The ISIS Genocide of Yazidi, Christians and Shia

Marking the Anniversary of the US Government’s recognition of this ISIS Genocide in Iraq and Syria.

March 16, 2017 – Washington, DC at Capitol Hill.  The Genocide Coalition is partnerships of organizations and advocates for the religious minorities in Iraq and Syria targeted by ISIS for genocide.  ISIS has been pushed back, the but the Genocide continues. Many of the indigenous religious and ethnic communities targeted by ISIS are still unable to return to their homes – and many, nearly three years later, are still not receiving US aid. Before peace and reconciliation efforts can begin, the victims of genocide must be able to return to their homes safely.

Sitting through listening to over a dozen speakers, I hear the same words again and again, I was stuck when Zina Kiryakos, Christian Human Rights council stated that, “7000 years of civilization was destroyed, millions of Chaldean Christians were forced to leave….” I was thinking about the Genocides of the Native Americans as we had commemorated it along with other Genocides. I was picturing the whole list of Genocides through out the human history. Is any nation, any social, political, religious, ethnic or racial group free from being perpetrators?   I need to study these attitudes in terms of majoritarian arrogance rather than their religious or political affiliations. The stinky attitudes towards the others who are weak, powerless and numerical minorities. After 12 years of commemorating Holocaust and many genocides, I feel the pain of all people and I am thankful to God that every one’s pain is my pain too.

Call to Action: The Genocide Coalition calls on the Trump Administration and the international community to take a swift action to stabilize Iraq; to identify and punish those who aided and abetted ISIS in its campaign of genocide and terror; and to appoint to key positions qualified persons who will pursue these and related humanitarian and national security priorities.

There is no doubt Muslims are a maligned lot as some of them have been on the perpetrator’s side at least in the last few decades. As a society, we need to keep our focus on the individuals and cults instead of groups, we should not buy into stereotyping of any kind. If we buy one, we might as well buy justify crimes against each one of us.

I attended the Genocide Coalition at Capitol Hill yesterday sponsored by IDC in defense of Christians.  It was about the Genocide of Christians, Yazidi and Shia Muslims. It was very difficult to understand how minorities are being harassed in every nation and community. Over a dozen Speakers spoke. Nadia Murad, the Yazidi woman spoke, she was raped multiple times by terrorists in the name of Islam, it was not easy, but she was graceful and did not show any bitterness and instead was seeking solutions to end the genocides of not only her people but others too.

I was tensed up for a few moments and quickly recovered. Who will speak for Muslims that condemn these cults. How do we communicate, why did I not seek to speak?  Then the big relief came when I saw Zainab Al-Suwaij’ name on the list and she spoke, Muslims need to be a part of the society in good times and sad times.

Since there was no room for others to speak or comment, I was hesitant, but doing the right thing is the right thing to do. I asked Prof Robert Destro to speak for a minute and he granted and I kept it to the minute. I said, “I just want to share that the American Muslims have dedicated a Friday Sermon and prayed for Yazidis, Christians and Shia and Muslims are constantly standing up for human rights of others”. Here are the two article in Huffington post.

1. Muslims to Dedicate Friday Sermons for the Safety of Christians, Yazidis, Shia and   – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muslims-to-dedicate-frida_b_5679118.html 

2. President Obama, Go Ahead ‘Degrade and Destroy’ ISIS – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/president-obama-go-ahead-_b_5765264.html

3. Standing up for others – www.StandingupforOthers.com 

Destro concluded some thing to this effect, “More Muslims are victimized and slaughtered by ISIS than the others, and we are all in this together against the ISIS.” The event was orderly and no one took more than the allotted time.

A good line up of speakers: Nadia Murad, a survivor of Yazidi rapes and torture, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Congressman Fortenberry (R-NE), Zina Kiryakos – Christian Human rights council, Phillipe Nassif – In Defense of Christians, Andrew Walther – Knights of Columbus, Robert Nicholson – Philos Project, Naomi Kikoler – USHMM, Adlay Kejjan – Yazidi American Women Organization, Zainab Al Suwaijj – American Islamic Congress, Faith McDonnel – IRD,  Steve Colecchi – USCCB, Kristina Arriaga – USCRIF, Stephen Hollighshead – Iraq Haven, Professor Robert Destro, and Ninia Shea – Hudson Institute.

