Creation, Religion and God's will.

Creation, Religion and God's will.

I see Islam and Qur’aan as a universal systems and not the exclusive religion of Muslims. Legitimate criticism and appreciation is invited. You are welcome to express it in the comment section at the end of this article.

Essence of creation, religion and God’s will.
Mike Ghouse

We exist, and that is a fact of life and perhaps depending on our orientation, we can trace us back to a singular source; be it the intelligent design, big bang or the evolution. For the sake of using a common word or a generally acceptable identification of that causer, we can name that creator and the sustainer, a God**(note below)*, love or simply the causer of life.

When the matter and life came into being, each one was designed to seek its own balance. For example, the Planet Jupiter has been precisely set to circumambulate around the sun, and it has been doing that for millions of years; it has its own place in the scheme of things, and designed to stay on its course, it respects the other planets' space and co-exists with them.

Whereas, the humans were not put on that trajectory, they were given the freedom to create their own space and balance. The creator is all about love and intentionally reached out to each one of the seven billion of us and delivered a beautiful formula called religion through the spiritual masters to live in peace with oneself and others.

Even though the claims of the self appointed guardians of religion tend to be based in arrogance, religion itself is opposed to arrogance. Indeed, religion is about humility. The claims of truth are fine, but when that truth is based on denying other versions of the truth, then it is sheer arrogance and strips the humility from religion and becomes dirty politics. Furthermore, claims like the best, the oldest, the wisest, the peaceful, the non-violent are all colored with arrogance and goes against the very grain of the religion; humility. We need to go back to the basics and do the research and give credit to God’s wisdom; let’s not lock up God and confine his words to mean exclusive benefits to us. God cannot be a small guy in his outlook towards his creation.

When you find in peace with yourselves and what is around you, when you feel that you do not hate any one, do not cultivate ill-will towards others and do not look down upon others, then you have become a peace maker yourselves. You have understood the wisdom of your own faith, and you would have earned the capacity to be a contributor towards peace and balance towards what is around you. You cannot be secure and safe when others around you are not. As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I would say, faith is in the heart of the believer.

Please remember that God did not skip any one, (Sura Hujurat 49:13) he reached every soul, every tribe and every community. Furthermore, he did not sign a deal behind any one's back to favor one over the other, or privilege one or the other, he just cannot do that, if he did that he would be a sneaky God and that is not what God is all about. Just as we love whatever little we create, God loves us all despite our shortcomings. He has blessed us with an opportunity to be our best in creating balanced societies (One self, to ones' own family to the world) where one can live without fear, where justness is the norm of the society.

What is God’s will?

Qur’aan has stressed our duties and obligations towards others, think of it, there are two parts to Islamic teachings; i) Connecting with the Creator for serenity and peace from within and ii) extending and sustaining that balance with others.

Islam has crated beautiful pathways to be in peace with oneself. Every act of worship; fasting, sharing (zakat), and Hajj has the component of bringing the communities together – to create harmony and build the idea of co-existence.

One who does good to others is dear to God. God cares those who care themselves (not exclusive but inclusive themselves) Doing goodness involves the existence of others. Prophet Muhammad explains the good deed as an act of planting the tree, knowing well that you may not be the beneficiary of its fruits and shade.

What is the ultimate will of God?
It is the harmony in creation through Justness.

Each one of us is dear to the creator and it is our individual and collective responsibility to keep that ecological, social, moral or spiritual balance within us and with what surrounds us; life and environment. Those who sin, i.e., creating an imbalance in the society through murder, theft, falsities or taking advantage of others, will pay a price for it in terms of un-settling emotions and discomfort within. Those who work for keeping that balance intact will rejoice a balanced tranquil life.

The verse of Qur’aan 49:13 can be summed up in the following manner. Please remember that God did not skip any one, he reached every soul, every tribe and every community.

Jesus was a Pluralist, he embraced every one and set the example to us that we should not reject any one because they are lepers, prostitutes or whoever we don't agree with, he was representing God's point of view. Moses was a Pluralist uniting the tribes to live in peace under One God; Muhammad was a Pluralist who brought all the differing tribes and faiths to co-exist and live their own traditions under the Madinah pact and he declared no man is superior to the other and that all are equal (acknowledging the otherness of other) in God's presence. Buddha was a Pluralist and taught the principle of pain (internal hell) and pleasure (paradise), Mahavir taught to accept the different views to find solace within; Krishna the Pluralist said whenever there is immorality on the earth, he will emerge and restore the balance back to the society; Zarthustra the Prophet of Pluralism taught the concept of what is good and bad some five thousand years ago; Pluralist Nanak said service to mankind with a blind eye amounts to creating beautiful societies, and Bahaullah, the pluralist said we are all one race and one humankind and all religions are beautiful. The Shamans in Cherokee, Mayan, Toltec and all other native traditions in America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia taught us to co-exist, live together with our differences. They were all God's men and women and God is all about pluralism; i.e. co-existence.

