Critique on Interfaith Christmas

What is religious pluralism?
The article Interfaith Christmas - Making God boundless  in Huffington Post generated a few good, bad and ugly comments as usual. There are several ways to respond to the comments, however a friend gave me a sound advice, "as a moderator of talk shows and discussions, you must shepherd them to the topic, some run, and some come around." 

A fellow Muslim resorted to personal attacks, “I think you are trying to promote your idea of a hybrid religion and are using "pluralism" as a vehicle to promote yourself...."     

 Another one writes, “God sent his Son so that all may have life. He loves and accepts us no matter what we have done or where we are in our lives. No other faith or religion has a loving Father who sent his only Son to die for the whole world.  Jesus is my savior and I accept no other idealism, religion or faith other than the word of The Living God."

 A third one says, "Go teach pluralism to Muslims, we Hindus are pluralists and don't like to learn it from a Muslim."

Years ago, I chose to be a peacemaker, and it’s a daily struggle.  It means when you face a conflict, you don't aggravate it further (i.e., pour fuel over the fire), instead, you mitigate it and focus on nurturing goodwill.

The model was created by Jesus, Muhammad (pbuh), Gandhi, MLK and several others. Turning the other cheek (Jesus) or praying for those who pelt stones (Muhammad) at them are two of the many models. Remember the intent was not yielding, fighting or digging in your heels,  but finding a sustainable solution, so each can focus on living the life instead of planning, scheming and avenging the other in their vulnerable moments.

Pluralism continues to be misunderstood as a hybrid or a mish mash of religions. Some of the Indians and Pakistanis are familiar with such an effort in the 16th century by the Mogul Emperor Akbar, who made an effort to create "Deen-e-Elahi" - a religion of God, it failed miserably, people did not have a sense of belonging or bonding to one without giving up their own.  Unfortunately, those few are conditioned to jump when the bell rings, and spontaneously conclude that Pluralism is a mish-mash of religions.

Pluralism is not a religion, it is not an ideology either, it is simply an attitude of respecting other religions and others way of life without the arrogance that mine is better, scientific, older, rational, proven, makes sense, ageless or otherwise.... Religion is not about feeling superior; it is indeed humility, which builds cohesive societies, whereas arrogance kills it all. 

Here are a few questions we need to ask ourselves, "Do I believe my religion is superior to the other? Does it amount to arrogance? Did I get my religion? 

On the other hand, the peace maker in you has raised your eyebrows when a few Christians, Hindus or Jews insist that Islam is a religion of oppression. You may have been surprised when a few Muslims charge that Christians and Hindus are blood thirsty, and some from each group shamelessly stereotype the Jews. Facts don't matter to some of our vociferous friends.

Indeed, Pluralism is respecting each other’s religion, the way they believe and not the way we insist. There is no need for anyone to give up his or her religion to please the other. Pluralism is you stick with yours and I stick with mine, but together we have to find common ground to co-exist with our differences.

For every Christian, Jew and a Hindu bigot,  proportionally there is one among Muslims too, may be two, but no more. The sane majority needs to help them, pray for them and shepherd them away from unsubstantiated material. 

The intellectualism of Robert Spencer and Narayan Kataria may amaze you, they have held symposiums about Islam without Muslims in it, and have issued unilateral statements. Similarly a few Muslims draw their own conclusions about Christianity or Hinduism without even asking the practitioners of the religions. Indeed, I asked them to include a main stream Muslim to be on their panel, and I even volunteered to be one, but their intent was not a rational discussion. 

The film Monster among us was shown to a Jewish audience about the danger of Anti-Semitism in Europe. It was a frightening movie to the Jews about Muslims in Europe, the producer was clear to me, this movie is strictly a Jewish perspective, and you should not come. And of course, I went, I was the only Non-Jew beside a Christian friend who went with me, there were six blatant falsities in the movie. People were shooting questions, finally a sane man from the back yelled, "Hey Allen, it’s about Moslems, have you shown this to any Moslem?” The producer reluctantly pointed out to me, after some finger pointing at Muslims, the entire group said in unison, "Give him the microphone".  That is another story at: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Jewish-Muslim-dialogue-a-necessity.asp

Obviously, any idea that paves the way for people to see the beauty of each faith threatens the frightened ones, as if their faith is going to vanish by acknowledging the goodness of other faiths, they are very insecure folks. Christianity is here to stay, so is Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and all other faiths.

