Quran (Koran) Translations Galore

The first Quran was translated in the year 1142, and it was commissioned by the European Kings to Paint Islam as a bad religion, and they frightened their subjects that Muhammad was going to slaughter the people of Europe if they don't stand up against the advancing Arab armies.  The work was carried out by the French Abbey for a fee.  They coined word the word "Mohammedan" religion for Islam.

It is a big story I would like to tell, as it is easier than writing it out. Please read the full story with many videos and write-ups atwww.QuraanConference.com.

Quran is a book of guidance in building cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear or apprehension of the other; it is as simple as that.  I usually refer to at least 5 different translations to get the essence of a single verse, and of course, our formula to understand the Quran is to read three verses before and three verses after a given verse to understand the context and meaning behind the verse.

However, every faith including yours has a % of people who do things that go against the very teaching of the faith they claim to espouse. That is an insignificant number and less than 1/10th of 1% of any group.

Over the years, I have collected about 20 different translations for reference.  A few are in this picture.  I have also visited the Library of Congress and checked Jefferson's copy of Quran translation by George Sale. 

You may like this article in Dallas Morning News;

In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece

By Steve Blow, sblow@dallasnews.com Published 19 September 2010 02:28 AM

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 a 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."

# # #
www.MuslimSpeaker.com

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.

Fatwa: Should Muslims celebrate New Year?

Fatwa: Should Muslims celebrate New Year? 
It is about building an integrated America. 

A majority of Muslims celebrate New Year’s Eve like a majority of people in every group. However the orthodoxies in most faiths shun the celebrations. They falsely equate it with alcohol and lewdness and simply cannot think beyond their programmed binary mindset of Haram and Halal.

On the other hand, I urge fellow humans not to judge a people by the acts of a few. If you know 100 people closely, 97 of them would be good people and if you knew only those three, then you tend to be prejudiced, not a good thing for you or anyone.

I urge fellow Muslims to think and act, and hold on to the temptations to react. Muslims can become relevant again by going back to the basics and start thinking and questioning every dished out belief. Doesn’t Quran point out repeatedly to read, to think and to see the signs?

In the next two days many a fatwas will be hitting the market, and a “few” – yes absolutely only a few will take pride in amplifying and multiplying them on the net, as though it is an act of purifying Muslims. By the way sticklers to the traditions are a part of every faith group. No one can cast the first stone.

This essay addresses the issue that has kept Muslims in silos, ghettos, clusters or in a tiny pond. The fatwas are indeed a problem but free speech must be valued over everything, free speech is a God-given right from the day Adam was given a choice. Let people believe in whatever they want, but let them not compel others to fall in line with them. You live your life and let others live theirs. Islam strictly prohibits compulsion of any kind against one’s will.

God’s words are universal and are applicable to all aspects of life. We should not pull tricks and discretion on God’s words, then his words would not be universal and truthful.

The word Fatwa is nothing more than an “opinion” in English Language, and here is my opinion about New Year. Muslims should get out and celebrate it with fellow humans.

My knowledge is based on the instructions from Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), who said that it is the responsibility of every individual to read and understand the book, Quran is the only reliable book he has left as guidance. All other books were invented later, we should no doubt seek wisdom but never put them on par with Quran.

Bad Fatwas are the reason for Muslims to remain on side lines. Many of the Fatwas are a cause of ghettoization of Muslims. Do you recall the fatwa of the mufti of Ottoman Empire declaring it Haram to print Quran after the printing press was invented in 1450? That prevented ordinary Muslims from having direct knowledge of the Quran for 400 years, wasn’t it against Prophet’s instructions? There are many such stupid Fatwas that have been obliterated over the years, and a lot more need to go. Reason should take over. If it is not common sense, then it is not Islam. If it does not add to building cohesive orderly societies, then it is not Islam.

Muslims should celebrate New Year’s Eve. Allah has created all things for the humans to enjoy, he has laid everything for the man between heaven and earth (Quran 55:10 “And the earth has He spread out for all living beings”) and man should be thankful and celebrate the gift of life and gift of sustenance on every possible occasion including New Year. New Year is a mile stone and should be a day of accountability of one’s action in the past year and correct the course for the next year, we should be grateful for this opportunity. Quran 55:13, ”Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?”

