SHARIA ISSUES IN 2012 AND SOLUTIONS.

www.ShariaLaws.com

Sharia will become a dominant theme in the 2012 Presidential Elections; the one who speaks the loudest earns the tea party support. I am not sure if we the Americans would gulp down their rhetoric or would have the time to question the veracity of the comments made by the candidates.

The responsibility falls squarely on us, the American Muslims to become contributors and participants in the well being, peace and prosperity of America. Muslims together, we can do it.

We are considering a Sharia conference in every major city in the US, it will be professionally developed with the help of our Imams and Scholars and those who have problems with it. We have to answer every possible question answered in the power point presentation each time a question gets asked.

If you have the will, it’s easy to do it.

Muslims together can work and build a safer and secure America for every one of the 301 Million Americans. This is your conference in your town, organized and managed by you. I hope all of us can call ISNA, CAIR, ICNA and other national organizations to take this project up.

We can do this for under $ 5000.00 per city. I have done over 40 events including the ones over 600 attendees within that budget. We should not expect the national organizations to put this event out, we have to do it on our own with their supervision to standardize the event. You’ll have to raise the funds locally- 100 Muslims $50/each or other combinations will do it. The question we have to ask is, are we willing to do it or find it comfortable to talk about our love of Islam without doing a thing.

I am a volunteer and will be happy to assist anyone anywhere.
Together we can come up with great plans and just do it.

For the starters, I have pulled a few key articles together; there are much better articles out there, Insha Allah, we will gather them all and urge Muslims to post on their sites, the more places it is published, the better off we are.

10 ARTICLES

The articles range from simplicity for a lay person to understand ( Sumbul, Nezar , Nasim, Amjad and Mike’s articles) to Mainstream press writing ( Amy Sullivan and Justin Elliott), to Scholarly presentations ( Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci and Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq) . I hope to gather articles that are critical (Plenty) of Sharia as well. If you know a great article, please share, together we can complete the spectrum and add value to its understanding. I further request that you post this on your site or ask those who have a site to post. The more it shows up in search engines, the better off we are collectively.

As American Muslims we are committed to the safey, security and prosperity of every American. That's a pledge we take and act upon it.

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Sharia in one Gulp by Mike Ghouse

Sharia in its simplest form is a how-to manual based on the Qur'an and the Hadith (Prophet Muhammad's sayings). It is a human effort to understand the concept of justice enshrined in the Qur'an for day-to-day living.

- http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/sharia-in-one-gulp.html
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/sharia-law-not-in-america_b_653250.html

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What Sharia law actually means – Justin Elliott

Sharia is more than simply "law" in the prescriptive sense. It is also a methodology through which a jurist engages the religious texts to ascertain divine will. As a jurist-made law, the outcome of this process of ascertaining divine will is called fiqh (positive law), which is the moral and legal anchor of a Muslim's total existence.http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-sharia-law-actually-means.html

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Who's Afraid of Sharia? – Sumbul Ali Karamali

Hasn't the whole notion of shariah in America gotten a bit out of control? No, it hasn't -- it's gotten hugely, obscenely, ignorantly out of control. Aha! The six principles must be about killing infidels, veiling women, stoning people for adultery, honor killings and female genital cutting, right? Nope.

http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2010/09/whos-afraid-of-shariah.html

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Sharia the law system inspired by the Quraan - Wikipedia

Sharia is often referred to as Islamic law, but this is wrong, as only a small part is irrefutably based upon the core Islamic text, the Koran. Correct designations would be "Muslim Law", "Islam-inspired", "Islam-derived," or even "the law system of Muslims."This is well known to most Muslims, yet Sharia is always referred to as "based upon the Koran", hence it is the "will of God."http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/03/sharia-law-system-inspired-by-quraan.html

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Sharia is Not what you think it is – Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid

When some American pundits call sharia, "a growing threat to the United States," Muslim Americans wonder what in the world are they talking about. Sharia is overwhelmingly concerned with personal religious observance, not with constitutions and laws.

http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/06/sharia-is-not-what-you-think-it-is.html

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The Myths of Sharia Law in America – Amy Sullivan

If you are not vitally concerned about the possibility of radical Muslims infiltrating the U.S. government and establishing a Taliban-style theocracy, then you are not a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. In addition to talking about tax policy and Afghanistan, Republican candidates have also felt the need to speak out against the menace of "sharia."http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/myths-of-sharia-law-in-america-httpwww.html