Had God willed, all of us would be alike, but he chose each one of us to be unique, and Pluralism is respecting that uniqueness in each one of us.

A verse in Quran 49:13 presumes, that conflict exist between different people because they have not taken the time to know each other, and it guides us further to know each other, to learn about each other. When we take time to know each other, misunderstandings fade and solutions emerge, it happens even with our own family members, friends and co-workers.  And then God says the best ones among you are the ones who take the time to know each other. Indeed, those who know, come to respect the uniqueness Creator has endowed to each one of us and accept each other as they are, as long as you mind your own religion and not infringe upon others. "Blessed are the peacemakers", said Jesus.

The article Interfaith Christmas was written in a series about "knowing each other", I hope it will help us get along with all without requiring us to change for the other.

If you are keeping up with the world, Indonesia and some other Muslim nations were considering banning saying, “Merry Christmas” and failed. Malaysia wanted to monopolize and own Allah, and failed to prevent Sikhs and Christians calling him, Allah. Those attitudes are repugnant and the cause of conflicts and thank God they failed. But what we have failed to do was to sit and work with the ones who lost the battle,  instead of having them to live with the feeling of getting even whenever they get a chance.

Interfaith has been helpful in preventing many conflicts in the United States. Jews and Christians have stood up for Muslims and Muslims have stood up for them.  Yet a few Muslims, a few Christians and a few Jews don’t get it. 

Mike Huckabee said the massacre in Newtown has to do with the moral decay of the society, and then Pastor Gaddy (both Baptist preachers) corrected him in Huffington post. MLK worked hard to get equal rights for all, but the pastors of the same religion at that time called him names... but that did not stop MLK from moving forward, and he did what was the right thing to do. Civil rights act has sustained because MLK did not project it as a defeat to the ones who opposed it.

Well my friends, the purpose of writing the article is to express that Jesus or Muhammad are not the exclusive properties of Christians or Muslims, their message belongs to the whole humanity just as the message of all the spiritual masters;  to create a better world for all of us to live. We can take it the way it works for us, but we should not make their teachings a wedge between us, they did not intend.

You are welcome to differ and the whole world can differ, if you believe you can contribute towards a better society, then you must express it, and I did that in the article. I am not asking anyone to buy the idea, it is up to them.

Just remember no idea in the world has been subscribed to by 100% of the population, even our President was not elected by 100% - there is rarely a bill in the house that has passed with unanimity.

Let us absorb one more thing; God does not want 100% of the world to be Christians, Muslims, Unaffiliated, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs, Jain and others. Had he willed, he would have done it. He prefers the uniqueness of each one of us and wants us to figure out our own peace to live in harmony, and we have to work towards that goal.

Additional comments

Md Yunus writes,

I am glad to read this article on this Christmas day from a fellow Muslim who is celebrating Christmas as it realizes my dream that was articulated more than three years ago in a letter to Qantara.de editor dated Oct. 2009 that reads as below:

"Muslims regard their Prophet (Muhammad) with inordinate love and devotion, as reflects in their vociferous and even violent reactions to attempts to lampooning him in the media or literary works. but there is hardly any visibility of their devotion to Jesus Christ. Islam not only venerates Jesus Christ and his Mother, Mary, it also asks Muslims to make no distinction between any of the Prophets (2:177, 2:285, 4:152, 57:19). Historically Muslim scholarship has remained silent about these complementarities, and instead, focused on the differences between the two faiths.

But today, when increasing gap, hatred and mistrust between Islam and Christianity is leading to terrorism and “Just wars” with terrible consequences, its time that Muslim scholarship takes notice of the common boundaries, and encourages the Muslims to visibly showing devotion to Jesus Christ by celebrating the Christmas, and praying for peace together with their Christian brothers. 

Anna Hourihan writes, “Mike. I particularly like your interpretation of John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." To have that Christ-consciousness and Christ's example of how to live is the thing, and not that the person Jesus is the only way to salvation. Many blessings to you and your family this Christmas!”