This is a weekly or a daily story for me, and I am sure you are the only Muslim in some events and felt relieved. Now, why don’t you attend these events? You don’t get paid for this, neither do I…? If you believe you have to serve the community, getting out there is better than talking non-stop in social gatherings.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. All about him in 65 links at www.MikeGhouse.net

    

Is Brigitte Gabrielle wrong?

Most people don't like her rants and hatred she spews about Muslims, Islam, Quran and the Prophet, however, she does make a point, and what is that point?

She speaks the language of ISIS and the Radicals among Muslims, both of them have hung on to the wrong sources of information. It is a shame that Muslims have not looked into the sources of Islamophobia; one is obviously hereditary with a handful of Christians and Jews,  and the other we need to focus on is unquestioned, bamboozled and shameful Muslim (not Islamic or Quranic) literature against Jews and Christians.

It is my responsibility to at least make the world aware of it, and at least make Brigitte aware of it. If someone funds, I can communicate to the sinners of ISIS, Al-Qaeda and their likes,  and hope through a short documentary we can decimate their venomous ideology from spreading and blocking future recruitments, and possible redemption of a majority of them from that hateful rotten mess they are in.

Full article will be submitted to newspaper for publication, and once published, the link will be provided here.

Reference and video:
Brigitte Gabriel, founder of the American Congress For Truth and ACT! for America, said those terrorist groups were following Islam the way it was intended. “ISIS is Islamic in its purist form,” she said. It’s called the Islamic State. It operates following exactly the commandments of Muhammad. ISIS is not doing anything that Muhammad himself did not do. Whether it is beheading, cutting off ears, cutting off tongues, killing traitors. Muhammad himself was a military leader. In the Islamic world he is considered Al-Insan al-Kamil, the perfect man. ISIS is following the Koran to the letter. "

Read more: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2015/12/30/brigitte-gabriel-isis-not-doing-anything-that-mohammed-himself-did-not-do-289239?hvid=3zEhJJ#ixzz3wDaZMtZY
Mike Ghouse, 
(214) 325-1916

Washington, DC 

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

 

Sacred - a great American movie in the making

What is Sacred, Flag, Holy Books, Mother, Freedom of Speech?

Sacred Film is about a successful real life event set in Mulberry, Florida coupled with a compelling romantic story built around the Quran burning incident. It is filled with human aspirations, fears, suspense and actions of a typical Hollywood Film.

The film skillfully manages conflicting issues of freedom of speech v what is sacred; safety of Americans v violent reactions; and radicalism v. pluralism. It is an embodiment of conflict mitigation and goodwill nurturance based on teachings of Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad. It is a model for building cohesive societies.  Indeed, the concept is encouraged by major institutions.

Through “Sacred”, the world will witness positive changes taking shape; it encourages what Muslims ought to be – the Amins, and how they will be perceived by the society at large. What is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice-versa to restore sustainable harmony.

Sacred is an exemplary story of ordinary Muslim Americans working with fellow Americans of different faiths in forging a new paradigm; a cohesive America where no American has to live in tension, apprehension or fear of the other.

Shooting will begin in March for a September 11 release.  I will be happy to give a presentation to your group.

Nawaz Shariff should respectfully resign for the sake of orderly democratic Pakistan

Nawaz Shariff should respectfully resign for the sake of orderly democratic Pakistan.

By Mike Ghouse
The Ghouse Diary.com

Shariff was elected by the people and the same people are asking him to step down - and that is indeed a genuine democratic thing to do. He should remember that peaceful demonstrations earn respectable name for Pakistan in the world, and if he honors the peaceful people, he will have a place in history.

Pakistan turmoil, courtesy Rueters

On the other hand if Nawaz Shariff goes berserk, he will cause Pakistan to go violent and endanger his own existence. What does he think of himself, a Netanyahu or Al-Baghdadi that he can silence the people by brutal force?

If he were any smart, he would go on the national TV and appreciate the people and welcome them for peacefully exercising their democratic right to protest, and do what the people ask; to recount the ballot or resign. Is that a problem?   More than likely, the demonstrations would have been called off and he would have remained respectable and would have won another landslide victory, but the he did not have the brains to do that. 

