Angelina Jolie, John Kerry, Refugees and Interfaith Iftaar

Washington, D.C., The Adams Center hosted Iftaar (breaking of fast) dinner, and was attended by Angelina Jolie and John Kerry and several dignitaries from the State Department. The interfaith community was represented well by many faith leaders. New titles were bestowed: It is Imam Pastor Magid and Pastor Imam Bob Roberts now for the kind of interfaith work they do.

I must give credit to Rizwan Jaka, Chairman of the Adams Center for being a genuine interfaith leader and making sincere efforts in pulling people from as many faiths as he can. I know many fakies out there,  but he is one of the few authentic ones. A man with a good pure heart.

The occasion was international refugee day. There are over 65 Million refugees and displaced people in the world.   Those who look down on the refugees, have no idea the humility they go through it.  Those who shrug it off as not my problem have not seen the full life.   I recall pictures from a major flood in Pakistan where homes of rich and poor were completely wiped out, and each one of them stretching their hands for food and water, and it was one of the most difficult scenes to witness.

I was on Fox News with Sean Hannity a few months back when the house and senate rejected taking refugees and President Obama had to go through an executive order.  This nation was formed on immigration, except the Native Americans, almost all of us are refugees.

Am I responsible for this mess?  If I have any conscience, I am a contributor to it, if I don’t speak out against it, or write against it. This is not acceptable.

I am severely disappointed with the Congress (Senate and the house) and particularly Republicans who have a majority in both the houses.

It is time for us to tell the idiots in congress to take a hike in November elections for the following reasons:

1. i) The Republican Senate rejected the bill “no fly no buy guns” that is, the loonies who are on no fly list can buy the guns like the deranged idiot in Orlando mass murderer.
   Neither Guns kill people nor Religions kill people, but bad people kill innocent people and as a society we have the responsibility to place restrictions on the terrorists to own guns.
2. ii) There is no evidence of Refugees being terrorists, they have a good vetting process and we need to do our share of the refugees. Our policies to mess with other nations created these problems; men like Paul Wolfowitz, Cheney and others had planned to topple stable governments, these men were hunting for the heads of the state in the pretext of saving the people. Had we not invaded Iraq, none of this would have happened. Shame on us, enough of us did not protest. These men are roaming free instead being behind the bars.

iii) Equal pay for women bill was not passed either, and I have no idea why even 30% of Republican Women want to Vote for Trump, what’s wrong with them?

Jesus said feed the hungry, cloth the naked, shelter the homeless.  To these men and few women, Jesus doesn’t mean a thing to them.

If the Native Americans had built the wall, none of us including Trump would have made it here. If Mexicans had built walls, California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona would have remained a Mexican territory, and none of us would have made it unless we learned Spanish.

All it takes is for us to speak up through the ballot, throw the existing members who oppose common sense and bring in new Americans who have common sense and truly want to serve America.

Mike Ghouse, and independent
Neither a Republican nor a Democrat.
www.TheGhouseDiary.com

Beyond Tolerance, a call to Religious freedom and hopeful action.

Beyond Tolerance, a call to Religious freedom and hopeful action.

Washington, DC - October 22, 2015 --  Evangelical Ministers, Imams and community leaders gathered up in Washington, DC to figure out how to co-exist. 

It was a powerful event loaded with unpleasant statistics but paved the way for taking the next step; action.  We the Muslims need to seriously focus on positive engagement.  Over 100 people attended the event – and per the independent research, the Evangelical pastors have a much lower opinion of Islam and Muslims than the general American public. A heart to heart conversation took place followed by a pledge to improve the situation. 

The survey provided the tools and gave us a starting point; engagement. I have taken pictures of the slides, but will get their power point and put together an action plan for consideration.    

The event was headed by Pastor Bob Roberts of Texas ( a great friend) and Imam Maged of Adams Center, it was held at the First Baptist Church in Glenarden outside the beltway on North East side of Washington, DC. 