(Please read verses 1 through 16 of chapter 55, Sura Rahman to appreciate the creator and celebrate life.)

God calls himself “Rabbul Aalameen” (creator of universe) and calls the Prophet the Rahmatul Aalameen (source of mercy for universe). Should Muslims restrict themselves or should they be servers of the universe, of all people? Isn’t the role of Muslims to contribute towards peaceful societies and be a part of the society and not apart from it? Shouldn’t Muslims be a mercy to mankind? You cannot do anything if you are not a part of the society.

 The reason Muslims have conflicts with fellow Americans is because they don’t mingle, and most of the relationships are shallow. How would anyone know them? How would people get rid of the myths about Muslims if they don’t get to know them closely in different aspects of life? Of course, every faith or political group has something or the other that holds them from being one with others and they all need to work on knowing each other. Indeed that is the case with most immigrants, one of my Hindu friends says she stopped dating a white guy because there was not much to talk with him.

Ok, you don’t want to go to someone’s house for dinner or go to a party because they drink alcohol or eat pork. That should not be a barrier unless your will power is weak or you are incapable of holding yourselves. (Hindus, Jews, Jains, Buddhists, Bahais. Sikhs and all others have one problem or the other like Muslims, we all need to raise above this to build one integrated nation)

Every human will be an angel if there was no opportunity to do wrong, an average human will resist all the temptations that go against his or her will. There is an unverified story that Buddha would sit nude among naked dancing girls and chose not to be tempted or have an erection, such was his will power. If you have a strong faith you can be anywhere and be with anyone and not get blown away with seductions. It is time to test your own faith.

Let me share an example from a few years ago, our group from Memnosyne Foundation went to Mexico to inaugurate the medicine garden that my philanthropist friend Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk had donated to the Mayan Indians to continue to traditions of shamanic healing. We stayed in an all paid resort near Chichen Itza with unlimited drinks and food at our disposal and every one in our group had a ball. Three of us did not drink Alcohol - Mary Ann, Tanaka (a Shinto Priest) and I. I did not make a big deal about it, nor did I stick religion into it. We just did not drink and had a good time knowing our friends. Of course they knew I was a Muslim and respected me for following my path without anything less about others. When we go to the dinner parties, others eat pork and I don’t, it is my choice. I am a part of the society and not apart from it.

Aren’t Muslims supposed to be peacemakers, harmony establishers, goodwill nurturers and contributors to cohesive societies? How do you do that if you don’t mix with people? How do they know that you are a good human being and not what Fox News had portrayed you to be? It behooves for Muslims to celebrate New Year along with friends. It is the right thing to do and that is how we create secure societies. The more we know about each other, the greater the trust would be.

As believers in universal God and universal prophet, shouldn’t their humanity be universal as well? Isn’t what God clearly says in Quran? Whether you are a Jew, Christian, Muslim or whatever, if you are good to fellow beings (His creation) your reward is with Him. Look it up in Quran, this verse is repeated nearly a dozen times in different formats. If the early Muslims had lived aloof, no one beyond Arabia would have known them. This trend to live in silos began in 1969 and we need to reverse it. Caring for his creation is the highest form of worship and you can care only by being with them.

Let Muslims be a part of the whole, let them be with other people, this is an opportunity to build relationships, and opportunity to let fellow Americans know that Muslims are good human beings. The more we integrate the more we become one with fellow humans, bringing a sense of security to each one of the 322 Million of us; the Americans.

Let the New Year be celebratory. Gather up your neighbors who are not going to parties, bring your own food and drinks and get to know each other as fellow Americans who have a common destiny; safety, security, job, home, children, volunteerism, grand children and retirement in peace.

Muslims must celebrate the New Year in a variety of ways within their comfort zone.

How do you plan your next year? Look for the article on Huffington Post.  

# # #

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America where every American feels secure. Mike Mohamed Ghouse is committed to his life mission of building cohesive work places, communities and nations. He works for an America where everyone of the 322 million Americans feels secure without apprehension or fear of the other.