Every peace loving person should be outraged at this dude for deploying 10,000 Special Forces to disperse the peaceful non-violent crowds seeking political solutions. On the top of it, he ordered firing at nearly 200 injured women, which reminds me of Jalianwala Bagh incident where British forces did the same thing and women jumped into the wells and died. I am proud of these women who stood and took the bullets. But, this is outrageous and unacceptable, he ain’t no Baghdadi. 

When the bad guys were killing fellow Pakistanis be it Shia, Christians, Ahmadies and others, Shariff let it happen, and now when his days are numbered, he deploys 10,000 forces to squelch the peaceful demonstrators. It does not work that way.

What kind of non-sense is he talking about when he says he wants to protect democracy? If he steps down respectfully, he will have a chance to continue in some form of governance, if not, he knows her kuttay ke din hotay hain, he has seen every dog had his day, and he will be one too if he goes against the will of the people.

Its time for Obama to ask Shariff to step down, it is in our (American) interest and the interests of the people of Pakistan to have stability in the region, we cannot have more than one Afghanistan.  I hope Obama will not wait until it becomes messy to ask Shariff to step down; as he did the right thing with Mubarak in asking him to step down by siding with the people of Egypt. Obama made the same mistake with that Idiot Maliki in Iraq, had Maliki formed an inclusive government, we would not have seen this mess. Of course, all these problems stem from Bush's criminal adventure in Iraq. Obama is a good guy, but he needs to be a bully to deal with the bullies.

It’s time for Obama to be on the side of the Pakistani people and not with the guys who are desperate to remain in power. Be smart and be with the people and not with the transients.  All Obama has to do is ask Nawaz Shariff to announce recounting, or announce a date for re-election. It will restore calmness. The people of Pakistan deserve that.

Nazia Khan, Aqeel Qureshi and a few others are out there witnessing the mayhem first hand, and I hope to incorporate their quotes in the piece, I am writing on our goofy foreign policy about nurturing democracies.

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. 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.

Congratulations Mr. Narendra Modi!

SUMMARY OF ARTICLES WRITTEN IN 2014
http://mikeghouse.net/Articles/Narendra-Modi-India.asp
 

Congratulations Mr. Narendra Modi!
CAVEAT EMPTOR -PLEASE READ THE DISCLOSURE AT BOTTOM

A few Muslims and Christians may find it difficult to read the phrase, “Congratulations Mr. Modi”- they feel a sense of betrayal in congratulating the “Butcher of Gujarat” or Hindutva forces that “raped the Nuns”.  The Muslim-Christian apprehensions are indeed legitimate and need to be addressed,  and I hope Mr. Modi will take this up and bring a closure to this.  

On his part, Mr. Modi has made statements to include every Indian, "sab ka sath, sab ka vikas" - i.e., together, everyone's prosperity.  I hope and pray that he will stand by his words. Meanwhile, we have to move forward. 

The time to argue and challenge was lost on May 12, 2014. Whatever needed to be done should have been done at the ballot, and the Modi won the ballot.  An overwhelming majority of Indians chose to trust his words about inclusive development, and on his part,  he has stayed away from communalizing the elections process, which invariably appealed to the voters. We have to honor the verdict of the people of India, and it does not mean we cannot differ and continue to seek redressing the injustices to fellow Indians, but rather work as a team to solve the problems of the nation and uplift the common man, as opposed to spending our time in tearing each other apart with nothing to gain. 

The Dalits, Muslims and Christians have voted for Modi in similar percentages as the mainstream Hindu and other communities have, those are the hard numbers. Dalits have clearly abandoned their Rakhwala's (claimants and protectors) and voted for Modi. Likewise the good polls predicted Muslims could influence the outcomes for 222 MP's, and they did, not the congress or Samajawadi party, but Modi.  Congress and SP's should have won over 150 seats clearly if they had the Muslim and Dalit support, which they did not.  In fact, Modi has earned an inclusive mandate from all communities.  This needs to be dug deeper. We have to look at his statements in the last phase of the elections. In numerous interviews Mr. Modi has done what was needed to be done – articulate his vision for one India and inclusive growth.

The past has to come to an end, and for most Indians, it ended on May 16, and from the 17^th  a new era of action has begun. We have to go forward and focus on nation building . 

