Dallas Snowed-in, play time

DALLAS DOES SNOW | PLAY TIME | 02.04.2011

Have you played the little paper ships? In my child hood there was a canal in my uncle's town near Bangalore, my sister, my cousin and I placed the paper ships on it and watched them float... we even placed the soda bottle caps on the water and watch them float.. and my cousin Shafi would throw a rock to sink the cap... and we argued...it was fun! I have added song at the end of the note, enjoy that one too.

 

Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157625851451609/show/

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

It snowed on Monday and today is Friday, it's been like this for the whole week, all offices are closed down... looks like a few of us are working. 1984, 1989, 2004 have witnessed weeklong snow in Dallas..

I don't recall the dates.. but remember playing with my son Jeff when he was five years old... put him in a card board box and pulled him all over the front yard at Clearfield house. he was scremaing with joy! , driving to the hospital when is mother was pregnant... when roads were all covered.. that was 11/26/84! I remember, Mina, my daughter and I making the snow man at Duke house some where around 1994 or 95 I had to dig up all the pictures and put them together to watch some day...

...Yesterday, I was on phone with Yasmeen while parked, as usuallly it happens
In the rear view mirror I saw a paper ship floating on the sheet of ice in the parking lot... it was incredible movement, it appeared so real in the mirror...I was simply watching it... then got out of the car to video tape, some one drove right on it.

It was so tempting to go make paper ship and place it on the ice sheet and watc it float with small wind, or even blowing air from the mouth...

Have you played the little paper ships, in my child hood there was a canal in my uncle's town Peresandra near Bangalore, my sister, my cousin and I placed the ships on it and watched them float... it was fun

There is a Ghazal (song) in Urdu/Hindi..-
O kagaz ki kashti, baarish ka paani, enjoy it if you know urdu/hindi...
The poet is sayiing; take away my wealth, take away my fame, but give me back my child hood, the memories of running in the rain, playing ships, liseting to grand ma...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB7ih3X4C9M&playnext=1&list=PL737900015B772B84

 

Hannity to choudary - you are one sick miserable SOB

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/02/hannity-to-choudary-you-are-one-sick.html

Hannity and Cleric Choudary – Heated exchanges

The video link is provided below

This morning, Hannity show wanted me to see if I supported any aspect of Brotherhood and I said no, and I did not find any one who supported the Brotherhood either, not in America unless there is some one out there. So they go to London to get this radical Imam who does not represent the majority view, he may be the Pat Robertson of UK.

Here is the heated exchange between Hannity and Choudary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANG9s5EoAnQ

It was a bad interview; Hannity was slapping his pre-determined thoughts on to Imam Anjem Choudary and the Imam did not get a chance to deny them or chose not to.  Both were argumentative.

I am appalled at the Imam, why didn't he tell that there is no such thing as 72 virgins, killing a human is like killing whole humanity. Killing is forbidden in Islam except in self defense. That he condemns the killing of 3000 Americans on 9/11 – this is straight from Quraan – Killing is forbidden.

[17:33] You shall not kill any person - for GOD has made life sacred - except in the course of justice. If one is killed unjustly, then we give his heir authority to enforce justice. Thus, he shall not exceed the limits in avenging the murder, he will be helped.

Of course, Fox is determined to put a view out and nothing contrary to that will be given full time.

I wish I had gone

Face book has some great comments for this piece:
http://www.facebook.com/MikeGhouse#!/notes/mike-ghouse/hannity-to-choudary-you-are-one-sick-miserable-sob/10150143300287774

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and writer on Pluralism and Islam offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.  http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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

A letter to Pakistan President Zardari

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/02/letter-to-pakistan-president-zardari.html

A letter to Pakistan President Zardari inspired by Prime Minister Erdogan’s speech.

Dear President Zardari,

Please ponder about leaving a legacy behind you and consider the following;

All of us will die and will be questioned over what we left behind, you; I and every one will go into a 2 cubic meter hole for good.

Neither your money, nor your desire to be in power will help you in that hole, you will be all alone.  Zein al Abedin had to run, Mubarak will run or go in to the hole sooner than expected, and you and your son may have to run and live with security guards for ever.  Your wealth will go to waste.

You have a choice to change all that by creating a legacy for your people and changing their lives and working on creating an institution where people will manage their own affairs, it will be their government for them and by them. Do it before your lose the opportunity to do it.

You have a small window of opportunity to do it while you are still in Pakistan. May Allah Guide you to do the right thing for your people; peace, prosperity and well being, Amen!

Mike Ghouse,
a Muslim Activist
# # #

Please note this letter is shaped by the speech from Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey to President for life Mr. Mubarak.