The day is not far when individuals of every faith, race and ethnicities will work with you in the same office and live in the same neighborhood, perhaps it is the same street and the same community. We have to learn to live with all and keep that elusive balance, and it comes from learning to accept the otherness of other, and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

It is sad that a few men, including a handful of Muslims attack the idea of co-existence. A majority of people in all faiths understand that Pluralism is not a religion, but a practice of 'living and letting others live'. It is simply an attitude of accepting the otherness of other and respecting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. Pluralism is an attitude of religious co-existence, letting others to be who they are and resisting the temptations to look down upon others who believe differently. What is the need for it?

By initiating and signing the Madinah pact, Prophet Muhammad boldly acknowledged the otherness of other religions and peoples and taught us not to live in denial. The Sura Kafirun incorporates the idea of co-existence and embodies the ideals of a civil society - http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer on Islam, Pluralism, interfaith, peace, civic issues and India. He initiated the World Muslim Congress with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for others and vice-versa for the world to co-exist in peace and harmony. He expresses his ideas through several forums and Blogs dedicated to each topic. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network offering pluralistic perspectives on issues of the day. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net.

The story of Desi Americans in Dallas/ Fort Worth

Here is little story about the Desi* people of  Dallas/ Forth Worth.

DesiPlaza in Dallas is doing a series of interviews of people around the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex and I was pleased to be one of them, here it is in 2 segments, each one is about 9 minutes, if you have the time, please share your comments, the whole interview was done in one single shot and as a result I was striving to talk, I was thirsty.

I thank Dr. Krishna Puttaparthi for hosting this series at www.desiplaza.us. If you speak or understand Telugu, there are a few good interviews in Telugu as well.

I had done a whole series of interviews on my Radio show in 1996 where we had invited the earliest of Indians, Pakistanis and Caribbean Indians as well as Bangladeshis. I have been a part of the Nepalese and Sri Lankan communities as well.

It was followed by religions; Hindus (Pallana [1946], Dr. Prabhakar [1963], Mr. Sharma), Muslims (a couple came from Pakistan in 1952, Dr. Bukhari [1963] Dr. Khan [63], Dr. Afzal [65]), Christians, Sikhs (Late Ike Sekhon [1956]), Jews [1932] I have not seen him in five years), Zoroastrians and Jains (Dr. Kapadia[63], Dilip Travel King).

I am also blessed to be listed in Texas Indians History written by a researcher from UT Austin.  I have not listed all the names of the people who have been in Dallas/ Fort Worth as I am going blank and my apologies to them, and I have met them all. I am writing from my memories without going to my archives. Some day, I would like to write the history of Dallas... I do have over 5000 pictures of the Dallas community, if I croak; it will be in a box that ya'll can get from Yasmeen my wife or my kids Jeff and Mina.

Shabnam Modgil and I go back to 1993 or earlier, she is another person who can identify a lot of people in the community. Lately, my presence is diminishing as I am looking to serve every American in building a cohesive America.  You can see all of my work listed at my site.

Segement 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCrNhDrFYL4&feature=related

Segment 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiQeOo9oEs&feature=related

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse

http://www.mikeghouse.net/

*Desi - prounounced as "They-See" meaning the people of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Diaspora.

Please share your comments at : http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/03/story-of-desi-americans-in-dallas-fort.html

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Mike Ghouse is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. He is a thinker, writer, speaker, optimist and an activist of Pluralism, Interfaith, Co-existence, Peace, Islam and India. He His work is reflected at three websites and 22 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Defining Cohesive Socities

I have been struggling to put words together about the spiritual balance in a society and I was just thrilled and excited to read this, it describes my belief in the universal energy and the individual energies that make the whole. Indeed, I am working on redefining sin in the future societies and this one helps tremendously.

I found this pic in the bathroom of Unity Church of Richardson, thanks to iphone and I am pleased to share this wisdom. I will be posting this at www.AmericatogetherFoundation.com and Foundation for pluralism as well.

