FOX TV, Sean Hannity and Mike Ghouse about NASA tonight

I am preparing a few talking points and request you to give me short sentences and phrases to talk about this tonight Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at Sean Hannity Show on Fox News. I am particularly requesting my friends from native traditions to share their perspective.

Daniel Pipes will be opposing it and I will be supporting this intiaitive.

" NASA has outreached Russia, China, Israel, India and Saudi Arabia to put their astronauts on the space mission, let the world come together on science and exploration"

"Religion is the biggest influence in one's life, it is time we give some weight to religion, and bring aboard Muslims, Native Americans, Hindus, Bahais, Jews, Christians, Buddhist and others to be a part of creating a better world, better world through science and research"

" We Americans have borne the cost of NASA, it is time we invite others to join us and share those costs, Obama is damn smart to look at this, let the Muslims focus on science and let their monies be spent on good things.."

"What's wrong in getting every one involved in doing things that benefit the humanity?"

" Creating a peaceful world should be our goal, where every one is a partner, particularly the ones who are marginalized, get people involved and the positve change"

" I know Daniel will not be playing the old record unlike Brigette, let's hear fresh perspectives, we owe it to the American people to give different perspectives"


One liners shared by my friends:
-----------------------------------------

Khalid Ibrahim

Griffin himself has indicated that "NASA has always played an important, but indirect, role in diplomacy". “I have championed the use of NASA as a powerful diplomatic and inspirational tool for U.S. policy writ large,”

“But the way NASA achieves those goals is by doing great things. NASA does those things that make people all over the world say... See More, ‘Wow.’ If NASA is making people say, ‘Wow,’ then they want to be part of what we do. "

So what is the problem? I presume Bolden is going to be doing just that. All is he is doing is helping people in Muslim realize that they can be partners in Americas space exploration. When people realize they can be partners with the US, they are not as antagonized as they are by our one-sided policy in the Middle East.

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

Sutton Laurus

NASA has always been a de-facto branch of the military and a de-facto branch of the state department. NASA was designed to be a tool of the government that happened to focus on space. Nothing wrong with that.

Islamist radicals are ultimately motivated by a perceived struggle against the inexorable encroachment of global ecumenism. NASA wonks have ... See Morealways been futurists with a "we-are-all-God's-children-on-spaceship-earth" mentality. While NASA looks to the heavens, Islamist radicals want to drag civilization back into caves. NASA is all about the long term survival of the human race and the empowerment of the human spirit. Islamist radicals worship death and want to trigger the apocalypse.

It's in the interests of not just our national security - but the interests of the world - that Islamist radicalism is defeated and Islamic pluralism encouraged. Seeing Muslims enthusiastically cooperate with the technological spearhead of a hated superpower is a great way to take the winds out of the sails of nihilistic lunatics who believe that the end times will be fought with bows and arrows.

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

Roop Gujral

God Almighty is one and any research aimed at fact finding and for over all human advancement and benefit is something which immensely pleases almighty for sure...irrespective of the faith of the researcher...

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

Khurshid Qureshi

International Space Station helped to cool down rhetoric of the Cold War. Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts worked side by side and found out that the Russians were as as human beings as Americans. If Pakistan can develop nuclear and rocket technology, they can also be partner in developing space ship. Invitation to a Iranian pilot to take part in training can change the relations overnight. Good Luck.

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

Khalid Ibrahim

Would Pipes prefer that the US have an antaganostic or a friendly relationship with the Arab world? Also as the saying goes "you attract a lot more flies with honey than with vinegar"

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

Sutton Laurus

That YouTube thing was meant as a joke, but I could see a good point being raised. He's a hardcore Israel supporter, and Israeli space tech has rightfully been the pride of his people, as the Nobel roster would show.

Why would he have a problem with Muslims celebrating their contributions to the field of space, especially if it's used as an ideological weapon against the likes of al-Qaeda?

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

Sutton Laurus

The 2003 NASA Columbia disaster saw the loss of an Israeli pilot, who was aboard the flight when it happened. That was a joint US-Israeli endeavor used to bolster relations. Typical NASA fare.

Pipe's schtick is about fighting the Islamist ideology. He's complaining against using NASA as a means to that end, when NASA has always been (appropriately) used for ideological struggles.

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

Hadi Jawad

First of all congratulations! Here are a couple of points I would like to offer:

1 We must remember space is the heritage of all mankind not just the rich and powerful nations. Let us use space for the betterment of all!

2. Let us not militarize space, let us keep all weapons, defensive and offensive, out of space. In fact let us declare space a "weapon free zone"!

Best wishes and good luck!

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

Wasim Khan

MUSLIM CIVILIZATION AS LAST GREAT CIVILIZATION LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR THE MODERN SCIENCE,

WHEN NASA USES FIXED STAR MAPS TO NAVIGATE FOR INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL 70% OF THOSE STAR-POSTIONS WERE MAPPED AND NAMED BY MUSLIM ASTRONOMERS.

(Above lines are bolded for ease to stick in your memory)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33333789/Vol-5-Modern-Science-Impact-of-Islamic-Civilization-on-The-Modern-World

-----------------------------------------------
I did not get to go on the TV tonite;

Our Mission at the World Muslim Congress is to work for a world of co-existence through inclusiveness and participation. As a member of diverse family of faiths, our efforts will be directed towards justice and equity to attain peace for the humankind with a firm grounding in commonly held values. We cannot have advantages at the cost of others. Such benefits are temporary and deleterious to lasting peace. We believe what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world, and vice versa, to sustain it.

Indeed we aspire to promote goodwill amongst people of different affiliations, regardless of their faith, gender, race, nationality, culture or any other uniqueness blessed by the creator.

Thank you

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, optimist, educator and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India, Peace and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and is a frequent guest on the media. Mike's work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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

NASA Chief: Next Frontier Better Relations With Muslim World
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/05/nasa-chief-frontier-better-relations-muslims/


NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his "foremost" mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world.

Though international diplomacy would seem well outside NASA's orbit, Bolden said in an interview with Al Jazeera that strengthening those ties was among the top tasks President Obama assigned him. He said better interaction with the Muslim world would ultimately advance space travel.

"When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- he charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering," Bolden said in the interview.

The NASA administrator was in the Middle East last month marking the one-year anniversary since Obama delivered an address to Muslim nations in Cairo. Bolden spoke in June at the American University in Cairo -- in his interview with Al Jazeera, he described space travel as an international collaboration of which Muslim nations must be a part.

"It is a matter of trying to reach out and get the best of all worlds, if you will, and there is much to be gained by drawing in the contributions that are possible from the Muslim (nations)," he said. He held up the International Space Station as a model, praising the contributions there from the Russians and the Chinese.

However, Bolden denied the suggestion that he was on a diplomatic mission -- in a distinctly non-diplomatic role.

"Not at all. It's not a diplomatic anything," he said.

He said the United States is not going to travel beyond low-Earth orbit on its own and that no country is going to make it to Mars without international help.

Bolden has faced criticism this year for overseeing the cancellation of the agency's Constellation program, which was building new rockets and spaceships capable of returning astronauts to the moon. Stressing the importance of international cooperation in future missions, Bolden told Al Jazeera that the moon, Mars and asteroids are still planned destinations for NASA.

--------------------------------------------------
Science as a shaper of global diplomacy

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-zewail-science-20100627,0,5623528.story?track=rss

The U.S., admired worldwide for its leadership in technology, should pursue science diplomacy with Muslim-majority countries. Such a policy could complement efforts to promote human rights.

Ahmed Zewail

June 27, 2010
E-mail Print Share Text Size la-oe-zewail-science-20100627

In today's world, America's soft power is commonly thought to reside in the global popularity of Hollywood movies, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Starbucks. But the facts tell a different story. In a recent poll involving 43 countries, 79% of respondents said that what they most admire about the United States is its leadership in science and technology. The artifacts of the American entertainment industry came in a distant second. In the 1970s, what I, as a young foreign student studying in the United States, found most dynamic, exciting and impressive about this country is what much of the world continues to value most about the U.S. today: its open intellectual culture, its great universities, its capacity for discovery and innovation.

By harnessing the soft power of science in the service of diplomacy, the U.S. can demonstrate its desire to bring the best of its culture and heritage to bear on building better and broader relations with the Muslim world and beyond.

I felt the full force of this soft power when I came to the United States from Egypt in 1969 to begin graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. I discovered how science is truly a universal language, one that forges new connections among individuals and opens the mind to ideas that go far beyond the classroom. My education here instilled in me greater appreciation for the value of scholarly discourse and the use of the scientific method in dealing with complex issues. It sowed, then nurtured, new seeds of political and cultural tolerance.

But perhaps most significant was that I came to appreciate the extent to which science embodies the core values of what the American founders called "the rights of man" as set forth in the U.S. Constitution:

Freedom of thought and speech, which are essential to creative advancement in the sciences; and the commitment to equality of opportunity, because scientific achievement is blind to ethnicity, race or cultural background.

In January, appointed by President Obama as America's first science envoy to the Middle East, I embarked on a diplomatic tour that took me to Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. I met with officials from all levels of government and the educational system, as well as with economists, industrialists, writers, publishers and media representatives. What I learned during these visits was cause for some alarm, but also for considerable optimism.

