Blasphemy Laws go against the spirit of Quran

Secure men believe in God and the Day of Judgment and have full faith that God alone decides what is in one’s heart. Insecure men's way to find solutions is to eliminate the other with power, screams, deaths and threats. 

Unless a few of us start speaking against Blasphemy, the evil vigilantist anti-Islamic practice of insecure men will continue.

Except the first four caliphs, who were chosen to govern rather than forcefully taking over,  we have a bad history of oppression.  Have we ever been ruled by sane men? It is not just us, until 100 years ago with the exception of the United States; the whole world was run by dictators and kings. Most nations are moving towards civil societies run by the consensus of the people and sadly our freedom is not proportional.

Look at our history, we have been prevented from independent inquiry, we were imposed by the damned dictators and kings. Thank God we have Turkey, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia, and Pakistan (occasionally), where the civil society rules. Islam will do well in democracies and freedom.

Unfortunately Muslims do not have the breathing room to be themselves, they are continuously bonded by one tyrant or the other… We certainly can pray asking God to help Muslims to be free to govern themselves and not throw them in the mouths of Mullahs from the dictators. One bad Mubarak goes and the brotherhood is out there to force their laws on the unwilling people…  

We the Muslims have been reduced to Pavlovian Muslims - we are too damned conditioned with the laws of men like Zia, Wahhab, Maududi, Banna and others,   rather than guidance of God. We need to be free, and do our Iqra.

Prophet Muhammad said, I am leaving this book to you - he did not say, well, I have assigned the interpretation of the book to the Imams, Kings and the dictators... you don't need to read the Quran any more, just follow the rules made by the dominant partners of God, you will get a free pass on the Day of Judgement. They will take care of you.

Time to start from Zero and listen to the Prophet and not the Great Imams of the past, following them has made us cowards and insecure with Blasphemy and Apostasy laws that go against God's will.  

Here are the verses from Quraan, compiled by Irtaza.

 [5:57] O you who believe, do not befriend those among the recipients of previous scripture who mock and ridicule your religion, nor shall you befriend the disbelievers. You shall reverence GOD, if you are really believers.

[6:68] If you see those who mock our revelations, you shall avoid them until they delve into another subject. If the devil causes you to forget, then, as soon as you remember, do not sit with such evil people.

[18:106] Their just requital is Hell, in return for their disbelief, and for mocking My revelations and My messengers.

[39:48] The sinful works they had earned will be shown to them, and the very things they used to mock will come back to haunt them.

[45:33] The evils of their works will become evident to them, and the very things they mocked will come back and haunt them.

Why the Muslim masses ignore the Messenger Muhammad?  Who they want to please?

The punishment is delivered by God, not by you or me.

The killing is justified only if  people wage  war against you. You may kill them, in that case:

[5:33] The just retribution for those who fight GOD and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter.

The killing is not justified if people evict you. You may only evict them:

[2:191] You may kill those who wage war against you, and you may evict them whence they evicted you. Oppression is worse than murder. Do not fight them at the Sacred Masjid, unless they attack you therein. If they attack you, you may kill them. This is the just retribution for those disbelievers.

The killing is not justified if people insult the Prophet. God will take care of it.

[18:106] Their just requital is Hell, in return for their disbelief, and for mocking My revelations and My messengers

And, these are some of the Quranic wisdoms:

[42:37] They avoid gross sins and vice, and when angered they forgive

[42:40] Although the just requital for an injustice is an equivalent retribution, those who pardon and maintain righteousness are rewarded by GOD. He does not love the unjust.

The Muslim masses need to learn a lot from the Quran.  They are shackled by their Ulams and Allamas!

# # #

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he writes weekly at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, The Smirking Chimp and several other periodicals. www.TheGhousediary.com is Mike's daily blog.


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

 Irfan sahib,

It is illogical that in a Muslim state Prophet will be insulted and the offender will not be punished. Dr  Hashim Kamali has concluded in chapter on Blasphemy in his book  the Freedom Of Expression in Islam that blasphemy is punishable under Taziir and the punishment will depend on the level of offence. I feel he is right.