He leads the Center for Pluralism in research and activism and brings Americans Together on the plane of religious, political, social and cultural pluralism. Pluralism is simply an attitude of respecting the otherness of other and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of us.

He is a pluralist, thinker, writer, activist and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, politics, Islam, human rights and foreign policy. He is a news maker, interfaith wedding officiant and a community consultant and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Dr. Ghouse has appeared in over 300 national TV and 700 Radio shows including 125 on Fox News. He has published over 3500 articles on the topics he speaks.

His Google profile has been visited by over 35 million individuals with thousands of followers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, yahoo groups and personal lists.

He is the founder and CEO of the Center for Pluralism and World Muslim Congress. The bottom line to his work is security- no one should feel insecure about his or her religion, race, ethnicity, or other God-given uniqueness. Each one of us should look forward to retiring in peace and living without apprehensions or fear of the other.

\

Mike's work is at:  www.CenterforPluralism.com, www.WorldMuslimCongress.org, www.InterfaithSpeaker.com and www.MuslimSpeaker.com

Can Muslims shape the world?

Can Muslims shape the world, or sit back and let others do it as they wish?
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/08/can-muslims-shape-world.html

AA,

Muslims have an opportunity to shape the world, instead of getting shaped. All it takes is initiative; here is a note from Ruby Amatulla. If you have the skills and wherewithals or funds to make this happen, give a shout to Ruby

Mike Ghouse

A New 'Leadership Generation' of Muslim Americans

A recent Gallup poll has indicated that most Muslim Americans do not feel they are represented by existing Muslim organizations in America. The highest approval rating any one of these organizations received was only 12%. While we must assert that all of these existing organizations do extremely valuable work, we also understand that there exists a huge gap between the sociopolitical aspirations of Muslim Americans and the previous achievements of Muslim American organizations. In order to address these issues, we must consider the following:

1. American Muslims are a unique minority. The famous Pew survey several years ago revealed that 65% of Muslims in America were born in other countries. These first-generation immigrant peoples are on the one hand well-connected with the societies in which they came from and on the other hand well-adjusted and acculturated American citizens. This group has enormous potential to build bridges between oft-confrontational societies. In fact, Muslim Americans are common denominators between two of the most polarized camps of the world today. Thus, a visionary leadership must emerge to arouse a popular movement from among Muslims in this country towards a paradigm shift between America and Muslim-majority societies.

2. America is not only a superpower and influential nation in our time, but also a democratic country that provides an impartial rule of law and a pluralistic and conducive environment for citizens to engage with society and government to raise a voice for change. There is no leadership as of now that has taken full advantage of this unique opportunity that American Muslims have. Of all American civil society players, American Muslims have unparalled abilities advocate to American policymakers - as a unified bloc - for more open and pluralistic societies in their respective countries of origin.

3. Neither the American people nor the American government is monolithic. At any given time on any given issue, diverse or opposing forces work towards a resultant outcome. We often see negative outcomes, but we fail to see the multiple forces, including our civil society and government allies, working behind the scenes. If Muslim Americans are relatively united and can align with like-minded American civil society and political groups, the balance of power would change. There are about 6 to 7 million Muslims in America who came from 56 Muslim majority societies around the world. Many Muslims were the cream of the crop of those lands. The PEW exposes that the American Muslims are more well-educated and well-to-do than average Americans, and they are moderate in their ideological views. These predispositions are positive elements that can magnify their efforts towards becoming powerful catalysts of change. And if we can help to change the way in which America engages with the Muslim world, the Muslim world would also change its attitude towards America and American democratic values. We need to work from both sides to bridge the gap.

4. If a visionary American Muslim leadership could promote constructive engagements and a change in mindset towards these aspects of American foreign policy, it could bring about enormous welfare to the Muslim world and American society as well as self-empowerment to all of the American Muslim organizations that currently exist. That could help to overcome Islamophobia and other hurdles in the shortest possible way. This is a win-win situation. Muslim Americans must engage intensely and consistently with American foreign policy - including American policymaker attitudes towards new developments such as the Arab and North African revolutions - if they want to achieve this empowered status.

