Veterans Day and Muslim Americans

I am new to DC and have to find where I can join the Veteran’s day.

Muslim Americans take pride in their patriotism and participate in Veterans Day parades and observe Memorial day, and participate in veterans day activities.

I have been a part of it for many years, “While living in Dallas for more than three decades, he became a fixture at Veteran’s-Day ceremonies and July 4^th parades.  He has spoken at innumerable luncheons for homeless veterans and visits with veterans at VA hospitals.  Dr. Ghouse drives around the Veterans’ cemeteries on Memorial Day and offers prayers for all those who have defended our freedom.  He will fight and defend the freedom of America any time and all the times. “ 

I appreciate our veterans for defending our freedoms, and it is our duty to honor them every which way we can

Full profile at http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-voice-of-moderate-islam-in-america.html

At Veterans Cemetery in Grand Prairie, TX

Speaking at Homeless Veterans Luncheon

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

Reflections on Memorial Day 2015

REFLECTIONS ON MEMORIAL DAY | www.TheGhouseDiary.com
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2015/05/reflections-on-memorial-day-2015.html

Please do not wish a “Happy Memorial Day” on this day; it is not a celebration to be happy about, it is rather an observance to commemorate and ponder. We observe the Memorial Day on the last Monday of May every year; remembering and honoring the men and women who died while protecting and serving our country.

Why does it matter to you? The freedoms that you and I cherish or take it for granted, did not come to us on a platter and was not a given thing either, it was earned for us through the sacrifice of men and women who fought for it. It is particularly important day for all the immigrants who enjoy full civil rights and equal opportunity in America.

I am pleased to share my thoughts, hoping you would find it to be a meaningful day for you. What will I do and what can you do is as follows.

The tradition of Memorial Day observance began after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and confederate soldiers who died in the civil war. Indeed, it was the civil war that abolished slavery which was the stepping stone for passing the Civil rights Act of 1964 and the very cause for the immigrants to make it to America.

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and reflection, it is time to pray for those have passed away, whether they are related to us or not and whether they have served in the military, police and fire or not. Please take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for us, and those who cared for others whether we know them or not. It is not necessarily a noble thing or a religious thing, it is the right thing to do.  Indeed, it is the thing that enriches our souls and brings humility and connects us back with ourselves.

On the Memorial Day in 2010, I drove from Louisville to Dallas, an 840 miles journey and stopped at every cemetery that was visible on the road side. I said a short prayer asking the creator to restore the balance on the earth though forgiveness to those who have sinned and bring completeness to those who left incomplete transactions in life.  I particularly remember stopping at 4 national cemeteries, and there was one near Nashville on I-40 for the veterans, which was off the road, and I drove through a creek to get there and paid my homage to the men and women who died for my country's freedom. It just feels good to be a part of the whole.

What is the point in doing all this? Its a moment to connect with ourselves and know thyself. We are on run every day chasing the next moment, and there is no time for ourselves...we give time to strangers, friends and others, and it is a good idea to give some time to ourselves. 

The best thing you can do for yourselves is it to take 'an hour' away from everything and every one, and reflect on your life. There is nothing more peaceful than knowing yourselves. 

There is a beautiful Islamic supplication that asks God to forgive the ones who are alive and the ones who are dead, and the  parents, family, friends, believers and strangers. It runs something like this, “Dear God, forgive me and my parents and my teachers and all the believing men and women, the living and the dead with your mercy. Amen." Thank God for this inclusive pluralistic prayer seeking goodness for all the living and the dead.

It is time to pause and reflect on life and express gratitude to those who helped shape you. In my case, I will take out some time to reflect about my Mother, Father, Maternal Grand father, Dadski (father figure), my late wife,  one of my two favorite uncles, the relatives I was close with, the teachers who were good to me, and the strangers who were good to me, and friends who have passed away and several others.   

I will pull over on the road side at every cemetery I spot on the memorial day and silently pray for them. Praying for the unknown connects you with the unselfish-self in you, giving a sense of joy that is hard to explain. Try it and see how good you feel about yourselves - visit a cemetery, eventually we all have to go there.

I am writing this every year as a reminder, several of my friends have called and wrote that they also made the trip and it felt good for them.
 
Let's wish (pray). Dear God, we thank you for the life and the freedom you have given us, and we thank all those who have sacrificed their lives to have this freedom to stand freely and pray here today, I salute our men and women in the uniforms for protecting and defending our freedom. Amen.

Oped - http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Muslim-s-Reflections-on-by-Mike-Ghouse-Memorial-Day_Mike-Ghouse_Motivation_Muslim-Guy-150524-285.html


God bless America.
Mike Ghouse, Speaker
Motivation | Pluralism | Human Rights | Religion.
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
...............................................................................................................................
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 | He is producing a full feature film " Sacred" to be released on 9/11 and a documentary "Americans together" for a July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and 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. 