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Sharia Value – Dr. Mohamed Omar Farooq

"While Islam under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad brought liberation and freedom from human bondage and ushered in scientific, technological, economic and cultural progress as part of a dynamic civilization, the Shariah as it is being presented today seems to do (and probably promise more of) just the opposite. Why? In this essay, it is argued that one pivotal problem has to do with some fundamental misunderstanding about Islam and Shariah.

http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2008/03/sharia-value.html

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Sharia, Fiqh and Islamic Law – Imam Dr. Yusuf Ziya Kavakci Dr. Kavakci is one of the 500 most influential Imams in the world
Sharia recently became a hotly debated subject. Archbishop of England made a statement at the middle of many statements, that has given the opportunity of Islamic law and Shari to be discussed and debated by westerners and some times the discussion apparently was taken out context. It is, as I believe, a fact that Sharia, Fiqh in its early stages got established and developed in the wide area of the world, mainly where Roman law was dominant. http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/sharia-fiqh-and-islamic-law_15.html

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Demystifying Sharia - Nasim Rehmatullah and Amjad Mahmood Khan

Shariah is a misunderstood and misused concept. Critics of Islam frequently employ terms like "creeping shariah" to stoke fear amongst the masses. The Park 51 controversy and the increasing media focus on Islam provide an opportunity to educate Americans about the true teachings and practices of Islam concerning shariah.http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/demystifying-shariah.html

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Sharia law is not a threat – Nezar Hamze, Cair

You can’t turn on the news these days or pick up a newspaper without seeing or reading about Islam, Muslims or Sharia law. Unfortunately, most of what you hear is from politicians with a religious viewpoint or media outlets creating an illusion of an enemy.

http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2011/07/sharia-law-is-not-threat.html

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LINK TO THIS ARTICLE: http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/
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Mike Ghouse committed to nurturing the pluralistic values embedded in Islam. More about him at www.MikeGhouse.net

Shaping Carrollton Politics

Shaping Carrollton Politics tonight in Candidates Forum

Sponsored by: Barbeque Tonite, Carrollton

PROGRAM OUTLINE

 
The program was videotaped and will be on YouTube with a title “Shaping Carrollton Politics”  and other sites including www.CarroltonDiary.com, www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com, http://www.mikeghouse.net/, www.FoundationforPluralims.com and  www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

It is not a run of the mill candidate forum and it is not about the typical budget issue. It is about building a cohesive Carrollton where no resident has to live in apprehension of the other and more importantly, they need to feel welcome.  We hope you will find this meeting meaningful in building our future.

1.      NATIONAL ANTHEM – Played out Audio

2.     PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by former Mayor Ron Branson

3.     PLURALISM GREETINGS – Greetings from A-Z Religions

4.     PURPOSE:  Carrollton is enriched with every race, religion and ethnicity and as residents of this city, we want that to continue. 

It’s my dream to make our city an exemplary city in social cohesion, where we learn to respect and appreciate the uniqueness of each one of us.  Peace is a product of opening our hearts and minds and learning about each other instead of believing in dished out versions of the other. If I need to feel safe, secure and peaceful, I need to work to make sure everyone around me is safe.  If I live in fears, it is likely the others do the same.

The program will be taped and sent as a model event in series of events to take place throughout the United States of America to build cohesive societies

5.     ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

a.     Salim Odhwani, Barbeque Tonite Restaurant

b.     Dignitaries, Former Mayors Becky Miller and Ron Branson

6.     CANDIDATES INTRODUCTION

As a society, it is our responsibility to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting the peace in a society and it is our duty to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it.  America together, Americans Together is an educational and pragmatic initiative to wean out myths from reality that is hurting the social cohesiveness of America. The myths are vigorously pumped in by a few insecure souls to disrupt delicate balance in the society by pitching one American against the other for their perceived gains.

The purpose of this “America Together” is to remove such myths in an open discussion forum and restore the cohesiveness of our society and work towards building a safe and secure America.

CANDIDATES INTRODUCTION

            Cathy Henesey, place 4
            Bob Garza, place 4|

                        Bonnie Kaplan, place 2

                        Anthony Wilder, Place 2 – declined to attend

http://carrolltondiary.blogspot.com/2011/06/candidates-forum-reshaping-carrollton.html

7.     ONE MINUTE RESPONSE

Since our independence in 1776, we have been tested time and again by various political, economic and religious forces to divide us, however, at the end we have come out strong as one nation. The Civil War, the Great Depression, the World War, Pearl Harbor, Women’s rights, Abortion, the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, Budget Deficits, Unemployment, 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan War have all been difficult, but we will make it through and sanity will prevail.

