Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Successful Dallas partnership walk

Congratulations!
We are proud of the successful Partnership Walk in Dallas on Sunday, September 27, 2009.

About 6000 People attended the event and over half a million dollars were raised for the under privileged around the world.

It is through these initiatives we can change the world of the underprivileged. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) described a good deed as an act which benefits others, such as planting a tree that serves generations of wayfarers with fruit and the shade. The world is a better place today because of a good legacy bequeathed to humanity by people of all faiths that came before us. We owe it to coming generations to leave the world a little better than we found it, to usher an era of justice and peace. Taking care of God's creation indeed is a good deed. "The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct" Quraan 49:13.

The Walk is an initiative of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) to raise awareness and funds to alleviate global poverty and promote partnership between America and the developing world. We thank HH Aga Khan for this great work. As a Muslim I see a change in a positive perception of the world about us, that Muslims are doing good things.

Jazak Allah Khair

Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.org/

6,000 WALK TO END GLOBAL POVERTY
AT DALLAS PARTNERSHIP WALK ON SEPTEMBER 27

DALLAS, TEXAS, September 27, 2009 – Over 6,000 participated in the Dallas Partnership Walk, an event held annually in major cities across the U.S. The Walk is an initiative of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA) to raise awareness and funds to alleviate global poverty and promote partnership between America and the developing world.

This year’s Dallas Walk brought together families, friends, students and leaders in government, business, media and the arts for a day of learning activities, fundraising and culturally diverse performances. Dallas Partnership Walk raised $550,000. 100% of funds raised at Partnership Walk go directly to the projects supported by the Foundation. The cost of organizing the Walk is completely underwritten by AKF USA and in-kind contributors. No contributions are used for administrative costs.

The Dallas Partnership Walk was held on Sunday, September 27 at 12:00 noon at Dallas City Hall Plaza in Dallas, TX. Participants walked to demonstrate their support for ending global poverty. Nationwide, over 30,000 are expected to participate in the Walk in nine cities. At the opening ceremony Dr. Donald R. Bobbit, Provost and Vice President of Academics Affairs at University of Texas at Arlington, gave an inspiring keynote address discussing the vast benefits of education and our obligation to help those in need. “As those who are more fortunate, here in the U.S., it is our responsibility to share our abundant resources. When half the world’s population lives on $2 a day, less than my morning cup of coffee, it’s the right thing to do.” Media celebrities Bob Ray Sanders, Vice President and Associate Editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Arezow Dost, reporter, KTVT Channel 11 hosted the program that featured lively entertainment celebrating the diversity of world cultures and educational exhibits. To view highlights from the event, visit the Partnership Walk website at http://www.partnershipsinaction.org/walk/

The 2009 theme for the Walk, “Education – The Universal Bridge” highlighted the impact of Aga Khan Foundation’s educational activities. Serving as a bridge to help individuals and communities build more productive, fulfilling and dignified lives, the Foundation’s educational activities span across a broad range of initiatives to help people in Asia and Africa reach their full potential, covering early childhood development, primary and secondary school improvement, and skills and management training for professionals, entrepreneurs and community members.

Aga Khan Foundation’s education programs bring to light the power of partnerships and reflect the Foundation’s enduring commitment to education. For over a quarter century, Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. has worked in the developing world in the areas of health, education, rural development, civil society and the environment. These efforts equip people with life-long skills to overcome poverty and embrace the time-tested principle of helping people to help themselves.

Participants at the Dallas Walk traveled across bridges of progress and learning at the interactive Village in Action. Young and old enjoyed displays and hands-on exhibits from an extensive bridge constructed by volunteers to a petting zoo. Each exhibit spotlighted how the Foundation is implementing creative solutions to overcome poverty with projects that promote quality education and health care, expand microcredit opportunities and improve incomes and agricultural productivity in developing areas. The educational exhibits introduced walkers to the innovative ways that Aga Khan Foundation is alleviating hunger, disease and illiteracy.

AKF USA, established in 1981, is a private, non-denominational, non-profit international development organization committed to alleviating poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. AKF USA is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org), a network of private, non-denominational, development agencies around the world, established by His Highness the Aga Khan to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities. The overarching goal of the Network’s programs is to help poor communities achieve a level of self-reliance whereby they are able to plan their own futures. The Foundation presently supports over 100 programs in 18 countries for the common good of all citizens regardless of their gender, origin or religion. The geographic focus of the Foundation’s development programs is in East Africa and South and Central Asia.

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Martha Sipple, Communications & Public Affairs Officer, Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A.
(202) 293-2537 or cell: (202) 203-0838

Mr. Rafiq Lakhani, Media Volunteer for the Dallas Partnership Walk Team
(214) 293-2809

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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Islamic Center of Irving on Stereotypes

Forum gives a chance to 'address the stereotypes'
1/10th of 1% of population, be it Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu or Russian, Chinese, Arab, English, Latin or otherwise tends to be extremist. In the USA 1% of our population is incarcerated for a variety of crimes. That does not make any group or nation a bad people.

Bad people are bad people, regardless of the religion they wear.

If we punish them as bad people, not as white, not as black, not as Christian, Muslim or otherwise, we will be doing the right thing.

A true religious person would not kill another soul, yet we have the Bin Ladens, the Jordanian Boy, the abortion clinic killers, McEvays, the Red Brigade… there is not one group who does not have bad people in it, not one group.

Granted at this time, the criminals are far more in number claiming to be Muslim, do we need to give legitimacy to them as Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian or otherwise?

No Muslim in the United States or elsewhere wants their country to be messed around, it affects each one and their lives. They do more harm to Muslim than others – as we get the brunt of it. Muslim Americans are vigilant, if any one of us even gets inkling that some one is dangerous, we would turn them in to FBI.

Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.org/

Forum at Islamic Center of Irving gives attendees a chance to 'address the stereotypes'
10:49 PM CDT on Saturday, September 26, 2009

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/092709dnmetislamforum.3d2da17.html?ocp=1#slcgm_comments_anchor

By LORI STAHL / The Dallas Morning News
lstahl@dallasnews.com

On Saturday, the Islamic Center of Irving hosted a forum on the faith's contributions to world history. Next month it will have an open house called "Meet Your Muslim Neighbor."
After a week of alarming headlines, it's easy to see why such outreach programs exist.
"It gives you the forum to address the stereotypes," said Amy Moncrief, a ninth-grade world history teacher from Frisco who attended Saturday's event, which was also sponsored by the World Affairs Council. The seminar was aimed at educators, to teach them more about Islam to better prepare them to lead class discussions.

Early in the week, students were commenting about YouTube images of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's rambling address to the United Nations, she said. Then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated his denial of the Holocaust. And a 19-year-old Jordanian immigrant was arrested and accused of plotting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper.

For three hours Saturday, Islamic leaders tried to counter the stereotype that equates their faith with terrorism.

Inside the Islamic Center, which houses a school as well as worship areas, Imam Shaikh Zia used a PowerPoint presentation to trace the faith's history and similarities to Christianity and Judaism.

It's a busy time for the Islamic center, which is expanding its campus to better serve its 1,700 worshippers. Founded in 1991, it now serves as something of a community center, with a school, refugee aid, family counseling, career training and adult courses in computer literacy and finance.

The seminar was interrupted once for one of five daily prayer sessions held at the center.
During a question-and answer session after the presentations, one schoolteacher asked the Islamic hosts what to make of the would-be terrorists in the news, saying, "Do you just consider that group not actually Muslim?"

Reem Elghonimi, a graduate student who was on the panel, nodded and said, "Islam can't even be applied to it as a term."


Reader Opinions @ Dallas Morning News
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Posted by RepEd 8 hours ago

Thank you, Lori, and Dallas Morning News for this article and for covering the event. This program was wonderful and truly was an eye-opening journey into history. It wasn't about stereotypes or terrorism. People asked questions about those issues because that's what they are obsessed with. You see what you want to see.

The lunatics on this blog who spew hatred against Islam and Muslims are cowards who hide at home. Or maybe they are happy to rile themselves and others into committing hate crimes - they are the terrorists who create hatred and fear against innocent people who have done nothing.

Thank you, Mike Ghouse, for your courageous stance and your hope and optimism. Leave these foul-mouthed bloggers to their own miserable lives. You have a more noble cause.
And people will see who is on the better character - people like you or people like them.

And if you want to know what the Quran really says - read it yourself and read it all, not cherry-picked sections that are used to manipulate you - don't leave your mind or your opinions in the hands of hate mongers like those below.