The alarming aspect comes from the fact that education in many Muslim-majority countries now seriously lags behind international standards. Deficiencies in education, together with widespread economic hardship and the lack of job opportunities for young people, are sources of frustration and despair in many Muslim societies. They are rooted largely in poor governance and growing corruption, compounded by overpopulation and by movement away from the enlightened education I was fortunate enough to enjoy in Egypt in the 1960s.

Yet there are many positive signs as well. Muslim-majority countries such as Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar are making significant strides in education and in technical and economic development. Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco and Indonesia are examples of countries still rich with youthful talents. Nor is this transfer of wealth and learning flowing exclusively from the West to the East. Today there are many Muslims in the West who have excelled in all fields of endeavor. These accomplishments and the values they represent can help the Muslim world recover its venerable heritage as a leader in science by complementing local efforts and aspirations.

It is certainly in the best interests of the United States to foster relations with moderate majorities who today often find themselves locked in struggle with minorities of fanatics. Most people I met in the Middle East believe in Obama's intentions, as laid out in his Cairo speech last year, and welcome the prospect of enhanced scientific and educational partnerships with the United States. Yet some expressed skepticism, with one high-ranking official asking me, "Will the political climate in the United States, and particularly the U.S. Congress, allow him to follow through on his promises?"

To enhance the prospects for success, we should begin by stressing three points.

First, the United States needs to define a coherent and comprehensive policy for pursuing science diplomacy with Muslim-majority countries. Despite many efforts by both public and private organizations, their initiatives remain fragmented.

Second, the focus of a better-integrated effort should be on improving education and fostering the scientific and technological infrastructure that will bring about genuine economic gains and social and political progress. One way would be for the United States to encourage and support the creation of relatively simple earth science labs in elementary schools, along with the teacher training necessary to stimulate curiosity about the workings of nature. For older students, I propose a new program, "Reformation of Education and Development," whose acronym, READ, would have special significance for Muslims, as it is the first word of the Koran. And through the program, the United States should be a partner in establishing science and technology centers of excellence for talented high school and university students in the region.

Third, these efforts must complement, not replace, U.S. efforts to promote human rights and democratic governance in the Muslim world. The United States must also continue to pursue a just and secure two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and work toward freeing the Middle East from nuclear proliferation.

All these efforts would go far toward creating goodwill, catalyzing progress and redirecting the region's energies into new, constructive and mutually beneficial channels.

The soft power of science has the potential to reshape global diplomacy.

Americans like to say that actions speak louder than words, and action is what we need now.

Ahmed Zewail, the winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in chemistry and President Obama's science envoy to the Middle East, is a professor of chemistry and physics at the California Institute of Technology.
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
-----------------------------------------------------
------------



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

Is It NASA’s Job to Make Muslim Nations ‘Feel Good’? [Elliott Abrams]
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjQwZWI1ZDZkNzBmMDNmMzk3NGI0YzQ1Nzc5NWYxMzE%3D

In the spring of 1961, President Kennedy spoke to Congress about his desire to “win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny.” He told Congress and the nation that “now it is time to take longer strides — time for a great new American enterprise — time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth.”

His inspiring conclusion: “I believe we should go to the moon” — though he noted that this would require additional expenditures of money and intellectual resources, and presidents were more serious about budgets in those days. Kennedy said, “It is a heavy burden, and there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, materiel, and facilities, and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline which have not always characterized our research and development efforts. It means we cannot afford undue work stoppages, inflated costs of material or talent, wasteful interagency rivalries, or a high turnover of key personnel. New objectives and new money cannot solve these problems. They could in fact, aggravate them further — unless every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman, every technician, contractor, and civil servant gives his personal pledge that this nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.”

A half century later, in the age of Obama, that kind of inspirational yet candid communication from Washington is gone. This past week, the current NASA administrator revealed what our current president thinks about space. “When I became the NASA administrator, [Obama] charged me with three things,” NASA head Charles Bolden told al-Jazeera. “One, he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.”

This quote is entirely believable. Mr. Bolden was not told that he must advance American interests in space, but instead to become part of the big Obama program of engagement with the “international community.” His achievements will be measured by whether he can “reach out” to make people “feel good,” and those people aren’t even Americans; no, his “perhaps foremost” job is to make Muslims around the world “feel good” about their past.

A more serious task might be to make them feel terrible about the present level of education in Muslim lands, not least for women and girls, in the hope that we could spur them to reform and improvement. The dismal state of science, math, and engineering in Muslim nations is quite clear, but Mr. Bolden isn’t assigned to improve their performance (which would presumably be the job of USAID, but whatever). No, he’s to be another Dr. Feelgood, a sad assignment for this former astronaut. Mr. Bolden should not be criticized for telling the truth about his job, for the problem is at the top, not at NASA. The space program is being transformed into a tool of Obama foreign policy, which views American national greatness as an anachronism.

— Elliott Abrams is senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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

Former NASA chief: Muslim outreach is ‘perversion’ of NASA’s mission
By: Byron York
http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/former-nasa-chief-muslim-outreach-is-perversion-of-nasas-mission-97858404.html

Chief Political Correspondent
07/06/10 8:55 AM PDT
Michael Griffin, who headed NASA during the last four years of the Bush administration, says the space agency’s new goal to improve relations with the Islamic world and boost Muslim self-esteem is a “perversion” of NASA’s original mission to explore space. “NASA was chartered by the 1958 Space Act to develop the arts and sciences of flight in the atmosphere and in space and to go where those technologies will allow us to go,” Griffin says. “That’s what NASA does for the country. It is a perversion of NASA’s purpose to conduct activities in order to make the Muslim world feel good about its contributions to science and mathematics.”

Griffin calls NASA’s new mission, outlined by space agency administrator Charles Bolden in an interview with the al-Jazeera news agency, “very bad policy for NASA.” As for NASA’s core mission of space exploration, Griffin points out that it has been reaffirmed many times over the years, most recently in 2005, when a Republican Congress passed authorizing legislation, and in 2008, when a Democratic Congress did the same thing.

“NASA has been for 50 years above politics, and for 50 years, NASA has been focused by one president or another on space exploration,” Griffin says. “Some presidents have championed it more strongly than others, and it is regrettable that none have championed it as strongly as President Kennedy. But no president has thought to take NASA’s focus off of anything but space exploration until now, and it is deeply regrettable.”

Griffin says NASA has always played an important, but indirect, role in diplomacy. “I have championed the use of NASA as a powerful diplomatic and inspirational tool for U.S. policy writ large,” Griffin says. “But the way NASA achieves those goals is by doing great things. NASA does those things that make people all over the world say, ‘Wow.’ If NASA is making people say, ‘Wow,’ then they want to be part of what we do. That’s NASA’s role — it’s to do those things that make other people want to join us.”

For all his unhappiness with the new policy, Griffin says blame for the situation does not belong with NASA administrator Charles Bolden, whom Griffin calls “one of the best human beings you will find.” “When I see reports in the media excoriating Charlie for this position, that blame is misplaced,” Griffin says. “It belongs with the administration. That is where policy for NASA is set. The NASA administrator does not set policy for NASA, the administrator carries it out.”

“This is not about personalities,” Griffin concludes. “It is about the intellectual content of the policy, which I find to be bankrupt.”

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/former-nasa-chief-muslim-outreach-is-perversion-of-nasas-mission-97858404.html#ixzz0sv1kVPQk

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

The Reaction: NASA aims to reach out to Muslim world, but what ...By Michael JW StickingsWhat Obama understands is that the Muslim world needs more science, that it needs to be reminded of its own glorious scientific past and encouraged to free itself from its own self-imposed bondage. ... It did those things by pursuing solid goals of exploration of space, which is why Congress funds the agency. Those esteem-boosters came as a secondary result of actual achievement, not as an end in itself. The Obama administration wants to turn this over onto its head by ...The Reaction - http://the-reaction.blogspot.com/

The Reaction: NASA aims to reach out to Muslim world, but what ...NASA aims to reach out to Muslim world, but what about space exploration? In a far-reaching restatement of goals for the nation's space agency, NASA administrator Charles Bolden says President Obama has ordered him to pursue three new objectives: ... NASA has always inspired children and even bolstered international relations, but not because that was its mission. it did those things by pursuing solid goals of exploration of space, which is why Congress funds the agency. ...Digital Camcorder Reviews - http://www.digitalcamcorderreviews.us/

Former NASA chief: Muslim outreach is 'perversion' of NASA's ...By Byron YorkMichael Griffin, who headed NASA during the last four years of the Bush administration, says the space agency's new goal to improve relations with the Islamic world and boost Muslim self-esteem is. ... As for NASA's core mission of space exploration, Griffin points out that it has been reaffirmed many times over the years, most recently in 2005, when a Republican Congress passed authorizing legislation, and in 2008, when a Democratic Congress did the same thing. ...Beltway Confidential - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rss/?section=%2Fopinion%2Fblogs%2Fbeltway-confidential%2F

“People of the Muslim World … We come in peace!”By sodumI'm not sure sending the head of NASA, which is funded by Congress using taxpayer dollars, to continue the Obama Apology Tour, and turning NASA into a bureaucracy dedicated to Muslim's self-esteem, instead of exploration of space, ...Ajarn Forum - Teaching and Living... - http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/

Is It NASA's Job to Make Muslim Nations 'Feel Good'? - Elliott ...By webmaster@nationalreview.com (NRO Staff)Is It NASA's Job to Make Muslim Nations 'Feel Good'? [Elliott Abrams]. In the spring of 1961, President Kennedy spoke to Congress about his desire to “win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny. ...The Corner on National Review Online - http://corner.nationalreview.com/
Web

World Muslim Congress: FOX TV, Sean Hannity and... - Wingnuts ...World Muslim Congress: FOX TV, Sean Hannity and Mike Ghouse about ...friendfeed.com/.../world-muslim-congress-fox-tv-sean-hannity...