Turkey tells Mubarak to listen to the people
         
By Ibon Villelabeitia and Pinar Aydinli

ANKARA |  Tue Feb 1, 2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/us-egypt-turkey-idUSTRE71047Y20110
201

ANKARA (Reuters) - Egypt ian President Hosni Mubarak should heed his people's desire for change, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip  Erdogan said Tuesday, piling pressure on Mubarak to end his 30-year rule in the face of mass protests.

As hundreds of thousands of Egyptians rallied in Cairo, Erdogan stopped short of explicitly calling for Mubarak's resignation but urged the Egyptian leader to ponder his legacy.

"Mr. Hosni Mubarak: I want to make a very sincere recommendation, a very candid warning... All of us will die and will be questioned over what we left behind," Erdogan said in a speech to members of his ruling AK Party in Ankara.

"As Muslims, where we all go is a two cubic meter hole," he said. The speech was broadcast live by some Arabic-language channels.

"Listen to the shouting of the people, the extremely humane demands. Without hesitation, satisfy the people's desire for change," Erdogan said.

Erdogan, whose country is held up as a model in the West for democracy in Muslim nations and has seen its influence rise in recent years in the Middle East, went on to say the solution to political problems lay in elections.

"If there is a problem, the place for solution is the ballot box," Erdogan said. The United States and other Western powers have also urged Mubarak to hold free elections.

Erdogan later said he was putting off a visit to Cairo planned for Feb 8-9, but would go once Egypt returns to normal.

TURKEY'S RISING INFLUENCE

Erdogan's condemnation of Israel for its policies toward Palestinians has turned him into a hero in the Arab street and analysts say non-Arab Turkey has become a rival to Egypt's once economic, political and cultural primacy in the Middle East.

Ankara, a close U.S. ally, has been watching the unrest rocking Egypt and Tunisia with concern about instability harming neighboring countries.

Underlying the importance the United States places on Turkey in the volatile region, Ankara has been in close contact with Washington over Egypt, which caught the United States off guard and left it facing a struggle to balance strategic interests.

"They (the Americans) are asking us: 'How do you see all these things that are going on right now and how should these developments be evaluated?" a Turkish official said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Erdogan over the weekend to discuss the turmoil in the region and stressed the importance of Erdogan as an elected leader of a country in the region with strong democratic traditions.

Saying his own Justice and Development Party, known as the AK Party, sympathized with the downtrodden, Erdogan expressed solidarity with the Tunisians and Egyptians as their country passed through political turmoil.

"Turkey is side by side with the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt at this critical time," Erdogan said.

"The Middle East has become a region associated with wars, conflicts, blood, tears, poverty, corruption, ignorance and abuse of human rights. We as Turkey believe that the Middle East and Arab peoples do not deserve this."

Deepening ties between NATO-member Turkey and the countries of the Middle East, most notably Iran, have however raised some concerns that Turkey risks weakening its Western orientation.

(Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia and Daren Butler http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=darenbutler&> ; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

# # #

POSITIVE CHANGES IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

I am moved by watching the "non-violent" peaceful revolution coming out of Egypt, this is a major paradigm change for Muslims. Unlike other gatherings that were typically shown as violent, this one is just incredible and I feel good about the future of Egypt. Mubarak will have to bow out against peaceful people.

America should boldly side with the people, Obama must muster up the guts to speak out, we can alienate the Egyptians and lose a whole lot of nations in the future or be with them and shape the democratic movement across the world.

The Israeli public should act now and dump the age old war monger in the government and side with the people, the deal is between people and people and not Mubarak and Netanyahu, and both are no good for their respective people.

AlJazeera Live
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Mike Ghouse offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, details at http://www.mikeghouse.net/# #

• Egypt: A New Spirit of National Pride http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GSfSRY2PQ&feature=player_embedded#
  

• Mike Ghouse on Fox with Hannity on Egypt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYHm2fafBu0

• America; making a lemonade out of lemon http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/01/egypt-making-lemonade-out-of-lemon.html

References

Egypt: A positive change in making

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/02/egypt-positive-change-in-making.html

I am moved by watching the "non-violent" peaceful revolution coming out of Egypt, this is a major paradigm change for Muslims. Unlike other gatherings that were typically shown as violent, this one is just incredible and I feel good about the future of Egypt. Mubarak will have to bow out against peaceful people.

America should boldly side with the people, Obama must muster up the guts to speak out, we can alienate the Egyptians and lose a whole lot of nations in the future or be with them and shape the democratic movement across the world.

The Israeli public should act now and dump the age old war monger in the government and side with the people, the deal is between people and people and not Mubarak and Netanyahu, and both are no good for their respective people.

AlJazeera Live
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Mike Ghouse offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, details at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

# #

• Egypt: A New Spirit of National Pride http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GSfSRY2PQ&feature=player_embedded#

• Mike Ghouse on Fox with Hannity on Egypt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYHm2fafBu0

• America; making a lemonade out of lemon http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/01/egypt-making-lemonade-out-of-lemon.html

Teens to have non-penetrative sex?