A challenge to Muslims, are we fit to be Americans?

The answer is obvious most of us are,  and those who are not need to catch up, it is your home, your nation and your permanent address, most likely you will be buried here, you can be rest assured that you grave will remain untouched for centuries.

We need to protect and defend the very culture that allowed us to be who we are and who we want to be. Other than democracies only the privileged achieve their dreams. America has welcomed us, embraced us and we need to do our part; to be active participants and contributors towards the peace, security and prosperity of our nation.

A decade ago, I had challenged the 'excuse producers' among us that the Jews control the media. I said baloney to that and took upon the challenge to prove it otherwise. Thank God a bunch of us formed MRRP Muslim Rapid Response Team in February 2005 and fired off letters to the media and received the coverage, and at least the public got to hear a different point of view when accusations were leveled against the Mosque in Richardson including Imam Zia Kavakci.

I was told that an Indian Muslim can never be the Prime Minister of India, I said baloney to that and experimented forming Dallas Indians group with 1700 Members in it, literally every  “who is who” among Indians is a part of the group,  with about 25 Muslims in the group.  As long as we are fair and represent all Indians, any Indian can be the Prime Minister of India; the blood of democracy runs through our veins and we are inherently democractic by nature., ofcourse, I am talking about a majority of the Indians of all hues.

We assume that we will not be given a space in the conservative media, I said baloney to that and wrote articles in conservative magazines including the front page, where in I have called Spencer “misinformed” and he has published it under the title “One Islam”. Been on Sean Hannity, a tough battlefield where we will not be given the space. Over a period of one year and 20 appearance on his show and 16 on his nationally syndicated radio show, I have moved from being slaughtered (a few Muslims actually liked it) to being assertive to get my words as the last words.  I have told Hannity that he was wrong and have been aggressive with Brigitte Gabrielle, Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller and have called on them to tell the truth to the American People. Hannity and I seldom agree but we value our right to have that opinion. 

Why am I writing this?

It is to encourage a few among us to spend the time in getting in to the media and changing the false perceptions about Islam and Muslims. We can do it, if we quit wasting time on things that don’t matter in the discussion groups. We spend too much time on debating the rituals.

I am writing this particularly to those who aggressively call this note “self glorification”. I am challenging your capabilities to get out and do something, what holds you?  I know you can do it better than most of us, but you have to quit back biting and focus on producing something substantial. 

Thank God, I have authored over 1000  published articles on Islam and Pluralism in papers such as Tehran Times, Arab News, Jakarta post and even a paper in Somalia… and of course several ones in the United States including Washington post, Huffington and few other including my home town paper, Dallas Morning News.  It has been translated into Arabic and now some in Indonesian.

I have introduced a few aspects of Islam in most of the generic pieces I write; the articles are not about Islam, but about the society in general and have added the Islamic take on issues. I was told that non-Muslims have come to appreciate the little knowledge here and little there about Islam and aborbing the positive values of Islam one at at time, while a few Muslims have appreciated learning about the wisdom of other religions.  We are all part of the large familiy of religions and we must know each other (Q 49:13).

Here is a list of 25 ( of the 33) articles I have written along with others in Dallas Morning news in the last six months, please log in and respond to the notes, have your presence in every aspect of the society.   

1. TEXAS FAITH: Did the King James Version of the Bible change the world?

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/texas-faith-did-the-king-james.html

2. Texas Faith: Should women be required to have a sonogram before undergoing an abortion?

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/texas-faith-do-you-approve-of.html

3. TEXAS FAITH: What to make of Rep. Peter King's hearings into Muslim American radicalization?

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/texas-faith-what-to-make-of-re.html

4. TEXAS FAITH: How do we keep the debt from limiting the future of younger Americans?

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/post-94.html

5. TEXAS FAITH: Will Facebook kill the church?

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/03/texas-faith-will-facebook-kill.html

6. TEXAS FAITH: The Blessings and Burdens of Life Online
   http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/post-93.html

7. TEXAS FAITH: Religious institutions and assimilating immigrants
   http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/texas-faith-religious-institut.html

8. TEXAS FAITH: How would you advise President Obama on dealing with leaders like Hosni Mubarak?

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/texas-faith-how-would-you-advi.html

9. TEXAS FAITH: What's the role of religious faith when there are no good choices?
   http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/texas-faith-whats-the-role-of-2.html