"Oh humankind! We have created you from a male and a female and have made you into nations and peoples so that you may know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in the sight of God is the one most conscious of Him, and He is All-Aware, All-Knowing." (Holy Quran, 49:13) This is a Divine message of peaceful coexistence - that not color or ethnic difference makes some superior to others - but an inner quality of righteousness only known to God.

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Posted by MikeGhouse 11 hours ago
Thanks to Dallas Morning News.

They have provided this medium to communicate on the subject and learn about the issues and find solutions, it is a responsible thing to do. You have the freedom to write and I hope you stay civil and learn to dialouge.

May god bless with you with a language of hope and peace. Amen!

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Posted by national whistleblower 14 hours ago

God - continues to stand for Good Ole Deception.
Fraudonomics. Government of Darkness. The psychological manipulation is terrorism. Terrorism begets what? Commonsense over Nonsense. Chaos for control.

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Posted by MikeGhouse 14 hours ago
Abnerqb2

I understand your dilemma and a few thoughts on your questions are addressed in the response that begins with “Dear Inigo, I urge you to read the responses below and you will be amazed with the answers you will find.”

Some people go on ranting like your friend on polygamy. But judging others based on a few is not right. If you talk to one and got that response, i.e., 100% bad results, 10 and you got 1 that is 10%. 100 and 1, it amounts to 1%. The statisticians establish what a representative sample is and usually it would be accurate. Only a survey can give an idea and not an individual’s response.

Mike Ghouse

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Posted by MikeGhouse 17 hours ago
Abdul Ameer and Free Speech;

I hope your intention is not to create chaos and hatred towards others that would be more destructive to the society we live in. My intention is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill and work for a society where we all can co-exist in harmony.

Thank God, each one of us has the freedom to propagate our ideas, ultimately the truth triumphs, i.e., which brings balance to the society. All societies will find their own equilibrium. Some of the right wingers and the liberals respectively conserve and stretch the society to its limits, but ultimately the balance will emerge with the moderate majority.

We the moderates have not had a voice, and when we speak it is about inclusion and the idea of live and let live. No matter what religion or politics we follow, the moderates want the good for all and want to have a smooth working society.

Peaceful dialogue will come out of you when you are in peace, hope you find peace within yourselves to find solutions for every one and not just for you.

Mike Ghouse, a Moderate – 98% of Americans are moderates and perhaps we speak nearly the same language of inclusiveness regardless of our branding. Moderates do not resort to name calling, accusing or blaming, they simply want to find solutions.


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Posted by Abdulameer 19 hours ago

Why is the Dallas Morning News turning itself into a mouthpiece for Islam? It is the height of folly to believe that Moslem spokesmen are telling us the truth about Islam. They are sales reps for Islam, and they are no more to be trusted to tell us the truth about Islam than an employee of Phillip Morris can be trusted to tell us the truth about tobacco smoking. If you want the truth about Islam, you must go to the most respected Islamic sources -- the Koran, the sayings of Muhammad and the most respected Islamic religious scholars. The next best source is to read books which quote liberally from those Islamic sources, such as Robert Spencer's new book, "The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran." Moslem spokesmen, like the ones in your article, have only one objective: to polish Islam's image in the eyes of naive non-Moslems. The Dallas Morning News should help educate its readers about Islam, not be a conduit for pro-Moslem propaganda. Here is what Islam really stands for:

Dehumanization of non-Moslems:
-- Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve. (8.55)
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Non-Moslems are enemies:
--The unbelievers are your inveterate enemy. (4:101)
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Terrorizing non-Moslems:
-- We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. (3:151)
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Allah says Women are inferior to men and should be beaten:
-- Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other... Good women are obedient. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, forsake them in beds apart, and beat them.” (4:34)
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Allah says Women may be exploited sexually:
-- Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields when and as you please. (2:223
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Holy War against Non-Moslems:
-- Muhammad said: "Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, …"
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Death to apostates:
-- Mohammed said, "Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him."
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Muhammad's attitude toward women:
-- Mohammed to women: "I have not seen any one more deficient in intelligence and religion than you."

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Posted by American Free Speech 22 hours ago
“One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.”

– Houari (Mohamed) Boumedienne, President of Algeria, 1965 – 1978, in a 1974 speech at the UN

This "Demographic Jihad" is happening right now in Western Europe, People.

WAKE UP! Do you want the Mohammedans to take over the West? We must stop their over-breeding war tactic, and also their mass-murdering Jihads against us "Infidels" which will continue, People. The Jihad, or Islamic holy war, is ETERNAL until the world is "all for Allah" (Koran). They will not stop. We must stop them.

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Posted by American Free Speech 23 hours ago
Of course Ahmad said that. He's taking it back as he realized that the "Infidel" wouldn't particularly enjoy hearing it. But, of course he said it. That's a no-brainer.

Concerning your penultimate paragraph, man you are one brainwashed fool. Islam is all about domination. Islam has no "goodwill" to other peoples, and their Islamic societies are the farthest from "just" you can get, esp. for females, who have no rights under barbaric and uber-misogynist shar'ia law.

Ghouse, you are a fool, a brainwashed fool, and I will pray for your peace of mind.

Islam is nothing but 7th century AD Fascism/Nazism, and deserves to be hated, SHOULD be hated, by all right-thinking, civilized, people.

Do not fall for that "misinterpretation" crap utter BS that the Mohammedans constantly spew, People. Arabic can be properly translated just like any other language. Here's a few "peaceful and tolerant" verses from the hate-filled, mass-murder, evil, Koran:

"Kill non-Muslims wherever you find them. Lie in wait and ambush them, seize and capture them using every stratagem of war. (Koran 9:5)

"Non-Muslims MUST convert to Islam or they will be killed." (Koran 48:16)

"Fight the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) and extort money from them." (Koran 9:29)

"Mohammed, the messenger of Allah, and those who follow him (Muslims) are merciful to one another but harsh to the infidels (non-Muslims)." (Koran 48:29)

"Do not make friends with inferior people (Jews, Christians and all non-Muslims)." (Koran 3:118).

Those are translated just fine, People, do not believe the lying "al-Taqiyya" Muslims. Including this fool Ghouse who, somehow chooses to live in a Judeo-Christian country, instead of an allah-worshipping cesspool. A total hypocrite. Funny how all the Mohammedans are rushing to live in the West! Gee, I wonder why that is?!

I will pray for your soul, Ghouse, since you have lost it by worshipping a non-existent pagan idol. There, that'll teach you to be so condescending and sanctimonious, you creep. Moron. Poor Ghouse, he's lost his soul by praying to satanic "Kill the Disbelievers" bloodthirsty mass-murder-commanding pagan moon idol, "allah," which is really Warlord Mo.

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur'an should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." -- Omar Ahmad, CAIR co-founder

People - This is their goal. It won't happen tomorrow, but as their over-breeding demographics continue and increase, every day brings closer the possibility of evil and barbaric Islamic hegemony.

Stop being lulled to sleep by the lies of the Lying Mohammedans and because you're afraid to appear un-PC. Your free and democratic Western civilization depends upon it.

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Posted by American Free Speech 23 hours ago
There is nothing in Christianity that teaches mass-murder. The teachings of Jesus do not contain mass-murder. So, any massacres by "Christian" men that occurred in the past were not following the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, they were Christians in name only.

Islam, however, is filled with "Jihad" verses mandating the subjugation/mass-murder of all "Infidels" until the world worships "allah," the Mohammedans' pagan moon deity, alone. Here is only one of 164 Jihad verses in the Koran:

"Fight then against them till strife be at an end, and the religion be all of it Allah's." - Qur'an 8:40

"allah" commands the mass-murder of all "Disbelievers." Anyone who would like to see some more bloodthirsty "Kill" verses from "allah" (really Mohammed), let me know.

"allah" and Jesus are not same. For example, just re-read that above verse. Would Jesus say that? Did Jesus say that? Of course not.

"allah" is a non-existent, pre-Islamic Arabian pagan moon god. Brainwashed fools such as Ghouse here bang their heads five times a day to a non-existent pagan idol. Anyone with half a brain can read the Koran and see that a Warlord, specifically Warlord Mohammed, wrote it. And there's only two speaking parts - allah and Mo, the "self-proclaimed" prophet. "Self-proclaimed" - an obvious Charlatan who never prophesied anything because the Warlord is a total fake, a phony, a flim-flam man, 7th century AD-style.