Memorial Day Reflections by Pluralist Mike Ghouse

Please do not wish a “Happy Memorial Day” on this day; it is not a celebration to be happy about, it is rather an observance to commemorate and ponder. We observe the Memorial Day on the last Monday of May every year; remembering and honoring the men and women who died while protecting and serving our country.

Why does it matter to you? The freedoms that you and I cherish or take it for granted, did not come to us on a platter and was not a given thing either, it was earned for us through the sacrifice of men and women who fought for it. It is particularly important day for all the immigrants who enjoy full civil rights and equal opportunity in America.

I am pleased to share my thoughts, hoping you would find it to be a meaningful day for you. What will I do and what can you do is as follows.

The tradition of Memorial Day observance began after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and confederate soldiers who died in the civil war. Indeed, it was the civil war that abolished slavery ( it is time to watch the movie Lincoln)  which was the stepping stone for passing the Civil rights Act of 1964 and the very cause for the immigrants to make it to America.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 states (wiki) that is “a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and women. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public (known as "public accommodations").”

By the way I am related to General Robert E. Lee through my son and daughter’s family on their mother’s side.

Had it not for the Civil Rights Act (thanksgiving link honoring MLK), we the immigrants, from some 200 nations would not have come to the United States; we would not have been allowed either. Up until 1910, no one but a white person could own the property here in Dallas. Heck getting a decent job was out of question; my Jewish friends tell stories of not getting a decent job up until 1960. The immigrants were not allowed to marry either; the first such case happened in the last century when an Indian man married a white woman and their troubles began, and thank God, they endured the struggles, and seeded reforms in the immigration law.

Every one of us is designed to pursue happiness. Of the many things that bring serene happiness to the soul is the expression of gratitude. It is thanking the creator for the life we have, (Appaiah story) and thanking those who have laid the foundation for our happiness and freedom that we take it for granted. Thanks to our soldiers who fought in the civil war to preserve that freedom for us, and the least we can do is honor them. If you see the men and women in the uniform, tell them that you appreciate them. They deserve to hear the appreciation.

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and reflection, it is time to pray for those have passed away, whether they are related to us or not and whether they have served in the military, police and fire or not. Please take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for us, and those who cared for others whether we know them or not. It is not necessarily a noble thing or a religious thing, it is the rigth thing to do.  Indeed, it is the thing that enriches our souls and brings humility and connects us back with ourselves.

 On the Memorial Day in 2010, I drove from Louisville to Dallas, an 840 miles journey and stopped at every cemetery that was visible on the road side. I said a short prayer asking the creator to restore the balance on the earth though forgiveness to those who have sinned and bring completeness to those who left incomplete transactions in life.  I particularly remember stopping at 4 national cemeteries, and there was one near Nashville on I-40 for the veterans, which was off the road, and I drove through a creek to get there and paid my homage to the men and women who died for my country's freedom. It just feels good to be a part of the whole.

There is a beautiful Islamic supplication that asks God to forgive the ones who are alive and the ones who are gone, parents, family, friends, believers and strangers.

This year, my Dadski (father figure link) passed away. I am grateful to him for being the catalyst for me to be here in America, he has been a good friend and a father figure to me. I will be visiting the National Cemetery in Grand Prairie and place a US Flag for him.

Every cemetery I spot on the memorial day, either I will pull over on the road side or walk to the gate of the cemetery, or silently pray for them. Praying for the unknown connects you with the unselfish-self in you, giving a sense of joy that is hard to explain. Try it and see how good you feel about yourselves - visit a cemetery, eventually we all have to go there.

I will be visiting the Islamic Cemetery in Denton to pray for my late wife and through the cemetery pray for my parents, my grandparents, uncles and aunts, and my sister in law, and the known and unknown.

The Muslim prayers run something like this, “Dear God, forgive me and my parents and my teachers and all the believing men and women, the living and the dead with your mercy. Amen."

 Dear God, I thank you for the life and the freedom you have given me and my fellow humans and I thank for all those who have sacrificed their lives for me to have this freedom to stand freely and pray here today, I salute our men and women in the uniforms for protecting and defending our freedom. Amen.

(This is my draft, disturbed by a phone call – I will fix this later today and add more soul searching items to it).


URL -  http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/05/memorial-day-reflections-by-pluralist.html

....

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

Urdu | Memorial Day

The following video documentary on Handwritten Urdu Newspaper in Chennai is simply mesmerizing! The only handwritten Newspaper in the world! And today is Memorial day, a day dedicated to honor the loved ones who are no more.  I am dedicating this write up to Najma, my late wife on this Memorial Day.

I love writing Urdu and there is not a day that I don't scribble something or the other in Urdu. It was a good feeling to see this down-to-the-earth documentary. It was a pleasure to hear about the prevalent secular ethos in that news paper office.