5. By remaining fragmented, afraid, reactionary, and distant in our attitudes and activities, we have ‘shot ourselves in the foot’ and done a tremendous disservice to our cause. This must change and can change. A capable leadership can offer effective agendas to work towards this paradigm shift, and this leadership is what we urgently need today.

We sincerely invite you to respond with your thoughts, as well as advice on how you can help our community towards these goals. I can be contacted via e-mail:- rubyamatulla@yahoo.com

Regards,

Ruby Amatulla, Executive Director,

Matthew Cappiello, Outreach Director

Dr. Edip Yuksel, Mike Ghouse, Dr. M. Khan Kharoti,

Bill Aossey, Joe Aossey, Dr. Ahmed Mansour….. Board Members

Muslims for Peace, Justice and Progress

mpjp@mpjp.org

www.mpjp.org

Muslims Standing with Sikhs

Standing up with Sikhs in their vulnerable moment

Standing up with Sikhs in their vulnerable moment

Muslims in America are overwhelmed with the tragedy that befell on the Sikhs in Oak Creek, Michigan. Here are a few press releases from Muslims organizations as well as the civic organizations. It will be update with additional press releases:

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PRESS RELEASE
Mike Ghouse, President
America Together Foundation
 (214) 325-1916 / text or talk
Mike@AmericaTogetherFoundation.com
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Sunday, August 11, 11:00 AM

We pray for the innocent people who died in the senseless shooting at the Sikh Gurudwara in Oak creek, Michigan.

We also condemn the senselessness of the murderer's attitude towards fellow Americans, he was not alone, there are more like him and we need to find solutions.

As an American, Muslim and an Indian, I stand by the Sikh community and hope to find long term sustainable solutions to prevent the shameless events like this from happening in our nation.

It is our duty 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. We have an obligation to maintain peace and justice in the society.

Standing up for others is the right thing to do, every human goes through a period of invincibility to vulnerability, and if we don't stand up for those who are vulnerable, then who will stand up for us when we are vulnerable?

As Americans we need to come together to build an America where no one needs to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

I appeal to individuals and organizations to speak out against bigotry and terrorism and work on finding solutions, hating them will not solve it, pushing them to the corner will not cut it, engaging (there is no them, it is all of us) in a dialogue has a chance of mitigating bigotry and nurturing goodwill.

We need to learn about each other and demystify the myths about the others.

It starts out with knowing each other, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different point of view. If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Mike Ghouse represents America Together Foundation, The Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress, all committed to nurturing pluralistic values.

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Sat Sri Akaal,
I am the current President of the Council on American Islamic Relations Dallas/ Fort Worth Chapter and I wanted to extend our deepest and most sincere condolences from the entire North Texas Muslim community. I would like to come in person so please let know when I can come. Also, I saw that you are planning a candlelight vigil that we would like to be a part of in expressing our sorrow and support with our sikh brothers and sisters. Please let me know the details and I can pass it on to the muslim community.

In support and Sorrow,

Amina Rab
President, CAIR-DFW chapter
info@cair-dfw.org
arab@cair.com

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August 6th, 2012

I am deeply saddened and dismayed at the loss of so many innocent lives at the Oak Cree Gurudwara over the weekend, my deepest condolences to our Sikh American community. I join the rest of Americans in mourning this tragic incidence and I pray to God to give patience to victim’s families .

Akram Syed
Former President, India Association of North Texas (IANT),
American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI)
Co-founder, North American Society of Indian Muslims (NASIM Foundation )
Board Member, Islamic Association of Collin County (IACC)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

American Muslims Stand with Sikhs After Wisconsin Shootings

Islamic Speakers Bureau-DFW, joins American Muslims throughout the nation today to express grief for the tragic incident that took place this morning, August 5th 2012, in Wisconsin. According to reports at least seven people, including a gunman shot by a police officer, were killed Sunday in an attack on worshippers at a Sikh temple in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek.