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/01/teens-to-have-non-penetrative-sex.html

I was taken back for a moment when I saw the Bill to seek 12 year olds to have non-penetrative sex. It is probably shocking to most, indeed to almost all Indians as the society is conservative.  But it is really about grading punitive levels, however, it is not reflective of the society at large, but it is making room for an eventuality.

On the other end of the spectrum, we will read stories of the few right wingers vandalizing the stores for selling flowers and Valentine cards and harassing the youth just for being together and having a dinner. The Indian News Papers will carry a lot of stories on that. Extremism is represented by probably less than 1/100^th of 1% of the population that perhaps is a universal percentage of the right wing radical extremists in all nations, religions, ethnicities and races that seems to be the composition of any demographics.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker on pluralism and Islam offering pluralistic solutions to the media and the public and it is expressed in 22 blogs and 3 websites listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

# # #

India Bill seeks to let 12-yr-olds have non-penetrative sex

Arun Ram, TNN, Feb 1, 2011, 12.56am IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bill-seeks-to-let-12-yr-olds-have-non-penetrative-sex/articleshow/7400208.cms

Read more: 2 similar draft bills on child abuse lead to confusion - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2-similar-draft-bills-on-child-abuse-lead-to-confusion/articleshow/7400208.cms#ixzz1CfLpvMGN

CHENNAI: The draft Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Bill, 2010 by the ministry of women and child development will introduce a gradation in the age of consensual non-penetrative sex.

Section 3 of the draft lists under exceptions of unlawful sexual act with a child:

(i) Any consensual non-penetrative sexual act penalised by this chapter is not an offence when engaged in between two children who are both over 12 years of age and are either of the same age or whose ages are within two years of each other.

(ii) when engaged in between two persons who are both over 14 years and are either of same age or whose ages are within three years of each other.

The bill will soon be sent to the cabinet, after which a parliamentary standing committee will scrutinise it.

Suggestions and objections from the states will be considered then, said a senior official at the ministry of women and child development.

The law ministry too has been working on a similar bill with an identical name, in which the age of consent is mentioned as 16 years, with no gradation. The circulation of two bills with the same title has created confusion.

Opinion on the minimum age are divided. Aparna Bhat, an SC lawyer who was part of a National Commission for Protection of Child Rights group that drafted the latest bill said the gradation of age down to 12 years was to decriminalize sexual exploration by two children.

Under the existing law, if two 12-year-olds get physical and if one childs parent complains, the other can be pulled up by the Juvenile Justice Board.

Read more: 2 similar draft bills on child abuse lead to confusion - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2-similar-draft-bills-on-child-abuse-lead-to-confusion/articleshow/7400208.cms#ixzz1CfLil0Cy

Islam Talk at United Methodist Church, University Park

It was a different audience for me this time; almost all of them were in their mid thirties to forties and perhaps lawyers. The concerns were legitimate and the desire to bring peace to humanity was common, it was almost like speaking to the choir.

The purpose of my talk was not to glorify Islam or Quraan but to remove falsities spread about the faith, so we all can work on creating cohesive societies.
Submitting to God’s will amounts to creating a harmonious peaceful world of co-existence through free will, where we learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us.

Place: University Park United Methodist Church,

Room: Genesis

Here is the outline of my talk:

Greetings; The essence of and different religious greeetings

Creation - Regardless of Evolution or Creation or Big Bang, Life and matter came into being and we exist, don’t we?

Two products of such beginning, life and matter.  Life is about finding the balance, where as Matter has a built-in balance mechanism.

Origins of Religion - All
Religion defined - God has indeed reached every one of us and has offered that formula – Religion

Religion is a divine guidance to every human to find his or her own balance within oneself and with what surrounds;

_ _ _ _ _

Islam

Islam Defined - In one word it is Justice

Submission to God (goodness ).

When there is justice, there will be a sense of safety and peace. If no one takes advantage of other, one feels safe and secure… that generates peace and goodwill.

If there is justice between spouses, family members, communities and nations, the peace is certain. God does not want any thing more; he wants his creation to live in peace and harmony. 

Essence of Islam

Islam teaches one to be non-judgmental, and consistently encourages individuals to do good. It emphasizes about individual responsibility towards the peace and security of society at large.

Islam is not a new religion

Universality of Islam

The Qur'aan starts with the word الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ  Sura Al-Fatiha 1:2 All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, "God of Universe" (not an exclusive)   

and ends with قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ (114:1)

An-Nas (The Mankind) 114:1 SAY: "I seek refuge with the Sustainer of men, "Humankind" (and again not Muslims).