Marylou writes, "A very beautiful and touching article, Mike.  Thank you!  You are correct in your interp of Jesus' statement no one comes to the father but by way of me -- this is not to be taken literally.  As you stated, it means to follow his example.    Jesus never made himself equal with God.  He said specifically: The  father is greater than I am.   He also told us to pray directly to God and even gave us the exact prayer, "Our Father, who is in heaven ... "  

It is ok to have different understandings, that is Pluralism, but it should not create ill-will or hatred towards each other, that is not the intention of the teachings of any spiritual master, be it Jesus or Muhammad.  

Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/interfaith-christmas-making-god-boundless_b_2347856.html

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

Interfaith Christmas, what's in it for you?

No matter what faith you profess, the interfaith Christmas can offer everything you had always wanted; to live in peace and harmony with fellow beings without apprehension or fear of the other.  I hope this essay shines a light on the larger idea of humanity, and gives you a sense of connection with fellow beings without being a Christian.  
Full article - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/interfaith-christmas-making-god-boundless_b_2347856.html

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

My friends; my diary and my pen.

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-friends-my-diary-and-my-pen.html
Other pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157629991224798/show/

My friends, my pen and my diary - Mike Ghouse

My diary has been my best friend, I can share everything and anything with her without being interrupted, corrected, grammared, spelled, criticized, upset or praised. Every human must express his joy, sadness and the emotions; it releases him or her and restores tranquility.

I went to the storage today, and saw my old fountain pen, pleasantly lying in a box and smiling at me… damn it, I am so happy to see her. It is ridiculous that a pen can make you so happy! She is my old friend; she wrote my happy moments and my sad moments and brought calmness to me and restored my tranquility each time I was off. She is my friend, my best friend.

I dedicate this note to my friends Vanja Krupa and Yoshua Budin, whose comments on my facebook wall inspired me to put this note together.

Yoshua wrote, "that one day I rewrite it all and turn it into a real book….Sometimes I look back in these diaries. But not for long. It feels like lingering in the past. And I look forward.

Vanja shared, " Used to write dairy as well, to keep all the impressions, on paper to memorise and reread 'one day' …but I like to have all these Dairies and letters saved in large dusty boxes, for the next generation to read,"

Indeed, I am blessed with 5000 friends on facebook plus 2000 subscribers and additional 2000 in another group on facebook.. I write thank you notes, birthday wishes to almost all... except when my computer has crashed... can you do it? Yes, you can. Just have the will and commitment. I do that every morning.

Yoshua and Vanja's notes reminded me of my own habits. I used to write diaries since I was in college. My friend Jameel gave me an appointment book, the size of a book with 365 pages in it, I wrote so much that, I doubled it to nearly 700 pages by adding two to three pages and gluing it in the book, and I had so much to write including life, family and interfaith. That was early in 1970’s… I wrote every year after that. Finally, I burned all my diaries, the last one in the mid-nineties.

I always had fountain pens, and I wrote letters to my mother in Urdu, and prided in taking time to write to her, wrote as beautiful as I can - and when she said, I have the beautiful handwriting, it made my day. With her passing away, and phone calls becoming economical, I stopped writing in Urdu and there goes the fountain pen with it.

I used to write letters in Urdu to my sister when she got married and left home, I kept writing all the way through the nineties. Oddly I wrote a few letters to my brother Kaleem in Hindi, he was better in Hindi than Urdu. I am regaining my writing skills all over now including Kannada language.

Two years ago, Sada Cumber, the former Ambassador to OIC, gifted me a box of fountain pens… then the old-me woke up and start writing again in the fountain pen. I write everything, reminders to my daily lists, to my 3x5 cards to poetry, then take a picture from my i-pad and keep it for follow up. Odd, but I love it.

When I walked into public life in the early Nineties, I did not think I would have anything private. I was wrong, everyone has things that they don’t want to share - they may be silly things, or even idiotic or bad things. They stay within you and get buried with you. Except a few emotions and reactions here and there, much of my life is an open book. It is all encapsulated in my blogs, my forums, facebook and writings.

Is it the same with you?

Thanks to aol - my 18 years of notes, writings etc were saved in the form of files, and thank to some genius who hacked into my account - all of my work is gone, aol restored some emails, but much of all is gone, 18 years of emails and writings… was I angry? yes I was. Did I cry? No, I felt relief… thought of suing AOL, they guarantee storage, but did not deliver. Any attorney wants to take it up? If you win the big battle, the money will go towards pluralism education; my life commitment. I also have a full manuscript for a book, “The one minute accountant” on my old McIntosh, don’t know how to extract it either… let go man!