I have absorbed these facts with a determination to improve the perceptions about us. 
The next day, on Friday, the group met at the National Cathedral, several friends of Muslims and Evangelicals along with people from the Department of State and other groups joined in. It was a pledge to work on freedom of religion followed by a press conference. Ambassadors Saperstein, Rasool, Rashad Ahmed, Arsalan Suleman, Prince Faisal Turki, Rick Love, Bob Roberts, Imam Zia Sheikh and several others attended the event.

The Evangelicals emphasized on an honest dialogue, indeed, our faith tells us to tell the truth even if it goes against us and we can build on one of the most important characteristics.

The following note was sent to Bob Roberts and Rick Love.

Dear Rick and Bob,

Congratulations! it was indeed a successful event, you have done your part, and now it is our duty to take the word with concrete actions to four corners of the world.

Bob, is one of my favorite evangelical pastors; he was recognized with the Pluralist Award in 2009 from  America Together Foundation. Bob truly represents the teachings of Jesus, just as Pope Francis does.

Rick's work is well known and it was a joy to connect with him. He and I were in Louisville about the incident there… they are good folks there. .

On September 16, 2015, a few miscreants painted hate symbols on the River Road mosque in Louisville. When the local community at large found out about this, nearly 1000 people from main stream and disparate ethnic communities came to the mosque to show their solidarity with Muslims, and they joined in the community cleanup and re-painting the mosque.  This act of support was not just out of a sense of justice, compassion or help for the underdog, but clearly out of enduring friendship, which is the most reliable relationship, not bound by time or situation.  We congratulate Dr. Babar Cheema and the Louisville Muslim leadership, which has nurtured a relationship of friendship and trust with the local community over many years.

Let's fight the bias within us against the Evangelicals. 

First thing first, we (Muslims) need to work on our own bias towards Evangelical pastors, our language ought to reflect that. On November 30, 2009,  a piece was written urging people not to be biased against Baptist/ Evangelicans. It was the sixth or seventh piece urging people not to stereotype people. Three more notes about Bob are included after this note.

Pastor Robert Jeffress (2009 - Dallas, TX) attacks Mormons, Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, he calls them all cults. Please note that I am not highlighting his affiliation with the Dallas Baptist Church, there is no way, the Church approves hate or ill-will towards other humans, it goes against the very teachings of Jesus Christ.

As a society we have faltered in blaming the group or the religion for the acts of individuals. The words of Pastor Jeffress generates fear, anxieties hate and ill-will, it is him and not the reflection of his Church, even if the congregation sheepishly claps and gives a standing ovation when the pastor calls out, “Islam is an evil evil religion and Quran is a book written by a false prophet” with full passion.

Please remove any bias you may have against Baptist Church because you’ll find bigotry in every denomination and every religion and no one can cast the first stone. In a short span of 7 years, in my own town Dallas, just one Baptist Pastor’s ignorance is overwhelmed by many Baptist pastors, just to name a few who reflect the inclusive teachings of Jesus with substantial backing are Late Pastor Roy Harrell of Thanksgiving Square, who led the Christian Coalition prayers representing several denominations at the Unity day USA program in 1985.

Pastor George Mason of the Wilshire Baptist Church who was the first one to agree to be on the panel demystifying the myths about Quran in the Quran conference and Pastor Bob Roberts who has led many expeditions in exploring common grounds among faiths, including a joint commemoration of 9/11 by Muslims and Baptist. By the way, both the gentlemen were recipients of the “Pluralist Award” in 2009 for their work in living with no bias towards others.