On my part,  I pledge to give my support in building a cohesive India, where no Indian is denied equal access, opportunity and justice to become a participant and a contributor to the overall growth of the nation, and more importantly no Indian has to live in fear of the other. I will be happy to part take in such efforts as needed, as my sacred duty to my motherland.   

A full op-ed is in the writing, and I hope to articulate the need to support Mr. Modi, while seeking redressing of justice for the victims of Gujarat Massacre. He also wants justice and will remain innocent until proven guilty of direct involvement.  

Congratulations Mr. Modi, the Indians have placed their trust in you, and now it is up to you to provide the leadership in building prosperity and bring cohesion to the children of India.

Mike Ghouse, is a Public Speaker, thinker and a writer committed to offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Thank you
Jai Hind



mike
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk

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Narendra Modi's speech on Good governance (5/19/14)

This is one of the best speeches Modi has delivered on good governance and a developmental economic model. Some may say that someone else may have written it, that is fine, but he has owned it by delivering it so eloquently and I hope he means every word of it. http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com/2014/05/narendra-modis-speech-on-good.html

US Policy on Modi needs to Change (5/16/14)

I do hope, President Obama puts his differences aside, and values the verdict of the people of India, it is not a simple majority, it is a huge majority. Let's give Modi a chance and trust our democracy and support him in his plans - as he has articulated it in his interview time and again. http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2014/05/us-policy-on-india-and-modi-needs-to.html

The bigger news of Modi is India wins (5/16/14)

The bigger news is that “India has won” as Modi has put it. An ordinary person has made it to the top, that is the sign of a true democracy, and it’s a positive motivation to the common Indian man – A chai wallah can make it so I one can make it too, if I have the dedication and commitment to do it. http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-bigger-news-of-modi-win.html

India's Modi on His Best Behavior: Can We Trust Him? (5/9/14)

We criticize individuals with the idea of wanting them to reset their course and get back on the righteous path of justice, humility, truth and respect for every life. Here is an effort to invoke Mr. Modi to follow "rajdharma," or good governance. Democracy and pluralism (i.e., respecting the otherness of others) runs in our veins, so let's have faith in our system. If Mr. Modi fails us, we can dump him through ballot or a no-confidence vote, as we did with Indira Gandhi and Vajpayee. To attain greatness and a place in the annals of history, Mr. Modi has a lot more to prove than we can demand. Continued at Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/indias-modi-on-his-best-behavior-can-we-trust-him_b_5280892.html#es_share_ended

Time Magazine changed the Times man of the year (4/23/14)

TIME heeded to Mike's activism on the issue and has now removed the 6 million votes generated from Modi's autobots that were cast yesterday. In the final result now on display at the TIME 100 Poll page, Arvind Kajriwal has been declared the winner and Modi now has voted as the most disliked person in the list with the largest number of NO votes. http://time.com/73538/indian-politician-arvind-kejriwal-wins-time-100-readers-poll/

Modi, Kejriwal become Time's 'most influential' people thanks to dodgy poll and online fan club (4/23/14)

Dallas-based multi-faith peace activist Mike Ghouse says he did exactly that to confirm his suspicion, clicking several times from the same computer to record multiple votes. "This is a serious issue of integrity of the Time Magazine," he said in an email. "Can Time audit its computers to determine how many clicks have come from the same computer?" Obviously, the online battle has no bearing on reality. But the winner will take home the momentary bragging rights of being "elected" Time magazine's most influential person in the world, even though the more important verdict will come on May 16.  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Modi-Kejriwal-become-Times-most-influential-people-thanks-to-dodgy-poll-and-online-fan-club/articleshow/34123215.cms

 

India's experiment with clean politics (3/13/2014)

Years ago, India ranked # 1 on the list of corrupt nations in the world, and today it is not. Despite the economic, social, cultural frictions we have, we are inherently a pluralistic democracy. http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/03/indias-experiment-with-clean-politics.html

Modi's Nakshatras are not in his favor (12/23/13)