Shah Abdul Hannan

_____ 

 Dear Mr. Hannan,

Please do not insult the Qur'anic teachings.  The Qur'an does not require us to punish blasphemy in THIS world.  It's solely Allah's territory and He will deal with the blasphemers as He sees fit.  Why do you want to kill the blasphemer when Allah has declared ALL murders unlawful (except when the  are legally justified-and blasphemy is NOT one of them)?  Do you blood on your hands?

 Even the prophets were badly insulted during their lifetimes and Allah threatened the blasphemers to punish them Himself---Here and in the Hereafter.  Only He has this prerogative, no one else.  This is because the blasphemer must be allowed to have their natural life to repent  at any time, and this opportunity must not be taken away from them.  I hope you understand the difference between insulting and spreading widespread corruption on the Earth. 

Irfan

Sharia Law documentary on Hilla

Hasan Mahmud, the author and producer of the Docu-Movie “Hilla” is driven by justice in general and justice for women in particular, a fundamental value of Islam. Indeed, if Islam were to be defined in one word, it would be Justice.

There were a lot of practices that Islam had negated but continue within a few societies. Culture runs deeper than religion, and some of the primitive practices like honor killing, female genital mutilation, and instant divorce without the consent of the wife continue till this day, even though Islam prohibits it.

Hilla is one such instrument; a deviant deterrent for men and women not to rush to divorce. If they do, the woman had to marry another man and fully consume the marriage and then if that other husband divorces her, she can come back and re-marry the first husband. What an agony! Even business is carried in such temporary marriages. Darn, that is again without her consent, the prophet liberated women and said, if a woman is unhappy with the marriage she can initiate divorce, it was a feminist idea in the 7^th century while women were considered chattel everywhere in the world including Europe.

The Sharia laws like all other laws were devised to serve regret free justice. However the implementers have been men and mis-application of the law continues where ever there are divorces. Indeed, no society is free from the misapplication of laws including our own U.S of A. We have put many innocent people on Electric Chair in Texas.

This Docu-Movie is about dealing with Hilla marriage under Sharia law. The dialogues and characters of the Imam, father, bride, the teacher and college educated girl are authentic and are set in tiny Bangladeshi town. The language is Bengali with English subtitles. I have lived in a small village and a town and I can relate with the originality of the screenplay. I was absorbed and watched the 90 minute movie in one sitting.

When the movie Lagan was released, I wondered who is going to watch three hours of Cricket and the guys hitting the balls and fielders chasing it. But the movie became a classic and I have seen it twice and it’s been shown all over the world including Latin American resorts.

This documentary is gripping and dialogues are fascinating.

The Imam and the adopted father of the woman (her departed father’s friend and the Village-chief) want the marriage restored, as the husband, inadvertently uttered the words Talaq (divorce) three times inadvertently; it means the end of marriage, the divorce is final. What an oppressive tool!

They gather in the public square and bring all the books on Islamic jurisprudence, the Sharia books to read through to find solutions. It is a very powerful scene; the fact that so many books were to be read with different opinions will open up the eyes of those who are entrenched with a singular view. The local Imam asks the reader to read Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Shafii opinion as well. This deliberation needs to become a part of the culture to bring about a positive change. At the end the Quran wins in restoring Women Rights. A happy ending to the tension the viewer endures.

Hasan has subtly introduced a new norm in a small town environment. It encourages research and truthfully portrays the differences in opinions, it opens up people’s hearts and minds to do the basic thing; Justice.

Please watch and share

http://www.hasanmahmud.com/j/index.php/media/video/189-hilla-

Scroll down for each one of the 15 parts of about 6 minutes each.

# # #

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and a frequent guest on Hannity show and nationally syndicated Radio shows and Dallas TV, Radio and Print Media. He presides America Together Foundation and is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Over 1000 articles have been published on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, India and cohesive societies. Two of his books are poised to be released this fall on Pluralism and Islam. He is available to speak at your place of worship, work, school, college, seminars or conferences. His work is encapsulated in 27 blogs, four websites and several forums indexed at MikeGhousedotnet.

 

Muslims Celebrate the birthday of Imam Mahdi

The diversity in Islam is incredible, God tests out our tolerance to see if we are capable of accepting different versions of Islam, a majority of us believe in Universality, as we so proudly label God as the God of universe, not ours exclusively. We do the same with Prophet Muhammad; mercy to mankind and we have to lift ourselves to emulate to become a mercy to mankind. We continue to learn about respecting the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has prophesized.