World Muslim Congress: FOX TV, Sean Hannity and Mike Ghouse about ...I am preparing a few talking points and request you to give me short sentences and phrases to talk about this tonight Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at Sean Hannity ...www.politicalwind.net/comments/5964716

News Charles Bolden : World Muslim Congress: Fox Tv, Sean Hannity ...News Charles Bolden latest updates : I am preparing a few talking points and request you to give me short sentences and phrases to talk about this tonight ...www.bibirussell.com/2010-07-06-news-charles-bolden/

Muslims condemn Blasphemy attack in Kerala

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/muslims-condemn-blasphemy-attack-in.html

Evil continues to thrive, when good people do nothing about it. Our role as Muslims is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill and work towards building social cohesion, so all the humanity can co-exist in harmony.

The Muslims in India have taken the right action and the story is appended here below.

We condemn the barbaric acts of these men without any reservation.

As Muslims we render our apology to T. J. Joseph and his family and condemn this act of arrogance.

We urge the Muslims in Enarkulam district to help find these criminals and ask them to apologize and restore the damages and pay the medical expenses of the professor.We hope they make a point to pray for goodwill in the Juma prayers.

Prophet Muhammad has taught us to pray for the goodwill of the people when one is harassed. It is our responsibility to extinguish this spark before gaining any more momentum and bring peace to the communities in the area.