Bravo Crusades. The Crusades started because Muslims had been mass-murdering Jews and Christians for 5 centuries. Actually, the Crusaders should have started their defensive actions a century sooner. The Mohammedans had already conquered too much, and, due to Islamic polygamy, there were 3 times as many Muslim males than Christian. Just like today. Even in the 21st century the backward Barbarians practice polygamy. Disgusting. Backward and retrograde and misogynist. Not to mention "Child Brides." What barbarism.

I do hate Islam, as Islam hates me - an "Infidel" that deserves, according to the "Mein Qurampf," either subjugation or killing. I hate Islam because it's "holy book" says to kill me and my family because we are not Moslem. What a revolting and disgusting pitiful barbaric ideology - like Fascism and Nazism, Islam *deserves* to be hated.

People - the goal of Islam is to dominate, not assimilate. Read this:

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur'an should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." -- Omar Ahmad, CAIR co-founder

People, WAKE UP and start fighting back against this plague on the world called Islam.

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Posted by MikeGhouse 1 day ago

Dear Free Speech;

You quote Omar Ahmad, "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur'aan should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.”

The world net people have not been able to prove that Omar Ahmad has said that, I had asked Omar to tell the truth, he has maintained that he did not say it. It’s Omar’s word against the reporter’s word. The burden of the proof falls on the accuser, the World Net editor. Being a right winger, would you believe every word Michael Moore says? Then why should any one believe you the right winger or the World Net.

I have asked them to prove it and they are yet to come up with any proof, it’s been three years now.

Having said that, I want to speak in behalf of the Moderate Muslims, they have the same aspirations as other Americans; to earn a living, raise kids, give them education, fulfill the American dream of homeownership and retire securely. The right wing Muslims are few and perfectly mirror the right wing Christians or right wing Jews. The right wingers are a frightened lot and they express only one thing – bully others to overcome their fears. You guys need to go to an abandon Island and have a hand to hand duel and settle the issues Man to Man, but please leave the 98% of moderate Americans out of your hate and squabbles.

Islam is not about domination; it is about mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill, and it is about working for just societies. If we find men who want to subvert peace in our societies, let’s lock them up as individuals. I guarantee you that you will find them in every faith.

Muslims in America are no different than Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Bahai, Jains, Sikhs, Wicca, Zoroastrians, Native Americans, Atheists or pagans.
Hate peddling divides the people, for a change start following Christ, loving all. Once you are at peace, the world would a better place for you to live and let others live.

With malice towards none,
Mike Ghouse

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Posted by MikeGhouse 1 day ago

Dear Free Speech,

Do you know the difference between a dialogue and ranting? I hope you do.

It is an old tactic to pick a single line from a story to malign others. If your intention is co-existence, then you will take time to read the words before and after the words you pick. This is exactly what the European kings paid those guys to do; to mistranslate Qur'aan and present Islam in the bad light. Your language is reflective of that.

I hope you are a free man to match up with your free speech, and free yourselves from the slavery of those bad translations. Go to worldmuslimcongressdotcom and on the top right there is a phrase called Quraan search, click and set the translator to Mohammad Asad and plug in your verses, and plug in two before the alleged one and two after that. You owe it to yourselves to be honest.

I take it you are a Christian and the hate in you is un-christian, just like BinLaden's hate for America is Un-Islamic.

I pray for your peace of mind.

Mike Ghouse

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Posted by American Free Speech 1 day ago

There is nothing in Christianity that teaches mass-murder. The teachings of Jesus do not contain mass-murder. So, any massacres by "Christian" men that occurred in the past were not following the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, they were Christians in name only.

Islam, however, is filled with "Jihad" verses mandating the subjugation/mass-murder of all "Infidels" until the world worships "allah," the Mohammedans' pagan moon deity, alone. Here is only one of 164 Jihad verses in the Koran:

"Fight then against them till strife be at an end, and the religion be all of it Allah's." - Qur'an 8:40

"allah" commands the mass-murder of all "Disbelievers." Anyone who would like to see some more bloodthirsty "Kill" verses from "allah" (really Mohammed), let me know.

"allah" and Jesus are not same. For example, just re-read that above verse. Would Jesus say that? Did Jesus say that? Of course not.

"allah" is a non-existent, pre-Islamic Arabian pagan moon god. Brainwashed fools such as Ghouse here bang their heads five times a day to a non-existent pagan idol. Anyone with half a brain can read the Koran and see that a Warlord, specifically Warlord Mohammed, wrote it. And there's only two speaking parts - allah and Mo, the "self-proclaimed" prophet. "Self-proclaimed" - an obvious Charlatan who never prophesied anything because the Warlord is a total fake, a phony, a flim-flam man, 7th century AD-style.

Bravo Crusades. The Crusades started because Muslims had been mass-murdering Jews and Christians for 5 centuries. Actually, the Crusaders should have started their defensive actions a century sooner. The Mohammedans had already conquered too much, and, due to Islamic polygamy, there were 3 times as many Muslim males than Christian. Just like today. Even in the 21st century the backward Barbarians practice polygamy. Disgusting. Backward and retrograde and misogynist. Not to mention "Child Brides." What barbarism.

I do hate Islam, as Islam hates me - an "Infidel" that deserves, according to the "Mein Qurampf," either subjugation or killing. I hate Islam because it's "holy book" says to kill me and my family because we are not Moslem. What a revolting and disgusting pitiful barbaric ideology - like Fascism and Nazism, Islam *deserves* to be hated.

People - the goal of Islam is to dominate, not assimilate. Read this:

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur'an should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." -- Omar Ahmad, CAIR co-founder

People, WAKE UP and start fighting back against this plague on the world called Islam.

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Posted by American Free Speech 1 day ago
There is nothing in Christianity that teaches mass-murder. The teachings of Jesus do not contain mass-murder. So, any massacres by "Christian" men that occurred in the past were not following the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, they were Christians in name only.

Islam, however, is filled with "Jihad" verses mandating the subjugation/mass-murder of all "Infidels" until the world worships "allah," the Mohammedans' pagan moon deity, alone. Here is only one of 164 Jihad verses in the Koran:

"Fight then against them till strife be at an end, and the religion be all of it Allah's." - Qur'an 8:40

"allah" commands the mass-murder of all "Disbelievers." Anyone who would like to see some more bloodthirsty "Kill" verses from "allah" (really Mohammed), let me know.

"allah" and Jesus are not same. For example, just re-read that above verse. Would Jesus say that? Did Jesus say that? Of course not.

"allah" is a non-existent, pre-Islamic Arabian pagan moon god. Brainwashed fools such as Ghouse here bang their heads five times a day to a non-existent pagan idol. Anyone with half a brain can read the Koran and see that a Warlord, specifically Warlord Mohammed, wrote it. And there's only two speaking parts - allah and Mo, the "self-proclaimed" prophet. "Self-proclaimed" - an obvious Charlatan who never prophesied anything because the Warlord is a total fake, a phony, a flim-flam man, 7th century AD-style.

Bravo Crusades. The Crusades started because Muslims had been mass-murdering Jews and Christians for 5 centuries. Actually, the Crusaders should have started their defensive actions a century sooner. The Mohammedans had already conquered too much, and, due to Islamic polygamy, there were 3 times as many Muslim males than Christian. Just like today. Even in the 21st century the backward Barbarians practice polygamy. Disgusting. Backward and retrograde and misogynist. Not to mention "Child Brides." What barbarism.

I do hate Islam, as Islam hates me - an "Infidel" that deserves, according to the "Mein Qurampf," either subjugation or killing. I hate Islam because it's "holy book" says to kill me and my family because we are not Moslem. What a revolting and disgusting pitiful barbaric ideology - like Fascism and Nazism, Islam *deserves* to be hated.

People - the goal of Islam is to dominate, not assimilate. Read this:

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur'an should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." -- Omar Ahmad, CAIR co-founder

People, WAKE UP and start fighting back against this plague on the world called Islam.

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Posted by Inigo Montoya 1 day ago
Were talking about today, not a thousand years ago. You guys know his name. Taking your impressionable youth for Koran studies at his house and indoctrinating them in jehad.
As long as Muslims accept this guy then they all are accomplicies to murder.
Its not a Christian or an American problem its a Muslim problem.
Its also cowardly to send a brain washed disenchanted person to do something they would not do personally.

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Posted by MikeGhouse less
than one minute agoDear Mr. American Free Speech;

You are amazing and you believe in free speech. I am happy that you do. It is the free speech that will ultimately bring salvation to you, me and every one. Let’s put the facts on the table and discuss. I am going to ignore your rants, but will address your sane thoughts.