Narendra Modi's Nakshatras (stars) are not in his favor, and the Grahan (eclipse) is hovering over him like a dark shadow casting its Rahu Kala (inauspicious times). His run for the Prime Ministership is ashubh (unlucky) for the 2014 elections. We recommend him to withdraw from the race, finish the current term as the Chief Minister of the state and lay a solid foundation for the next run. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Narendra-Modi-s-Nakshatras-by-Mike-Ghouse-Anti-christian_Bharatiya-Janata-Party_Business_Congress-131227-999.html -  It was also published as an interview at Saudi Gazette. http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140227196984

India's future, Narendra Modi and moving forward (11/04/13)

Unfortunately, the majoritarian attitudes of a few harm India's harmony and adversely affect her prosperity. They harass, threaten and use violence to teach the minorities, women and the weak how to behave, and put them in their place. It is like letting the air out of one of the tires, hurting all of us in the end.

The 1984 Sikh Genocide, the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, burning of Hindu Passengers in Godhra and Massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, the rapes of Nuns, Dalits and destruction of Churches are among the ugly cruelties we have witnessed since independence in 1947. It is a shameful blot on the civility of our Mother; India. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/indias-future-narendra-mo_b_4177079.html

Another 25 Pieces are written prior to it - they are all in Google search, http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com and  Sulekha.com

How it all began:

I have been a severe critic of Mr. Modi, and have written and published articles ever since the Gujarat genocide. It started out with organizing a public demonstration against the riots in the first week of March 2002 in front of the old court house in Downtown Dallas.  This was followed by hosting events to show the horrors of the Massacre with Shabnam Hashmi and others to a program to commemorate the  Gujarat Genocide in a public forum on January 26, 2014 as a part of the 7^th annual Holocaust and Genocides event.  

Some of my fellow Hindu Indians (friends at one time)  in Dallas and on forums across the world started hating me and my presence without understanding that someone or the other has to speak up, and some of the hardcore Hindutva fanatics still do, they have clearly not understood the essence of democracy is to give voice to differing opinions and to stand up for the discriminated ones.   

Then some of the Muslims started hating me intensely for my endorsement of Vajpayee’s call to Muslims to join the BJP. We have to be engaged in the society – the answer is as simple as that. None of us can live in pens and expect the world to know us, and us to know others. Quran clearly calls the best one among us are those who "know" each other, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different point of view - then comes the peace.

You and I have the freedom today because people have opposed and stood up against a singular way of thinking and shunning diversity.  Diversity of thought and expression is a necessity to build cohesive societies.

A lot of articles have been written since then, some preserved at Sulekha.com and at http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
 

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C A V E A T   E M P T O R

I have been critical of Mr. Modi ever since Gujarat Massacre took place in 2002, and have been an activist and written extensively about the policies to govern. I have consistently sought justice for the victims of Gujarat and restoration of their livelihood and recommended on building desegregated societies for the ultimate good of India, but rarely have I sought the pound of flesh. In the last two weeks, however, I have written optimistic notes about Mr. Modi, based on his interviews and his speeches.  In the coming 100 days, IF I see his actions match his good words, and he does some praischit as a part of the raj dharma, I will admire that human quality in him, and would believe that he has the potential to be become one of the visionaries of India like Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru who was instrumental in building a stable democracy, that his daughter could not undo. Because of my write ups, I continue to lose a few my friends and that is ok, I don't need friends like that. We have to learn to live with our differences, and my commitment remains  building cohesive pluralistic societies and I like the new found inclusive language of Modi.
 

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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. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and a book with the same title is coming up. Mike has a strong presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.
 

Hobby Lobby and the you people

Hobby Lobby, and the You People.

“You People” is the most disgusting phrase one uses to expresses his or her hate or ignorance towards other people. Grammatically, it is the goofiest usage of the phrase to call you people to a single man or a woman.

In 2005, someone accused a Jewish individual at the Dallas City Hall, as ‘you people’ – thanks for my outrage, not only Dallas Morning News published it in the letters, but others jumped in too to express their outrage.

Bad things happen because good people do nothing about it, if we even a molecule of Good in us,  we need to speak up and do something about it.

The African Americans, Jewish, Muslims, Hindus, Chinese, Hispanic, Arabs, and other people are used to these phrases. It’s humiliating. Same thing happens to a white person in an all Asian or African American neighborhoods, why he or she is here, and the stares that go with it, and it’s not a comfortable feeling.