To the naysayers, we say, if we don’t do a thing about it, nothing good can be expected to happen.

Please pass the microphones… after response.

a.     Civil Unions,

b.     Racial profiling,

c.      Islamophobia,

d.     Anti-Semitism

e.      Immigration reforms in Farmers Branch

f.       Anti-Circumcision issues in San Francisco

8.     What plans do they have to keep the social cohesion in Carrollton? We have come a long way to embrace and accept the otherness of other and we have a whole lot more to go; in the coming months we will be holding meetings to understand the complexity of issues such as Gay & Lesbian acceptance, Anti-Semitism, Stereotyping, Racial profiling and hope to find answers that will lead to accepting the otherness of other to co-exists in harmony despite our differences.

9.     Q & A

Please ask the question without commentary, we need to get a few questions answered and I request you to just ask the question… take a minute. Thank you.

10. PLURALISM PRAYERS 

Carrollton is enriched with every race, religion and ethnicity.    

The following is an inclusive prayer called the prayer of Pluralism. We pray for the well being of every resident of Carrollton. 

Let’s reflect, wish and pray:

Dear Creator of the universe,

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

Dear Causer of the universes,

In your name we want to create a cohesive and peaceful Carrollton with care kindness and dignity to every one of the 130,000 residents of this beautiful City. 

Dear God,

Help us appreciate the prosperity and progress brought to us by our former Mayors, Gravely, Stokes, Miller, Branson and guide our current Mayor Matthew to build a cohesive Carrolton.

Guide us in selecting two candidates from the four, who can serve our city and work on strengthening our unity. 

Guide our council members to treat,

Respect and honor every resident with their heart and soul.

Let goodwill prevail towards fellow Americans.

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

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

Help us learn to respect the uniqueness you have blessed to each one of the 130,000 of us in Carrollton,

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

May God drench and soak us with peaceful thoughts and goodwill.

In your name, we bow to you.

Amen.

More about the Candidates at www.CarrolltonDiary.com

http://carrolltondiary.blogspot.com/2011/06/candidates-forum-reshaping-carrollton.html

REFRESHEMENT COURTESY OF SALIM ODHWANI

Peace in Israel and Palestine begins with you and me

Thomas Friedman (New York Times) beat me to it; this is the solution for the endless conflict in the Middle-East. I urge the right wing Jewish, Muslim and Christian organizations not to hate him for writing this piece, it is something they wanted to begin with but went about in the wrong way, their passion and support is crucial to be applied in the right path, the path of peace in the holy land of Moses, Solomon, Jesus and Muhammad.  My prayers for Friedman for writing this piece and God willing I am writing one to supplement his efforts. 

Continued: http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2011/05/peace-in-israel-and-palestine-begins.html  

Muslims should stand up against harassment of fellow Muslims

A few abstracts, please read the full article at : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muslims-to-stand-up-again_b_866341.html

"To have the power to affect a positive change in a given society one must be just. It is not justice when one gains at the wrongful expense of others. Many a Muslims have lost the gut in their voice because they have failed to stand up for others.

"We cannot validate and propagate a false idea that the majority has a right to dictate the minorities to accept their status as subjects. Should the majority of Americans believe in the rhetoric that Muslims are terrorists and must be kicked out of the planes and prevent them from building a place of worship? Is that Valid?

Fourth, many Muslims have been brainwashed like most others to believe in things fed by the politicians. Whatever their government says is embraced by them as unadulterated truth. President Reagan ...

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

Pluralism Prayers in Carrollton

The following is an inclusive prayer called the prayer of Pluralism. We pray for the well being of every resident of Carrollton. 

The Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mc9D9guPMY

Script  http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/05/pluralism-prayes-at-carrollton-city.html

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

TEXAS FAITH: What gives rise to end-times predictions?

Everything that has a traceable beginning must also come to a traceable ending. In our life time, we witness births and deaths as a part of the immortality of life, and we are conditioned to think in terms of beginning and end to every thing within the scope of our thinking.

 

A question is asked by Bill McKenzie of Dallas Morning News and usually about of twelve panelists respond in the weekly Texas faith panel.  