The Islamic information center of Washington DC shared the announcement of celebration of the birthday of Imam Mahdi ( July 17) one of the great grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, May God Bless them both.
The topic is about the Messiah.

The diversity in Islam is incredible, God continuously tests out our tolerance to see if we are capable of accepting different versions of Islam. A majority of us believe in universality of Islam and pleased to label God as the God of universe (Rabbul Aalameen) and not ours exclusively. We do the same with Prophet Muhammad; mercy to mankind (Rahmatul Aalameen) and it behooves us to lift ourselves to become the mercy to mankind.

We continue to learn about respecting the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had prophesized.

The Islamic Information Center shared the announcement of celebration of the birthday of Imam Mahdi (July 17) one of the great grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, May God Bless them both.

Mahdi is the promised Messiah in Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions. Indeed every tradition anchors their faith on a day when justice will be served to the whole human kind. It is a dream and it is a hope of individuals and groups. Different scenarios have been painted out by different groups from dooms day to resurrection and the bottom line remains the same; justice for everyone.

The Jewish people are still waiting for that Messiah, Christians and Muslims believe Jesus was the one and he will return to establish and re-build the kingdom of heaven where no one will live in apprehension of the other.

It is amazing how the Neocons among Muslims, Christians and Jews give a political spin to the story to suit them. The Muslim Neocons believe that when Jesus comes back he will destroy the evil forces and establish Islam and the Christian Neocons have spread the falsity that Muhammad will come and Slaughter every one or forced them to become Muslims. While the Christian Neocons believe that “their Jesus” will come and convert every Muslim, Jew, Hindu and others to Christianity. Any hatred must be verified, why do the religious right have to tell lies about others?

How gross their spin is! Jesus will restore justice to humanity by messing others and converting them to Christianity or Islam. Convert he will everyone to common humanity that is spiritual aspect of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, the essence is same in all traditions and religions; Justice to prevail at the end through any one call him Messiah, Jesus or any name, the idea is same.

Within Islam we have different understandings as well; the Sunnis believe in the return of the Messiah whereas the Shia denomination believes that Imam Mahdi is the one and he will be back whereas the Ahmadiyya Muslims believe Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the messiah.
Islam is large enough to absorb all the strands regardless of what the politically oriented Muslims are bent on denigrating each other. Indeed, we can see the wisdom in the Prophet's predictions that we will divide ourselves into 73 tribes. He understood the human fitra (nature) and prepared us to accept it instead of making arrogant claim to be the best, the best among us indeed is the one who is pious and who serves humanity.

This is inspirational and describes the end times well, “The Prophet of Islam proclaimed, Listen to the good news about the Mahdi! He will rise at the time when people will be faced with severe conflict and the earth will be hit by a violent quake. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will fill the hearts of his followers with devotion and will spread justice everywhere". I was looking for a statement like this for nearly two decades.

Indeed that is the very basic to human nature justice and equity. If not now, it gives us solace knowing that the world would be better place some day. Contrast this with the fabrications by Christian Neocons that Prophet Muhammad will come in the end times and slaughter every one or force everyone to become Muslim.



I believe nature is created to have a balance; physical and spiritual. In this game tyrants get away with murders and injustices, there was Hitler, Stalin and Bin Laden and a host of the heads of the states who have ordered bombing of innocent, uprooting families, the only thing an ordinary person can hope justice is belief in the end times where everyone will be accountable. The idea that everyone will pay for it restores hope and takes the burden off of us.

Mike Ghouse is Committed to building cohesive societies – details at www.mikeghouse.net

# #

Here is the Press release.

(WASHINGTON DC -- July 17, 2011) The Islamic Information Center celebrates the birthday of Imam Mahdi, one of the great great grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, May God Bless them both.

This holiday is being marked by hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world, and is a joyous occasion.