Jazak Allah Khair
Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.org/

~~~~
http://beta.milligazette.com/news/3-muslim-leaders-condemn-the-attack-on-kerala-academician

Press Statements
Muslim leaders condemn the attack on Kerala academician
Press Statement: They have clearly sinned and defamed Islam by committing this crime which we condemn without reservations

The Milli Gazette
Published Online: Jul 05, 2010

New Delhi (5 July 2010): We strongly condemn yesterday's violent attack and chopping off of the hand of Mr T. J. Joseph, a lecturer in Ernakulam District of Kerala by some miscreants on the pretext of taking revenge for Joseph's act of blasphemy.

We feel that law was taking its due course against the said lecturer for his misdeed and he was already suspended from his college for a year due to his insult to the Prophet of Islam by replacing the word "madman" in a quote with that of "Muhammad" while preparing an exam paper for the students of his college.

Those who attacked Joseph forgot that the Prophet of Islam, upon whom be peace, in his own life had pardoned a Jewess who used to throw garbage on him and when she did not do so one day, the Prophet enquired about her and upon being told that she is ill, went to wish her early recovery and good health. The Prophet forgave the people of Mecca after its conquest although they had pained him, expelled him from his hometown and had waged war against him for years. We find that the attack on the Kerala lecturer is against the basic tenets of Islam and the Sunnah of the Prophet which emphasis on forgiveness. Islam explicitly forbids taking law and order into one's hands in the presence of competent authorities to deal with an issue.

We hope that law will take its due course to punish the criminals who attacked the professor. They have clearly sinned and defamed Islam by committing this crime which we condemn without reservations.

Dr. Manzoor Alam,
Secretary General, All India Milli Council

Mohammad Jafar,
Naib Ameer, Jamaat e Islami Hind & Acting President, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat

Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan
Former President, All India Muslim Majlis e Mushawarat & Editor, The Milli Gazette

Niaz Farouqui
Secretary, Jamiat Ulama e Hind

Navaid Hamid
General Secretary, Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians (MOEMIN) & Member, National Integration Council

Alleging blasphemy, fanatics hack lecturer's hand
Ananthakrishnan G, TNN, Jul 5, 2010, 01.43am IST


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a horrific instance of Talibanism, Muslim fanatics in Kerala on Sunday chopped off the right hand of a college lecturer, accusing him of setting a question paper with a derogatory reference to the Prophet.

Lecturer T J Joseph was returning home from church with his mother and sister around 8.30 am in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district when he was accosted by the attackers. "We had just got into our car when a van pulled up in front. Around eight people armed with swords and knives emerged and pulled out Joseph after smashing the windscreen.
They then chopped off his right hand and stabbed him in the left thigh," said Joseph's sister, Mary Stella, a nun.

"When we tried to prevent them, they attacked me and and our mother before exploding bombs and fleeing."

A police team recovered the severed hand from the compound of a house about 200m away. The 52-year-old lecturer was rushed to a private hospital where his condition is serious.

Police recovered the van in which the fanatics reached the scene. Two men, said to be activists of the Popular Front, a new incarnation of the hardline National Democratic Front, have also been taken into custody. Special police squads are searching sensitive areas in and around the town. "Personnel from this district and neighbouring places are working as a team and we'll nab the assailants soon," said IG B Sandhya.

In March this year, Islamic outfits had carried out protests against Joseph, who was a lecturer in the church-run Newman college in Thodupuzha in Idukki district over a portion in the Malayalam question paper for an internal examination for BCom students. They claimed that the question paper insulted the Prophet. The college later suspended Joseph who had set the questions and a criminal case was registered against him. The case is pending trial.

Reacting to the incident, state home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters in New Delhi that the police would probe if any communal or terrorist outfit was involved. The BJP alleged that the home department could not evade responsibility for the growth of terror outfits in Kerala. "This is a direct consequence of the soft attitude adopted by the Left and Congress towards terrorist outfits," said BJP state chief V Muraleedharan.

Sulha Joint prayers by Jews and Muslims

'Sulha' Prayer at Abraham's Tomb in Hebron
www.youtube.com

A group of Jews and Muslims came to pray together for 'sulha' (reconciliation) at the Tomb of Abraham in Hebron. It's also called Ma'arat Hamakhpela or Haram il-Ibrahimiya. The soldiers couldn't believe to see it--Jews and Muslim coming here to pray...together? This is... the final scene in the film...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf61OV2joDY&feature=player_embedded

There is more good on the earth than otherwise, let us share and propogate in the same proportion 99:1

I have been sharing good stories of co-existence and please continue to add, we need more of this.

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse

Sharia Laws in America

The article is pending publication with a national newspaper...
Then it will be published here with their link.

We can retain the private Sharia and let go of the public Sharia, the civil laws of our nation provide ample justice and we don't need a duplicate system. It was never considered divine to begin with; hence there is no need to hang on to it.

As a Muslim I stand against Sharia for public consumption and assure the Neocons, the fearful and the gullible ones that we are Americans and the law of the land is our law, there is no substitute for it.

Thoughtful Comments are welcome

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, optimist, educator and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India, Peace and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and is a frequent guest on the media. Mike's work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

A good story on co-existence from Punjab, India

 A good story on religious co-existence from Punjab, India

 

In the past I have posted articles about Muslims managing and maintaining Hindu temples in Bengal or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and Sikh Gurudwara near Baghdad. Hindus are managing and keeping up with Mosques including maintaining the first Mosque in India in Kerala built around 725 AD, good stories abound about people every where. Pakistan has set aside funds to restore the temples there; Malaysia punished the guys who desecrated a Hindu Temple. Good things are happening 99:1 Ratio; we just don't hear them all. How many people know about the good things you have done today?   

 

Dr. Harbans Lal, a Sikh Scholar shared the story of Sikhism, and the beauty and birth of the Sikh tradition germinating from interfaith practice. He told me that the land for the Golden Temple (Sikh's holiest shrines) was granted by a Muslim King, and the foundation stone was laid by a Muslim.... and then most of the Guru Granth Saheb was written by people from every possible faith that existed in India some five centuries ago. That reminds me of my own father who contributed towards building the Hanuman Temple in my Town and funded other temples on the occasion of festivals.

 

In the following article, Joga Singh shares this, "it was just a gesture towards restoring the collective heritage of our village" and I wish every Earthling cares about every religious sanctity, particularly of others with the same sentiments. Joga Singh, you are my hero.

 

Our media focuses on bad things giving the impression that only bad things happen, indeed they do, but statistically insignificant. Watch the Six o Clock news for the full 22 minutes, you see murder, mayhem, arson, fire, rape... that is indeed the fact of the life but only a tiny-weeny speck of the whole truth.  In Dallas Metroplex, we are nearly 4 million people, sadly less than 1/100th of 1% of people (400) are a witness and some are a victim to this tragedy.  Where as the 99.99% of the Dallasite may not even notice it - All of us go to work and get back home, go to schools and back to the nest.

 

When will our Media report Good/Bad news in the same proportion; 99:1?

 

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer and a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and is a frequent guest on the media.  His  work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Across rural Punjab, Sikhs and Hindus are helping restore mosques destroyed during Partition

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265962

 

Punjab: mosque

Shades Of The Old Punjab

Across rural Punjab, Sikhs and Hindus are helping restore mosques destroyed during Partition

Chander Suta Dogra

 

Brothers In Arms

• Around 200 mosques across Punjab have been repaired, rebuilt or built from scratch with the help of Sikhs and Hindus in the last 10 years
• Many destroyed during Partition riots are now being restored by village communities
• In some cases, the Jamaat-e-Islami is involved, but most are unorganised village-level efforts
• It's a reassertion, after decades, of Punjab's unique religious and cultural synthesis

***

The Ghuman family of Sarwarpur, near Ludhiana, cannot understand what the fuss is about. Ever since Sajjan Singh Ghuman, an NRI Sikh living in England, rebuilt a mosque in his native village that was damaged during Partition, the shrine, as well as his family back home, have attracted the curiosity of  outsiders. "We never imagined we would be on a Punjabi TV channel just because my elder brother rebuilt this small mosque for the poor Muslim families of our village. For him, it was just a gesture towards restoring the collective heritage of our village," says Sajjan's brother, Joga Singh, who manages the family's lands in Sarwarpur. Sure. But what Joga and his family, or even  the TV channel, do not know is that the sentiment that inspired his brother's act is being manifested in scores of villages across Punjab, with Sikhs and Hindus joining hands to either rebuild old and damaged mosques or build new ones. Odd? Perhaps. But Punjab, as admirers of its unique religious synthesis say, has always defied stereotypes to do its own thing.

That spirit comes through clearly in the actions of a group of school and college boys from 600-year-old Ajitwal village near Moga. During Partition, when Muslims fled Ajitwal, just as they fled in waves from other parts of Punjab, an ancient village mosque was vandalised. As years passed, someone encroached on its grounds and the place became a village dumping ground. A neem tree on its compound became a hang-out for the village youth. One day, a bunch of boys decided to clear the muck. Within days, the entire village—now made up of Hindus and Sikhs—joined them. Says 20-year-old Laddi: "We were never short of money or material. Anyone who passed this way would contribute in cash or kind. Someone brought five bags of cement, another donated bricks and so on...." This, when there were no permanent Muslim families left in the village. But, once repaired, the mosque began to be used. A few Muslim migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, labourers and petty tradespeople, began praying here. A maulvi from a neighbouring village now comes to conduct Friday namaaz. To the delight of 80-year-old Nachattar Kaur, who was born and brought up here, the sound of the azaan (call to prayer) is being heard again, after decades. "We have always believed in this shrine," she says. "It is a house of God. God bless these boys for restoring the oldest relic of our village."

Muezzin's call: Worshippers at the Dhuri mosque

In Malerkotla, the headquarters of the state unit of Jamaat-e-Islami (Hind), publisher and Jamaat member Ramzan Sayeed, who has also translated the Quran into Punjabi, observes, "It is only in Punjab that Sikhs and Hindus are helping to build masjids with tractors, labour and money." That this should happen at a time when Islamists are being reviled and resisted across the world makes it remarkable; and that it should be happening in a land where the soil is soaked with the blood of Partition, and stories of murder, rape and looting have been passed down the generations, renders it especially significant.

In the months after Partition, some 50,000 mosques across present-day Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were destroyed, burnt or converted into temples and gurudwaras—homes, even. Today, Muslims comprise just 1.5 per cent of Punjab's population, mostly migrant labour from UP and Bihar and some Gujjar families from Jammu and Kashmir who have settled here, in addition to small pockets of Muslims, such as those belonging to Malerkotla, who did not go to Pakistan in 1947.

Not mere mortar and bricks Students of Ajitwal village, near Moga, rebuilt the ancient masjid

However, in the last decade or so, the Jamaat has managed, with extraordinary village-level support, including money and materials, to free and revive about 120 mosques. Scores of others, like the one at Ajitwal, have been revived or rebuilt purely by villagers themselves. Jamaat president Arshad Ali told Outlook, "We consciously involve Sikhs and Hindus whenever we help build a new mosque or repair an old one; and every time, the community's response is overwhelming." He reels off the names of scores of villages where this has happened. One of them, Diwa Gandwan in Fatehgarh Sahib, has only 17 Muslim families, most of them poor labourers. Mohammed Jameel, a farm labourer who lives in the village, told Outlook, "We never imagined we could have a masjid of our own, but we do now. It would not have been possible without the help of the Sikh landlords here, who filled up the low-lying area by bringing us earth in their tractor trollies." The first brick of the mosque was laid by a Sikh priest from Fatehgarh Sahib, who also donated money.

