Mike Ghouse speech in Boston at AFMI's 25th Silver Jubilee Anniversary conference

My speech in Boston at AFMI’s 25^th Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

Its’ a two part speech, first was pluralistic greetings and the second was the motivational uplifting talk.  I appreciate Mr. Frank Islam for making this possible, thank you Frank.

Pluralism Greetings

How many of you agree that you see problems between husband and wife, parents and kids, families, friends, communities, societies and nations?

What is the single biggest reason for that?
We don’t know each other!

And whatever we learn about the others are myths, in case of communities, we paint all Muslims as one person as if all Muslims will do exactly the same…. all Hindus are behaving the same, or Jews should not be trusted… None of this is factual.   And this myth building is the singular cause for the problems and distrust we encounter every day.

What do we need to do about changing this?  Let’s take 2 minutes to do the first thing first – Greetings.

Have you been to a neighborhood, where you felt apprehensive walking there by yourselves, among those strangers!  Guess what, the other person feels the same way. Have you experienced saying a simple “Hi” will change the dynamics? Puts you and the other person at ease?

How many of you have experienced that?

Indeed, when you say Namaste to that stranger, what you are saying is hey man don’t run, we don't need to be afraid of each other. Namaste in its broadest meaning is let the good in you connect with the good in me.  The Abrahimic faiths use the words Shalom, Salaam and peace.

When I say Salaam, Shalom or peace to you, what I am saying is May God shower peace on you, and when you respond back, you are also saying may you be soaked in peace. 

The greetings contains three elements;

1. Acknowledging the stranger
2. A desire to connect
3. Possible friendship.

When we are drenched in peace, then when we think, talk and act peace, and it should give birth to peaceful acts and talks.

I hope we realize the greetings as an ice breaker and a connector. 

Let me greet all of you in at least 9 different religious greetings, you are welcome to repeat after me quietly, loudly or you simply don’t have to if you are not ready for it.

American - Aho piva (Cheyenne)

Baha'i - Allah-u-Abha 

Buddhist - Buddha Namo

Christian - Peace to you

Hindu - Namaste

Jain - Jai Jinendra

Jewish - Shalom

Muslim - Salaam

Sikh - Satsri Akaal

Wicca - blessed be...  Hail to Mother Earth 

Zoroastrian - Hamazor Hama Asho bed

 
A day will come, soon, when these phrases will becomes synonyms and used interchangeably. 

Thank you

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Uplifting Motivational talk.

Let’s talk for a few minutes about building cohesive societies, that is societies where no human has to feel tense, alienated, apprehensive or fearful of others.

God says he has created all of us from one single couple; a metaphor to mean we all had a common beginning. Then he says he made us in to different tribes, communities and nations and by extension, different religions. 

Guess what, he created each one of us to be unique beings with our own thumb print, eye print, DNA and even taste buds. 

Like a mother knows her children well, the creator knows us well.  He also says that he could have created all of us alike but chose to make us unique individuals.  I am sure the police appreciate that!

You know God could have opened a factory, and specified that all men should be 6’ tall, 2” long noses, 34” long arms… and women to weigh 100 pounds with standard statistics… and produced 7 billion of us out exactly to the precise specifications… but he chose to make us different, each one of us is our own model.

That uniqueness gives birth to conflict… like a mother knows her kids, God knows his creation well and offers the solutions! The best ones among you are those who learn about each other. The emphasis is knowing each other.

Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of the otherness of others. 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. Indeed that is the definition of pluralism.

Imagine if Dr. Suhaib Siddiqi decides to take us on a bus tour to Martha’s vineyards,  when all of us sit in the bus with the idea of making the trip,  one of the things that our driver will make sure is that all the ten tires have equal air in them to ensure a safe journey. Don’t you all feel comfortable?

Now imagine each tire to represent a religious, racial or an economic group… and let’s say three tires have low air in it….and the 7 others are doing well.