You ask me to go live in Yemen, Why? Why don’t you go there yourselves and leave my country to me and my 301 Million fellow Americans. You have the same free speech rights as I do, don’t I?

You obviously did not read the notes. You are building upon something that does not have any foundation. The Word Mohammedan was manufactured in AD 1142 to paint a bad picture of Muslims Kings who were becoming a threat to the European Kings who were on a 1000 years war with each other but when confronted with an external king, the joined together and manufactured lies, that gives birth to the Neocons. Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete (English: "Law of Mahomet the pseudo-prophet") was the first translation of the Qur'aan into Latin by Robert of Ketton in 1142 and the guy was paid to deliberately mistranslate the Qur’aan. Most of the European and the American Islamic scholars are grounded in this falsity. I urge you to visit quraan-todaydotblogspotdotcom

Finding the truth is your own responsibility for it brings salvation, when you know the truth, your hate for the other will evaporate. And I urge you to pick up the Qur’aan Translation done by Mohammad Asad and read it. Qur’aan, like all other scriptures is a book of guidance. It is about making one a better human and creating a symbiotic relations with others and environment.

Your free speech has allowed you to call fellow Americans “stupid fools. Stop drinking the green kool-aid of the Racists, Bigots, and Haters - Muslims - who slaughtered 3,000 American citizens on September 11, 2001”.

If you can apply your common sense, it is equating Christians massacring 6 Million Jews, several Million Native Americans, millions of Muslims and Jews in the inquisition and the crusades. If you are a Christian, are you responsible for those killings? I know you are not, neither are Muslims responsible for the death of 3000 fellow Americans. The ones who hurt were terrorists, not Muslims, just like the killers in the above situations were evil men, not Christians.

I invite you to a civil discussions loaded with facts sans-rants. Would you have the will to find the truth?

Mike Ghouse

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Posted by American Free Speech 40 minutes ago"AL-TAQIYYA" - Arabic. Means "covering" and "concealment."

People - "taqiyya" is PURPOSEFUL LYING TO THE INFIDEL (that's you) about Islam. Mohamet the Warlord false prophet used "taqiyya" as a war tactic - LYING TO THE INFIDEL (that's you).

Do not believe a word the LYING "Al-Taqiyya" Mohammedans say!!! Stop being stupid PC fools!

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Posted by American Free Speech 45 minutes ago"Muslims are no different than Christian, Jews, Hindus or any one." -- Mike Ghouse, Mohammedan

Oh, yes they are. You Lying Mohammedan, Mike "Brainwashed" Ghouse.

Go live in Yemen, Mike Ghouse, you total hypocrite. Go live in a Muslim country.

People, here's what Muslims think of you:

"Lo! those who disbelieve, among the People of the Scripture and the idolaters, will abide in fire of hell. They are the worst of created beings." Qur'an 98:6.

Muslims believe that YOU are the "worst of created beings" and that you're going to hell, because you're not Muslim. DO YOU GET IT? DID YOU READ THAT?

People - If you don't read the Qur'an for yourselves, you DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE HATE OF THESE BARBARIANS FOR YOU. DO YOU GET IT??? READ THE Q. See for yourselves!

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Posted by American Free Speech 52 minutes ago"...to trace the faith's history and similarities to Christianity and Judaism."

That's a total lie. 7th century AD Barbaric Mass-Murder Islam has NO "similarities" to the two (2) Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Christianity. NONE WHATSOEVER.

Warlord Psychopath Mohamet MADE UP Islam for personal power and material gain. He's a "false prophet" - Do you get it???

My God - you stupid fools. Stop drinking the green kool-aid of the Racists, Bigots, and Haters - Muslims - who slaughtered 3,000 American citizens on September 11, 2001.

You 'Bots! You PC 'Bots! Stop drinking the Jim Jones kool-aid! STOP IT! My God you PC Brainwashed Americans! You stupid fools! Why don't you just defend Fascists and Nazis, too???

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Posted by American Free Speech 1 hour agoIslam = Terrorism.

Read the Jew/Christian-Hating "Mein Qurampf." READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! STOP BELIEVING THE LYING MOHAMMEDANS. READ IT FOR YOURSELF!

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Posted by American Free Speech 1 hour agoIslam is NOT a "peaceful religion."

Islam has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with peace or tolerance. HAVEN'T YOU NOTICED????

How do you think the formerly Judeo-Christian Middle East became Islamic? By the Sword of Mohammed and the Hate/Mass-Murder Manual called the KKKoran.

Stop being slaves to the Islamic Barbarians, you PC Imbeciles.

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Posted by American Free Speech 1 hour agoOh gimme a break.

There should be no "Muslim neighbors."

Go back to your own Cesspoolistans, and stop your "Jihad" against Judeo-Christian American citizens. Get out of our country. Stop mass-murdering American citizens.

Islam = Terrorism. Haven't you noticed??? Stop believing the "al-taqiyya" lies of the Islamic Barbarians.
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Posted by MikeGhouse 2 hours agoDear Inigo;

I urge you to read the responses below and you will be amazed with the answers you will find.

Would you ask all the Irish Americans to throw illegal Irish from the USA? Would you ask all German Americans to throw Illegal Germans out of USA? Would you ask Latin Americans to throw all the Illegal Mexicans out of USA? Would you ask all Asians to throw illegal Asians out of USA?

Would you ask all the White men in North Dallas to throw the white rapists out? Would you ask African Americans to throw the bad guys out into ocean because one of them murdered? And finally would you have the conscience to suspect fellow Americans, who are Muslims to harbor a terrorist? Shame on you if you do, you would have fallen to their tactics, to divide and terrorise us.

Are you responsible for the acts of your parents, brother, sister, husband or kids? If you commit a murder, shall we blame your race, church, ethnicity or faith for your acts? Who shall be punished you or everyone you belong to?

We elect Government to do the security and protection of every Citizen and resident of America. And each one of us has the responsibility, jointly, severally and individually to report every criminal out there including terrorist.

For your peace of mind, every Muslim in America is vigilant and would anxiously turn every possible threat to you, me and every one of the 301 Million of us. Check it out with the FBI; some times even innocent suspects are turned in, that's how vigilant we are. A terrorist does more harm to Muslims than others; first it creates illogical suspicion towards Muslims, and then danger for every American including Muslims.

What’s the solution? We need to stand firmly together and not let these criminals place a wedge between us or suspicion between us. The more divided we are, the more they can harm us. Would you join the movement of Americans together? It starts with you and me? I am in, are you?

Mike Ghouse

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Posted by Inigo Montoya 4 hours ago
Its hard to trust a people when some of its members want to commit mass murder. Words are cheap. Until the peace loving Muslim community stands up and throw these terds out you can't trust them.
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MikeGhouse less than one minute ago

Jim,

I applaud you for one of the most original suggestions any one has made; A monument at Ross & Field. I will take up your suggestion and pursue it with several organizations. Let this be a collaborative effort of every representation of America. The Foundation for Pluralism, World Muslim Congress, Memnosyne Foundation and Dallas Peace Center will discuss this and possibly will lead the effort. It will follow the format of Unity Day USA -

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-911memorial_05met.ART.State.Edition1.4ba03fc.html

Thanks for this positive suggestion; this has to move forward now.

Let all the Citizens and residents of this Metroplex join together and open a new chapter of working together and rededicating our pledge for the safety and security of our nation with liberty and Justice for every American.

God bless America.
Mike Ghouse

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Posted by jimbeaux 1 hour ago

Mike,

Your comments here have minimized the expressions of hate and prejudice evident in other posting areas, and I appreciate you for that. Please reread my post, as I assumed nothing; I merely posed questions to consider.

"Us", as you pondered, are you, me, and other spiritualists. Similar to the "we" who you referred to in your 'bad guys' comment; "A true religious person". I would just add that to me religion is about getting your questions answered, while spirituality is about getting your answers questioned.

This particular wannabe killer, Mr.Smadi, is a microcosm of the bigger eminent danger facing our..."our" global culture. We must at least consider what if?...What if he was "planted" to learn and expose nuances of our investigative and judicial loopholes, or worse, as a diversion?

This terrorism is a "cruel and unusual" crime. Perhaps a conscious, predictable consequence which fits the situation (in a way that our wise forefathers could not have anticipated) is what's needed. While the minefields do need to be cleared worldwide, an "eye for an eye" provision would not be an effective deterrent. Rather, an open dialogue between global citizens to speak up for the good of everyone is what you suggested to Kelly, and I agree with you.

Again, Mike, I applaud your disarming replies to the hateful postings. September 24 will be remembered as wake~up call. It is now up to each of us to participate in our homeland's security. Welcome to the "new, clear" age, wherein we all stop blaming and be responsible about our safety.