Arshad Ali contrasts this attitude with the one that prevailed when he began working for the Jamaat in Punjab some 30 years ago: "We used to face opposition whenever we tried to assert ourselves. But all that has changed now. Our effort to construct masjids is helping foster religious brotherhood in Punjab." Hassan Mohammed, the imam of the Jama Masjid at Mandi Gobindgarh, recalls that last year, when he tried to mobilise Muslims of Jhampur village to rebuild their village mosque, they were afraid of even the suggestion. He then approached the sarpanch, a Jat Sikh, who immediately got a few boys to clear the overgrown area. Other villagers chipped in with contributions in cash and kind and, soon, what was once a crumbling ruin became a vibrant place of worship. Such stories abound in rural Punjab today.

There are no clear-cut answers for why this is happening. It helps, clearly, that Muslims are only a tiny, largely poor, community here, no threat to anyone, and that sympathy for the underdog is a distinctive Punjabi—especially Jat Sikh—trait. But that's only a partial explanation, as is the other obvious one—that this is a manifestation of collective guilt over the atrocities committed by Sikhs and Hindus against Muslims during Partition.

Guilt could be a factor, acknowledges Sikh historian and writer Prof Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, "There is no doubt," he says, "that the atrocities of Partition are a blot on the history of the Sikhs. We, as a martial race, are not supposed to attack the weak and unarmed, but it happened, and ever since then, there has been remorse." He recalls how a few years before his death, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, long-time president of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), confessed that he too had killed a Muslim during the Partition riots and felt haunted by his act. Possibly to atone for the act, Tohra constructed a mosque in his native village and laid its first brick with his own hands.

On the other hand, much of the present effort to revive mosques is coming from a generation that does not have the blood of Partition on its hands; one that has witnessed and endured, rather, the violent Sikh separatism during the '80s. That's why Pramod Kumar, director of the Chandigarh-based Institute of Development and Communications, feels this is "the collective reassertion of Punjab's unique cultural synthesis" and "an attempt to build a secular Punjabi identity, as opposed to a communal identity or religious one".

But predictably, radical Sikh scholar, Prof Gurtej Singh, takes a different line: "This is an instinctive manifestation of the Sikh's disillusionment with a Hindu-dominated Indian state that has done all it can to obliterate Sikh identity. During Partition, we were made to believe that Muslims were our enemies and we massacred them in large numbers. We have now realised that not Muslims, but Hindu-dominated parties like the BJP are the real threat to our identity." Pointing out that Sikhs and Muslims have gradually come to value each other, he relates an anecdote about Shia Muslims recently discovering how Sikhs protected one of their shrines in Samana in Punjab, and how they are returning the gesture by helping Sikhs build gurudwaras in the Gulf. He also lauds Pakistan for enacting a Sikh Marriage Act which he helped draft, whereas India is yet to do so. "These things," he says, "accumulate in the popular psyche, and manifest themselves in various ways".

Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims at the mosque site

But try telling 67-year-old Kesar Singh or 24-year-old Kamal Vohra that this is only a story of Sikh-Muslim bhaichara. Kesar, a Jat Sikh farmer from Ratia, some 15 km from Dhuri, a Hindu-dominated town in Sangrur district, and Kamal, a Hindu whose family migrated from Sialkot in Pakistan, have slogged shoulder to shoulder for days to rebuild Dhuri's lone mosque. Kesar admits to a special bond with the mosque, which he visits every week, along with 20 other Sikhs of Ratia, for Friday namaaz. "The old imam has been my friend for the last 50 years and I enjoy his liberal interpretation of the Quran," says he. But when the old mosque was demolished to make a bigger structure, it wasn't just Sikhs but the entire Hindu mohalla that helped dig the foundations. Hindus and Sikhs from nearby villages, too, contributed with hefty donations. As always, Punjab never fails to surprise.

Burqa Ban – Hannity, Gabrielle and Ghouse on Fox TV

On Hannity Show June 29, 2010

Mike Ghouse live from Nashville, Tennessee. Of course we could not get all the talking points in to the show, but you can read it.Let's do some serious critical thinking. French commies now want to tell their people what they eat, believe, pray and WEAR? How dumb!

On you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnnGQB9tPyg

Click to continue: http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/burqa-ban-hannity-gabrielle-and-ghouse.html

Mike's profile

Britain's May ban radical preacher Zakir Naik

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/06/britains-may-ban-radical-preacher-zakir.html

My original comments along with Tarek and Javed’s comments and the original article are included below:

Khalid Faridi, Thanks for sharing your opinion on the subject and I am responding to your comment that follows my comments.

Your statement,“ After all, who is more evildoer than the UK and US governments ever since.”

Perhaps your frustration is legitimate that UK and US have not banned insane men preaching hate in the name of Christianity or Judaism and why pick Islam.

Nations are not the evil doers, nor are religions, it always stems from an individual and it is shame that democracies allow that. There should not be any curb on freedom of speech, however if a speech incites people, disturbs the peace of the nation, it amounts to emotional terrorizing and must be punished or banned.

“Those who abhor him do so out of jealousy.” Khalid, please substantiate that.

“But when self proclaimed moderates jump on he bandwagon it is sad.” Again Khalid, perhaps you did not get a chance to read my comments, Here are a few from my earlier postings;

“If in fact Dr. Naik has said this non-sense” and, “I will apologize profusely, if Dr. Naik has not said that.”

“Why Tarek or Mike don't question these media”

We do that all the times, in another incident, I have said to Pam Geller on ABC radio, “that she has cooked this up” “We need to tell the truth to the American and not your BS versions”… and a whole lot more. There are over 28,000 comments on it, most of them are fine, but there are several hate mongers on it.

There are worse hate mongers that Naik out there (if he has said that).

“Tarek what do we need to do with the # 1 hate mongers in the world, these guys are actually dangerous. John Hagee, Billy Graham Jr, Pat Robertson, Alan Dershowitz and several more, they are in every religion, we can take care of ourselves, but what about these enemies of humanity?”

I have a whole blog http://hatesermons.blogspot.com/
on hate sermons where I have condemned the idiots who represent Judaism and Christianity, here are a few titles:

HAGEES HATE SERMONS ON PBS
Hate talks coming out of synagogues
The real Pat Robertson
Free to criticize religions but not with hate
Praying for Obama's death
Neocons of the World
Nonie Darwish; a hate monger
Arlington Library bans hate group
Muslims in America not for domination
Muslim Response to Lies about Qur'aan
Jewish-Muslim dialogue, a necessity
John Hagee's hate pit
Rod Parsley a McCain Ally
Hate Sermons from Pulpit

Let Tarek speak for himself, on my part, any one who does incites hate or speaks from the pulpit, be it in the name of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism or other religions, I will speak out against it… and the right wingers among them will continue to target me. Thanks Allah for giving me the freedom to endure the nasty ugly attacks on me. I spare no one.

As far as Zakir Naik goes, it is important that we are critical of our own, that gives us credibility to be critical of others. Aren't the Jewish people accused of not being critical of their own radicals?

If you wish to comment, please do so after reading other comments at: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/06/britains-may-ban-radical-preacher-zakir.html#comments

Mike Ghouse
To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker
one who mitigates conflicts and nurtures goodwill.
-------------------------------------------------

Salam,

It is not him but the fact that truth hurts and it hurts the evildoers more. After all, who is more evildoer than the UK and US governemtns ever since.

Most muslims who adore zakir do so because he stands like a beacon among apologists.

Those who abhor him do so out of jealousy. He is not an internet scholar, nor a paper's. He is alive, kicking and is doing what he can, best.

It is a tragedy that muslims scholars, internet or otherwise, seldom give due recognition to scholars who are doing what they ought to do as long as they are alive. Ironical but true.

People like Tarek quote media as gospel truth. there isn't any point arguing with them. But when self proclaimed moderates jump on he bandwagon it is sad.

Why should a muslim believe what CNN, BBC or Daniel say? Why Tarek or Mike don't question these media and instead point there guns to everyone whop doesn't agree with them?

Wassalaam
Khalid Faridi
------------------------------------------------------

AA,

Javed,

I am glad you wrote this, it has room for more accomodation, "It will be better
if Muslims stop the practice of condemning Jews as a whole and instead run their
campaign against Zionism. Strategically too it is important, as it will weaken
the support of Zionists among Jews."

Here is my commentary on the topic:

Zionism in its simplest form is the desire of the Jews in diaspora to live in
their home land, indeed, that is the desire of most people; to be at home where
they feel secure. Zionism encapsulates the dream of the Jewish people to have a
homeland; it is an idea of life for the people. The Word Zionism conjures up
different images to different people, we have to accept that bad elements are in
every group, whether Zionism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism or others, we cannot
brand the whole group for the acts of few, this amounts to stereotyping and it
is wholesale prejudice.

Islamist is a bad word to lump all Muslims, or Hindutva is a bad word to lump
all Hindus, we cannot lump all Zionists as a bad people for the acts of a few.
As a Muslim and as a Pluralist, I will do my part to keep people from
stereotyping others, however, we all (people of all faiths) need to join and do
a combined education. No Muslim should smile when some one is bashing Judaism,
no Jew should gloat if some one is bashing Muslims, or Hinduism or Christianity,
that is downright stupid and not religious at all.

The word Zionism word will be used to describe the dreams of Jewish people and
to describe the extremists among them, we have the right word; Neocon Jews.

Zionist no more; they will be called Neocon- Jews or Neocon-Zionists

What Mr. Katz said may be irrelevant, as the word Yahud has been in use at least
from the times of Islam and that was 6th century.

Zionism is not going to go away, the Neocon-Jews are screwing up things and that
increases anti-semitism, and the makes them dig in their heels.

We have to find solutions for co-existence. The old methods of you or me, does
not work, it has to be us.

Mike Ghouse

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

Mike

AA

I do not want to comment on what Dr Zakir Naik has in fact said because he is often quoted out of context. I do disagree with him on some issues, but I think he is generally advocating Islam as a religion of Peace (Islamic meaning of peace and not the distorted meaning held by the forces of globalization.) and is in normally giving emphasis on similarity between Islam and other religions. What he said regarding the concept of feminism in West is largely true. However, I will like to make a few comments regarding the position of Jews in Qur’an and in the minds of Muslims. Owing mainly to Israel’s tyrannical attitude towards Palestinians, Muslims have developed hatred for “Jews” and it is this hatred that has led many Muslim writers and thinkers to single out Jews for all that is bad in the current world. I have disagreement on this for various reasons:

First, I believe that it is not “Jews” or “Christians” but the forces of economics of the current world (whose majority happens to belong to the two communities) that are mainly responsible for the evils of the world, but this has nothing to do with their religions. They are in fact economic fundamentalists who have done everything to minimize the influence of religion;

Secondly, if the kings and rulers are determined on the basis of the community they belong to, “Christians” are certainly the bigger culprits than Jews. British, French and other Imperialists were all Christians. But I will stress again that they were Christians by birth only and their actions had little to do with their religious beliefs though Christian missionaries indirectly benefited from them.

Third, the main reason behind the position taken by Islamic experts is that they have failed to understand the difference that Qur’an makes between “Yahud” (Jews) and “Children of Israel”. If we closely scrutinize the two in Qur’an, it is not difficult to understand that Qur’an describes the religious community (as a whole) that we know as “Jews” today as “Children of Israel” and praises as well as criticizes them for what they have done in the past. But Qur’an exhorts Muslims to develop social contacts with them. “Yahud” in Quran refers to a segment of “banu Israel” that has adopted extremist, treacherous and violent ways against Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon both). So, generalized condemnation of “Jews” in Qur’an does not relate to Jew community of today.

It is interesting to quote here from an article by Joseph Katz:

“The term "Israel" or "Children of Israel" refers to the twelve sons of Jacob and their descendants. Jews almost never referred to themselves collectively as "Jews" until after the 13th century. In the Bible, Prayer Book and Talmud they call themselves "Children of Israel", "Children of Jacob", "Israel", etc. but never "Jews". The word "Jews" derives from the Roman term "Judea" which described roughly the area allocated to the tribe of Judah including Jerusalem. More specifically it refers to the militant zealots who fought against Rome. According to Josephus, these zealots belonged to a Temple Cult at odds with the Rabbinical Jewish authorities, and a portion of which were Idumean converts to Judaism. In this sense the "Jews" or more properly "Judeans" meant militants. New Testament references to "Jews" follow this pattern, for example Jesus was labeled as "King of the Jews", i.e. "King of the militants", not "King of Israel". After the Islamic conquest "Children of Israel" came to imply the Jewish people who kept the Divinely given commandments, and the "Jews" as those who abandoned or rejected them. Borrowing from European anti-Semitic literature, modern Islamists have stressed only the latter stereotype of evil "Jews".”