The act of Hobby Lobby store was not acceptable in a civil society, “We don't cater to you people” was the response a Jewish person received when asked for Hanukkah trinkets. The TGIF restaurant employee relished feeding a piece of bacon to a Muslim woman, what will do you do, if you were served the ribs, and you learn that it was dog meat while eating?   We need to condemn this to prevent it from happening again.  We all want an America where none of us have to live in fear or apprehension of the other.

We should take one of the three actions; 1. Demand what you people means 2. Complain to the Supervisor and 3. Call the News Media. In the long run, education is the way to go. We, all of us are conditioned to believe what we see – and shamefully we judge the entire group of people for the actions of a few.  Cleaning begins with us.

Let me warn you with the reverse bias – you are dead wrong to think that it is the white people who mistreat the minorities, hell no; we all are equally guilty of it.  It’s the 1/10^th of 1% of the people in each group, be it religious, ethnic, racial or other who are intolerant and bigots, and you will find the same percentage of bigots in every group including yours, White, Black, Hispanics, Indians and others.

Now some of us can stop by at Hobby Lobby, and ask them if they have items to celebrate Hanukkah, Ramadan, Ramnvami or whatever festival that we can talk about.  Not that we expect them to have, but how they respond to it.  Would they respect me as a customer if I were Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Black or Hispanic.  If not, do I have the right to report to them, so they don’t mistreat others?

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on the topics of Pluralism, Coexistence, politics, interfaith, Islam and building a cohesive America, and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. details at www.MikeGhouse.net

USA Today - http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/04/hobby-lobby-jewish-bias-or-business-decision/2921069/

Maddow - http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/05/20831389-this-week-in-god?lite

Ghouse - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/10/hobby-lobby-and-you-people.html

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Jesus, Muhammad and the Pope

JESUS, MUHAMMAD AND THE POPE.
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/08/jesus-muhammad-and-pope.html


When there is new conflict, Americans together will do what the great spirituals masters of each religion and tradition have taught us, for example what Jesus (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) would have done.

Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek – simply meaning, do not aggravate the conflict by violence or repulsive words, and Muhammad showed us a way to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill, so all of us can live without apprehension and fear of the other in a given society – a hallmark of civil societies that both these men taught. Thanks to Pope Francis for re-emphasizing the gospel teaching that may become the new norm of religion; mercy.

In one sentence, please share about your (or your religion/tradition’s) take on building civil societies where we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us.

Mike Ghouse
America Together Foundation

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

Texas Faith: Do we need a new national conversation about marriage?

Humanity is diverse, that's God's intentional creation. The male/ female ratio has always remained around 50/50 with +/- 2 points variation on either side. The world would never be 100% male or female, likewise the world would never be 100% Gay, it will be a natural 10-15% of the population. Mike Ghouse


Texas Faith: Do we need a new national conversation about marriage?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
Dallas Morning News, Published on February 5, 2012

Ten panelists contributed to this forum, to read the contributions from all the panelists, please visit - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/02/texas-faith-do-we-need-a-new-national-conversation-about-marriage.html/

Has the conversation about marriage reached a dead-end in our country, as Blankenhorn suggests? If it has, please explain what you would like this conversation to now include. If you think we don't need a new conversation, please explain.

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

The conversation on marriage has just opened up, and we are far from reaching the dead-end. But until that time we will need two parallel societies. They will not be in conflict with each other, but each on its own path.

What is missing in the conversation is our untapped ability in understanding the wisdom of God. As humans we are disgustingly selfish, and grind on to the selective verses that suit our insecurities to force the weak (minority) into obedience, as if we gain something.

The conservatives among us, particularly those who are Christians and Muslim, are stuck in the dished-out versions of the Sodom and Gomorrah story. We need to follow Jesus in spirit, and follow the merciful and inclusive God of the Universe (Quran).

God has endowed us with free will. He let Adam make the mistake without slapping him for eating the forbidden fruit. Instead, he kicked us out, and gave us an opportunity to multiply and live out in a bigger world with free will. He wanted us to figure out living with each other without punishing the few, who opt not to multiply.