Can the 7 tires tell the three tires, “Hey look, you Muslim tire, Black tire or Dalit tire, seven of us have worked hard to reach this level, we are not going to give you a hand out, you have to fill up yourselves and act as equal? 

How many of you are familiar with that dialogue?

Can the tires fill themselves up, if they could have, they would have, since they are handicapped we have to give them a hand to bring them onto a level playing field, by lifting others, all of us are lifted and the Bus Journey becomes safe and surer than before. All of us benefit from it. When all the tires have ample air, is our journey, the journey of India be safe, sound, secure and sure?

How many of you want to be those lifters?

Now let me ask some of such lifters to stand up as I call their name – Dr. Nakadar – what a great man he is, AFMI was his concept and his idea, and the group together has uplifted so many children adding the prosperity to India, adding a new consumer in the middle class market and giving a boost to the producer of Goods. More employment and more prosperity.

May I ask Frank and Debbie Islam to rise?

Frank is another blessed rich man, whom God has blessed the ability to make big money and a bigger heart to uplift more people and add to the prosperity of India.  Do you remember Muhammad Ali, Frank is like him in so many ways, he is bold, and takes up the challenge and meets it.  He is our champion!

Bill Gates is one rich man who led the way in changing the world who donated bulk of his wealth to uplift the world. Did you know, the more millionaires he made out of his employees the richer he got.  He is a great role model.

Dr Suhaib Siddiqi, Akram Syed, Frank Islam, Syed Ali Rizvi, Mitha, Naved Syed, Mike Ghouse, Dr. Nagama

Can I ask some of the Uplifters to join us in standing up… Dr. Sardar Aziz, Mr. Ali Quraishi, Dr. Samia and Mustafa Raheem, Dr. Mohamed Ameer Rana, Dr. Iqbal Ahmed, Dr. Aslam Abdullah, Naved Syed, Akram Syed


What Dr. Nakadar, Frank Islam  and these men and women, and many of you have done is amazing!  You are blessed to enjoy the fruits of your charity while you are alive, what a joy it is.

Now, I ask each one of you who has donated a Dollar or more to uplift others to please stand up.

Let’s give a big round of applause to all these men and women!

When I was president of the North Texas Cricket Association, I went to a gentleman to host a dinner for our group, he said it would cost $18/person, and I asked him to do it for $15 and $3 per person would be his contribution… I did not even complete the sentence, he screamed at me… No charity, I have worked hard to earn this money, I am not going to give charity to any one… 

This is true story, three months from then, he was in a road accident and the fence board went thru his face and died on the spot. When I heard that,  my instant response was not good… then I held myself and prayed for him.  What happened after that? His partners robbed his wealth, his kids squandered the money… he did not get a chance to enjoy the life and his money went to waste.  There are many stories like that.

Mani Rahman, my friend in Dallas passed away three weeks ago, a day before I left to Washington; he insisted we have lunch together….  He agreed to join and contribute towards my work after three years!  However he was a rich man and had a will and his money will not go to waste.  He donated generously to different events.

The last one Mani donated was $250 to produce a video on Pluralism in Islam, he got to see the video a month before he passed away in Costa Rica and sent me a text that,  this is the kind of work he wants to support.  I am glad he saw the fruits of his donation. Here is the video about Pluralism in Islam, if you wish to watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Tyt7raIXM

How many of you have lost a friend or family member in the last year? Did they leave a will?  Please consider buying a life insurance and donating a big part of it towards uplifting deserving Children thru AFMI and other foundations.  Insha Allah, I will write an article on this topic, as I had promised to my late friend Mani Rahman, who was an Insurance agent. I wrote a tribute to him.  This is another way of continuing your good work. First you enjoy while you are alive, and then your soul will be blessed for years to come.

Friends, if you have the money, you are a blessed one, your kids don’t need your money, they will make a heck of a lot more than you….  Uplift others. Donate the money to your favorite Charity including AFMI. Look at Dr. Nakadar, Frank Islam, and many of you who are seeing the good your donations are doing.

Tomorrow when you wake up, you will thank God for doing the right thing.