To learn more about Imam Mahdi and his role in the modern world, please read IIC's "Imam Mahdi Information Packet", available for free download by simply clicking on the image below! http://www.islamicinformationcenter.org/images/stories/pdfs/ImamMahdi.pdf?utm_source=Islamic+Information+Center&utm_campaign=414d01d69e-Interfaith&utm_medium=email

"Civilizations were born and destroyed many times throughout human history, but a few concepts persist in the collective beliefs of various cultures.
One of these is the belief in a final savior that will come at the end of the world. Notions differ as to who this character is or what the conditions of the end of the world will be.
Nevertheless, the belief in a just leader who will bring truth and justice to a world of chaos and corruption is widely observed in various cultural and faith traditions, especially in those of the Abrahamic traditions. In Islam, this branch of eschatology refers to the tradition of Imam Mahdi, the leader who will lead all of humanity to the path of truth and consciousness.

Imam Mahdi has several titles, be he is generally known as the 'Mahdi', or the spiritual leader who is 'rightly-guided'. Born in 868 AD, Imam Mahdi entered a period of occultation, or divine hiding, that would protect him from his enemies, and will return when he is called forth by God to fulfill his mission. This mission is necessarily one of returning justice and balance to the earth in a time of great tyranny and chaos.

Imam Mahdi will return alongside the Holy Prophet Jesus, son of Mary, to usher in a golden era of peace and tranquility.

Imam Mahdi represents the justice of God in this earth, and will answer the cries of the helpless, oppressed, and downtrodden.

The Prophet of Islam proclaimed, "Listen to the good news about the Mahdi! He will rise at the time when people will be faced with severe conflict and the earth will be hit by a violent quake. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will fill the hearts of his followers with devotion and will spread justice everywhere".

Prayers at Carrollton City Council

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/04/prayers-at-carrollton-city-council.html
Invocation prayers at Carrollton City Council

7:00 PM, Tuesday, April 05, 2011

A Carrollton tradition

By Mike Ghouse, Pluralist

# # #

Dear Friends,

The following is an inclusive prayer called the prayer of Pluralism, indeed, Carrollton is only City in the United States where inclusiveness is appreciated and this is the 9^th time in the last four years. We are committed to building a cohesive Carrollton.

Let’s reflect, wish and pray:

Creator of the universe

Please accept our gratitude in every name we call upon you; Manito,  Yahweh, Elahi, Ishwar, Allah, Mahavira, Buddha, Wahe Guru, Ahura Mazda, mother earth and Jesus Christ.  

In your name we want to create a cohesive Carrollton, with care kindness and dignity to every one of the 122,000 residents of this beautiful City.  

Dear God,

Guide our Mayor and the council to serve us with integrity and honesty;
Guide us to serve our communities with the spirit of volunteerism;
Guide us to do the right thing every moment of our life;
Guide us to open our hearts and minds toward our fellow beings;
Guide us to shed the arrogance in us, and enrich us with humility
Guide us to become conflict mitigaters and goodwill nurturers.

Dear God,
Protect our men and women in uniforms committed to our safety and well being.

Help us learn to respect the uniqueness you have blessed to each one of the 122,000 of us in Carrollton,

And help us learn to respect everywhich way one worships you.

In your name, we bow to you.

Amen.

Pictures:

Video:

 # # #

 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. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace.

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of other; and World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. His work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

First Amendment, the secular and religious organizations

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/04/first-amendment-secular-and-religious.html

Dallas Morning News - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/texas-faith-does-special-legal.html
Religious Organizations must be held to the same standards as the secular organizations in terms of employment and accountability to the public. They must be subjected to audit of the policies as well, then the questions of exceptions will dwindle and a sense of clarity will emerge. We have to rise above our own petty agendas for the overall good of America, in our case and formulate policies that treat every one justly.

The employment situation with religious organizations does bring up issues in selection of the candidates; almost all the religious and secular organizations circumvent it by narrowing the criteria. In the coming years that may be tested out if the unemployment rates become unmanageable.

We have to consider the qualifications and nature of Job but that will begin the process of splitting hair and creates more conflicts and butting into the internal affairs of a religious organization.  What happens to equal opportunity employment laws, where does it stop?

Religion is like the nuclear power which can be beneficent in the hands of the righteous ones and destructive in the other.

A few religious organizations have refused to volunteer serving food to the homeless because the facility was managed by a Gay pastor.  How far can it go? Refuse to serve people who do not believe like you do? Is it our responsibility to prevent abuse of the scriptures to fit group’s agenda?  Should the majority ideas be forced on those who differ?  We should not forget the genesis of religions be it Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism or any ism, it always started as minority opinion and practices and because of their universal appeal it became a majority on a voluntary basis in their respective regions, should that makes us arrogant ?