As a futurist of interfaith trends, I have been struggling to understand sin. I found guidance in Buddhist literature about sin from this analysis, which I read on ReligionFacts.com:

"'Sexual misconduct' has thus traditionally been interpreted to include actions like coercive sex, sexual harassment, child molestation and adultery. As homosexuality is not explicitly mentioned in any of the Buddha's sayings recorded in the Pali Canon (Tripitaka), most interpreters have taken this to mean that homosexuality should be evaluated in the same way as heterosexuality, in accordance with the following principles: I) Intention - Is the act motivated by love, generosity and understanding? And ii) consequential - does the act cause harm and regret (in oneself or others) or benefit and joy?"

As a pluralist, I draw upon different religious scriptures, and here is a corollary from Quran about carrying on a civil dialogue. "Respectfully, I do not practice what you practice, and you do not practice what I practice, so you live with your belief as I do with mine, as long as we understand our differences and not harm each other."

The dialogue must continue until we learn to respect the otherness of others and live in harmony. No one's belief should be thrust on the other. That kind of freedom is a hallmark of civil societies.
 …
The phobias that acknowledging and accepting the gay sexual orientation will cause more people to become gay is as ridiculous as saying eating Chicken will make you a Chicken. The sooner we accept this, the quicker we can put this fear behind and move on with our lives, instead of harassing and denigrating fellow humans. Thank God, I am blessed to be friends with all of God's creation including many gay and lesbian friends. The alarmist attitude will evaporate one day, why not junk it now? Indeed, it's a blessing to be free.
…..

References:

 New York Times piece on Blankenhorn. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/us/in-shift-blankenhorn-forges-a-pro-marriage-coalition-for-all.html?_r=0

American Values, marriage a new conversation
http://www.americanvalues.org/marriage-a-new-conversation/index.php

Buddhism about Homosexuality
http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/buddhism.htm

Quran about Civil Dialogue
http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/buddhism.htm
 

. . . . . . . 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 strong presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

Sikhs Genocides observance in Dallas

Last week, I  posted an upcoming event "Remembrance and Reflection: 1984 Sikh Genocide (posted below)" at Dallas Indians, a 1800 member group in the Dallas area for all Indians. I am glad a few friends called in and sought clarifications. It is always good to inquire and find out before building up emotions against it. The event is on Saturday, November 3rd at Noon.  

Then I read a beautiful personal story by Kirpal Singh from Melbourne, who shared the story of stereotyping Muslims in Nigeria and alluded to bringing a closure to the Sikh Massacre in India.  

The humorous part of the story was, one of the callers was cursing Muslims that they do not understand free speech, and yet, he asked me not post events like this, he believed it was divisive.  Indeed on the surface it does sound like it, but when you read the entire note, you will find otherwise.

You might get away refusing to oblige your spouse or a child's request... or even compel them to obey you...but it builds resentment if not dealt with squarely, it puts a damper on the enthusiasm of the relationship and no one lives in peace. If there is a murder, child abuse or sexual abuse in the community, we cannot sit quite, we have to find a resolution so the victims can leave in peace, and justice is meted out to the abuser.

Taking the example to India - The Kashmiri Pandits, Dalits, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs have been treated unfairly and unjustly on occasions, especially when it comes to killing a large number of people. The wounds remain unhealed for the communities and every one lives with un-ease, discomfort and apprehension. Silence or Money compensation is not the way to repair the damage, but an acknowledgement is the way to go. An apology will heal the wounds for the entire society. We need to seek Mukti from the gnawing conscience, and no ones Karma will go unbalanced.

When Queen Elizabeth visited India a few years back, she apologized for the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre, that was the right thing to do and we welcomed it. There have been many more good examples of healing like that.

About six years ago a film was made by Memnosyne Foundation, "One source many paths" where I represented the Muslim community and 47 other people represented other faith traditions. Uma Mysoreaker, president of the Hindu Temple in New York represented the Hindu Community. The Hindus and the Native Americans shared their pain about the forced conversions by Muslims and Christians alike, while Muslims also have been a target of prejudice after 9/11. I apologized for the wrong doings done by Muslims kings like Aurangzeb and Ghaznavi and individuals like Bin Laden. 

