TEXAS FAITH: When the pew and the pulpit don't see eye-to-eye?

There is a difference between the pew and the pulpit on this matter. Of course, that is not the first time a divide has been seen between the leaders of a religious tradition and those who adhere to that faith. What I would like to hear from you all this week is how such a divide gets resolved in your tradition. I recognize that sometimes they aren't resolved, but I would like you to elaborate upon this question.

Indeed, there is a great difference between the pew and the pulpit and most certainly a few issues get resolved and a few go to the holding pen to be unleashed whenever the opportunity arises to get even.

Continued

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Mike Ghouse is a writer, thinker and a speaker on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace and building a cohesive America, links to details at www.MikeGhouse.net. 

Israel Palestine commitment, part 2

Israel's security and justice to the Palestinians are directly proportional to each other. Hundred percent security for Israel comes with 100 percent justice to the Palestinians. A majority of people in the conflict understand this, but the leadership runs aground with short sighted false perceptions.

Huffington post on Israel Palestine solutions : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/commitment-to-israelpales_b_1263793.html

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Mike Ghouse is a writer, thinker and a speaker on pluralism, politics, Islam, peace and building a cohesive America, links to details at www.MikeGhouse.net.

Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11?

TEXAS FAITH: Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11?

Abstract: Jews need sincerity and not duplicity. Native Americans need an apology and there is a good amount of phobia embedded in Hindus about conversions. We believe in Jesus as a Prophet and not as a son of God. Unless we deal with tough issues about our differences, we will continue to fake being nice to each other and brood with ill-will within. There is indeed improved understanding among faiths since 9/11. But there also is deepening suspicion among them. One is spiritually motivated and the other is political. Please note, most of my writings are inclusive of all theist and atheists traditions, we all inhabit the earth and we need to figure how best to co-exist cohesively.

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Since September 11, 2001, many conversations have taken place among Muslims, Jews and Christians. There are official interfaith conversations occurring all over the globe, where participants dig into each other's texts. And numerous personal dialogues have been established over the last decade. Many of us have learned more about the three Abrahamic faiths since September 11, 2001 than perhaps we knew before that day.

But here's this week's question, which is simple in its wording but not necessarily simple to answer: Do followers of the three Abrahamic faiths really understand each other better since 9/11?

Eight Texas Faith Panelists including Mike Ghouse weighs in at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/09/texas-faith-do-jews-christians.html

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

There is indeed improved understanding among faiths since 9/11. But there also is deepening suspicion among them. One is spiritually motivated and the other is political.

We were better off when we knew very little about each other. But as we faced the hostage crisis in 1979, the evangelical foray into politics, the Baptist convention on harvesting poor souls and finally 9/11, religion moved on to center stage. It will get better when we know more about each other.

On September 11, 2001, I was on the radio in Dallas attempting to make sense out of the chaos of the day and pave the way for relevant actions. Interfaith-faith prayers, blood donation and fundraising for the men and women in uniform were all in place by evening. The fog was clearing up. Osama bin Laden was the bad guy and Muslim-Americans had nothing to do with his actions, nor did they authorize him to terrorize any one. Indeed, he placed a wedge between Americans that still needs to be undone.

Atheists, Baha'i, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Jews, Native Americans, Pagans, Sikhs, Wicca and Zoroastrians along with area city mayors, FBI, police and fire chiefs and community leaders graced the first interfaith event in Frisco. Out of which a new tradition evolved called Unity Day. It continues year after year.

But while we are trying to know more about each other, more needs to be done. Here are a few examples;

* Mosques in Dallas/ Fort Worth area opened their doors right after the 9/11 incident. As Christians walked in, they were naively welcomed by yet-to-be trained volunteers who said, "We believe in Jesus as a Prophet and not as a son of God." However, the volunteers were trained to welcome without conflict the very next week.

Of course, back in the 8th Century, a Syrian bishop had declared that Islam was a false religion. That declaration has remained in the psyche of a few Christians forever.

Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas reiterated the statement and added, "Quran is a false book written by a false prophet." He was asked to prove it but failed.

There are several verses in Quraan that are mistranslated for political gains. Steve Blow in Dallas Morning News quoted me, "In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders. Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews."

One such difficult passage is "Kill the infidels wherever you find them." Ten such propaganda verses were read to separate the myths from reality. They were not read by Muslim clergy, but by Baptist, Mormon, Protestant, Catholic, Unitarian, Methodist, New Age, Unificationists, Sikhs, Hindu and others at the Quraan Conference

*Shamelessly, anti-Semitism continues to operate under the radar. The anti-circumcision bills in San Francisco and Santa Monica were irksome to some, but frightening to others. Indeed, there are still a few Christians out there who cannot shake off what Fred Phelps was demonstrating with reckless posters such as "Christ Killers."

The Judeo-Christian phrase was thrown around in the 40's to build relationships between Jews and Christians. A whole industry of opportunists was born from it. The support for Jews by Billy Graham, Richard Nixon, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Glenn Beck and other chest thumpers have ulterior motives. They want to cash in on the name of Israel and perhaps convert them. Jews need sincerity and not duplicity to feel genuinely secure.