What is humbling?

If I croak, meaning die, of course, I will die, that is, if I die within a year… all my writings and books will be meaningless to my wife and my kids… why should they have to go through the pain of deciding what to keep, and what to give away (trashing)? I am glad it disappeared on the net - it frees me and frees them. I have over 5,000 pictures of the Dallas community… if I have the time, I will do an open house - come and get yours.

What about you, what will happen to your stuff should something happen to you? Why do we need to collect it in the first place?

Writing is relaxing… If you wish to receive a post card from me, send me your name and address to speakermikeghouse@gmail.com, and I will handwrite your address and mail it to you, that’s a promise - Insha Allah. That is if God kept me alive.

A few more pictures:

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.

Dallas school districts controversial use of religious buildings

Dallas Morning News writes a report on the topic and includes some of my comments in the article following my notes.

The School District’s  decision to hold the commencement ceremonies at churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious buildings without restrictions does not bode well in the long haul.

A few religious places will be generous in their offer; however, it implies an association with that place of worship and carries the baggage in the long haul. What if the new pastor is a bigot and has a problem with gay or lesbian kids or kids of other faiths. It is always the individual that drives the society towards ill-will or goodwill. Why do we need to subject ourselves to such whims?

We are a pluralistic society and deeply want our kids to grow up and interact with the real world out there that comprises people of different faiths, races, ethnicities and sexual orientation. A religious building does not offer such an environment, even with a few exceptions.

The Federal court just rejected a referendum in Oklahoma to ban families from seeking guidance from international or Sharia law to resolve disputes among family members even though 70% of the voters had approved it. In California proposition 5 met the same fate years ago and the Farmers Branch overwhelmingly approved the anti-immigration bill, which is in the courts now.

I would suggest the board members not to vote for this motion; the school will end up squandering money on legal suit rather than children’s education.

As a pluralist, I do welcome this, but since we are still not there we have to hold this off.
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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker and is available to speak on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace, cohesive societies and a variety of topics. Check out 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net. Current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com
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ACLU warns Dallas ISD against plan to allow graduations at churches
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS Staff Writer thobbs@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20120113-aclu-warns-dallas-isd-against-plan-to-allow-graduations-at-churches.ece
Published: 13 January 2012 12:26 AM

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is warning Dallas ISD to “tread cautiously” on loosening restrictions to allow graduations at churches and other religious facilities.

Dallas school trustees discussed the proposal at Thursday’s board briefing. Two of eight trustees voiced concern about the plan, which will be considered Jan. 26.
The change would eliminate a clause that prohibits commencement exercises from being held at churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious sites without permission of the superintendent, and only under extenuating circumstances when no other nonreligious facility is available.

District officials said the change is being proposed because some schools have for years been using churches for graduations. The schools, which were not aware they were violating board policy, raised the issue with district administration, they said.
But the ACLU of Texas said in a news release Thursday that it cannot understand why DISD would consider changing what the group calls a “neutral policy.” It also noted that such a change could result in legal proceedings.

“DISD should tread cautiously in this area,” Lisa Graybill, ACLU of Texas’ legal director, warned in the news release. “The current policy provides a safeguard to ensure commencement exercises are held in appropriate, nonsectarian locations where all students, their families, and school personnel feel equally comfortable. Changing the policy could ultimately result in a constitutional challenge and costly litigation.”

The ACLU of Texas also submitted a public information request to the school district, asking for information that includes costs for off-site events and the reason for the proposed change.

Board President Lew Blackburn said that neither he nor school attorneys have a problem with the proposal. Blackburn said that he has attended graduations at churches and that nothing religious occurred.

Several Dallas school trustees, including Bruce Parrott and Carla Ranger, said they were unaware of the ACLU’s misgivings when they discussed the matter at Thursday’s meeting. Parrott and Ranger voiced concerns about the proposal during the discussion.

 pointed to a similar situation that involved the separation of church and state in the Irving school district last year. The ACLU of Texas had contacted that district with questions about a plan to hold graduations at The Potter’s House church. In response, district officials decided against the move.