 

Link: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/05/texas-faith-what-gives-rise-to.html

Obama will deliver security to Israel and justice to Palestinians

We read a whole lot of material from the right wingers, though they have an aggressive presence in the Mediascape, they do not represent the majority. The American Public does not subscribe to the view of Bush, Romney, Palin and their likes and neither the Israeli public subscribes to the views of Netanyahu or the AIPAC.

It’s in our interest to hear the Jewish public and intellectuals to shape or re-form our understanding on the issues. Attacks on Obama are disingenuous, his policy will get the Jews what they have been seeking for eternity; Security.

When Security for Israelis and justice for Palestinians is the goal, it will succeed and becomes sustainable. Obama’s vision is opposed by short term macho minds powered by a false sense of power.  Of all the People on the earth, Jews have been the victims of power, no one will annihilate them or any part of humanity by sheer military might, the Ferdinand’s could not do it, the Romans could not do it and the Arabs will not do it, and likewise, the Israeli military or lobbying power will not bulldoze the aspirations of the people of the Palestine.  

Continued http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/05/obama-will-deliver-security-to-israel.html

TEXAS FAITH: Would you have sanctioned the death of Osama bin Laden?

Bill McKenzie of Dallas Morning News asks and twelve Panelists respond, you can see the struggle in the responses, and many have take an approach similar to mine.  You are welcome to share your point of view at http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/05/texas-faith-would-you-have-san.html

Here is my take:

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

No, I would not have sanctioned the death of Osama Bin Laden.

First of all, there was no need to have killed the man, when the Seals encountered Bin Laden they could have released gases or other elements to knock out and capture him alive. We need to hear more about it from the Navy Seals, if in fact they were in danger to have shot him twice in his head?

The right thing would have been to put him on the trial, just as we did with the Nuremberg, Saddam Hussein and other trials. We could have learned a lot more about his other secret plans that may still be attempted by his loyalists. The world would have witnessed that we care about the rule of law and reinforced it through a time honored process.

Secondly, it has set a bad precedent. Even though the end result benefits humanity, the means were not kosher. It has opened up the doors for others to replicate, thus we 'may' have lost the moral upper hand to stop others from extra judicial killings.
Thirdly, no religion permits one to kill the other. Torah and Quran and other holy books do not see any wisdom in killing the other without an imminent threat to one's own life. Both the books say, to save a life is like saving the whole humanity and the corollary to that is to kill a human is like killing the whole humanity. What is the difference between somewhat pregnant and pregnant? Jesus condemned the sin and not the sinner.

I am glad his body was respectfully dropped in the sea instead of a ground burial. If the choice was given to Bin Laden, he would have preferred this over a ground burial which could have become a shrine to his followers, and that is not acceptable to a Wahhabi Muslim. The last rites were indeed handled appropriately and the Muslims appreciate that. God loves the one who forgives and lives in peace with himself.
Finally for the record, I stand opposed to assassinations, killings and death penalty. Unless it was in self defense, we are morally wrong in killing Bin Laden.

However, it feels good that he is not alive anymore. Mind you, that is different than cheering for his death which we should not do.

His end brings a sense of relief and closure to families who have lost nearly 3000 of their loved ones. Muslims have more to rejoice than others; they were not only victims of his terrorism like all of us, but were also subjects of harassment by several governments around the world, in the airports as well as employment and ordinary acts of life. The Sikh community also endured the grief out of mistaken identity. We pray that the Taliban mind set and the oppression of women in Afghanistan also comes to an end.

It is one of the best news items Muslims have had in a decade; it brings a sense of relief and hopefully restores the relationship between Muslim and Non-Muslims in building a cohesive America. Thank God, an evil era has come to an end with the death of this man.

#

Mike Ghouse is an interfaith Speaker, thinker, futurist, writer, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a firm belief that the purpose of religion is to bring harmony to an individual within and create a balance with what surrounds; life and matter. If we can learn to respect and accept every which way people have come to worship the creator, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. He offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place. His work is indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Muslims sigh relief and rejoice the end of an evil man Bin Laden

Muslims sigh with relief, pray and celebrate, they were not only victims of Bin Laden’s terrorism, but were also the subject of harassment by several governments around the world and in the Airports as well.