It will be better if Muslims stop the practice of condemning Jews as a whole and instead run their campaign against Zionism. Strategically too it is important, as it will weaken the support of Zionists among Jews.

Dr Javed Jamil
--------------------------------------------------------

Tarek,

Thanks for sharing this critical information, I have been swamped with things to do, but this one got me going. We have to find the truth, that is our responsibility.

1) If in fact Dr. Naik has said this non-sense, we condemn it without reservation. “There are many Jews who are good to Muslims, but as a whole … The Koran tells us, as a whole, they will be our staunchest enemy.”

He has a right to free speech, but not malign Islam with non-sense like that. Where the heck did he get his Islam from? Does the man understand Islam means peace? Does he understand that God is not prejudiced? Who wants a God that hates his own creation, he is making God to be a bad guy and not Rahman and Raheem that is on top of every thing we do, he does not get Islam right. The overwhelming majority of Muslims show respect all religions as the Prophet did, but I know I will be rebuked by a few right winger Muslims, so be it, I will not let any idiot make my faith, and the universal God to be reduced to a God who tells bad things about his own creation? That is not Islam he is preaching.

I will apologize profusely, if Dr. Naik has not said that. I know a few Muslims wrongfully believe in that non-sense; because some of the Muslim scholars in the past have interpreted Quraan in that way, thank God Quraan is beautiful and needs to be understood from the very first line of Quraan.

His statement about terrorist is goofy, but harmless if you understand what he was trying to say.

Tarek what do we need to do with the # 1 hate mongers in the world, these guys are actually dangerous. John Hagee, Billy Graham Jr, Pat Robertson, Alan Dershowitz and several more, they are in every religion, we can take care of ourselves, but what about these enemies of humanity?.

Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress
-------------------------------------------------------

In a message dated 6/18/2010 8:02:56 A.M. Central Daylight Time, tarekfatah@rogers.com writes:


Friends,

Zakir Naik is an Indian Islamist firebrand who has preached hatred towards non-Muslims and who is on record of saying, "Every Muslim should be a terrorist." This jihadi televangelist was to speak in Britain to tens of thousands of radical Islamists, but he has now been banned from entering the UK.

With a trip to London now out of question, what does good old Zakir Naik do? He gets invited to a Toronto Islamic Conference where is touted to be the "featured speaker" on July 2, 2010, at Toronto's Metro Convention Centre. Here is the link:http://journeyconference.com/

Who says we Canadians are not suckers for punishment. Will we welcome this hate-monger or will our government do the right thing and tell this ugly preacher to take his hate somewhere else? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, read and reflect.

Tarek
----------

June 18, 2010
Britain's Home secretary Theresa May bans radical preacher Zakir Naik from entering UK

Radical preacher claimed “every Muslim should be a terrorist”

By Christopher Hope
The Telegraph, UK

In her first major test of being tough on extremism, Theresa May, the new Home Secretary, said she was banning Zakir Naik from entering the UK. Dr Naik, a 44-year-old Indian televangelist, had been due to give a series of lectures at arenas in Wembley Arena and Sheffield.

The Home Secretary can exclude or deport an individual if she thinks that their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.

There had been speculation that Dr Naik would be allowed into the UK. However Mrs May said she was excluding him because of the “numerous comments” he made were evidence of his “unacceptable behaviour”.

This behaviour applies to anyone who writes or publishes material which can “foment justify or glorify terrorist violence” or “seek to provoke others to terrorist acts”.

Mrs May told The Daily Telegraph: “I have excluded Dr Naik from the UK. Numerous comments made by Dr Naik are evidence to me of his unacceptable behaviour.

“Coming to the UK is a privilege not a right and I am not wiling to allow those who might not be conducive to the public good to enter the UK. Exclusion powers are very serious and no decision is taken lightly or as a method of stopping open debate on issues.”

Home Office sources said Dr Naik had been filmed on a website making inflammatory comments such as “every Muslim should be a terrorist”.

He said: “When a robber sees a policeman he’s terrified. So for a robber, a policeman is a terrorist. So in this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the robber.”

He has also been filmed saying: “There are many Jews who are good to Muslims, but as a whole … The Koran tells us, as a whole, they will be our staunchest enemy.”

In a web posting from 2006 he said: “Beware of Muslims saying Osama Bin Laden is right or wrong. I reject them … we don’t know.

“But if you ask my view, if given the truth, if he is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him. I don’t know what he’s doing. I’m not in touch with him. I don’t know him personally. I read the newspaper. “If he is terrorising the terrorists, if he is terrorising America the terrorist, the biggest terrorist, every Muslim should be a terrorist.”

He is also reported to have said suggested that western women make themselves “more susceptible to rape” by wearing revealing clothing.

He reportedly said: “Western society has actually degraded [women] to the status of concubines, mistresses and social butterflies, who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketeers”

Last night Patrick Mercer MP, the former chairman of the Commons counter-terrorism committee, said: “This is really good news. It shows that firm Government action can be taken against people. "This is exactly the sort of man who we want to exclude from this country.”

Dr Naik has been named as the third most popular spiritual guru in India and was judged in 2009 to be 82nd in a list of India’s most powerful people.=

Added later:

The Trouble with Dr. Zakir Naik – Britain’s decision to bar an influential Muslim cleric from entering the country underscores the failure of Indian secularism. OPINION INDIAJUNE 20, 2010

By SADANAND DHUME

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704365204575317833268479268.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hps_sections_opinion

If you’re looking for a snapshot of India’s hapless response to radical Islam, then look no further than Bombay-based cleric Dr. Zakir Naik. In India, the 44-year-old Dr. Naik—a medical doctor by training and a televangelist by vocation—is a widely respected figure, feted by newspapers and gushed over by television anchors. The British, however, want no part of him. On Friday, the newly elected Conservative-led government announced that it would not allow Dr. Naik to enter Britain to deliver a series of lectures. According to Home Secretary Theresa May, the televangelist has made “numerous comments” that are evidence of his “unacceptable behavior.”

The good doctor’s views run the gamut from nutty to vile, so it’s hard to pinpoint which of them has landed him in trouble. For instance, though Dr. Naik has condemned terrorism, at times he also appears to condone it. “If he [Osama bin Laden] is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him,” he said in a widely watched 2007 YouTube diatribe. “If he is terrorizing the terrorists, if he is terrorizing America the terrorist, the biggest terrorist, I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist.”

Dr. Naik recommends the death penalty for homosexuals and for apostasy from the faith, which he likens to wartime treason. He calls for India to be ruled by the medieval tenets of Shariah law. He supports a ban on the construction of non-Muslim places of worship in Muslim lands and the Taliban’s bombing of the Bamiyan Buddhas. He says revealing clothes make Western women “more susceptible to rape.” Not surprisingly, Dr. Naik believes that Jews “control America” and are the “strongest in enmity to Muslims.”


Of course, every faith has its share of cranks; and, arguably, India has more than its share. But it’s impossible to relegate Dr. Naik to Indian Islam’s fringe. Earlier this year, the Indian Express listed him as the country’s 89th most powerful person, ahead of Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen, eminent lawyer and former attorney general Soli Sorabjee, and former Indian Premier League cricket commissioner Lalit Modi. Dr. Naik’s satellite TV channel, Peace TV, claims a global viewership of up to 50 million people in 125 countries. On YouTube, a search for Dr. Naik turns up more than 36,000 hits.

Nobody accuses Dr. Naik of direct involvement in terrorism, but those reportedly drawn to his message include Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-American arrested last year for planning suicide attacks on the New York subway; Rahil Sheikh, accused of involvement in a series of train bombings in Bombay in 2006; and Kafeel Ahmed, the Bangalore man fatally injured in a failed suicide attack on Glasgow airport in 2007.

Nonetheless, when the doctor appears on a mainstream Indian news channel, his interviewers tend to be deferential. Senior journalist and presenter Shekhar Gupta breathlessly introduced his guest last year as a “rock star of televangelism” who teaches “modern Islam” and “his own interpretation of all the faiths around the world.” A handful of journalists—among them Praveen Swami of the Hindu, and the grand old man of Indian letters, Khushwant Singh—have questioned Dr. Naik’s views, but most take his carefully crafted image of moderation at face value.

At first glance, it’s easy to understand why. Unlike the foaming mullah of caricature, Dr. Naik eschews traditional clothing for a suit and tie. His background as a doctor and his often gentle demeanor set him apart, as does his preaching in English. Unlike traditional clerics, Dr. Naik quotes freely from non-Muslim scripture, including the Bible and the Vedas. (You have to pay attention to realize that invariably this is either to disparage other faiths, or to interpret them in line with his version of Islam.) The depth of Dr. Naik’s learning is easily apparent.

But this doesn’t fully explain Dr. Naik’s escape from criticism. It helps that Indians appear to have trouble distinguishing between free speech and hate speech. In a Western democracy, demanding the murder of homosexuals and the second-class treatment of non-Muslims would likely attract public censure or a law suit. In India, it goes unchallenged as long as it has a religious imprimatur. However, create a book or a painting that ruffles religious sentiment, as the writer Taslima Nasreen and the painter M. F. Husain both discovered, and either the government or a mob of pious vigilantes will strive to muzzle you.

In general, India accords extra deference to allegedly holy men of all stripes unlike, say, France, which strives to keep religion out of the public square. Taxpayers subsidize the Haj pilgrimage for pious Muslims and a similar, albeit much less expensive, journey for Hindus to a sacred lake in Tibet. This reflexive deference effectively grants the likes of Dr. Naik—along with all manner of Hindu and Christian charlatans—protection against the kind of robust scrutiny he would face in most other democracies.

Finally, unlike Hindu bigots, such as the World Hindu Council’s Praveen Togadia, whose fiercest critics tend to be fellow Hindus, radical Muslims go largely unchallenged. The vast majority of Indian Muslims remain moderate, but their leaders are often fundamentalists and the community has done a poor job of policing its own ranks. Moreover, most of India’s purportedly secular intelligentsia remains loath to criticize Islam, even in its most radical form, lest this be interpreted as sympathy for Hindu nationalism.

Unless this changes, unless Indians find the ability to criticize a radical Islamic preacher such as Dr. Naik as robustly as they would his Hindu equivalent, the idea of Indian secularism will remain deeply flawed.

Mr. Dhume, a columnist for WSJ.com, is writing a book on the new Indian middle class.

Happy Fathers, Daughters and Sons day

Of course every day is father’s day, but once you have your own nucleus of a family, father’s day becomes special. My father was very special to me and I am blessed with his infinite affection to last for my life time, and I deeply feel for those who did not have one.

There are many of us out there who grew up without a father, or if we had one, he was not there for us. I feel the pain and incompleteness one feels and I extend that fatherly affection to you, even if you don’t know me, I hope you feel the energy, I am with you. You are welcome to call me to chat for a few moments. This father’s day belongs to my kids and you; you could be of any age.

God (causer/creator/she/it) has programmed us to be adaptable, what we miss in a father, we may find in a Mother, an older brother, uncle or a friend. My heart goes out to those of you who have had an abusive father, and I want you to know that God may have appeared to be cruel to you at times, but you endured it and your rewards with the lord would be bountiful, spiritually you are ahead of most of us. Indeed, you are truly blessed by God to experience the pain just as Jesus had endured it for the humanity.

Continued: http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/happy-fathers-daughters-and-sons-day.html

Fatima Zahra: The Mother of her Father

The prophet had mentioned to look up to three women as role models ( OK may be five), Mary, Asiya and Fatima. All the three played leadership roles defying the prevalent norms of the society, leaders set the tone for the others to follow. I believe, articles like these help the kind of womanship we need to encourage and look up to.

Mike Ghouse
~~~~~~~~~~