There are some good examples as well, there is an Islamic school in Mumbai India, where some of the teachers are Hindus and they wear the full Hijab while on the school premises. There is another Madrassa in Bengal where Hindu Children are enrolling to learn about Islam, what if they remain Hindus and want to preach Islam? John Esposito is one of the most respected scholars on Islam in America, he is a devout Catholic, and he must have an equal opportunity to run Islamic Organizations, should he not?

Building cohesive societies to function smoothly and bring productivity to every human should be our civic responsibility.  Wasn’t that the call of Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Krishna, Bahaullah, Nanak and others to create the kingdom of heaven? Didn’t they want societies where no one had to live with apprehension of others?

The world has indeed become a global community. Everyone is a neighbor to everyone else; we aspire to nurture the concept of good neighborliness in the world. The advisory board for World Muslim Congress will be represented by individuals from every faith. It is time for us to be equal citizens of one world; our home. This is a major paradigm shift in how the religious organizations would be conducting their business in the coming years.

# # #

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. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace.

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of other, and World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. His work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Swami Vivekananda gave a new meaning to the Hindu philosophy of tolerance.

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/03/swami-vivekananda-gave-new-meaning-to.html

As I was reading the article about Swami Vivekananda, several paragraphs struck me and I am inspired to write the following article.

When Swamiji talks about, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist,” He was talking about religion is a pathway to spirituality. I had just responded to Mr. Yogi Sikand on an article about Dawah work in Islam by Maulana Wahiduddin, and Missionary work in Christianity.   

In my note, I was hoping to read what the Dawah (an invitation to convert) was for? Is it to make one a Muslim or to guide the person to become the righteous one?  Same question goes to Christianity, Sikh, Baha’i, Hindu and other traditions.

When Jesus said, “follow me”, Krishna said, “Surrender to me” and Allah says, “submit to my will”, the call was to follow God’s law of nature; to live cohesively and in harmony. It is about bringing a balance and equilibrium to everything we do. Balance is sustainable and extremity is not.

Personally I value every religion, and do not consider the need for any one to change his or her faith unless he or she finds solace in a different faith other than the one s/he is accustomed to. Every faith does what it is suppose to do to the believer; bring peace of mind.  No one should compel one to convert or prevent one from converting, let one choose what one believes to bring tranquility to him and harmony with others.   Let it be an individual’s choice.  What difference does it make to you if I eat different food, wear different clothes and speak a different language?

Swamiji touches on diversity, indeed, because we are diverse we have survived if we were all one, we could have been wiped out with one single disease. Each one of us is endowed with a different thumb print, DNA, eye print etc, so let’s have a different faith as well. To repeat his words, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist,”

Conversion assumes a deficiency in the other faith and that is sheer arrogance. However, I would guide one to be a better Hindu, Jew, Christian, Muslim and ultimately a better human, which is the essence of every religion.  Mahatma Gandhi had emphasized the same thought and Prophet Muhammad’s first model of education was to be truthful, trustworthy and caring and he was called Amin by the people around him.  Jesus embraced every one without flinching, and accepted the otherness of other, in fact he said let’s condemn the sin but not sinner, that was the ultimate in inclusion or I call it Pluralism.

The other thought that really touched me was, “Swamiji was in favour of harmony among religious beliefs and against one religion for all.” 

Indeed the Foundation for Pluralism is about that, and the Parliament of Worlds Religion has set the lofty but simple goals such as: harmony rather than unity, convergence of purpose rather than consensus of belief and facilitation rather than structuring.

Those of us who feel insecure about the interfaith movement and fear losing our identity or diluting it, please be assured that the goal of the Parliament is NOT to UNITE religions, but to facilitate a platform to learn about the others first hand and work together for the common good of mankind. 90% of religion is about doing common good; only 10% of it is rituals that give it its own uniqueness.

There is no proselytization element in any of the events the Parliament facilitates. You may love the theme in Melbourne, “hearing each other and healing the earth”. Indeed, that is the need of the day; hearing each other first hand.