This event changed perceptions about Muslims in a major way. The full piece is at: http://quraanconference.blogspot.com/2012/12/pastor-robert-jeffress-ignites-quraan.html


Dedicated to Bob Roberts  

Bob Roberts language is Quranic, when he talks, his language reflects the essence of Sura Kafiurn, one of the best chapters on conducting civil dialogue. The following understanding of Sura Kafirun was written on July 5, 2008, almost five years ago and now, on this day February 09, 2013, it is being dedicated to Pastor Bob Roberts for his bold take on respecting the otherness of others,  URL- The link http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html 

Another one for Bob Roberts

……..Quran is one of the most misunderstood books on the earth, even by Muslims.  He sees it as a pluralistic document to build cohesive societies, where God is not the exclusive property of anyone but a universal energy that belongs to all, loves us all, and cares for our well being.  Dr. Ghouse is producing a short book addressing the myths and facts about Quran, and this book will be dedicated to Pastor Bob Roberts of Texas, the big name among Evangelical Pastors and Imam Zia Shaikh from Irving, Texas have understood the full meaning of pluralism, i.e., respecting the otherness of others.

Standing up for Christians

Here is a chapter from my upcoming book, "Standing up for others" - the link to Standing up for Christians is included here. http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/01/standing-with-christians.html 

Clicking on the pictures will give a larger image

Presenting independent research survey

Muslims and Evangelicals sharing their perceptions\

At National Cathedral

Formal signing of the pledge to religious freedom

Imam Maged and Rick Love begin signing the pledge

Ambassador for religious freedom, Rabbi David Saperstein

Rick Love, Mike Ghouse, Imam Zia Sheikh

Girl Scouts doing the flag ceremony and the pledge

I am so proud of humanity and the goodness that resides in every heart, the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign is blessing to American Muslims, thanks to ISNA for being a partner with them, and we at American Muslim Institution are friends with Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign.   

Here is a great speech by Catherine Osrborn, the director of the Campaign. 

"My name is Catherine Orsborn, and I direct the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign.

Shoulder to Shoulder was formed in 2010, when nearly 30 religious denominations and organizations came together to take a stand against the anti-Muslim bigotry that was infecting our public rhetoric here in the US.  We worked in partnership with the National Cathedral and a number of other groups and individuals to bring together this diverse collection of religious leaders today, to recommit ourselves to one another and to call on our public officials to stand up against bigotry and discrimination based on religious identity. 

We have considered together today the critical intersections of religious freedom globally- and to say that as Americans, we have a duty in our own context, in our own realm of influence, to protect and uphold the freedom and flourishing of religious communities, and particularly of religious minority communities, here at home.  It’s been a difficult year for many minority communities in the US. Hate rhetoric and prejudice has societal consequences, sometimes violent consequences. 

Our commitment to a pluralistic religious freedom here in the US requires tending.  A number of faith leaders and communities have come together to say that we reject the demonization of the other and we stand together in our quest to build our multi-religious society in a way that goes beyond tolerance. 

But we can’t do this alone- we need our public officials to stand up as well, showing us that they, too, value religious freedom for all.  We need public officials across this nation to refrain from bigoted rhetoric, singling out and denigrating any religious community that calls this country home.  Those participating in this initiative hold different views on many aspects of belief and politics, but the best version of America can recognize, respect, and value difference as part of what makes us the nation that we are.  

It’s an American problem when certain communities are made to feel as if they don’t have a full seat at the American table.  When one religious community is attacked, it’s on all of us to stand against it, not only because we value freedom and inclusion for our own communities, but because we are neighbors and fellow citizens who must care for one another and work together in order to make our communities and our world a better place.

Thank you for being here today, and to all who put time and energy into this initiative- I find much hope in the commitment reflected here today. "

-----------------------------

What does it take to change the perceptions about Muslims? We have had success in most things we have done. I will have a solid program put together for our organization American Muslim Institution,  and upon approval, we would take the step forward.


If we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

# # #

Dr. Mike Ghouse is social scientist, thinker, writer and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, human rights, foreign policy and building cohesive societies. He offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and more about him is in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at TheGhousediary.com

Texas Faith: Beyond King, which religious leader(s) has had an impact

Beyond King, which religious leader has had a major impact on American Politics and culture. Ten Texas Faith Panelists share their thoughts, here is Mike’s perspective, to see them all including this, please go to Dallas Morning News:

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/01/texas-faith-beyond-king-which.html

Mike Ghouse, President, Foundation for Pluralism

I am pleased to share about a few Pluralist individuals who are making a difference in the religious landscape of Dallas Fort Worth.