Perhaps a multicultural cooperative effort could begin with erecting a monument at Ross & Field to acknowledge the lives saved by the FBI when they derailed this "teenager's" intentions. As the lyricist & musician David Wilcox expresses it:

In this scene set in shadows
like the night is here to stay,
there is evil cast around us
but it's Love that wrote the play.

In this darkness Love can show the way.

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Posted by MikeGhouse 8 hours ago

Jim,

Who is 'us' in - "work together with us to enact a provision for these professed?"

Indeed, it is our, that is your and my responsibility as Americans to work for a safe, secure and prosperous America.

What makes you assume that the Islamic leaders and Muslims don't want to do that? What is the source for such assumption? Each one of us needs to clean our heart, and let's do that with you and I. Amen?

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Posted by jimbeaux 9 hours ago

I wonder if Mr. Smadi visited a similar center to learn how to fir in to our society. Perhaps the citizens (as in legal) of Italy, TX were duped by their highly trained and smooth "neighbor". So...could "Anyol' Hassam Kaboom" covertly get career training, "refugee aid", and one on one computer literacy and financial help??? Oh, G R E A T! ~ Perhaps Islamic leaders who want to counter the stereotypes that equate their faith with terrorism could work together with us to enact a provision for these professed wannabe terrorists to clear minefields around the world....Allah can sort 'em out.

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Posted by Veggie man 14 hours ago

God is great, beer is good, people are crazy.

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Posted by RepEd 15 hours ago

We Muslims denounce terrorism today, yesterday and everyday. I am denouncing it now but will it change your mind? If everyone of the 7-10 million Muslims in America was a criminal, you would have seen that many criminal actions by now. But there haven't been. Instead Muslims have held humanitarian day relief events all across the country, donated to and served Hurricane Katrina victims, operated free health clinics, and donated millions of dollars this past week to the hungry and homeless to commemmorate the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan, and to honor those in whose shoes they've walked this past month.

For the most part Muslims are like you, quietly working and raising their families, but unless you make an effort to get to know them personally, you will continue to see them as the other side of you - you being "good" and they being "evil." I respect Christians, Jews, and all people and denounce any victimization, but I abhor narrow minded prejudice and bigotry of Islam and Muslims. Why don't you denounce that?

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Posted by MikeGhouse 15 hours ago

Dear Tigerwoods,

You are absolutely right; the moderate Muslims need to denounce the hate towards Christian and Jews. Indeed, they do it every day, just google it.

Take a reading at:
An apology to Jews and Christians - http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/01/unlike-jews-or-christians-17.html

Mike Ghouse
Mikeghouse.net


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Posted by MikeGhouse 15 hours ago

Kelly, indeed you spoke the truth.

The lives of moderates who speak up in those nations you mentioned are not entirely safe. Yes, the fear compels them not to speak up.

If you have watched the movie – the life of a bee or some such title, it has the answers, you can take only so much, then you would have to rise up. This is where the Citizens of the world can band together to speak up for the good of everyone – Just as you have done.

We are doing a program called Holocaust and Genocides in January, where we are going to learn about the common people and their acts of courage when Hitler was going on with his pogroms, what are others doing in Darfur, Congo and elsewhere.

Mike Ghouse
MikeGhousedotnet
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Posted by tigerwoodsrules 15 hours ago

Lets admit
WE ARE CONFUSED BY THE MIXED MESSAGES
We know there is good and bad fringe elements and moderates in all groups

But unless the moderates come out onto the streets and denounce, as a group, the fringe elements the image persists

Stereotypes are based in truths but denounced when they are bad stereotypes, of course

Its a mixed signal society gets from the Islamic community

Instead of telling us how we should think of you a a group or individual show us in action

DENOUNCE THE HATE TOWARDS CHRISTIANS AND JEWS

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Posted by KellyBelle22 15 hours ago

Thank you for your words, Mike Ghouse, and for illustrating that reasonable Muslims have more invested in peace and getting along with the rest of the world than anyone else. I loathe the denigration of an entire culture because of the actions of a few. Interestingly, if someone did that with us Americans, most of these Muslim-objectors would be up in arms.

Let me ask you this, Mike. Reasonable, peace-loving Muslims do indeed condemn terroristic violence. But wouldn't you agree that in the countries where that sort of violence is most dangerous, the reasonable Muslims aren't exactly in a position safely object? I'm thinking of Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran. Yemen. Even Saudi Arabia. Although the moderate, peace-loving Muslims are still very much in the majority, their very lives and safety lie in the balance. So they can't easily object too loudly. The fear compels them not to because they could easily be killed for their opinions.

Tolerance and understanding do indeed matter, Ferdog1. We need not dismiss an entire culture as enemies for the actions of a few. Events like this forum help counter such tendencies.
Posted by MikeGhouse 15 hours ago

Mr or Ms Ferdog,

Mormon faith is as beautiful as any other denominations within Christianity. God has not signed a deal with others behind Mormon's back. You are a good man or woman in speaking the truth, but be fair and good to all.

thanks

Mike Ghouse

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Posted by MikeGhouse 16 hours ago

The Movie obsession was made to make money from the scared one and to scare the Americans to support certain politicians. If we start believing propaganda, they will continue to give it us, the gullibles.

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Posted by ferdog1 16 hours ago

First- Only 18% of Muslims are Arab. That means 82% are NOT. In fact, I bet you know some Muslims and aren't even aware of their religion.

Second- Don't assume that if a very tiny percentage of people, who usually are Arab, do something wrong that it is all about Islam or Arab culture. That would be like people abroad thinking that because most white KKK members are Christian, that we Christians and Americans in general support KKK beliefs.

Third- Half of the female Muslims I know cover and half do not. It is their choice in almost every culture. The exception would be Saudi Arabia, Iran, and some smaller cities with the very strict form of Islam. (Which most Muslims don't agree with and believe it is a warped form of Islam...sort of like most people thinking the form of Christianity practiced by Mormans is warped.)
Fourth- If it matters, I am a Christian.

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Posted by MikeGhouse 16 hours ago

Dear Civitas,

Just google it... Muslims condemn bad things every day. Terrorism affects Muslims more than it does others - first, the legitimate criticism like yours and then, malignment of a religion that has nothing to do with criminals.

Please google it or go worldmuslimcongress dot com or dot org. There is plenty

Mike Ghouse

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Posted by civitas 16 hours ago

I have never heard or read anywhere that "moderate" Muslims have actively and forcefully denounced terrorism by Islamic fundamentalists. There are numerous half-hearted attempts to educate Americans about Islam or meetings to convince the public that Muslims are not all terrorists. But until the Muslim community comes out clearly and unambiguously against terroriste, I guess they will just have to live with the stereotype. That may not be fair, but the only group who can break a stereotype is the group itself, it's not the responsibility of the rest of the public.

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Posted by thirdeye 16 hours ago

WE best get along because our government will be bringing lots more muslims from our occupied countries -ie (Iraq and Afganistan). Irving-Garland and Richardson will be culturally saturated by Asians and Arabs-

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Posted by Mimi1220 17 hours ago

Watch the movie "Obsession" and then comment!

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Posted by MikeGhouse 17 hours ago

BAD GUYS

1/10th of 1% of population, be it Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu or Russian, Chinese, Arab, English, Latin or otherwise tends to be extremist. In the USA 1% of our population is incarcerated for a variety of crimes. That does not make any group or nation a bad people.

Bad people are bad people, regardless of the religion they wear.

If we punish them as bad people, not as white, not as black, not as Christian, Muslim or otherwise, we will be doing the right thing.

A true religious person would not kill another soul, yet we have the Bin Ladens, the Jordanian Boy, the abortion clinic killers, McEvays, the Red Brigade… there is not one group who does not have bad people in it, not one group.

Granted at this time, the criminals are far more in number claiming to be Muslim, do we need to give legitimacy to them as Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian or otherwise?

No Muslim in the United States or elsewhere wants their country to be messed around, it affect each one and their lives. They do more harm to Muslim than others – as we get the brunt of it. Muslim Americans are vigilant, if any one of us even gets inkling that some one is dangerous, we would turn them in to FBI.

Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress

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Posted by RepEd 18 hours ago

This event was planned over 3 months ago, so it has nothing to do with terrorism being in the news this week. It is about seeking the truth in history and learning how Muslims have contributed important ideas and discoveries in sciences and the arts, which wasn't even covered by the article.