God bless America, God bless India and God bless each one of us

Say Amen!

Added: Congratulations to Frank Islam, he was honored with the Prestige of India award at the convention. Details at: http://muslimobserver.com/afmi-renews-commitment-to-excellence/

Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism, Islam, India, Israel-Palestine, Politics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon for others will be out soon, and has published over 3000 articles on the subjects. He is producing a full feature film " Sacred" and it is about changing perceptions about Muslims and Muslims adopting the non-violent principles in dealing with conflicts. He has appeared over 100 times on Fox News with Sean Hannity and on syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com - Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Muslim Response to All India Muslim Personal Law Board's appeal

While applauding the position taken by the All India Muslims Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), we hereby acknowledge a few key points about the politics of International Yoga Day and pleased to make a few suggestions. It is a delicate issue, and I pray that Muslims will follow the principles set in motion by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and commit to mitigating the conflicts and nurturing goodwill for the common good of the society.

The AIMPLB  sent a letter to these bodies and individuals, Maulana Wali Rehmani, working general secretary of the AIMPLB, has asked for constant vigil against attacks on Islam’s teachings. AIMPLB has also targeted the central government for propagating yoga, surya namaskar and vande matram, “which are part of Brahmin Dharma” and “are against the ideology of Muslims”.

Muslims, Rehmani has said in the letter, must be aware of their ideology, and must research extensively before agreeing to accept any suggestions on changing their beliefs. The government, he has alleged, has been pushing activities like yoga only to hide its failures on poll promises such as controlling prices and retrieving black money stashed abroad.

Acknowledgements;

1. Muslims are not concerned about Yoga, it's been around as long as they know,  but  they are concerned about the agenda of Hinduizing Muslims that is birthing in series of actions. It is a legitimate jungle after the Ghar Wapsi Drama.

2. While Mr. Modi wants to uplift the nation, his bhakts in his name are messing up the cohesive fabric of the nation. Making statements like, “those who are opposed to should jump in to the sea – Yogi Adityanath.” Who is he to tell me that? If I were to face him, I will tell him to take the lead and go jump in chillu bhar pani (fistful of water).  

3. The Opportunist French man François Gautier writes, "By opposing yoga in schools they (Muslims) are showing that they are Muslims first and Indians second." Gautier is hell bent on placing wedges between Hindus and Muslims; we have seen the likes of him in Cornwallis and Wellesley who succeeded in the past, do we want men like him to continue to dupe and divide us?

4. A few extremists among Hindus look to it as a stepping stone for fulfillment of their dream of pushing India to become a 100% Hindu Nation, completely ignoring the teachings of Hinduism and the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum and our pluralistic heritage of live and let live.  Can we call them legitimate Hindus? Their acts are certainly not Hindu. 

Suggestions;  

1. Congratulate Mr. Modi for creating a successful day of Yoga, we are proud of the Hindu heritage and its benefits to humanity.

 2. Thank the opposition and the GOI for withdrawing the compulsory clause demanding participation from every Indian.

3. The role of leaders, Muslim or otherwise is to advise, but not to mandate it; we leave it up to the individuals to exercise their choice of participating or not in the exercise of Yoga.

4. We are proud of India, and want to preserve its character of free pluralistic democratic nation, where we respect the otherness of others and not impose our ideals on others.  We do not want India to emulate Saudi Arabia or Pakistan where the minorities are pushed into observing Ramadan. We want others to copy the Indian model where every human has a right to eat, drink, wear and believe whatever he or she wants to believe.

5. Let them tear India down; we will put it back together. 

6. We are proud of our heritage – a pluralistic democracy where each individual follows his own conscience in being a productive citizen of the collective nation.