No humans to judge one’s faith

Almost all Muslims are cognizant and repeat the verse مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4)           
 Al-Fatiha -  Lord of the Day of Judgment! مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4)  

“God is the master of the Day of Judgment, and he alone we worship”. A fully observant Muslim recites this verse from 17 to 51 times a day.  

There is no compulsion in the matters of faith, says the Qur'aan. 

Accountability -Individual responsibility - Islam emphasizes on Individual responsibility for one’s words and actions.  

Prophet’s comment to his daughter about responsibility.

Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:163-164: All people will reap the harvest of their own deeds; no one will bear another’s burden. Ultimately, all of you will return to your Lord, and he will resolve your disputes. Al-An'am لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (6:163)

Pluralism embedded in Islam - PLURALISM

Prophet Muhammad, a Pluralist and an interfaith dialoguer

Prophet Muhammad is perhaps the first religious person to initiate interfaith dialogue, he not only invited people of other faiths to dialogue, but he also offered them to pray, their own prayers in his mosque. 

Prophet Muhammad was not only a Pluralist religiously, but he believed in co-existence and living in harmony with life and environment.

Free will

Ritual

Rituals are the path markers to spirituality, whether you do Yoga, Meditation or any other activity… the ultimate goal is well being of the person.

1. Faith – everything starts with a belief

2. Prayer – piety, humility, arrogance

3. Fasting – self discipline

4. Zakat – playing the role of trustee

5. Haj – Large scale community equalizer

Key Values

1.      Justice

2.      Equality

3.      Peace

4.      Accountability

5.      Belief in Oneness of God, humanity and the world for peaceful existence

ISSUES

            1. Sunni and Shia branches

            2. Sharia Law

            3. Ground Zero Mosque

            4. Apostasy

            5. Blasphemy

            6. Cartoons

            7. Jihad

            8. Conversions

            9. Quraan Translations 

    

CONCLUSION

Finding the truth is your own responsibility… what you see on TV or hear on Radio… is propaganda to malign the other… you may have witnessed that even against your church.  

Religion was given to each one of the 7 billion of us to make ourselves a better being, most of us get it, and a few don’t.

A few Residents of your city violate the traffic rules; do evil things, murder people.... people wearing faith badges violate their faith as well. 

That does not make the city a bad City or a religion a bad religion. Individuals commit crimes and we need to make them accountable and not their faith or their City. Blaming the City or the Religion does not do a thing, blaming the individual allow bringing justice to the society?

Thanks to Rev. Bill Matthews for facilitating this.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer. He runs the Foundation for Pluralism championing 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.

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your place of worship, school, work place, 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/

GOD and Miracles

I watched the following video and I am glad I did. I had a lot of questions and I hope you do too.  http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/SAF13v5_WS

After the video, please resume reading the following observations from a pluralistic point of view and kindly share your thoughts.

Those who do not believe in miracles may have to find some scientific explanation for this and resist ruling out the possibility of a Pause in one’s life. We are yet to understand the mysteries of life; someday we might be able to harness the full power of the God given intelligence to understand this phenomenon.

There may be reluctance from those who are not Christian in this instance, and may have difficulty in believing in miracles. Even the Hindus, who witness miracles more frequently than the others may want to, hold on to the temptations to deny miracles because Jesus was invoked in this.  Same goes to Muslims and Jews who may not accept this because Jesus is not God to them and some of them may even label it as “their God”, falling into the trap that there are different Gods.

Whether one calls the creator, Allah, Krishna, Yahweh, Jesus, Ahura Mazda or what not, God remains the same. God does not change with our perceptions and invocations. If we can see this miracle as a miracle of God, the God that is common to all of us, (or the creator of energy for those who do dot subscribe to the religious version) then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

If one can create the same film with a Hindu doctor invoking Shiva, Krishna or one of the Avatars, would the Christians and Muslim accept that as a miracle?

If you reject these miracles, reject it for impossibility, but do not reject because it has a labeling of one religion or the other.  Personally, I do not believe God needs to perform miracles on a daily basis, every life is indeed a miracle, the birth of child is a miracle, the way our body works is a miracle... a whole human being is programmed out of a drop of semen is a miracle.

Pluralistic attitude will cause you to reflect on it as a Miracle of God, it was the common God that is the focus and not “someone else’s God.” A pluralist will feel comfortable with the scene whether you invoke Allah, Krishna, Jesus or any other name.

Have the peace of mind knowing that God has not signed a deal with any one behind other people’s back, he is just, kind, merciful and loving and treats us the same. It is up to us to do good or not, and feel at peace if we do, and disturbed if we don’t.

Mike Ghouse, speaker, thinker and a writer offering pluralistic solution on issues of the day. Details at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Article at: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/01/god-and-miracles.html

 

A page from Hannity on Fox

http://www.hannity.com/show/2011/01/28

Ghouse on Hannity show - FOX TV

Ghouse on Hannity show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYHm2fafBu0