In the early sixties we had three Urdu Newspapers in Bangalore; Pasban, Jumhoor, Azad and Salaar, there are many more now and I forgot the weekend news papers we had.  

I hope you’d love this video:

http://gizmodo.com/5804614/this-is-the-last-handwritten-newspaper

Indeed, I am infatuated with Urdu, interestingly it was Urdu that had pulled me towards my late wife Najma at a Mushaira in Richardson after which she had joined me on my TV and Radio shows as a co-host and a year later we married. She was superb in her diction and choice of words, people loved to hear her out on the radio; I would pull the car over and listen to her whole program. I can never forget Farida Jalal yielding her portion of emceeing to Najma in a Bollywood show, Lata Mangeshkar was enthralled and said "Najmaji aap ki awaaz bahut hi sunder hai aur aap bahut achchi Urdu bolti hain".

I am dedicating this write up to Najma to honor her memories on this memorial day.

About the Pluralism and Secularism in India, which I am a product of, I found those attitudes across the board. Even last year when I was in Bangalore and addressed the Muslim leadership gathering, the tone was same; co-existence and pluralism drawn from Islam and Hinduism at works.

I am pleased to quote my mother on this topic that I wrote on Mother’s day, "She was a pluralist. My youngest brother Farooq runs a real estate business in  Bangalore, and his manager had hung the picture of Lord Krishna in the office; he asked my Mother about it, she was blunt, "do you have your religious symbols hung on the wall? He said, yes, and she said, let him have his. Dear Mother, I salute you and I am going to brag about you." article at http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/05/mother-my-story-happy-mothers-day.html

I did not realize how much of Urdu runs through my veins, however I am yet to  give expression to it. I was writing to my mother until she was alive and kept writing  to my sister when she was in Rae Barielly and Secunderabad with my brother in Law who served in the Indian Army. However I used to write “Afsanay” short stories in Urdu and have written several Nazams and Ghazals in the  past, and have written a few Rubayee’s lately on Pluralism and social cohesion, they sound just like my mentor Sahir Ludhianavi. My sister writes for Salaar in Urdu and she has agreed to translate my work in Urdu for publication in Bangalore, my home town.

When I became single, I was looking for someone who does not have barriers between her and another human being. Religion, Race or Ethnicity was never an issue to me, so I talked with so many from literally every possible background …and I was joyous to know so many women from Muslim, Hindu, Parsee, Jain, Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist and different backgrounds were equally open about religion, race or ethnicity.  Most of them had described themselves as spiritual not religious.  

Then I realized, it wont’ be fair to her that I want to go to the Mushaera and she  will not enjoy it.  Grudgingly, I  was willing to miss seeing a woman in Saree or Shalwar Qamees, but Urdu was another thing. I see many of my friends in that boat here in Dallas and other cities, where the guys or the girls have to go-it-alone as their spouse does not speak Urdu. They cannot even enjoy listening to the songs without a timer for “my turn”. 

Thank God, I finally met Yasmeen, who was everything I was looking in a life partner and darn, she spoke Urdu!  God willing, we hope to host a few poetry sessions in Urdu and Hindi  next year. I’d rather attend the Public Mushaera when politics is cut out. We attended one in Louisville and it was fabulous. I had written a poem on Social cohesion and it was a cross between Iqbal and Sahir… I abandoned it, as I do not want to sound like I have copied them. Temptations to write it out again comes to my mind repeatedly, but I will be knowingly manipulating it not to sound like Sahir, then it will not be genuine poetry. Well, I will have to write another one and stop reading Iqbal and Sahir.

Happy Urdu and Reminiscent Memorial day

# # #

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, futurist and a writer on the topics of Pluralism, Coexistence, interfaith, Islam, India and cohesive societies. He is committed to building cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.  His work is indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ 

Note to Desis – you do not wish a Happy Memorial day; it is a day of remembrance and not rejoice.

Memorial day reflections

It is a day of remembrance and reflection, it is time to pray for those have passed away, whether they are related to us or not. Please take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for us, and those who cared for others whether we know them or not. It is not a noble thing or a religious thing, it is a thing that enriches our souls and brings humility and connects us back with ourselves.

On the Memorial Day, I drove from Louisville to Dallas, a 840 miles journey and stopped at every cemetery that was visible on the road side. I said a short prayer asking the creator to restore the balance on the earth though forgiveness to those who have sinned and bring completeness to those who left incomplete transactions in life.  I particularly remember stopping at 4 national cemeteries, and there was one near Nashville on I-40 for the veterans, which was off the road, and I drove through a creek to get there and paid my homage to the men and women who died for this country's freedom. It just feels good to be a part of the whole.

There is a beautiful Islamic supplication that asks God to forgive the ones who are alive and the ones who are gone, parents, family, friends and believers.


Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net