The City of Chicago has honored the Swami by naming a street after him, and now get ready to honor the Swami again in 2014 at the Parliament of World’s religions in Brussels. Save the monies and get ready. Insha Allah, God willing, see you there with a topic on Swami Vivekananda.
# # #

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/

# # #  

Reference: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article1587374.ece

Muslims condemn today’s attack on the Bus in Jerusalem.

PRESS RELEASE
March 23, 2011, Dallas, Texas

Muslims condemn today’s attack on the Bus in Jerusalem.

The world Muslim Congress strongly condemns the attack on the bus in Jerusalem as well as the resumption of the rocket attacks on the civilian population. We pray for God’s blessing for the victims and their families.

“It is the responsibility of the Palestinians to speak out and stand up against the few who are tarnishing the peace process” Mike Ghouse, President of the World Muslim Congress and the Foundation for Pluralism adds; “please find the individuals who are responsible for this horrendous crime and bring justice to the victims and their families. They are your real enemies and are bent on destroying the future of your children by their irresponsible malicious acts”.

Killing one human being is like killing the whole humanity, says the Torah and Quraan and its corollary, and saving one life is like saving the whole humanity. And both Muslims and Jews have to listen to God, there is wisdom in it.

I ask the Israelis to arrest the temptation to take revenge, only the one with power can stop the cycle, and let terrorism not force you out the path of peace.”

Mike Ghouse

World Muslim congress

Foundation for Pluralism

2665 Villa Creek Dr, Suite 206, Dallas, TX 75234

Email: MikeGhouse@gmail.com

(214) 325-1916

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/

Muslim politics Motamar Alalam Islami and World Muslim Congress

Muslim Politics;
Motamar AlAlam AlIslami, Ahmadiyya Muslims and the World Muslim Congress.

An effort was made to connect Motamar AlAlam AlIslami and the World Muslim Congress. The response from Motamar was “your organization has Qadianis too and Qadianis are considered non Muslims as such there cannot be an alliance with your organization - Sorry “.  I understand the politics involved in bringing Muslims together.

When the Qur’aan burning incident in Florida was announced, we took a pro-active role and wrote the following:

Quraan Burning, an appeal to Muslims
http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/09/quraan-burning-appeal-to-muslims.html

A prominent group of Muslims liked this piece and asked me to reduce it to 600 words to run it as an ad in New York Times and get translated in at least 5 languages and publish in the local papers. The idea was to mitigate Muslims reaction around the world.  We got the work done and had an endorsement from Muslims of all Shades including Ahmadiyya. The inclusion of Ahmadiyya endorsement turned the “Men” from going forward. It was disappointing to the core, an appeal they considered will bring positive changes was sacked because of their prejudice towards Ahmadiyya. Does anyone has a gut to stand up?

My role Models are Prophet Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. What I learned from them was a simple fact;  If you do something right, meaning something that does not benefit you but benefits others, people will question you and the men in power will oppose you, never think for a moment that you are alone, God is with you when you care about his creation.

The thoughts of compromising surfaced many a times and were even encouraged; dump the Ahmadiyya vocabulary from my work and I will have a ton of support and funding to go forward.  You can call whatever you want, I chose not to compromise, I will do my share of the work to build cohesive societies without discrimination towards any one of God’s creation.

I consider the greatest sin on earth is discriminating others because of how each one of the 7 billion of us looks, works or talks.  As God told Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to just do his work and it is up to others to receive it.  With all my flaws, Alhamdu Lillah, I am committed to do my share of work. I hope someday, at least in America, our future generation will see the value in coming together as Muslims regardless of our hues, as humans regardless of our religion for doing good and knowing each other (Q49:13).

It’s amazing how people are brainwashed, the Pakistan Government declares them to be non-Muslims and many (but not all) Muslims instantly change their heart, as if they don’t have their own mind and keep building on it. The virus has reached the free Indonesian people as well, even Bangalore, my home town is not free from this divisive politics. Is your religiosity anchored in denying others their religiosity?

Americans are no exception, whatever the Bush Government put out, many a Americans believed in it, when Reagan called the Russians an evil empire, a lot of Americans believed in it and looked at the Russians in that manner. Again, no nation or people are free from this bias, Jesus had said the eternal truth, that no one can cast the first stone. We have to be truly free people and be independent of what the Government or the Media bombards us with.