Pluralism is an attitude of learning to respect the otherness of others, and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. As we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge to create a cohesive America where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.  In the context of religion, we define Religious pluralism as, learning to respect every which way one honors or worships the divine and accepts each path to be a valid one without denigrating any.

Pastor Bob Roberts of Northwood Baptist Church from Keller, Texas was clear when he opened up his church to a thousand Muslims for celebrating Ramadan. He said, you have your beliefs and your faith and I have mine, no matter how you view Jesus.

 I take him as a son of God and my redeemer and the Muslims understood that and still talk about his eloquence. About a year and a half ago, when Pastor Jeffress said his famous line, Quraan is an evil book written by a false prophet; Bob Roberts wrote an op-ed in Dallas Morning News countering the poor understanding of the other Pastor, there were huge discussions on it honoring Bob Roberts for leading the way in accepting the otherness of other.

Pastor George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church has helped me understand and propagate the grace aspect of God, it is not just your actions and deeds that are enough, but God’s ultimate grace is needed for salvation. This is one of the differences in understanding between Muslims and Christians and his teachings have built some bridges of understanding.

The Pastor of the Unification Church, Rev. Sun Myung Moon who is making a genuine difference in the world of Pluralism by practicing respect for other faiths in his congregations and organizations throughout the world.

I am highlighting Pastors Roberts and Mason, because they are Baptists of big Churches. There is a bias against Baptists out there in the market that I hope to remove. Each religion has its own share of bigots and we need to see that clearly.

Indeed, our first Unity Day event’s Christian prayers were led by Late Rev. Roy Harrell another Baptist Minister.  There are many more great pastors I admire for their work; Rev. Bill Matthews, Rev. Petra Weldes, Rev. Diane Baker, Rev. Eric Folkerth, Rev. Dennis Hamilton and several others who are making a difference in our area.

The open mindedness of Swami Nityananda Prabhu of Hare Krishna Hindu Temple; a panelist on this forum is admirable. Where ever I run, people love to talk about his teachings from Bhagvad Gita on my Radio Show, called Wisdom of Religion.  He has indeed opened up minds of non-Hindus to see the wisdom of Hinduism.

Dr. Imam Zia Shaikh of Irving Islamic Center has broken many records of stereotyping Muslims; one of the situations was when he led the Pledge of Allegiance in one of the annual Unity day programs. I was rather surprised to hear from a few calling me up to tell that, they did not expect a Muslim Imam to lead the pledge of Allegiance and they said we will not stereotype Muslims any more.

He is active in interfaith and perhaps one devoted and a committed Muslim who has attended every interfaith program in the last five years and he has demonstrated in respecting the other otherness of other.

 Same goes with Dr. Imam Yusuf Zia Kavakci of Richardson Mosque, who is considered one of the 100 recognized Muslims Scholars in the world. The Muslims in Dallas Fort worth hear and see the open mindedness of these two scholars towards other faiths. Both of them are nurturing the values of pluralism in their congregations; that is thousands of Muslims in our area who are influenced by their teachings.

Each one of them is all about affection for life, non-discriminatory caring. They do not favor one person over the other for the heck of it, instead, they look at the good deeds, which Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] described as the good you can do to other beings, the goodness you bring to God's creation. 

Mike's note: There are many more individuals who have done tremendous work in the Dallas Forth Worth Metroplex, God willing, I hope to write about them as well.

 Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America, where no American has to be apprehensive, uncomfortable or fear the other. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and a frequent guest on Sean Hannity Show on Fox and a regular guest on National syndicated radio show and Dallas Media. With over 1000 published articles he has two books poised to be released. Most of his work is indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net

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