10. TEXAS FAITH: What can religious groups do to help along the Mexican border?
     http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/texas-faith-what-can-religious.html

11. TEXAS FAITH: Why do some religious affiliations produce more political leaders?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/texas-faith-why-do-some-religi.html

12. TEXAS FAITH: What do you do when you see someone showing signs of mental deterioration?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/texas-faith-what-do-you-do-whe.html

13. TEXAS FAITH: Which religion stories merited more and better coverage?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/texas-faith-which-religion-sto.html

14. Texas Faith: Why not worry about your theology?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/texas-faith-why-not-worry-abou.html

15. TEXAS FAITH: How should chaplains deal with Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/texas-faith-how-should-chaplai.html

16. TEXAS FAITH: Was Oklahoma out of line with Sharia amendment?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/11/texas-faith-was-oklahoma-out-o.html

17. TEXAS FAITH: How do you view God?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/11/texas-faith-how-do-you-view-go.html

18. TEXAS FAITH: Why does fear sell on the campaign trail?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/11/texas-faith-why-does-fear-sell.html

19. TEXAS FAITH: Does firing Juan Williams improve our understanding of religious diversity?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/does-the-firing-of-juan-willia.html

20. TEXAS FAITH: Should Christians (and other non-Hindus) beware of yoga?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/texas-faith-should-non-hindus.html

21. TEXAS FAITH: Why do our faiths shape some political views, but not others?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/texas-faith-why-do-our-faiths.html

22. TEXAS FAITH: Why is there such a lack of religious knowledge?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/texas-faith-pew-forum-study-on.html

23. TEXAS FAITH: Why do we pray for Christopher Hitchens?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/09/texas-faith-why-do-we-pray-for.html

24. TEXAS FAITH: Should faithful focus on charity or justice?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/09/texas-faith-should-faithful-fo.html

25. Texas Faith: What religion stories should the media focus on?
    http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/09/texas-faith-the-media-and-reli.html

Mike Ghouse, President of America Together foundation is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, and is available to speak at your place of worship, work or in seminars and conferences.

Through the Foundation for Pluralism, Mike champions the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, and is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress.  He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. His work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Brussels to host the 2014 Parliament of Worlds Religions

PRESS RELEASE

March 21, 2011, Dallas, Texas

We congratulate the Brussels team headed by Miguel Mesquita da Cunha, Chairman of the 2014 Bid Steering Committee for the tireless work they have put in behalf of Belgians and the Europeans to secure the 2014 bid to host the Parliament of the Worlds Religions.

In behalf of the Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim congress, two of the many supporters of the bid for hosting the 2014 event in Dallas, Mike Ghouse, president of the organizations announced,

“We the people of Dallas gracefully acknowledge and honor the decision of the board of trustees of the Parliament of World’s religion for their choice of Brussels to host the 2014 event. Indeed, Brussels will significantly contribute towards the goals of the Parliament; to facilitate an open dialogue among religions, nurture values of co-existence, and encourage cohesion and seek pluralism for people of the world. “

Now, it is our turn to join the Brussels team in making this event successful for the people of world aspiring to create the kingdom of heaven on this beautiful planet, where we can hope and pray that the next seven generations and beyond can live without the apprehension of the other and freely practice their faith and culture.

You can count on our support any way we can.|

Mike Ghouse, President
Foundation for Pluralism
World Muslim Congress
Dallas, Texas
(214) 325-1916
# # #Your Comments:

 REFERENCES:

Articles and pictures by the Foundation for Pluralism, World Muslim Congress and Memnosyne Foundation.  I am pleased to share a few of the many references.  

1.      The Theme of Parliament 2014
http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/07/parliament-of-worlds-religions-summit.html

2.      Defending the need for Parliament in Dallas Morning News – Mike aggressively defends criticism. http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/07/texas-faith-dallas-and-the-201.html

3.      Religious Discourse and the Parliament http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/05/religious-discourse-and-parliament-of.html

4.      2014 Dallas bid to seek the Parliament in Dallas
http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/04/dallas-2014-parliament-of-worlds.html

5.      Mike Ghouse to speak at the Parliament of World’s Religions http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2009/11/mike-ghouse-to-speak-at-parliament-of.html

6.      Angie Buchanan and Mike Ghouse on NPR http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2009/12/national-public-radio.html

7.      Dalai Lama and worlds religions 
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2010/12/dalai-lama-and-worlds-religions.html

8.      Notes about the Parliament -
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2009/12/note-about-parliament-event.html