Muslims sigh relief and rejoice the end of an evil man Laden

May 01, 2011, Dallas, Texas:- Mike Ghouse, President of the World Muslims Congress was delighted to announce the end of an evil man and prays that an evil era ends with him. It brings a sense of justice and relief to nearly 3000 fellow Americans.  He whole heartedly concurs with President Obama’s statement, “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims.  Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own.  So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.” Indeed, we welcome it.

Indeed Muslims were not only victims of his terrorism, but were also subject of harassment by several governments around the world in Airports as well as employment and ordinary life acts. The Sikh community also became a target of the mistaken identity. With his death, we hope the oppression of women in Afghanistan also comes to an end.

Mike recalls Tuesday, September 11, 2001, “On that tragic day, I was called in to manage the emergency situation on Radio station AM 1150 and handle the crisis. My first goal was to make sense out of the chaotic incoherence of the day and move forward purposefully. I was on the air from 10:00 AM through 5:00 PM on AM Radio 1150 and 950 simulcasted at times.”

The Spiritual leaders from all faiths and traditions were called in to pray and share their wisdom for this moment.  They were from the traditions of Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other traditions. Area Mayors, community and business leaders joined in as well.

The fog was clearing up; Osama bin Laden was our enemy and we had to get rid of him to bring justice; Muslims had nothing to do with Osama, nor did they authorize that terrorist; and a declaration of war against Osama was made on the Air.

By the end of the day a clear sense of direction was developed, a sense of Unity had emerged on the Radio, multi-faith prayers were arranged and fund raising had begun. “I made a commitment to dedicate this day and unite people on the day every year.” 

People were responding to the calls to donate blood, my late wife Najma was driving around and reporting from the Blood centers and called in to tell us to stop the announcements as the lines were too long and that they could not handle it any more for the day.

September 11, 2005 gave birth to Unity Day USA - 14 faiths were represented at the event with 650 plus individuals attending with 8 Mayors, FBI Chiefs and DOJ attended the event and the Fire and Police Chiefs were honored. The civic Officials proclaimed it as Unity Day USA. It was well covered by the media.

“It was my love for my country to work on making this day a national day and Muslims wanted to do this and hence took the initiative, I want my fellow Americans to know that Muslims are committed for the well being, peace, prosperity, security and unity of America.”

Indeed in a luncheon meeting with Congressmen Pete Sessions, Ralph Hall, Kenny Marchant, Paul Johnson and others, congressman Sessions suggested to designate the event on Sunday before 9/11 every year. Even the former Speaker Nancy Pelosi had jumped at the idea.

Bin Ladens death brings a closure to the reign of terror that began September 11, 2001 and we plan on a big celebration this year all over the nation.

# # #

Mike Ghouse is an interfaith Speaker, thinker, futurist, writer, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a firm belief that the purpose of religion is to bring harmony to an individual within and create a balance with what surrounds; life and matter. If we can learn to respect and accept every which way people have come to worship the creator, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. He offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place. His work is indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Interfaith experiment; standing in others shoes

Given the growing apprehensiveness through politicizing religion, it makes a lot of sense for one to step in other’s shoes and experience the wisdom of every beautiful religion first hand, rather than live in phobias generated by hearsay.

Finding the truth is our own responsibility, as truth relieves one’s anxieties. The Quraan Conference took the wind out of the sails of the misrepresented verses like “Kill the infidels”, “beat your wife” or  “Don’t make friends with Jews and Christians and seven other verses”, mind you the verses were read in public by the clergy of different religions and not Muslims. (Quraanconference.com)

Mike Ghouse, a speaker on Interfaith, Pluralism, Islam and Cohesive Societies adds, “ I am delighted to share the successful interfaith experiments we have been conducting since 1996 through my Radio show and the Unity Day USA since 2005”




CLICK ON THE PIC TO SEE A LARGER VERSION

     The following experiment was conducted in 1997 at the Unity Day USA event.

Thirty Nine (39) Individuals were called in from the audience to form thirteen (13) groups of four (4) each. The groups were given a statement, verse or the wisdom (atheism) of each faith they represented randomly. No person was assigned his or her own religion but religions were assigned by a drawing. Every group was asked to read and share their understanding of that religion, the idea was to stand in others shoes, and it was one of the most successful experiments in religion.