“We don’t need to be involved with any lawsuit,” Parrott said. “We’ve got a policy; let’s just adhere to the policy.”

Ranger voiced similar concerns.

“We all know there have been problems in other places because of this very issue,” she said. “Removing this would put us in a situation that we don’t want to be in.”
The vast majority of religious leaders contacted Thursday agreed that the school district should not make such a change.

“I would suggest the board members not to vote for this motion; the school will end up squandering money on [a] legal suit rather than children’s education,” Mike Ghouse, a Muslim and president of the Foundation for Pluralism in Dallas, said in an email.

The Rev. Daniel Kanter of First Unitarian Church of Dallas said in an email that “it could make people uncomfortable to have their graduations in a house of worship, and we shouldn’t be putting citizens in that situation.”

He added: “Unfortunately, some people of faith might also have prohibitions about attending events in a house of worship other than theirs.”.

But the Rev. Trey Graham, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Melissa, said in an email that he “applauds the school board” for considering the change. He said the district shouldn’t be deterred by possible legal action by the ACLU.

“The elimination of this restriction makes sense for the school district financially, logistically and relationally,” Graham said. “Financially, school districts can often save money by utilizing church facilities at lower cost than other large meeting places.”
Graham said that his church’s facilities are often used by school, civic and community groups that need meeting space. “We consider the use of our church’s space by outside groups as another way to positively impact our communities,” he said.
Staff writer Holly K. Hacker contributed to this report.

Faith leaders on DISD proposal

Several religious leaders from North Texas, including regular contributors to The Dallas Morning News’ Texas Faith blog, weighed in on a proposal to allow Dallas ISD schools to hold graduation ceremonies in religious facilities. Here are excerpts from their comments:

Ric Dexter, Northeast Texas area leader in SGI-USA, a Buddhist lay organization

“I can’t imagine any religious facility that would be willing to remove or cover over a symbol of their reason for being, simply not to offend some of the graduates. While most Christians would have no problem with a crucifix as a backdrop, I wonder if they would feel as comfortable with Shiva or Buddha overlooking this important moment in their children’s life.”

Trey Graham, senior pastor, First Baptist Church Melissa

“Our church’s facilities, on multiple campuses, are often used by school, civic and community groups who need meeting space at times that do not interfere with our regular church ministries. We consider the use of our church’s space by outside groups as another way to positively impact our communities. The threat of legal action by the ACLU should not deter school board personnel from making this sensible change.”

Katie Sherrod, Episcopal lay leader, Fort Worth

“I don’t know what freedom of religion and freedom from religion is worth, but way too many U.S. soldiers have died to defend those American values. However much money the district might save by using religious buildings doesn’t even come close to being worth sacrificing that. While Christian children and parents might be OK with sitting under an image of the crucified Christ, I doubt it would be comfortable for Jewish children and their parents, given how often the crucifixion has been used as an excuse to persecute Jews. And I’m trying to imagine how some Christians would feel about having their child’s graduation in a mosque.”

Mohamed Elibiary, spokesman, Islamic Asssociation of North Texas/Dallas Central Mosque

“We would advise DISD to slow down its consideration to change the current neutral graduation venue policy and instead launch a broad stakeholders’ feedback effort. It is a fact that some faith communities with larger percentages of new immigrant constituencies will view this policy change as biased towards certain denominations, such as megachurches, with the large facilities to lease to the school district in the first place. Public schools were partially established more than a century ago so that various segments of the American public can find that uniting neutral ground that reminds all that despite numerous differences, we are still all equal Americans, civically speaking.”

Mike Ghouse, a Muslim and president of the Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

“It implies an association with that place of worship and carries the baggage in the long haul. What if the new pastor is a bigot and has a problem with gay or lesbian kids or kids of other faiths? It is always the individual that drives the society towards ill will or goodwill. Why do we need to subject ourselves to such whims?

“We are a pluralistic society and deeply want our kids to grow up and interact with the real world out there that comprises people of different faiths, races, ethnicities and sexual orientation. A religious building does not offer such an environment, even with a few exceptions.”

Holly K. Hacker

Americans Together, a documentary

What the majority of Americans want is a just society where everyone feels safe, secure and without the fear of other. What exactly do we want? How will we make the change?  How do we convince those cashing in on hate and fear mongering? Can we find a way to make peace lucrative and redirect energy towards creating a cohesive America? 