*Native Americans need an apology for the destruction of their religion and there is a good amount of phobia embedded in Hindus about conversions. Some of them feel that Governors Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal made it in politics because they converted to Christianity.

*The spiritual balance in the community needs to be restored through observing and following the Golden Rule, which is treat others as you would like others to treat you. Although we have failed in the past, such as when the city of Plano rejected a permit to build a Hindu temple in the early 80's and Richardson did not permit a Muslim school to open there in the mid-1990s, we still have come a long way. Thank God, those are now history and the public in the metroplex welcomes diversity.

* Interfaith meetings are still social gatherings. Leaders from smaller groups are invited as tokens rather than to genuinely get to know each other. Unless we deal with tough issues about differences, we will continue to fake being nice to each other and brood with ill-will within. There is plenty of room for honesty to grow and mature.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of other people and accept the God-given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. One of these days we will get there. Meanwhile, I am pleased to invite you to the 7th Annual 9/11 Memorial, the Unity Day USA on Sunday September 11 at 5:00 PM at the Unity Church of Dallas on Forest Lane. Details are at www.UnitydayUSA.com

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References:
Steve Blow – Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece

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List of difficult passages: http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2010/12/difficult-passages-in-quraan.html

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Quraan Conference program sequence: http://quraanconference.blogspot.com/2010/12/quraan-conference-program-sequence.html

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam. Mike's work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ and you can find all of his current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

An appeal to Indonesian Muslims

An appeal to Indonesian Muslims
Mike Ghouse

Friday, December 18, 2009 will be noted as a sad day in the history of Indonesia. On this day, a group of people on their way out from attending an Islamic New Year parade attacked the Santo Albertus Church under construction in Bekasi.

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/12/appeal-to-indonesian-muslims.html

Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, but the church was damaged severely, just a week before Christmas.

We the Muslims from around the world, appeal to the Indonesian Muslims, who follow the word of God and example of the Prophet to help those few who are momentarily lost, and bring them back on the path of justice and fairness that the Prophet taught us.

The Quraan asserts in 49:13, “The noblest of you in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware.” Had God willed, he would have made all of us the same.

We look up to you, the Indonesian Muslims for following Islam as taught by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). You are proud owners of the Panchasila document which reaffirms the freedom of all faiths. Indeed, it is this model of freedom that builds trust, respect and goodwill among all of God’s creations.

Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) life was an example for us to follow, he did not return violence with violence, instead he prayed for those who pelted stones and bloodied him, asking God to give them goodwill.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) respected the Christians, Jews and others to the point of inviting them to dialogue; he was one of the first humans to initiate the interfaith dialogue. Historians note that Byzantine Christians led by their bishop, had come to discuss a number of issues with the Prophet, and when the time for their prayer came up, he offered them to "conduct their service in his mosque”. He taught us that respecting other faiths is part of our conduct. Indeed, he earned the trust of his community by being truthful, honest and trustworthy; he was called Amin by the people around him.

The Prophet set another example of mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill when the Aswad stone fell off the wall of Kaaba. Each tribe was laying claims of their right to set the fallen Aswad Stone back in the wall, Muhammad (pbuh) was approached, he could have done it himself, but being the ultimate peace maker he was, he got the parties together, mitigated their conflict and had them all share in lifting the stone back into its place, thus nurturing goodwill.

We appeal to you to earn the respect of the society and be good and just to one and all and re-build the Church for the Christians that was desecrated. Please set an example of the Indonesian Muslim conduct for others to follow. To be a Muslim is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill and strive to build societies of Justice and peace for every human being.

Update: 12/31/09 - The appeal is published in Jakarta Post
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/12/31/letters-an-appeal-indonesian-muslims.html

Mike Ghouse is a Muslim from Dallas, Texas who admires the Indonesian Model of Islam. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer and regularly offers pluralistic perspectives to the media. He can be reached at MikeGhouse@aol.com and the websites and the blogs are listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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Muslims more than Catholics

A greater number does not add any value nor a lower number takes away any. If the Shia segment is taken out, Catholics would still outnumber Sunni Muslims. What is the point?

Is there a race? Is God sitting at the finish line watching?

Qur'aan is clear about one thing - no one has a free pass to his grace. One has to earn it the old fashion way; through good deeds.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) defines a good deed as serving mankind . He gives an example; when you sow a seed, you know it well that by the time that become a tree and gives shade or fruit, you may not be the beneficiary, but you did it to benefit others, as you benefit from what was done before you.

Worship to God is self purification, serving others is service to God and is true worship. I hope the race should be which group would do more to benefit the mankind in terms of justice and peace. Taking care of the hungry, taking care of the needy. God likes competition in serving his fellow beings with arrogantless humility.

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker; one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; life and matter. Indeed that is the purpose religion.

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/03/muslims-more-than-catholics.html

Mike Ghouse
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Muslims More Numerous Than Catholics
Vatican: Islam Surpasses Roman Catholicism As World's Largest Religion

By ALESSANDRA RIZZO Associated Press VATICAN CITY Mar 30, 2008 (AP)

Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday.

"For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population — a stable percentage — while Muslims were at 19.2 percent.

"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.

When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.

Spokesmen for the Vatican and the United Nations did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Sunday.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed