is offending the people of the world that if you have a powerful lobby, rules don’t mean a thing, and freedom of press applies only to Muslims.
What can we do to defend provocation against our faith? What is the responsibility of offended? Our religions offer good guidance and if responsible bodies like Government, civic, religious and non-profit take on to showing the benefits of building and preserving cohesive societies, we may be able to handle these better. # # #
AMY MARTIN, Director Emeritus of Earth Rhythms and Writer/editor Moonlady News Newsletter
My religion is kindness. Can you imagine how many times a day I am offended? I’d be happy if those that defiled my religion were just terrorists or satirists. Instead, offenses to my faith are staples on television and film and institutionalized in political parties, corporations and other religions that wage war on kindness every day in a multitude of ways.
Demands for respect are quixotic attempts and the impossible task of controlling others’ thoughts. Offended by what someone says about your religion, leader, political party or whatever? Pay them no mind. To react is to give your power away and allow them to control you.
That said, poking a wounded bear with a stick is neither kind nor smart. Paris has large ghettos of unassimilated Middle Eastern and African immigrants that run 40% or more unemployment. They felt humiliated by Charlie Hebdo and the French intellectual elite. So it was less about religion and more about economic disparity and the residual effects of French colonialism. The satirists were aiming at the powerful Muslims, yet their immense oil wealth deflects all barbs.
Those of us on organized religion’s sidelines marvel at a God that is so insecure it needs people to intercede on its almighty behalf. Such a God is much too small. Indeed we live on a polytheistic planet. There is a God of the Christians, a God of the Muslims, a God of the Jews. Peace will come only when we accept there is but one God and it is for all of us.
# #
CYNTHIA L. RIGBY, W.C. Brown Professor of Theology I don’t think there is any sure fire way to protect our faith from being maligned. Violent defenses, especially, will serve only to spur greater provocation. Supporting freedom means upholding the rights of others to say what they will, even when what they say is harmful and wrong.
I take, as my model for how to respond to being disparaged for what we believe, Jesus Christ himself. Jesus chastises Peter for cutting off the ear of one of the men who comes to arrest him, warning him that “those who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Jesus refuses, on the day of his trial and crucifixion, to respond to the sarcastic comments made about how he is “king of the Jews” and how he should “save himself.”
Those who want to stereotype and disparage will continue to do so even when people of faith offer good arguments for being more subtle and for making clearer distinctions. I notice this phenomenon in relation to the work of Richard Dawkins, who labels anyone who is a theist “delusional.” Dawkins is obviously intelligent enough to notice that, at very least, some theists are far less delusional than others. As Terry Eagleton points out in his excellent counter to Dawkins, many of the most influential shapers of western culture were theists (see his book “Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate”). Making such observations clearly doesn’t fit with Dawkins’ marketing of the “New Atheism.”
The best thing people of faith can do, as Eagleton does, is represent what we believe as well as we can to anyone who wants to learn about it. Our representation should include naming, condemning, and grieving the ways in which our faith traditions have been used to justify or perpetuate harm. One of the more effective defenses against provocation is to be ourselves provocative about the shortcomings of our traditions, living out our faiths in ways that foster – and foster only – life abundant.
Thank
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer
and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society,
gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is a staunch
defender of human rights and his book standing up for others will be out soon,
and a movie "Americans together" is in the making. He is a frequent guest
commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major
news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is
listed in 63 links atwww.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are
at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10
other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
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