SEE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/05/us/wisconsin-temple-shooting/index.html

While details of the attack and the motivation of the attacker are still emerging, American Muslims stand with their Sikh brothers and sisters in this time of crisis and loss. We condemn this senseless act of violence, pray for those who were killed or injured and offer sincere condolences to their loved ones.

This tragic incident appears to be a bias-motivated attack on American Sikhs. Sikh men who wear beards and turbans as part of their faith are often targeted by bigots who mistake them for Muslims.

As a minority going through our own challenges, American Muslims can imagine what the Sikh community might be going through. ISB calls upon the local Muslims of Wisconsin, and the rest of the United States to stand in solidarity with the Sikh community, and reach out to assist them in whatever way they can.

ISB also urges mosques and houses of worship of all faiths nationwide to be vigilant and to implement procedures for the safety & security of all worshippers.

ISB-DFW
info@isb-dfw.org
(972) 652-0786

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ISNA Offers Condolences After Tragic Shooting at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin

(Washington, DC - August 6, 2012) The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is deeply saddened by news of a shooting yesterday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who lost their lives and to those who are suffering from critical injuries. Reports indicate that the gunman took the lives of 6 people and injured three others before being shot himself. ISNA is grateful for the heroic police officers who risked their lives to put an end to the shooting, and prays for the swift recovery of the officer who was shot multiple times in the process.

ISNA Vice President Azhar Azeez said this morning, "On behalf of ISNA, I offer my deepest condolences for those who lost their lives yesterday in the tragic attack. We stand in solidarity with the Sikh community during this difficult time and pray that such a tragedy is never repeated again."

While the attacker's motives are still unknown, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards referred to the incident as an act of domestic terrorism, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating.

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, ISNA National Director for Interfaith and Community Alliances, personally conveyed ISNA's condolences to leaders from the Sikh community. For the past several years, ISNA has worked very closely with them to promote respect and understanding toward minority communities in our country.

Numerous Sikhs have faced discrimination and violence since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Swarnjit S. Arora of the local Sikh Religious Society told the Journal Sentinel that at least four acts of violence against Sikhs have occurred in the Milwaukee area alone.

In April, 90 members of Congress signed a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller, asking them to record and track hate crimes directed at members of the Sikh community. In recent years, the Department of Justice has worked to monitor and reduce hate crimes against American Muslims, and ISNA fully supports any efforts to track hate crimes that specifically target members of the Sikh faith. ISNA is part of an ongoing dialogue with the Department of Justice and other federal agencies to reduce hate crimes against South Asians, Arabs, Muslims, and Sikhs.

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ISLAMIC SHURA COUNCIL
(ANAHEIM, August 5, 2012) - The Islamic Shura Council grieves with the Sikh community for the senseless killing of innocent worshippers at their Milwaukee temple. "We stand in solidarity with the Sikh community and pray for them at this time of pain and sadness. May peace and goodness prevail here and all over the world." said Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, Chairman of the Islamic Shura Council.

Earlier, the Executive Director of the Islamic Shura Council also called on the local and the national Sikh leadership to record Muslims' solidarity and support for the Sikh community. In response, Dr. Gurpreet Singh Ahuja, a Los Angeles based Sikh community leader replied, "thank you for your kind wishes. We appreciate your prayers. As you might imagine, it is a challenging time for the Sikh community in the US." Also, Amardeep Singh of the New York based Sikh Coalition thanked Shura Council for its moral support.

As people of faith and conscience we urge all people in America to work together and put an end to hate and bigotry. Shura Council asks the community to stand together in solidarity with the Sikh community and take action today.

Call or send flowers as a tribute to the fallen at any of the local Gurdwaras. Click here for a list of SoCal Gurdwaras.

We strongly urge you to take a minute and send your support and solidarity email toinfo@shuracouncil.org. We will compile all emails and forward them to the Sikh leadership.
Click here to Stand Strong Against Hate.

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Dear Harbans,

It was indeed a very sad news about the massacre in the Sikh temple in Wisconsin. It is beyond the imagination the grief which was experienced by the relatives and friends of the victims in the community at large. We condemn this senseless act of violence and pray for those who were killed or injured and offer our sincere condolences. It is indeed very sad to see the most brutal and inhuman behavior in this most civilized part of the world.
We all should stand together in combating this discriminatory conduct and hateful crime.