Our Founding Fathers laid the ground work for such a society, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Martin Luther King Jr. expressed that in his speech, “ I have a dream that my four little  children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Chief Seattle, a Native American said this perfectly, “All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the webs, he does it to himself."

The questions we face are;

1. What are we doing to preserve that delicate web?
2. What are our initiatives?
3. What are the issues that divide us?
4. How would we allay the prevalent phobias and fears?
5. What is your vision for America?

John F Kennedy, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what yourcountry can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." We hope to capture your responses in a moving story about America. The "Occupy Movement" is a reflection of doing something. We need to channel that energy and passion in building a cohesive America.

Americans Together is a documentary about Americans working toward building that cohesive society. Our Mission is to build a cohesive America, where no American has to live with anxiety, discomfort or fear. We will highlight the role of the Muslims in this documentary.

It is time we bring fruition to the change we want, here is the first step in working towards building a cohesive America that is good for every one of the 312 Million Americans. Our focus will be overall prosperity rather than pitting one against the other.

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

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

Indeed, we are not connected enough with each other for a vast majority of Americans to stand up for each other,  empathize with each other, or even understand the truth about each other that we are no different in our endeavors and aspirations in life.

The Prophets, Messengers of God, Spiritual masters, Wise Men and Women and the Peace Makers believed in peaceful co-existence of humanity and consistently solved differences and encouraging kindness among us all. Their effort was to bring about a positive change and create a cohesive society where no one was to be apprehensive of the other. 

Prophet Muhammad, the peace maker, believed in peaceful co-existence and consistently mitigated conflicts and nurtured goodwill amongst various groups. He wanted to bring about a change and create a cohesive society where no one lived in fear.

We have begun on our plan to interview and present different perspectives representing the full spectrum of America from extreme right to the extreme left and most certainly the moderate majority. We started with the heads of major Muslim organizations and will be reaching out to every representation of America. It’s my commitment to work towards building a unified America.

We hope to document the efforts that go towards building a just America that every one desires and is doing something about it. This documentary, Americans Together,  will be released this year at a conference to be attended by political candidates, elected representatives, religious, civil, business and community leaders.

We are looking for stories;

• where people have stood up for each other, did everything they can towards creating a better America. 
• compelling story to tell,
•  has got to make people think, ponder and want to take an action. 

We are  looking for partners:

• to fund and participate in our conference and documentary,
• find and research stories
• to write script

If you know someone who has a story or who wants to help us, please let us know.

The purpose of “Americans Together” is to remove myths in open discussion forum. In that we will restore the cohesiveness of our society, working towards building a safe and secure America for every one of the 312 Million of us.

We have come a long way to embrace and accept our differences. However, this year has given rise to yet another temptation; to blame Islam, calling it an,"evil, evil religion" and calling its Prophet, " a false prophet. No American has to live in fear of the other, nor live with  anxiety or discomfort.

Some have been misused and abused in the name of religion. As Americans, are we going to let that happen? No, we can pull ourselves together and not fall for the temptation to divide us.

Goodness will come to our rescue, if we make an effort. Mike Ghouse adds, "As members of diverse family of faiths, we seek to demystify the myths, malice and falsification of our respective faiths. It is time for all of us to gather and understand each other and purge ourselves from ill-will towards fellow Americans."

Americans Together is an educational and pragmatic initiative to weed out myths from reality, which is hurting the social cohesiveness of America. The myths are vigorously propagated by a few to disrupt the delicate balance in our society by pitting one American against the other for their own perceived gains.

Ever since we declared our independence, we have been tested time and again by various political, economic and religious forces to divide us, however, at the end we have come out strong as one nation. Let’s take that first step in bringing a positive change through dialogue.

As a society, it is our individual and collective responsibility to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. Hate, prejudice and stereotyping are some of the many root causes of disrupting peace in a society. It is our duty to track down the source of such ill-will and work on mitigating it.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, to the media and the public. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, politics, Islam, interfaith, India and peace. Over a thousand articles have been published on these topics and two of his books on Pluralism and Islam are poised to be released.

Mike's work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs indexed atwww.mikeghouse.net,  and you can find all of his current articles atwww.TheGhousediary.com