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Posted by pulp fiction 18 hours ago

"There's been no reduction in the potential threat in the United States. The only reduction has been in the public's perception of that threat," - former FBI Deputy Director on the front page of today's DMN.

"All you others need to quit watching TV, and get out and learn something."

Get out? Out where? Google, the most powerful tool ever created by mankind "is in", not out. Or do you mean out to Egypt, Syria, Saudi, Iran, Libya, Iraq, Turkey,.....? No thanks. Done that. Google "dystopia" for a good read on those hot spots. Happy trails!

And google "ADX Florence, CO, Control Unit" while your at it. Home sweet home for Mr. Smadi. This gift of solitude that never stops giving.

Read a book? Suggestions? I have one for you: "The Evolution of God" by Robert Wright.

Pollyanna died of AvPD, haven't you heard?
Posted by patrickindallas 18 hours ago

Oh sweet jesus!

If you people aren't raising heck about Mexicans, you're raising it about Muslims.

I guess Kelly is the only sane person on these boards. All you others need to quit watching TV, and get out and learn something.

Read a book. It won't kill you, but blind hatred will.

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Posted by pulp fiction 19 hours ago

The Irving Iman speaks: "Listen, dear kafirs, Muslims are your friends. Don't you get it? We want what you want, sort of. Except, of course, anything to do with contributing to your doomed, evil, godless culture, especially the way you let your women run around in public without male family members in hand and without the proper attire that covers the 98 percent of that most vulgar of vulgar, the female body (that's private property, guys). Other than that, come on over next month and have a cup of tea with mint and let's talk about all that we have in common. Please don't bring your women, or at least, have the common courtesy to properly cover them up and keep them quiet. Duct tape quiet. See you next month.....if you're still alive!"

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Posted by Snipit 19 hours ago

Christians are being ran out of America and yet the Muslim/Islamic propaganda is being allowed to run free. Thanks to the ACLU and other liberal organizations, America is being invaded by a religion that plans to take over the country.

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Posted by Michael Henry 19 hours ago

I think that everyone should watch the documentary "Core of Corruption: In The Shadows" which has film footage most Americans have never seen. This fact only film would take away the prejudices of Americans.

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Posted by Hischild 20 hours ago

As long as the United States stays a secular nation Islam will prevail. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. The greatest thing we can do is pray for those who follow the path of destruction in their lives. But alas there are many in this great country do not know the value of true prayer. Remember, there are really only two kinds of people in the world, those that know Jesus as Savior and those who do not. Which side are you on. You who do not know Jesus as Savior are really no different than those who follow Islam.

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Posted by john doe 22 hours ago

I thought Americans view people that are not white as enemies. . . People blaming Mexicans, Blacks, Chinese, Muslims, Japanese for everything that's going wrong in the US since 1776.

Look for "Tokio Jokio" on YouTube and you will know how Americans look at the non-white population base.

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Posted by RSanti 1 day ago

Sterotypes? jfc! If the sky is blue, call it blue! Even Magic Johnson proclaimed MJ ate KFC: did he violate a sterotype?

So why is it anytime mentions islam, there are a few who cry stereotype!?!?

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Posted by TechWriter 1 day ago

...StereoTypes...?? That's funny. Are you willing to gamble your life just so you can say, I don't stereotype.

Wake up people!!!!! Evil does exist.

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Posted by KellyBelle22 1 day ago

Buffalo Bob, I'm afraid the person who told you you were an illiterate primitive yesterday or the day before was correct. You will have to become a great deal more skillfully verbal to be able to be taken seriously by those with brains and educations. Which means you're likely not in much danger of being taken seriously. If I were you, I'd be very wary of throwing the word "dummy" around.

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Posted by buffalo bob 1 day ago

as i keep stating,now listen up or i will quit warning you dummies....america the evil perverted nation it is,now mocks God,who is Jesus Christ,and is from this day forward been cursed.....cursed with false religions such as islam..it has now invaded doomed america and has setup its plans and future while dummy americans are ensnared in entertainment,sports ,money etc....its too late to do anything about the takeover of doomed america,its just a matter of time..youre only escape from islam will be thru salvation thru Christ..repent soon doomed amercians because time is short..real short...
Posted by KellyBelle22 1 day ago

If you're so confused by the difference between Islamic terrorists or Islam itself, then facts aren't going to make a difference. My head's in a far brighter place than yours, USA. Thank goodness for that, too.

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Posted by KellyBelle22 1 day ago

Good grief. Thank goodness most folks are able to appreciate a feature story as news. And since when is a story about religious tolerance and cultural understanding "liberal knee bending to our enemies"? Since when is Islam itself our enemy? It's not. Terrorists are. If you aren't aware of those facts, NotA, you ARE a lemming.

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Posted by notalemming 1 day ago

Why is this on the front page?
How is this News?
Please quit the liberal knee bending to our enemies and stay focused on news -- at least on the front page.

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#

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Will Americans accept Islam?

Will Americans accept Islam?
A partial answer to this article is linked below.

The president has tried to tackle this issue head-on, even as polling reveals a wary public.
By Stephen Prothero

Earlier this month, at a White House dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, President Obama said some things that conservative talk show hosts love to rewind and repeat. In the presence of diplomats, business executives and members of Congress, Obama described Islam as "part of America" and hailed "its commitment to justice and progress." He then called Islam "a great religion." His fellow Americans are not so sure.

According to a new Pew survey of American attitudes toward Islam, a strong majority (58%) of Americans now acknowledge that there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims. Hispanics, blacks and atheists fare better. Only gay men and lesbians are seen as worse off than Muslims, with 64% of Americans saying there is a lot of discrimination against them.

Raw Associated Press video of President Obama speaking during the Iftar dinner commemorating Ramadan.

Unfortunately, Americans don't seem either willing or able to do much about this bigotry. According to Pew, over half of Americans admit that they do not know a Muslim, and when asked two simple questions about Islam — the name Muslims use for God (Allah) and the Islamic holy book (the Quran) — only 41% got both right. If America's future with Islamic countries hangs in part on U.S. citizens and their elected representatives having some basic Islamic literacy, that future is hanging by a thread.

Who are we? One of the questions Americans have asked themselves since the Revolution concerns the religious character of the United States. Is this a secular nation, as our godless Constitution suggests? Or is it, as our citizens' religious preferences intimate, a Christian country? During much of the 19th century, the U.S. was widely perceived as a Protestant nation. After World War II, as the Cold War haunted us with the specter of atheistic communism, Jews and Catholics were welcomed into the American fold. Immediately after 9/11, this Judeo-Christian past seemed to be yielding to a Judeo-Christian-Islamic future. Today most of that Abrahamic talk has gone the way of the Latin Mass.

This new Pew poll shows that Catholics and Jews are viewed favorably among roughly two-thirds of the American public — a figure roughly equivalent to the favorable ratings enjoyed on Inauguration Day by Michelle Obama. So Catholics and Jews continue to sit comfortably alongside Protestants under America's sacred canopy. Muslims, however, are left out in the cold. Their favorable rating of only 38% (roughly President Bush's marks upon Obama's inauguration) is lower than at any time since 9/11.

With the health care showdown upon us, and multiple wars in the Middle East, President Obama has a lot on his plate. Even so, he seems determined to do something about religion, too, or more precisely about religious tolerance.

Democrats have traditionally bent over backward to avoid committing religion in public. During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy felt compelled to promise that he would never let his private Catholic faith affect any public decision he might make as president. And when John Kerry bid for the Oval Office in 2004, he seemed about as comfortable discussing his Catholicism as he would have been selling Tupperware products door-to-door.

After Bush's victory over Kerry in 2004, however, the Democrats got religion. While Hillary Clinton yoked her views on immigration reform to the Good Samaritan story, Obama made friends with megachurch pastors. In his inaugural address, he spoke of the United States as neither a secular nor a Christian country but a multireligious "nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers."

Eboo Patel, executive director of Interfaith Youth Corps and a practicing Muslim, was at the White House Ramadan dinner. He was gratified to hear Obama describe Islam as a "great religion," but Bush did the same, so in his view that is not the story. The story is that the event was not restricted to Muslims. High-ranking members of the Obama administration, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Attorney General Eric Holder, were on the guest list. So were megachurch pastor Joel Hunter and Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism. "It was great that Saperstein and Hunter were there," Patel told me. "A roomful of Muslims in the White House is an interest group. But a roomful of Muslims, Jews and Christians — that's America."