If we can be of any help please keep in touch.

Sinerely,

M. Basheer Ahmed, M.D.
Chairman, MCC for Human Services
www.mcc-hs.org

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August 6, 2012

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)-Metropolitan Washington Chapter, a non-partisan, secular, civic, and community service organization for people of Indian origin, strongly condemns the shooting at the Sikh Gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. We pray for the souls of the deceased and extend our deepest sympathy to the relatives of victims.

We urge the authorities to fully investigate this heinous crime and provide support to victims’ families.

We also request to law-enforcement authorities to take appropriate actions to prevent such hate crimes against all communities.

Zafar Iqbal, Ph.D.
President, Washington Metro GOPIO

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MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.

Sunni-Shia strife - The Economist

We need to shed the arrogance that other traditions are inferior to ours, or ours is superior to others. To God, we are all the same, and he has given us the free will to figure living in harmony.  

If we can learn to respect the otherness of others,without having to agree with others, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

 At least start the process this month, please visit  every mosque, and learn to see the differences in a positive way, grow your heart as God has given you.   If you are stuck in the idea that others are definitely wrong because your tradition is right, get out of that mindset, it breed arrogance in you, and arrogance is the root cause of all conflicts and evils in the society and God's wisdom is against it. 
Ramadan is suppose to imbue a sense of humility in us, and Taqwa is all about conflictlessness, to be like God, and to be just, merciful and kind.

Test your prejudice, and if you wish to be free, make an effort to see the otherness of other. Visit a mosque a day, here is my experience if the last three years http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/

The sword and the word

In the struggle between the two strands of Islam, the Sunnis are on the rise
http://www.economist.com/node/21554513?story_id=21554513&fsrc=sky|INews

Courtesy of the Economis

IT SEEMED historic. Muslim scholars, 170 in number and representing nine schools of legal thought (including four main Sunni ones and two Shia), gathered in Amman and declared that, whatever their differences, they accepted the others' authority over their respective flocks. Implicitly, at least, they were renouncing the idea that their counterparts were heretics. Some called that meeting in Jordan in 2005 the biggest convergence since 969, when a Shia dynasty took over Egypt.

Many of the globe-trotting greybeards who met there, and at a similar gathering in Qatar in 2007, remain actively and optimistically engaged. But seen from the outside, feuds between Sunnis, who make up roughly 80% of the world's Muslims, and the Shia minority (most of the rest), remain savage and are, in some ways, worsening.

In this section

• »The sword and the word
• AQAP tries again

Reprints

Related topics

• Middle East
• Iran

In conservative Sunni monarchies (especially those with restless Shia populations) dislike and suspicion of Iran, the Shia bastion, is running higher than ever. Theology intertwines with geopolitics—and an incipient strategic-arms race. Far beyond the Gulf or Middle East, from western Europe to North America, Sunni agitation (often Saudi-sponsored) is intensifying against the supposed heresies contained in Shia teaching.

Belgian police are investigating the firebombing of Belgium's biggest Shia mosque in March, which killed the imam. The suspect they arrested claims to be a Salafist (hardline Sunni) protesting against Shia backing for the Syrian regime. Grieving worshippers chanted Shia slogans at the scene, eerily echoing far bloodier incidents in places such as Pakistan (recent examples include a murderous grenade assault on a Sunni demonstration in April and an attack on a bus in February that killed 18 Shia passengers).

European Shia-Sunni acrimony is part of a many-sided contest over the future of the continent's tens of millions of Muslims, says Jonathan Laurence, a scholar at Boston College. The religious authorities in migrant-sending countries like Turkey and Morocco struggle to keep their people loyal to their own varieties of Sunni practice: they see Shia Islam and hardline Sunni groups like the Salafists as equally dangerous and insidious temptations for their sons and daughters in Europe.