The world has indeed become a global community. Everyone is a neighbor to everyone else; we aspire to nurture the concept of good neighborliness in the world. Our advisory board will be represented by individuals from every faith. It is time for us to be equal citizens of one world, our home. This is a major paradigm shift in how the religious organizations would be conducting their business in the coming years. Our Mission is to work for a world of co-existence through inclusiveness and participation.  (http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/WorldMuslimCongress/Articles/Mission-Statement.asp )

I hear the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “keep working.”

Mike Ghouse committed to building cohesive societies and is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Cohesive Societies, Peace and Justice. His work is listed in 3 Websites and 22 blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

# # #

REFERENCES

You are welcome to review over 1000 articles on Islam and co-existence on the blogs, but a few related to Ahmadiyya Muslims are enclosed here:

Appeal to Indonesia about Ahmadiyya Muslims
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/09/appeal-to-indonesia-about-ahmadi.html

Muslims condemn murdering fellow Ahmadiyya Muslimshttp://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/02/muslims-condemn-murdering-ahmadiyya.html

One Islam for Ahamdiyya, Bohra, Isamilia, Shia, Sunni and othershttp://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/04/there-is-only-one-islam.html

Ahmadiyya Muslims Among Muslimhttp://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/03/ahmadiyya-muslims-among-muslims.html

Ahmadiyya Muslims, what next?http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/04/ahmadiyya-muslims-what-next.html

You are welcome to join the discussion group by sending an email to :
WorldMuslimCongress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Texas Faith - Role of religious faith when there are no good choices

Wayne Slater/Reporter    Bio |  E-mail  | News tips

When a Catholic hospital in Phoenix recently terminated a pregnancy to save the life of the mother, the church acted. The bishop stripped the hospital of its affiliation with the diocese and excommunicated the nun who approved the abortion. The hospital said the 27-year-old mother would almost certainly died otherwise. But abortion runs counter to Catholic faith. And there's no doubt the bishop had the right to do what he did.

Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times suggests the episode underscores a clash between two expressions of religious faith. Without litigating the deep and difficult issue of abortion itself (if we can), consider a broader question: What's the role of faith when there's no good choice? Sometimes doctrine says one thing but circumstances say another. What happens when both sides believe they have the fundamentals of faith on their side? How do we bring our faith to bear in situations where there is no good choice?

Our Texas Faith panel weighs in. And it's telling that two members invoke Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which is where we start with the panel's answers. Read on.

TEXAS FAITH: What's the role of religious faith when there are no good choices?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

The pledge of allegiance defines the role of faith fairly well; it is to build cohesive societies, expressed as one nation under God (oneness) indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

When conflicting sides believe they have the fundamentals of faith on their side, division is an amicable outcome as a last resort in civil societies, whereas the intolerant societies will resort to harassment and oppression.

Pluralism is a culmination of an attitude in civility, if we can learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the genetic God given (or genetic) uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge for societies to function cohesively.

Indeed, every social, cultural and religious system has a built-in mechanism to sustain its cohesiveness, however when insecure men get threatened, the spirituality (humility) of religion gets knocked over and control aspect of fallible human beings takes over and sacrifice the very purpose of religion; cohesiveness.

Islam was endowed with such a mechanism to deal with issues that had no precedence or choice. The system was called Ijtihad, a process of achieving consensus among parties independent of a given understanding.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) asked his followers to refer to Quraan for any questions that might come up after he was gone, if no answers were to be found, he said, check out my examples and if there isn't one, then consult among yourselves, struggle to be just and righteous.

That system was weakened nearly four centuries after death of the prophet. The rules were made to exclude those who did not subscribe to the ideas of men controlling knowledge and power. Thus a great tool of keeping the communities together got decimated.

Thanks to America and its spirit of freedom and fearlessness, the institution of ljtihad will flourish and influence the Islamic thinking around the world for Muslims to once again become participants and contributors towards the well being of societies at large.

Research is warranted to determine the factors that split the groups. There was one Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism once, not anymore. Even the smaller groups like Jainism, Judaism, and Sikhism have split into sub-groups and the process will continue with every group as they grow in size, as naturally as the amoeba.

How do we bring our faith to bear in situations where there is no good choice? We have to do our Ijtihad and focus on the purpose of religion; cohesiveness.

 12 Opinions listed at http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/texas-faith-whats-the-role-of-2.html