Fatima Zahra: The Mother of her Father- By Arif M Khan ( Courtesy- Sunday Guardian )

June 13, 2010

Sometime around AD 616, a man was offering his prayers at the house of God in Makka. Close to him were sitting some leading persons of Makkan aristocracy. They were angrily discussing how the teachings of this man have impacted their underclass particularly slaves, who were now asserting their human rights and posing a serious threat to the Makkan establishment.

The aristocrats decided to insult and humiliate the preacher. One of them procured abdominal remains of a slaughtered camel and placed it between the shoulders of the devotee when he went down in prostration. Among the onlookers there were some who resented persecution but they were in no position to protest against the rich and powerful. They stood there as helpless spectators while the tormentors laughed and made fun of the preacher.

But not long before, a young girl appeared on the scene, severely rebuked the tormentors and removed the intestines from the back of the preacher. The preacher was none other than Prophet Mohammed and the young girl was his daughter Fatima. The history says that for next six years till his migration to Medina, Fatima followed her father like a shadow and bravely protected him against the heartless persecutors. During the time when Makkans had imposed a ban on the prophet and his family, Fatima is singled out as having endured the hard times with great dignity and patience.

Fatima is portrayed by history as a young girl moving by her father through the streets of Makka, braving hatred, taunts, mockery and contempt. Whenever the father was overwhelmed by the adversaries, she threw herself upon him as a protective shield. With her beautiful small hands, she cleaned the garbage they threw upon him and nursed the wounds they inflicted on him. She comforted him with her affectionate words and brought him back to the safe environs of their home.

The relationship between the doting father and protecting daughter has become a legend in Islamic history. The enthusiasm and zeal of the daughter earned for her the title of “Mother of her father” (Umm Abiha). It is for these reasons that the Islamic tradition holds her up as a model of suffering, patience, generosity, wisdom and valiant heroism finally culminating in martyrdom.

A study of the life of Fatima establishes one fact beyond any doubt that her ethical and moral purity posed no obstacle in the performance of what she perceived to be her social responsibilities. If she fiercely protected her father in Makka, in Medina she stood for her husband, who was sidelined after the death of holy Prophet. This was at a time when many people gathered in her house to console and comfort the bereaved daughter.

The new political establishment in Medina viewed these gatherings with suspicion. Maulana Shibli in his book ‘Umar Farooq’ has quoted from a historical report saying that at one point Hadrat Umar standing at the gate of Fatima’s house threatened: “O daughter of Prophet, we love you more than others but if these gatherings continue then I shall set fire and burn your house”. The men inside felt apprehensive but Fatima was undeterred, she came to the door and by sheer force of her eloquence made the threatening group retreat in haste.

Fatima received another blow when she was denied her legacy and the grazing land of the Fadak was confiscated. Her husband withdrew from public arena to devote himself to academics, but she refused to give up. She publicly pursued her cause and made sharp criticism of the new rulers. She lived only six months after the death of her father and told her husband to bury her during the night to ensure that her funeral is not attended by people who made her unhappy.

Such was the first daughter of Islam, Fatima Zahra, who played important public role and spent all her life protecting her father and defending her husband. Now compare this with Deoband fatwas which seek to reduce Muslim daughters into dumb dolls by imposing veil and secluded life. If Fatima was product of Islamic teachings then these fatwas surely lack in religious merit and substance.

(Arif M Khan is former Union Minister)

RE: MuslimAgenda :: -"Muslim Reformers in Iran and Turkey: The Paradox of Moderation"

Dear All:

I was present in Melbourne, Australia during the Parliament of World Religions Conference. I must say in all honesty that what Mike Ghouse presented was magnificient research on pluralism and reformers in Islam.

Congratulations for the wonderful work that has been recognised on Global Scale.

Iftekhar Hai, President

UMA Interfaith Alliance

Tel: 650-872-2578 http://www.umaia.net/

-"Muslim Reformers in Iran and Turkey: The Paradox of Moderation"

Staff and students of Islamic  Middle Eastern and the Arab World at large  will   find a recent publication of mine  " Us and Them: Muslim Christian relations and social harmony in Australia" by the Australian Academic Press, of great interest. The publication has been recommended as a  reference to all NSW government schools, and is  being nominated for the Prime Minister's Book Award in 2010.

Several of the chapters contain findings from a DIAC funded national survey conducted in several hundred  SCHOOLS including  Catholic , Anglican, and Muslim.

 

 I have enclosed the table of contents and back cover as a broad guiding statement, below, as your staff may consider using it as a primary reference.

We would value you drawing the attention to them by copying the flyer attached to them,; or directing them to the Australian Academic Press : http://www.australianacademicpress.com.au/Publications/Books/4-921513190.html

or, Melbourne University bookshop link:
http://www.bookshop.unimelb.edu.au/bookshop/p?AU.ata//all

Thanking you.

Abe W Ata (Dr)
Senior Associate Fellow

St Patrick's Campus - Melbourne
Australian Catholic University

Reflections on forgiveness

Dear Rabbi Lerner,

 

 I applaud you for the stand you taken on justice; we have to stand up for Justice to every one of the seven billion of us, it ain't justice if it protects me at the cost of others and most certainly it will have an adverse effect on others.  To have sustainable peace, security and justice for me, I have to make sure others receive the same; I cannot be secure if others around me are not and on the corollary, I cannot have peace when others around me don't.

 

Krishna sums it up very well in Bhagvad Gita; whenever there is adharma (un-righteousness), I will emerge among you and restore the righteousness.  Didn't Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Nanak, Gandhi, MLK and other peace makers do just that? History is replete with the story of social justice; indeed, the sole purpose of peace makers was to bring justice to the society.

 

The fraction of Muslims have caused the world to stereotype Muslims, likewise the fraction of Jews are causing the same. I am glad you are standing up to the extremists amongst Jews and I will continue to stand up against extremists among Muslims.

 

As a society we have to develop educational programs to bring comfort to the extremists among us and help mitigate their imaginary fears.  They can certainly reflect their phobias and imaginary fears, but not ascribe it to their faith.

 

Interfaithing is one of the answers, and it is NOT about uniting religions, it is about hearing each other to remove myths and falsehoods about other faiths and learn to live without fear of the other.

It is in our interest to live freely; it amazes me how a few of us keep living in fears every moment of our lives, and much of the fear is imaginary - like a child being afraid of the boogey man that ain't there.

 

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, optimist and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His work is reflected at 3 websites & 22 Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

 

 

_______________________________________

 

Tikkun  to heal, repair and transform the world  
A note from Rabbi Michael Lerner  Join or Donate Now! 
 

Editor's Note:

 

Every night since the attack on my home by right-wing Zionists, I've been saying a prayer of forgiveness for them. While the political meaning of that act, and of the demeaning of critics of Israel, will be explored more fully in the July/August issue of Tikkun, on the spiritual level it is very important to not let negativity, even terrorism or violence, get the upper hand by bringing us down to the same level of anger or hatred that motivates those who act violently attack  or those who demean and attempt to delegitimate the critics of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

 

If we are to build a world of love, we have to constantly work against the impulse to respond to anger and hatred with our own angry or hateful response. So,  every night,  I work on forgiving those who have assaulted my home, those who publicly demean me or Tikkun or the NSP, and those who spread hatred against the many people in our world who legitimately critique the policies of the State of Israel toward Palestinians.

 

It was in this context that I thought I'd forward you some notes taken by therapist Linda Graham at a recent weekend retreat on Forgiveness conducted by Jack Kornfeld and Fred Luskin. Fred is author of Forgive For Good and Jack is the author of The Art of Forgivenes, Loving Kindness and After the Ecstasy The Laundry (and teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California). Linda Graham who took these notes is a Marriage and Family Therapist in San Francisco--her website is www.lindagraham-mft.com. 

 

--Rabbi Michael Lerner  RabbiLerner@Tikkun.org   www.spiritualprogressives.org

 

P.S. if you haven't signed up for the conference yet, please do so now at www.spiritualprogressives.org/conference.