9.      Summary of the Parliament visit - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2009/12/parliament-of-world-religions-15.html

10. Pictures: Parliament’s Chicago visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157624107988176/  Slide show: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157624107988176/show/

11. June 5, 2010 Meeting http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157624217148394/

12. Parliament event in Melbourne http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157622903144129/show/

13. Dinner event at Fun Asia – sponsored by Fun Asiahttp://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=464318&id=851280248

14. Meeting at Madeleine Restaurant in May 2010http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=429662&id=851280248

15. Official announcement by the Parliamenthttp://www.parliamentofreligions.org/news/index.php/2011/03/brussels-to-host-the-parliament-of-the-worlds-religions-in-2014/

We have had a few more dinner meetings held in Dallas and few more pictures, which I may publish later on due to specific requests from our friends not to publish their pictures for the public.

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 Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer and is committed to building a cohesive America through the Foundation for Pluralism championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, and World Muslim Congress committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam.

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam and building cohesive societies at your work, place of worship, school, seminars or conferences.  He is a media commentator offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Mike's work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/

http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/
http://www.americatogetherfoundation.com/

Mike Ghouse
2665 Villa Creek Dr, suite 206
Dallas, TX 75234 USA
(214) 325-1916

Trigger happy attacks on Libya

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/03/trigger-happy-attacks-on-libya.html

If they cannot fire the missiles at Gaddaffi, then they should not fire at all. The target should be Gaddaffi and nothing but him. Reagan missile nearly missed him; Obama missile shouldn't.

The administration needs to demand accurate information from the intelligence agencies; their record has not been great with false information on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Libya. Even on the day Mubarak resigned, they did not get it right. And we should not make destructive decisions based on their information. 
We need to guard ourselves from letting a few sadistic men from the coalition to make Libya a play ground for their devious joys.   There should not be any room for collateral damage, our goal must be specific; to get Gaddafi and resist the temptation to pull the trigger on everything that moves.    

Any protracted involvement will bring untold misery to us, we cannot handle budget deficits any more; we cannot hurt our own families at home. However, if we are smart, we can buy some game machines at hundredths of the cost of this onslaught and give it to these sadistic men to play and get their hate out, rather than destroy the people of Libya.

The pleasure of today's destruction is not worth the misery of tomorrow. We need to consider the opinions of the moderates along with the right and the left to have sustainable policies. Obama knows better, had we listened to him and not gone for the war, we would not have been in the shape.
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ONE LINERS

If we cannot aim the target we should not fire.

110 missiles is nothing but sadistic behavior, men itching to show off their machoness.

Shameless war mongers use the term collateral damage

Obama needs to listen to himself, had we listened to him in 2003, we would not have seen the miseries afflicting an average American today, the rich ones will always be fine but not the majority of Americans.

Is our media going to ask tough questions?  

Shirking our responsibility of not speaking out against the previous commander chief was a bad thing, we demand our government to be accurate and be accountable

A warning and three missiles at his location would have been enough, if the CIA cannot give that location then none of the information they provide is reliable.

After the initial attack, we should have given another notice to stop massacring his people.

110 missiles is nothing but sadistic behavior, men itching to show off and the loosely using the term collateral damage.

CIA and Mossad are useless agencies, when have they been right?

POTUS need to be told to stop before he entangles us into a protracted war.

Aljazeera can deliver what CIA cannot.

For the 1000th of the cost, Gaddaffi can be got, or an accurate missile can get him.

You, me and ever American has the responsibility for the wellbeing of America and what is good for America has got to be good for the world and vice versa to have sustainable peace

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.    

Americans condemn the attacks on Rabbi Lerner.

March 16, 2010, Dallas, Texas
Americans condemn the attacks on Rabbi Lerner.

The  entire humanity must condemn the attack on Rabbi Lerner, a man who is committed to building bridges and doing what his religion Judaism teaches him; to stand up for truth and justice.

Evil exists not because of evil people, but because good people do nothing about it. It is however changing now; the good people are indeed speaking up and hope the bullies learn that they cannot bully any more.

A part of the human equation is to have a range of people in its collection; the right wingers, the lefties and the silent majority of moderates.  The right wingers operate out of the imaginary fears that the world is out to get them and they pre-empt to silence the opposition. Some of them have figured out making money out of this racket.

The Goldstone report was conducted by a Jewish judge about the excesses of Israel in Gaza. The right wing Jewish group is in denial, and not only is intolerant but un-democratic to use violence to silence the truth.