Each one of the participant loved being a Jew, Zoroastrian, a Hindu, a Christian, Muslim or the other. When we read the book for real and not go by hearsay, our hearts and minds will open up to the wisdom of every religion, thus learning about each other first hand mitigates the conflicts and paves the way for solutions.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, futurist and a writer on the topics of Pluralism, Coexistence, interfaith, Islam and cohesive societies. He is committed to building cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, no matter what the issue is, he is a frequent guest at Hannity Show and other national syndicated shows. His work is indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/  

Muslim Speaker Mike Ghouse

NURTURING PLURALISTIC VALUES EMBEDDED IN ISLAM

A Muslim Speaker, thinker, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice versa to sustain peace, harmony and prosperity.

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter. Over 1000 articles have been published on a range of topics in Islam and Pluralism. Insha Allah, a book outlining the Muslim vision is on the horizon.

In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece  
Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

 

If that has been you, Mike Ghouse ought to be your hero.

It is hard to imagine that anyone has worked harder than the Carrollton resident to demonstrate the peaceful and moderate side of Islam.

And that effort includes personally visiting Dallas' First Baptist Church last Sunday just to put a friendly face on the "evil, evil religion" that the Rev. Robert Jeffress denounced a few weeks before.

"It was wonderful," Ghouse said of the visit. "We were so warmly received."
He hopes a quick chat with Jeffress will be the start of deeper discussion about Islam and the importance of respect between religions.

"I want to have a dialogue with him, not to say he is wrong but to share another point of view," Ghouse said.

The 57-year-old Muslim was born in India and has lived in the United States for 30 years. He owns a small property management firm. But most of his day is devoted to building bridges between people of different faiths.

"It is my passion," he said in his distinctive raspy voice.

He has been a guest a dozen times on Sean Hannity's TV and radio talk shows. "I don't like the way Sean cuts me off, but I have to honor him for giving the American public a semblance of another point of view."

Ghouse said he can understand fear and criticism of Islam because he went through a time of similar feelings. As a teen, he was troubled by passages of the Quran. He called himself an atheist for a while.

But he said deeper study led him to realize the Quran had been purposely mistranslated down through history.

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.

"It was all for politics," he said.
Ghouse said he hopes to present Jeffress with a modern, faithful translation and challenge him to find evil verses.

"If he can, I will convert. I will join his church," Ghouse said. "If he can't, I will call on him to retract his statements and become a peacemaker."

Ghouse acknowledges that deep problems persist within Islam. "Three steps forward, two steps back," he said with a sigh.

And he agrees that mainstream Muslims have not done enough to counter violent images of their faith.

"That is very true," he said. "But part of it is that many Muslims have given up hope that we will ever be heard."

He said repeated denunciations of terrorism seem to fall on deaf ears.

And some efforts have backfired - like the proposed Islamic information center in New York. He said it should be hailed for furthering the moderate Muslim cause.
Instead, it has deepened hostility toward Muslims.

I have been astounded by the amount of anti-Islam propaganda that circulates via e-mail. Tons of it has come my way in the last few weeks.

One theme is that people like Mike Ghouse can't be trusted, that Islam encourages deception.

But Ghouse says actions speak louder than words. And he points to elections in Muslim nations.

More than half of Muslims live in countries with some degree of democracy. And time and time again, Islamist parties are overwhelmingly rejected in favor of secular, mainstream parties.

"The religious parties don't get more than 3 percent of the vote," Ghouse said.
Polls show deep mistrust of Muslims. "But the most important question in those surveys is: 'Do you know anything about Islam?' " Ghouse said. "Most people say no."
What keeps him going is faith in Americans, he said.

"The majority of Americans, if they know the truth, they will change their minds."
 

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer, thinker, futurist and an activist of Pluralism, Islam, India and Civil Societies passionately offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

He is a commentator at Fox News on the Hannity show, nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR.  He has spoken at international forums including the Parliament of Worlds Religions in Melbourne, Middle East Peace initiative in Jerusalem, International Leadership conference in Hawaii, Washington and elsewhere.

Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other.  We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7^th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.  

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15^th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5^th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies.  Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

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Full Profile at:  http://www.mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp   

Mike is working on two books scheduled to be released this year; The American Muslim Agenda and My Journey to Pluralism.

Mike has written over 1000 Articles on Pluralism, Islam, India, Peace & Justice and civil societies published in a wide spectrum of Newspapers and Magazines around the world.

Locally, he is a panelist at Dallas Morning News's and writes weekly on a range of issues facing the nation. Washington Post, Huffington Post and other news papers and sites regularly publish his work.  

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your place of worship, school, work place, seminars, workshops or conferences. His work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/