Yoga Day, a wrong approach by Government of India
Yoga is the best thing that has happened to humans. It is good for human body as it  increases the cohesive functioning of mind, body and the soul. What messes our body is what we consume; food, water and air, and its regulator in the form of exercise. 
https://www.saddahaq.com/politics/yogaday/yoga-day-a-wrong-approach-by-government-of-india

Modi's bubble and the Chamcha CulturePrime Minister Modi is making all the classic mistakes of a man sitting inside the bubble, oblivious of the chaos outside the thin veil of the bubble. The men who keep him in euphoric status are called “Chumchas” – the “Yes men” of India who will ultimately let their bosses fall from grace. Full article at: http://www.countercurrents.org/ghouse050615.htm

Surya Namaskar and Muslim Response

The Surya Namaskar is a Hindu religious tradition, a beautiful act of bowing to the Sun and welcoming the first rays of dawn as an expression of gratitude to the energy it breathes in to life and everything about life.http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/01/surya-namaskar-and-muslim-response.html

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. Mike is a Muslim speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com

Muslims in India - An Honest Look

I was hopping from video to video and dawned on this video on IBN with Shabana Azmi. Every word she has said resonates with me. The link is at the end of my note. Ramzan is getting to me… I will be counting the next two hours to Iftaar and looks like every minute is an hour. I am planning to go to the Shia Masjid (Momin Center) for Iftaar on the 5^th day of Ramadan.

I really put the label Muslim on me after 9/11, as she took it after Babri Masjid. Prior to that I did not call myself a Muslim like she did not, I was a cultural Muslim, I was rather an Atheist. Amazing words and incredible experience! I have written each one of those words in my write ups...

When she said to the politicians why do you consult the bearded...? I have written almost that in Huffington post, "The Ground Zero Mosque, nay, the Muslim community center in New York was a major turning point in adding the average American Muslim to the media mix of the public faces of Muslims who are not only moderates but also contribute to the overall peace, prosperity and security of America." I was a product of that.

She also talks about digging in her heels for a forced identity on her and attributes the increasing Hijab wearing to that event. Hijab is something new to a lot of us from the early fifties. Hijabs are everywhere now. One of my Doctor friends came to visit us in Hospital when late wife was going through surgery for her cancer… the one thing he mentioned as both of us noticed Hijabi doctors walking around… where do they come from?

Shabana was truthful about her being a cultural Muslim, I am sure a few don't like it to hear it, so was my case. A few Muslims did not like me for being truthful about my identity that I did not claim to be a Muslim, it was the 9/11 and study of Pluralism that really turned me around and claim my religious and spiritual identity as a Muslim.

She talks about Eid celebrations where to be a Muslim meant wearing Gharara, eating Biryani... on Birayani deal, way back I had sponsored her show with Farooque Shaikh and after the show she came to our home for dinner. She loved the Hyderabadi Kacchay gosht ki Biryani and double ka meetha that my late wife had cooked. Shabana said for the first time in some 20 years she got to eat delicious Biryani and she acknowledged over eating.

She wanted to go for a walk, she and I walked around the lake in front of my house...she was curious about how the city and school system worked - She could not believe those Cities, Schools and most organizations are supported by local taxes as opposed the Government. As we talked further I realized I had the socialist inklings once, but have moved to accept the responsible capitalistic economic system for growth and prosperity. It was a great conversation... The next day we had a fund raising dinner for her school in her home town.

Shabana Azmi reflects what an average Indian Muslim is all about; an active participant and contributor towards the society he or she lives in.

I hope you watch this video; it is one of the best analyses of the Muslim experience. I believe most of the Desi Muslims can relate with her. My dear friend Shariff (Sachar Report guy) and I grew up in Bangalore as main stream Indians and we rarely found ourselves to be any different than others. Fortunately we both know her.  We were very integrated in the society and thank God I have never felt that I was not a main stream person in America either. Issues are faced by all, but rarely have I been identified as anything different other than the Pluralism I preach.

I did not mean to write this… I like Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar and their activism. They are the symbol of average integrated Muslims in the society and I am glad to be one as well.

Shabana Azmi on the Muslim Experience,  an old video but a timeless piece. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQq9pGWfj34&feature=related

Mike Ghouse committed to a cohesive America.
www.MikeGhouse.net

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