I pray that the right winger Jews understand that criticizing the policies of Israel is not a criticism of Israel, Jews or Judaism. If they can get this in their thick heads, peace is imminent and I pray that they do but also pray that we all speak up.

We still have a few gutsy Journalists will write and talk about it, but a majority of them and particularly Fox gang will perhaps present it as though the rape victim asked for it. This may be the sign of decline of Right wing Media, their shying away from the truth will take the media business out of their hands and put in the hands of the public.

Rabbi Lerner continues to work on nurturing goodwill and we stand by you and hope every American does.

Mike Ghouse is president of Americans Together and Muslims Together Foundations and is committed to building cohesive societies offering pluralistic solution on issues of the day. He will speak at your work place, place of worship or seminars and conferences on the subjects of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace; he is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics. His work is indexed in 4 websites and 27 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/# # #
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Zionist Extremist Hate Crime Against Rabbi Lerner: 3rd Attack on His Home and the limits of "freedom of the press"
3/17/2011, Berkeley, California

Only one day after Rabbi Lerner presented the Tikkun Award to South African Justice Richard Goldstone, at a celebration of Tikkun's 25th Anniversary attended by over 600 people at the University of California, Berkeley, Rabbi Lerner's home was again assaulted by extremist Zionist haters who plastered posters over his home once again. This is the 3rd assault on his home since Lerner announced the award to Justice Goldstone whose report on Israel's human rights violations during the Israeli assault on Gaza in Dec. 2008 and Jan.2009 was denounced by the State of Israel and by the AIPAC-dominated House of Representatives last year. You would not have known about the 2nd attack, which was reported to the police but not to the media because Lerner had been advised that not giving the attackers attention might make future attacks less likely. That strategy failed.

Each time the posters have sought to display Lerner as either a tool of an evil Goldstone trying to hurt Israel. The current posters were done more professionally than the previous ones, and present a picture of Nazi officers carrying away a Jew. Lerner's name is put on one of the Nazis and "Islamic extremists" is written on the other Nazi, and the innocent Jew is identified as the State of Israel. The perspective of the attackers is clear: "Rabbi Lerner is a Nazi assaulting Israel." That is why the police have labeled this a "hate crime."

What "freedom of the press" is there if an editor is subject to this kind of personal harrassment for expressing his views in his editorials and in the gatherings sponsored by the magazine? Anyone concerned about civil liberties should be concerned about this pattern of attacks on the private home of a magazine editor.  And for those who believe that there is a new tone of civility in the Jewish world, well....it obviously has not impacted on right wing Zionist extremists. Please note, however, that we do not want to imply in any way that all Zionists are responsible directly or indirectly for this attack. The Zionist community in the U.S., while often demeaning Rabbi Lerner, has not shown any tendency toward violence or physical assaults on his person or property, and in our view would not likely do so. These have been the acts of a small group of extremists, and while the demeaning of Rabbi Lerner and Tikkun may have contributed to the climate in which these extremists believed they could get away with these assaults, there is no reason to believe, and we do not believe, that American Zionists as a whole either intended or approve of this kind of activity. And the Board of Rabbis of Northern California publicly critiqued the last attack on Rabbi Lerner's home as did other Jewish leaders.

Assaults on free speech are best met by encouraging more speech. The obvious goal of these attacks is to intimidate and  silence Tikkun, and since Tikkun is the largest circulation liberal/progressive Jewish magazine on-line and in print in the entire world, silencing Tikkun would be a huge victory for these extremists. People can assure that Tikkun stays alive by subscribing to Tikkun at www.tikkun.org, joining Tikkun's interfaith education and social action organization The Network of Spiritual Progressives at www.spiritualprogressives.org, making a tax-deductible contribution to Tikkun (checks can be sent to Tikkun, 2342 Shattuck Ave #1200, Berkeley, Ca. 94704--our mailbox, not the actual address of the magazine's office), and/or creating a local study group to read and discuss Tikkun articles every week, every two weeks, or once a month. You can also read Tikkun-on-line by going to our new web magazine each week to read the latest articles. You can also support us by joining other organizations that seek peace and reconciliation between Israel and Palestine, including J. Street, Jewish Voices for Peace,  Americans for Peace Now, The New Israel Fund and B'tselem.