The pastor in chief President Bush was widely criticized for wearing his faith on his sleeve. But even more than Bush, in fact more than any president in recent memory, Obama has used the bully pulpit as a pulpit. In his eulogy for Ted Kennedy, where he spoke of love and faith and God, Obama looked more like America's pastor in chief than its commander in chief. In major addresses to Catholics in May and to Muslims in June, he proved that all religion is local, too, speaking of Catholic social thought at the University of Notre Dame and of the Quran in Egypt. On all these occasions, he preached a gospel of tolerance rooted not in wishy-washy liberalism but in neo-orthodox theology — the sort of faith that "admits doubt" and in the process "humble(s) us" before our Maker.

This new Pew survey gathered much useful data, but it wasted time and money in determining that roughly two-thirds of Americans see Islam as either "somewhat different" or "very different" from their own religions. The question isn't whether Christianity and Islam are similar or different. The question is whether religious (and non-religious) people can find common ground. On this point, Patel is unequivocal. "Religions are different," he says, "but they have shared values." The challenge is "to identify shared values such as mercy, compassion and service," and then to advance from there to shared projects.

In his public pronouncements on religion, Obama has repeatedly invoked the Golden Rule as common ground. But like Patel, he does not pretend that all religions are the same, and like his predecessor he does not shy away from speaking as a "committed Christian." At Notre Dame, he denounced "outworn prejudice" as "rooted in original sin." In Obama's view, there is not just something wrong but something un-Christian about discrimination against Muslims, or against any other religious (or non-religious) group.

Unfortunately, this study did not ask Americans what they think of anti-Muslim discrimination. Do those who see discrimination against Muslims want it to end? Or would they like to see more of it? According to Patel, that is the $1 million question — "not who faces bigotry, but who would stand up against it."

Stephen Prothero is a professor in the Department of Religion at Boston University and author of Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — And Doesn't.

(Illustration by Keith Simmons, USA TODAY)

The answer to the article

Are Muslims Part of the American story?
http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2009/04/are-muslims-part-of-american-story.html

#

Friday, September 18, 2009

Ramadan Poltics

The politics of Ramadan

Politicking runs deep in our community lives, be it a Mosque, Temple, Synagogue or a Church, particularly in the context of observing holidays.

To make the point, a Jewish friend shares this conversation, "When is Chanukkah this year?" The man replies, "Same as always: the 25th of Kislev." This makes a relevant point that Jewish holiday is on the same day every year, but on the lunar calendar and happens on a different day every year on the Solar Calendar. A quick review indicates that religious holidays for Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism and other faiths follow the moon cycles where as the Indigenous peoples of America, Bahai, Christianity, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and earth based traditions like Wicca and others follow the movement of equinox or the plain Solar Calendar that we see every day.

We wish a happy Ramadan, a peaceful and prosperous Rosh Hashanah, and truth triumphing Navaratri and other festivals that begin with the New Moon on September 19, this year.

Muslims are no different; a few scientifically-inclined-Muslims have adopted NASA’s calculation believed to be precise. However, four different traditions exist concurrently and follow; i) Lunar Calendar, ii) NASA and iii) Sighting with bare eyes and iv) accepting sighting by others in the community.

Since the beginning of Islam, there have been debates as to what constitutes moon sighting. Some interpret that there has got to be a minion to declare that they have seen it themselves with their own eyes, where as others do not accept it unless they have seen it themselves. In the United States there is an organization that monitors moon sighting called the Hilal committee. At one time it was acceptable if the moon was sighted elsewhere, but now, each group has to have their own moon sighting.

The objective guys miss out the fun, the NASA oriented and the Calendar group misses out the joy and exhilaration of waiting and watching the moon climbing anything above ground, including standing on some strong shoulders. It is like the belief in Santa Claus, Angels and other myths; each tradition fulfills one’s emotional needs and works for the followers.

In the tradition of Prophet, let every one celebrate the way their group feels, it is against the spirit of Ramadan to denigrate, diminish and devalue other practices. The essence of Ramadan is to become humble, simple and free from ill-will, anger, meanness and hate. Let’s fill our hearts with goodwill and honor Ramadan by saying “Eid Mubarak” (pronounced “eed” as in “eel” the fish) or Happy Eid to every one who celebrates on a different day in the same town. The essence of Ramadan is joy and let’s not prick any one’s bubble; God has not signed a pact with any one behind others back, let’s rejoice the differences. If you want to celebrate, go to every celebration.

In the spirit of Ramadan, I pray Ramadan gets into our hearts and minds and make us embrace all factions of Muslims without undermining their tradition and further pray that we treat every human on the earth with dignity, respect and care.

For Ramadan to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims to common humanity with others. Fasting is meant to impart a sense of what it means to be truly human, and its universality is reflected by its observance in Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other faiths.

That is indeed the wisdom expressed in Qur’aan, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."

The author’s previous article, “Ramadan's Spiritual Discipline” is available at: http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/08/ramadans_spiritual_discipline.html
(c) copyrighted material, please quote the author and organization if quoting or copying./ Pictures: courtesy of Boston Globe
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Does the mainstream public in America, Canada, India, Australia or elsewhere relate with Muslim customs and traditions? The following articles are written with the intent of developing that understanding.

1. Traditions of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-traditions.html

2. Politics of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-poltics.html

3. Spirit of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-spirit.html

4. Our Mission - http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/WorldMuslimCongress/Articles/Mission-Statement.asp

The language chosen is generic and incidences are relational, so the public can relate with what they are familiar with and extrapolate that to the politics, traditions and the spirit of Ramadan. Of course, we can write a book on each. I have learned over the years that news papers have a reason to limit the length of the articles and I have followed that to the best of my ability.

You are welcome to share, forward, comment and make suggestion to make it better in the comments section of each article. You can publish it as well.

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Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism interfaith, political and civic issues. He is the founding president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a founder of the World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website http://www.mikeghouse.net/. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at Ghousemike@gmail.com
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Ramadan Spirit

The Spirit of Ramadan

From the moment we are born to the last rites of our life and every moment in-between is laden with rituals, though some of us may deny it. Whether we go to the gym, eat our food; go to sleep, wear clothes, drive some place, in our intimate moments, or picking that phone up, we follow rituals.

Rituals signify the mile stones of our daily life. Every significant moment of the day is a ritual. It is an unwritten way of measuring our progression; a memory pattern to bring discipline to our actions.

Discipline is necessary to do things on time, managing personal relationships, driving to a destination or keeping within budget to achieve the goals; the result is worth the discipline to most people. When joyous, whether we are a theist or not, we have to express that sentiment, otherwise a sense of incompleteness lingers in our hearts.

The Spiritual masters have captured the human gravity for rituals and have molded it with the art and science of self-discipline in their respective religion. The noble purpose of each one of them was to bring a balance in our lives and a balance with things that surround us; life and environment.

The Spirit;

Every faith is composed of a set of unique rituals to bring discipline and peace to human life. Fasting is one of the five key rituals that Muslims around the world observe.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is generally observed with a ritual precision; it is an annual training or a refresher. It requires one to abstain from food, drink, intimacy, ill will, ill talk, ill actions or any temptations from dawn to dusk, every day for a month. One has to rise above his or her baser desires. Islam gifts this month to its followers to inculcate discipline to bring moderation in their daily lives. Twenty five hundred years ago, Buddha, the enlightened one taught that human suffering is caused by unrestrained desire to own and had recommended a middle path, and the same recommendation was made by Prophet Muhammad fourteen hundred years ago.

Although Ramadan is popularly known in the West for its culinary delicacies and fancy Iftaar (ceremonial breaking of fast at sun down), the spirit and intent of Ramadan lies in a human transformation in a month long inner spiritual journey of finding oneself in tune with spirituality.
God has no need for the hunger or thirst of someone who hurts others, violates their dignity or usurps their rights, said Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The fasting of the stomach must be matched by the fasting of the limbs. The eyes, ears, tongue, hands and feet all have their respective fasts to undergo. The tongue's temptations, for example - lies, backbiting, slander, vulgarity and senseless argumentation - must be challenged and curbed to maintain the integrity of the fast.

Consciousness of behavior and vigilance over action are the most profound dimensions of fasting: the fasting of the heart focuses on the attachment to the divine. That is when Ramadan really becomes a source of peace and solace, just as Christmas goes beyond the rituals to bring forth kindness, charity and caring.

True fasting is self-purification; and from this, a rich inner life that bring about values such as justice, generosity, patience, kindness, forgiveness, mercy and empathy - values that are indispensable for the success of the community.