The healing was done when a Native American offered a Bandana to be received as a closure, a Christian minister gracefully accepted it, .. every one remained silent and absorbed the moments, some of us cried, including me, it was indeed a relief. It is also an acknowledgement that we the people (living now) have nothing to do with what was done, and yet, we owed an apology as the wrong doing was committed in the name of the religion or the land we shared.

The Chapters on Pandits, Dalits, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs can be brought to closure by acknowledgment of the wrong doing, its not going to go away by hiding from it. Humility builds bridges, that is what every religion teaches; to be humble. It is wrong, and dead wrong to believe that we are all against each other, we are not, some of us are, but we need to work cohesively to make India a greater nation by being on a higher moral ground of shedding the arrogance or pretending that, we do not have a problem.

The Sikh Massacre is obviously not brought to the closure,  mass graves have been discovered and the identified remains have been given back to their families, but there are hundreds of kids, women and men missing from that period. An accounting needs to be done to bring a relief to families as to what happened to their loved ones. We are all in this together without blaming the past and to find solutions.

The bad guys are not Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or Hindus, the bad guys are those who went on a rampage and hurt fellow Indians be it in Delhi, Gujarat, Bihar or Orissa. No one should go Scot free,  an apology from them individual wrong doers, forgiveness from the victims or lawful action is in order to restart 

 

STEREO TYPING

This is the most common form of ignorance that surfaces every minute of the day in our lives. Our freedom to think is lost when we stereotype people and fall in the ditch when we justify it. If we want others to treat as fairly, we have to do it too.

If I murder someone, it is my heine that needs to be hauled off to the jail and mete out the deserved punishment under the law and serve justice. Stereo typing in this instance would be to blame my race, parents, siblings, spouse, nationality or religion, it is not wise, is it?? Yet we do it and let others do it without even imploring them to think. What has India or Islam got to do with my criminal act?

Shame on you and I to allow the mind to believe that the murder by a black man allows us to gossip that blacks are criminals, and start justifying some creepy facts to suit our beliefs. Oh well, the educated ones are not… that is even wronger than the first statement…Are all white people ruthless and war mongers? Are Muslims terrorists? Jews will get you one way or the other?

Catch yourselves in your stereotyping, where you make judgments about a people

We reflect on Holocaust and genocides every year, and one of the element is stereotyping. Details about the VII Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

Kirpal Singh's story is at url-  http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2012/10/sikhs-genocides-observation-in-dallas.html

Event information from the Sikh Gurdwara is as follows:

Remembrance and Reflection: 1984 Sikh Genocide

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The DFW Sikh American Community extends its invitation to you for our event "Remembrance and Reflection: 1984 Sikh Genocide". We aspire to share the tragedy which unfolded and provide recognition to an event which has withered away in the annals of history. We seek to provide conversation and engage with our audience to ensure dark moments such as these never occur again and that justice prevails. As the great Martin Luther King stated, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

We urge and request everyone to attend

When: Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 12 PM – 1 PM
Where: Gurdwara Sikh Sangat 1400 West Euless Blvd. Euless, TX 76040

All our educators, our law enforcement officials, our elected officials, people of faith and in short all our fellow Americans are humbly requested to take advantage of this opportunity. We will highlight and recognize the fundamental principles of this great nation which was on prominent display during and in the aftermath of the Wisconsin massacre of how a nation is to respond and respect its citizens. This fundamental principle must be brought to the forefront for all to appreciate and fathom.

Sikh Americans have been an integral and constructive part of the DFW community for over 50 years and we invite you to share in our experiences and a history which permeates within all of us.

The institution of langar (community kitchen) will be in full effect in which everyone is requested to partake and have a delicious vegetarian meal. So please come by and ask your questions, eat and drink some food, or just engage with your neighbors.

For any questions or comments please contact: 

1. Gurvinder Singh  469.222.6288 gurvinder.singh@unitedsikhs.org 

2. Manmohan Singh 469.733.5190 m.singh.180@gmail.com 

3. Manpreet Singh  972-415-7897 kingmani15@yahoo.com 

4. Pritpal Singh  214-505-6375 pritpaltx@yahoo.com 

We will be honored and look forward to your presence. 

  

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Mike is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, interfaith, politics, foreign policy, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. He is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, commentator on national radio network, writes weekly at Dallas Morning News and bi monthly at Huffington post and several periodicals. His daily blog is www.TheGhousediary.com