Thank you for your support.
Tikkun Magazine 

Muslims condemn the Murders of Fogel Family in Israel

In behalf of Muslims and the World Muslim Congress, I condemn the malicious rejoice by some Palestinians over the cold blooded murder of the Fogel family in Israel.

A few exchanges on the net prompted me to add the following;

Bad people are among all of us without exception, acknowledging bad Muslims, bad Indians,  bad Israelis, bad Palestinians, bad Jews or bad Americans is the right thing to do, denying takes away the credibility of information.

The shameless score keeping must be understood to break they cycle of violence.  The shameless rejoice by a few Palestinians is not acceptable, and I sincerely hope, Netanyahu will not bomb the entire Gaza strip to avenge this and then they will fire the rockets... it is to the advantage of the powerful to break the cycle of revenge.   

A friend wrote, "Jewish Israelis do not do that too Muslims" and I wish that were the case. I asked him to look up Jerusalem post, Haaretz and the writings of Jewish humanitarians to find a different story.

I humbly request the right wing Jewish Americans and the right wing Muslim Americans not to start a campaign of hate and counter hate, but instead break this cycle.  Both sides can dig up trash and throw at each other, for what? So they can do more of it?

I ask the shameless Media vultures not to feed on these hateful incidents and talk for a whole week until they find another corpse; their food.  

Mike Ghouse is the founder of America Together foundation and Islam Together Foundation and is committed to building cohesive societies offering pluralistic solution on the issues of the day.  His work is indexed in 4 websites and 21 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Happy Monday, March 14, 2011

Last week was a diffucult week. The Earth Quake and Tsunami in Japan devastated so many families , members lost and they still cannot find about 100,000 people.  I am at loss for words, I just wrote about human race was the first one of the species to have manages the furies of nature and survive, and today I see this devastation, there is nothing one could do, it is beyond human control. The 30' waves were swallowing buildings, homes, cars, ships and just about everything.

I just bow to that superior power whatever one wants to call or not call and submit to the higher power, which is beyond human control.

May God protect the survivors and bring their families back together.

Gaddaffi continues to rein in against his people in Libya, I hope we the Americans stay out of it, we do not have a good overall record in interventions, we have messed it up, better stay home and take care of our own, they have been around longer than us and they know how to make it work.

Peter King continues with his hearings and hope he shows integrity and honesty... as a Muslim I welcome the hearings as it has the potential to lay to rest, the hype the right wing republicans create. It is all political and hope the truth emerges sooner.

It was a shame that some Gazans were celebrating the massacre of a Jewish family, as an individual and on behalf of Muslims around the world, I condemn that behavior, there is no justification for such behavior.

 On a personal level, we all have endured difficulties and tragedies and we need to honor that.

Despite all that, a new week has begun, as it has been happening since we knew what Monday was. Let's focus on this week, smile a little and have an as complete a life as we can. We need to live with full range of emotions. Have a great week!

David Horowitz and the fear factor

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/02/david-horowitz-and-fear-factor.html

There are men and women, who know how to make money in the name of Israel, Palestine and God among other things. The best product to sell is hate, there is money in it, I guarantee it.

There are frightened souls out there who happen to be rich and it is very easy to tap their wealth, poor suckers will fall to the fear mongering tactics and write big checks. All you have to do is frighten them and “act” as the defenders for them and see how quickly your bank account swells.

The test is simple – write an article or speak about the imminent and impending danger and then say, you are going to stand against them like a Rock. You can test it and see how many suckers will fall for it.

There are several websites and appeals out there, invariably asking for the money. If the cause is real, one should give the money.

But,

Do you want to give the money to those who create a bigger mess? Or those whose work to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill?

In case of Israel and Palestine, if you give the money, give it to those who find solutions and not aggravations. There is a Chinese saying, “if you want the enemy gone for good, make friend, if you kill, his son will wait to kill you when you are dozing off”. Mother Teresa said, if you want peace, go talk with your enemies, you don’t make peace with your friends.

The Brotherhood Organization has an ugly history and some of the members harbor hate towards the western powers and certainly towards some of the policies of Israel. Then there are the settlers who are going against the laws and taking over the land illegally to build their own. Both are shamelessly quoting Quraan and Torah to justify their actions, and we  are letting them do it.

The question is, do you want the Brotherhood to continue doing what is not right? Do you want the settlers continue doing what is not right?  Do you want to fund these groups to dig in their heels? Do you really believe peace will come by pushing them to the corner? Neither of them are law abiding and we should not fund those ideas that aggravate the situation.