 

 

 

Reflections on Forgiveness
   
1.  Both Jack and Fred gave many examples of the universality of suffering, injustice, betrayal, both on an international scale, like the multi-generational hostility and strife in the Middle East, in Eastern Europe, in Southeast Asia, in Ireland, in Africa, and on the deeply personal scale of blame-shame-built walls with the parents, partners, children we want to hold nearest and dearest.  We hurt people and are hurt by people because we are people.  Experiences of loss, betrayal, hurt are inevitable when human beings are caught in the human conditions of greed, hatred, ignorance.  There is such poignancy to the struggle when we are caught ourselves in blame, resentment, bitterness.  Our pain becomes encased in neural cement and we're stuck.  Forgiveness practice is a choice we make for ourselves to not perpetuate that suffering.
 
Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.  - Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

2.  Both Jack and Fred agree that forgiveness is a process; it's not a one-shot deal.  It's a daily and lifelong practice to move through layers and layers of hurt and grief and re-open the heart to compassion and kindness.  In this sense, forgiveness is independent of content.  I.e., it doesn't so much matter who did what to you or who; it's our response that is the practice.  Blame-anger-hatred keep us physiologically aroused.  When feel we're still in threat, it's not safe to forgive.
 
Fred said that not forgiving, staying in bitterness, anger, hostility, is like drinking a cup of poison and waiting for the other person to die.  Jack mentioned two prisoners of war being released to return home.  One asked the other, "Have you forgiven our captors?"  "I'll NEVER forgive them!" the second one replied.  "They still have you in prison then, don't they?"
 
The choice is ours, and the responsibility to choose is ours, to create conditions for happiness or bitterness.  Loving kindness and other practices outlined below regulate our bodies back to the open, compassionate state where it is possible to forgive.
 
Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregores revenge, and dares forgive an injury.
            - E. H. Chapin
3.  Jack and Fred offered similar understandings of what forgiveness is: the inner peace and wise perspective that allows us to keep our hearts open in the face of injustice, betrayal, harm.  We are simply poisoning ourselves when we don't.  And what it is not: a bypass of condoning, pardoning, forgetting, false reconciliation, appeasement, sentimentality.  Neither is forgiveness necessarily bringing to complete resolution every individual complaint or grievance, however legitimate.  It's a practice, daily and lifelong, to keep the heart open in the face of trying circumstances.
Forgo your anger for a moment and save yourself a hundred days of trouble.
           - Chinese proverb
4.  Both Jack and Fred anchor forgiveness practice in a deeply felt sense of our own goodness, our own innate capacities for wisdom and love, our Buddha Nature.  (See Exercises below to access this felt sense.)  To remember that we, and all beings, are "nobly born." And that the capacity for kindness is as hardwired into our neural circuitry as the tendencies to contract in pain and suffering.  This helps us bypass our body's adrenalin reactions that fuel our sense of personal threat and drama, and allows us to re-open into a spacious calmness; from there we can forgive.
 
We consciously reflect on (or learn from research) the benefits of cultivating kindness, compassion, gratitude, equanimity in the face of sorrow, hurt, grief to support our forgiveness practice.  All of these pro-social practices are Wise Effort: the path of choosing to end suffering, in all its forms, and to cultivate the wholesome in all its forms.  Even if we don't know how to forgive very well, we have compassion and forgive ourselves for lack of that skill. Forgiveness is the culmination of a long series of practices to open the heart.
 
5.  Then we begin to cultivate a willingness to let go of our personal suffering, our personal drama, our well-rehearsed personal stories and identities of victimhood, our personal complaints and bitterness that create a state of mind and heart where kindness and forgiveness are biologically impossible.  Those neural pathways of contraction and protection are well-established.  It's so easy to go into complaining, criticism, contempt.   We have to be willing to soften that neural cement.  We have to stop adrenalizing to be safe enough to be kind.  We have to set an intention to stop being in contention with the world, to stop projecting our disgruntlement onto the world, to give up resentment, bitterness, entitlement. Not deny our pain, but not to linger  We're not indifferent, but we're not stuck in drama either.   Understanding, compassion, grief, forgiveness are the open-hearted response to a human life's vulnerability to change. The willingness, the intention, re-sets the compass of the heart so we can re-claim our larger self, our larger consciousness, our larger kindness that can open to compassion for ourselves.  These practices put us back on the track of integrity, dignity, and possibility.  There comes an awareness beyond self, and eventually to compassion for others who have acted in misguided or harmful ways.
When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.
          - Catherine Ponder
 
6.  Both Fred and Jack emphasized the necessity of honest grieving over harm experienced as we cultivate this willingness, this intention to practice forgiveness.  The heart needs to feel its legitimate pain before it can be moved to let it go.  Being stuck in blame can create a sense of victimhood, but honest grief work can help the underlying hurt, fear, anger resolve and move through, making the practice of forgiveness digestible and workable.
 
Let the pain be pain, not in the hope that it will vanish but in the faith that it will fit in, find its place in the shape of things, and be then not any less pain but true to form....That's what we're looking for: not the end of a thing but the shape of it.
            - Albert Huffstickler
 
7.  Forgiveness is a process that happens over time, layer by layer.  Start practicing forgiveness where it's easiest - your dog for tearing up the carpet or your child for spilling potato salad all over the kitchen floor.  Yourself for losing your cool in rush hour traffic or forgetting to pay the phone bill on time. Then "broaden and build."  Practice forgiveness in more and more challenging situations or with more and more challenging people where the stakes get higher until you're ready to tackle the "unforgiveable" with courage and care.  Life is full of "forgiveness moments," big and small, where we practice over and over again remaining open-hearted.
 
You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.
- Lewis B. Smedes
 
 
8.  Begin doing a formal forgiveness practice (see Exercises below for Jack's exquisite meditations on forgiving one's self, asking forgiveness from another, offering forgiveness to another.  You can include forgiving life for things not going the way you want them to go, too.)  In the Buddhist monasteries, monks practice forgiveness 300 times until it becomes a natural practice of the heart.  Even if you do forgiveness practice only five minutes a day, do it every day, day after day,  Once a day brings you to 300 times to establish the practice less than a year.  Five minutes three times a day brings you there in a little less than three months.
 
It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed our own.
            - Jessamyn West
 
9.  Include all layers of processing experience in your forgiveness practice. When we feel something in our body, it feels so real to us "it must be true." It can be hard to change that neural reactivity.   Sometimes working in somatic-based trauma therapy is necessary to release bodily-held rage, hostility, defensiveness or collapse into powerlessness.  We do have to stop adrenalizing before we can feel save enough to forgive.
 
Sometimes we have to learn new skills in experiencing and expressing the intense emotions that sometimes erupt as we focus on experiences that need our forgiveness.  We learn to take responsibility for our emotional experience, having compassion for ourselves in moments of  "there I go again."
 
We give up all hope of a better past and patiently, perseveringly re-structure our thoughts and belief systems, especially any lingering feeling like the universe revolves around us in an entitled way, or clinging to an identity as a victim.  Forgiveness practice doesn't re-write history, but it does allow us to re-write our story of our history.  We can re-perceive ourselves as hero rather than victim for all the courage and resiliency it takes to learn and grow enough to forgive.
 
The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.
            - Alden Nowlan
 
10.  Finally, our forgiveness practice shifts our perspectives.   We begin to take things less personally.  We see that my pain is part of the pain of all human beings, universally.  We see that the suffering of every life is held in a larger consciousness that holds all the arising and falling away of all of existence. We begin to trust in something larger than our separate personal lives.  We begin to see that forgiveness practice doesn't necessarily end suffering, but it makes life livable.  We see that forgiveness practice is a tremendous catalyst for growth and healing;  we become a forgiving person.  (Like becoming a loving, compassionate, open-hearted person.)   We claim the undeniable goodness of our life.
 
 
 
 
 
     Poetry and Quotes to Inspire
    
 
Life without forgiveness is unbearable.
            - Jack Kornfield
 
Between a stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space is our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and our freedom.  The last of human freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.
            - Viktor Frankl
 
I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.
            - James Baldwin
 
The person who betrayed you is sunning themselves on a beach in Hawaii and you're knotted up in hatred.  Who is suffering?
- Jack Kornfield.
 
When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future.
            - Bernard Meltzer
 
Forgiveness and reconciliation are not just ethereal, spiritual, other-- worldly activities. They have to do with the real world. They are realpolitik, because in a very real sense, without forgiveness, there is no future.          
            - Desmond Tutu
 
 
For Someone Who Did You Wrong
 
Though its way is to strike
In a dumb rhythm,
Stroke upon stroke,
As though the heart
Were an anvil,
The hurt you sent
Had a mind of its own.
 
Something in you knew
Exactly how to shape it,
To hit the target,
Slipping into the heart
Through some wound-window
Left open since childhood.
 
While it struck outside,
It burrowed inside,
Made tunnels through
Every ground of confidence.
For days, it would lie still
Until a thought would start it.
 
Meanwhile, you forgot,
Went on with things
And never even knew
How that perfect
Shape of hurt
Still continued to work.
 
Now a new kindness
Seems to have entered time
And I can see how that hurt
Has schooled my heart
In a compassion I would
Otherwise have never learned.
 
So