Strife even reaches places like South-East Asia where few Shias live. Malaysia has presented itself to the world as a tolerant Muslim-majority state. But it bans the preaching of Shia Islam, with particular ferocity since December 2010, when dozens of Shias were arrested. They say they were merely practising their faith (which is legally allowed), not preaching it.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based preacher often described as the de facto spiritual guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, has recently kept up a barrage of verbal attacks on the Shias. He is president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, a loose Brotherhood-inspired body designed to pronounce on issues of common concern to Muslims. Founded in the friendlier climate of 2004, its top ranks also include Shia clergy.

One God, many arguments

But Mr Qaradawi now attacks Shias for compromising the oneness of God (about the worst thing a Muslim can do) by ascribing semi-divine status to the people they regard as Muhammad's legitimate successors. Another accusation is that Shias poach souls in Sunni lands.

Time was when Mr Qaradawi praised the feats of Hizbullah, the Iranian-backed Shia militia in Lebanon, as fighters against Israel. But in recent punditry he has stressed the gap between Sunni and Shia beliefs and passionately called for regime change in Syria, where, among other things, a Sunni majority is rebelling against a ruling elite whose Alawite belief (see table) is a Shia offshoot. Senior Shia clergy have deplored his hardening line. Mr Qaradawi, whose utterances command attention from Marseilles to the north Caucasus, also backs Bahrain's Sunni rulers in their anti-Shia stance.

Paradoxically enough, one reason for the worsening in intra-Muslim relations is the declining role of the West. At the time of the Amman gathering in 2005, Iraq was in the grip both of horrific Sunni-Shia violence and of American occupation. It was possible to convince ordinary Muslims (however unfairly) that America was to blame for stoking this tension; and that, for dignity's sake, followers of Islam should stand together against the outsiders' game of divide-and-rule. Now the American occupation of Iraq is over, and hatred between Sunnis and Shias there has a ghastly momentum of its own: the Shia prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has accused a Sunni vice-president, Tariq al-Hashemi, of complicity in terrorism and forced him to flee. On April 30th he was charged with multiple murders.

But perhaps the biggest change is that Sunnis think they are now winning the global contest. Seven years ago it seemed that Shia Islam, whether in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, was on the march. Hot-headed Sunnis who yearned to see a government or movement that would confront Israel in the name of Islam had to find role-models across the sectarian divide, in Iran, or in the mullahs' Lebanese protégés in Hizbullah.

These days zealous Sunnis need no longer look to swashbuckling Shias for inspiration. The real action is unfolding in their own homelands, at least in north Africa or the Levant. Nor need they look abroad for political ideology: the Arab spring has established the Sunni sort of political Islam as a powerful, domestically based force that has emerged from the underground or from exile. Rachid Ghannouchi, for example, Tunisia's best-known Islamist, has returned from London to become probably the most powerful figure in the land. Vali Nasr, a professor at the Fletcher School of Tufts University in America and a former adviser to the Obama administration, says that—rightly or wrongly—Sunnis believe that Western sanctions are weakening Iran, and that the combined efforts of Sunnis and the West will also topple Iran's only Arab ally, Syria. From a Sunni perspective, these impending victories outweigh the travails of their co-religionists in majority-Shia Iraq.

Intra-Muslim relations are not universally bleak. An Iraqi adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet”, featuring star-crossed love across the Muslim sectarian divide (rather than the clan loyalties of Verona), has won acclaim there, and was performed at the World Shakespeare Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon. Egypt's handful of Shias, a nervous bunch, have declared support for a Muslim Brotherhood (in other words, Sunni) presidential candidate. In campaigns for freedom and justice in the Middle East, Sunni-Shia distinctions can melt away. “We are all part of the same struggle,” says Maryam al-Khawaja, an activist from Bahrain's aggrieved Shia majority. She co-starred this week with Sunnis like Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi woman detained for defying that country's ban on women driving, at the Oslo Freedom Forum, a lively get-together for foes of state oppression.

Historic compromises between ancient rivals are most likely either when both sides acknowledge a stalemate, or else when some outsider forces them together. State repression may do that sometimes—but it is a sad and slender hope for those who yearn for intra-Muslim accord.