I wish David Horowitz collected the monies to build bridges, I will send him the money, but if he is selling books, and collecting the money in the name of protecting Israel, he will to continue to drain you as the situation gets worse with requests for more monies.  Is that what you want?

Those who are endangering Israel are no friends of Israel, they care about money for themselves, and they are many out there milked or milking monies like Madoff. Let’s find a way without opening your check book or if you open, let it be productive and not messy. There are organization who are doing the right thing to bring security to Israel following the Chinese saying and Mother Teresa quoted earlier, give it to them, make it conditional that the money should mitigate conflicts and not aggravate.

I urge Mr. Horowitz to make the enemy gone for good, make friends with them, at least go talk with them and don't do the opposite; dig in their heels. It is not good for Israel.

Mike Ghouse for building cohesive societies

http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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HERE IS PROFESSOR HOROWITZ'S APPEAL

Get ready for the Brotherhood!

The situation in Egypt remains chaotic, but the Obama White House -- while trying to cover its tracks with doublespeak -- has finally settled on a position: Hosni Mubarak, lynchpin of Mideast stability for the last 30 years, must be thrown under the bus on the Arab streets.

And if he is replaced by the Muslim Brotherhood--anti semitic, anti American godfather organization to Hamas and al Qaeda? So be it! The Brotherhood is just another leopard whose spots will be transformed by the President Obama's message of "change." In fact, all the President's men are telling the press, off the record of course, that Obama's 2009 Cairo speech -- chock full of apologies for U.S. misbehavior -- actually caused the potentially catastrophic changes now occuring in Egypt.

Do business with the Muslim Brotherhood? Boast about creating the situation in which this organization can come to power?

This is not foreign policy, it is madness! That's why I'm writing to ask for you help today. Will you follow this link right away to make an emergency contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or even $500 to the Freedom Center's campaign to tell the Truth About the Muslim Brotherhood? If you are able to give $50 or more today, I'll rush you a copy of Jamie Glazov's best-seller, United in Hate: The Left's Romance with Tyranny and Terror, which unveils the "Unholy Alliance" between the Radical Left and Radical Islam, and Robert Spencer's latest pamphlet "Obama and Islam," which illustrates the dangers present on President Obama's "outreach" to the Muslim world.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the source of jihad in the Middle East (and, for that matter, in the U.S. where the FBI has proven that it operates through the Muslim Student Association and other fronts). Its Palestinian branch, Hamas, is a terror organization whose charter calls for the annihilation of Israel. In fact, Osama bin Laden was a graduate of the Brotherhood and so was the mastermind of 9/11, Sheik Khalid Mohammed! So in suggesting that the Muslim Brotherhood can be a democratic partner in Egypt, the Obama White House -- so quiet when real democrats were being killed on the streets of Teheran in 2009 -- has outdone even the Carter administration's destabilization of the Shah of Iran in 1979 and its welcoming of the theocratic fascist Ayatollah Khomeini as a "saint."

In the current chaos of Egypt, the radical left and its radical Islamist allies see possibilities. This unholy alliance wants a takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood because this would be the most dangerous possible outcome for the U.S. and Israel. They want to persuade the American people that the Brotherhood is actually committed to "democracy," not hatred and violence. And even now, while pulling its punches with an eye toward attaining power with a hands-off assist from the Obama White House, this sinister organization admits that it will tear up the Egyptian-Israeli agreement of 1979, which means that Israel will be once again under the gun as it was in the first few years of its existence... and that a war engulfing the whole of the Middle East is once again on the table.

We can't allow this to happen! That's why I'm urgently asking you to make a contribution of $50 or more to support the Freedom Center's efforts to alert every American to the gravity of the situation in Egypt.

The Freedom Center cannot determine how the present chaos in Egypt will end. But exposing the big lies of the left is the core of our mission and we can educate America about what is at stake. That's why we need to get my book, Unholy Alliance, United in Hate, "Obama and Islam," and the other pamphlets we have produced on the radical Islamic jihad into as many hands as possible.

Will you help us today by following this link to make a donation of $50 or more to the Freedom Center's campaign to tell the Truth About the Muslim Brotherhood? Don't forget that we'll send you copies of both United in Hate and "Obama and Islam", as well.

We stand at a critical crossroads which has potentially catastrophic implications for the future of Israel and America itself. We need to act quickly to tell the Truth About the Muslim Brotherhood! I hope the Freedom Center can count on your support.

Sincerely,