Knowing about hunger is different from knowing hunger. Empathy is not an intellectual equation; it is a human experience. Our hardness of heart often springs from our distance from the human condition of others. The poor, sick, disenfranchised, oppressed - we rarely walk a mile in their shoes, not even a few steps. "Rest assured," cautioned one teacher, "if you do not taste what it feels like to be hungry, you will not care for those who are."

For fasting to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims and must extend to forging a common humanity with others. Fasting is meant to impart a sense of what it means to be truly human, and its universality is reflected by its observance in Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other faiths.

Ramadan will come and go with such stealth that we cannot but be reminded of our mortality. What is it that we value and why? Habits, customs, even obsessive behavior like smoking can be curtailed with relative ease in the face of a higher calling.
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Eid Mubarak

Does the mainstream public in America, Canada, India, Australia or elsewhere relate with Muslim customs and traditions? The following articles are written with the intent of developing that understanding.

1. Traditions of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-traditions.html

2. Politics of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-poltics.html

3. Spirit of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-spirit.html

4. Our Mission - http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/WorldMuslimCongress/Articles/Mission-Statement.asp

The language chosen is generic and incidences are relational, so the public can relate with what they are familiar with and extrapolate that to the politics, traditions and the spirit of Ramadan. Of course, we can write a book on each. I have learned over the years that news papers have a reason to limit the length of the articles and I have followed that to the best of my ability.

You are welcome to share, forward, comment and make suggestion to make it better in the comments section of each article. You can publish it as well.
#

(c) copyrighted material, please quote the author and organization if quoting or copying./ Pictures: courtesy of Boston Globe

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism interfaith, political and civic issues. He presides the Foundation for Pluralism and is a founder of the World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at Ghousemike@gmail.com
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Ramadan Traditions

The Traditions of Ramadan

It’s celebration time when Muslims around the world anxiously wait for the first moon of the ninth Lunar month to appear on the sky. The families gather in their backyards, or get on the nearest hillock or climb on the top of their homes and wait for the pencil thin moon to appear on the horizon, and when it does, jubilation begins.

It is Chandni Raat or the moonlit festivities, even though the moon disappears within an hour; it is still the moonlit night and the spirit of celebrations continue.

As the Christians do the count down from the first day of Christmas or Hindus express devotion for each one of the nine days through Vijay Dashami or the Jews follow eight days of Chanukah, Jains observe eight days of Paryushan, and others follow similar path, the Muslims count the next 29 to 30 days with a sense of piety.

With small variations in practices, families rise up early around 4:00 AM and gather in the kitchen to participate in cooking, sharing the meal and being together as a family unit. Every one has to finish off the food and water intake five minutes prior to sunrise or the morning call for prayers. The youngest one in my family had a glass of water ready to gulp down milli seconds before the first call for prayers, followed by morning prayers at home or Mosque, and then everyone was free for rest of the day.

Throughout the day a conscious effort is made to abstain from food, water or temptations that are detrimental to self-discipline. Those who do not observe fasting, honor the ones who do, by not eating or drinking in their presence.
One should remain steadfast despite temptations, many a fast observing Muslims are open to their friends eating, indeed it adds to one’s will power to resist the temptation to eat, thus enriching ones’ faith and discipline.

It is customary for a Muslim to ask the other if he were observing the fast, perhaps it may be the desire to be sensitive to the other. However, I would urge one to live his or her own life and not even ask the other and cause discomfort, after all no one but you is responsible for your actions.

One of the most beautiful aspect of Ramadan is the domino effect other Muslims have on you to guard yourselves from greed, anger, ill-will, malice, hate, jealousy and other ills of the society. One feels pious during the month. Of course, there would always a small percentage in a group, who do not receive that wisdom.

Most Muslims pray five times a day and a few do three or two and some none. Prayers are congregational or individual and are performed in the morning, noon, afternoon, evening and the night, bracketing one from getting off the track.

When the time to break the fast approaches towards the sun down, anxiety builds up, it is almost like the count down of seconds when the space shuttle takes off. Muslims make an attempt to be in the congregation or team up with some. A prayer call signifies time to break the fast.

Prophet Muhammad had initiated a healthy way of breaking the fast; it was graduating the empty stomach with munchies like fruits and veggies to prepare the digestive system for a full meal after the prayer break. Dates are the most popular item around the world, they are chewy, meaty and tasty after a long day of fasting, and dates are also a preferred item as it was for the Prophet.

The breaking of fast, also known as “Iftaar” has become a community event, where Muslims invite their non-Muslim friends to join in their celebration of the day. President Clinton started the tradition of holding an Iftaar party carried forward by President Bush and now President Obama. It is a major social event for the politicians, just as it is with Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali and other festivities.

The night prayers during Ramadan are called Taraweeh, the prayers are much longer than the other times, typically twenty two units of prayers as opposed to four units during the regular nights. All the thirty Chapters of Qur’aan are recited from the Imam’s memory (Hifz) during this month.

At the end of 29th or 30th day, depending on the moon sighting, NASA or other traditions, the fasting would come to an end with the celebration. It is a major event and Muslims gather in a large space do their thanksgiving prayer. The traditional greetings are “Eid Mubarak” (Eid is pronounced as in eel but with a d – it is eed), a near equivalent of Merry Ramadan.

On this day one formally forgives and gets forgiven and starts the year with good will. Every one hugs three times; I am your friend, you are my friend and together we are friends.

Traditionally every one in the family wears new clothing, a symbol of starting over with a clean slate. The oldest one in the family passes on gifts and cash to younger members of the family to spend as they wish and to teach responsibility with freedom.

It is also a time to share one’s wealth with the needy; it is like the tithe and is called Zakat. Every family takes out 2.5% of the value of their assets and passes on to the destitute usually through institutions such as a mosque. It is considered an investment in human capital, to help uplift every one on a level playing field to maintain a sustainable good in the society.

On the culinary side, it is a feast! A variety of dishes are prepared, over the years I have discovered that the most common item around the globe is a dessert made out of vermicelli’s, i.e., hair thin noodles cooked in Milk with nuts, dates, honey and other goodies, it is both in liquid and solid formats.

Though the annual ritual of fasting takes thirty days its true destination is endless. May we always hunger to discover our heart. May we always aspire to find our balance, connect with each other, open our hearts and minds to fellow beings; the joy that comes with it is ours to keep.

For fasting to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims and must extend to forging a common humanity with others. Fasting is meant to impart a sense of what it means to be truly human, and its universality is reflected by its observance in Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other faiths.

Happy Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah and Navaratri.
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Eid Mubarak

Does the mainstream public in America, Canada, India, Australia or elsewhere relate with Muslim customs and traditions? The following articles are written with the intent of developing that understanding.

1. Traditions of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-traditions.html

2. Politics of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-poltics.html

3. Spirit of Ramadan
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/09/ramadan-spirit.html

4. Our Mission - http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/WorldMuslimCongress/Articles/Mission-Statement.asp

The language chosen is generic and incidences are relational, so the public can relate with what they are familiar with and extrapolate that to the politics, traditions and the spirit of Ramadan. Of course, we can write a book on each. I have learned over the years that news papers have a reason to limit the length of the articles and I have followed that to the best of my ability.

You are welcome to share, forward, comment and make suggestion to make it better in the comments section of each article. You can publish it as well.
#

(c) copyrighted material, please quote the author and organization if quoting or copying./ Pictures: courtesy of Boston Globe

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism interfaith, political and civic issues. He presides the Foundation for Pluralism and is a founder of the World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at Ghousemike@gmail.com
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MUSLIM SPEAKER

MUSLIM SPEAKER
Email to: SpeakerMikeGhouse@gmail.com

Voice of Moderate Muslims

Voice of Moderate Muslims
Voice of Moderate Muslims

Moderate Islam Speaker

Moderate Islam Speaker
Moderate Islam Speaker

quraan burning

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 2013| Dallas, Texas

Mike Ghouse
Text/Talk: (214) 325-1916
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Mirza A Beg
(205) 454-8797
mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com


PLANNED MUSLIMS RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING BY PASTOR JONES ON 9/11/13 IN MULBERRY, FLORIDA

We as Muslims plan to respond to pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 3000 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.

Our response - we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an” (Muhammad Asad Translation Note 31, verse 41:34). It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.

We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3000 copies Quran on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety – We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.

Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and Fire Chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the City’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

We thank the Media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.






URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html



Thank you.

CIVIL DIALOGUE

The people in Dallas are making an effort to understand and clean their own hearts first, when we are free from bias, it would be easy to share that with others. Islam teaches us in so many ways to "respect the otherness of others" and it is time we find simple practical ways of doing it.