Mission of World Muslim Congress

Preface

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity.

God: The Creator wants nothing more than preserving the universe he created to be in balance and functioning cohesively, Qur'an 55:1-13. Everything in nature is designed to run precisely like the planets and the seasons, however humans were given the freewill to figure out the balance and co-exist in harmony. Indeed, the freewill creates anomalies and conflicts, and it is up to humans to manage and preserve that elusive equilibrium.  The world was created with a formula of 99% to 1% perfection and  anomalies respectively, and that ratio will be there forever. (The % is our personal observation and not an empirical data).

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an ultimate peacemaker, he was divinely inspired to find solutions for peaceful coexistence. Whenever and wherever he saw conflicts, his attitude was conflict mitigation and goodwill nurturence. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/how-i-connect-with-prophet-muhammad_b_2547782.html) Justice and Mercy ran through his veins.

Humans - We  are driven by  Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."

God has deliberately created us into many from one, he knows that creates conflicts and then he says, the best ones are those who take time to know each other, indeed,  knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different points of view.

Qur'an is a book of Guidance for humanity, and it is soaked in universal message of mercy and justice.  Don't look to it as the book of Muslims, it is indeed a self-help manual to build cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. 

Beware of the mistranslations. The Qur'an had been purposely mistranslated down through history. In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Qur'an translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders (1142 AD). Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation (1924)  to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews. It was all for politics. The guys should be hung for messing the world balance. ( In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece).
 

A Quran conference was held in Dallas to clear the air about 60 mistranslated verse and the furor about it at with Pastor Jeffress. www.QuraanConference.com 

Our Mission

Our Mission at 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, for the goodness to sustain.

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.

Our Goals

Our short term goal is to understand different faiths and let the values of Islam be understood as well. We know very little about other faiths just as other know almost nothing about Islam. The idea is to know each other, so we can be good to each other. When we learn about each other myths disappear and solutions emerge.  

Our Long term goal is simply to bring a realization that the purpose of all religions is to bring peace and tranquility to an individual and further create a balanced relationships between the individual, society and the environment. Learning about other faiths need not imply infidelity, but rather the search will enrich one's own faith, it reaffirms the idea that the intent of every faith is to "fix" the individual as an active working and participating spoke in the wheel of life. Most people get it and a few don't.

Muslims are not a monolithic lot, a majority of us are like a majority of any group; minding our own business - taking care of family, raising children, their schooling, job, a home to live and retire comfortable. Its an American dream and it is a Muslim dream.

A few among Muslims and a few among Christians and other faiths are bent on converting people to their faiths. However, most people believe in free will, let people believe what comforts them. Every one is endowed with freedom to eat, drink, wear and believe what is good for him or her in the pursuit of their happiness.

American Muslim Agenda - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/american-muslim-agenda-a-_b_5528706.html

Islam defined

The essence of Islam: Justice for every human being under one Creator (Universe is the only creation we know)

The Qur'aan starts with the word "God of Universe" (not necessarily Muslims) and ends with "Humankind" (and again not Muslims). As such it is understood that God, the cause behind creation of life and matter belongs to all of us. No one owns him (her or it) nor does one group has an exclusive favors over the other. The creator will offer equal opportunities to all and will not sign a deal behind one's back with the other.

Al-Fatiha (The Opening) 1:2 All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, [2] Alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameen

الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (1:2)

An-Nas (The Mankind) 114:1 SAY: "I seek refuge with the Sustainer of men,

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ (114:1

We have a monumental task to repair the World, and we will do our share in working towards a World of co-existence, one person at a time. We are committed, and now help us God do the right thing; where none of your creation has to live in apprehension of fear of the other. Amen.

Good Deeds

Islam teaches one to be non-judgmental, and consistently encourages individuals to do good. It emphasizes about individual responsibility towards the peace and security of society at large.

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) described a good deed as an act which benefits others, such as planting a tree that serves generations of wayfarers with fruit and the shade. The world is a better place today because of a good legacy bequeathed to humanity by people of all faiths that came before us. We owe it to coming generations to leave the world a little better than we found it, to usher an era of justice and peace.

With Prejudice towards none

Almost all Muslims are cognizant and repeat the verse “God is the master of the Day of Judgment, and he alone we worship”. A fully observant Muslim recites this verse anywhere from 17 times to 51 times a day and refrains from judging others, as he or she believes God only can make that call. There is no compulsion in the matters of faith, says  the Qur'aan.Our Jihad, the inner struggle is to resit the temptations to judge others. Most Muslims do, a few don't. 

Al-Fatiha (The Opening) 1:4 Lord of the Day of Judgment!

مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4) 

Individual responsibility

Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:163-164: I ask whether I should seek any god besides God--when he is the Lord of all things. All people will reap the harvest of their own deeds; no one will bear another’s burden. Ultimately, all of you will return to your Lord, and he will resolve your disputes.

There shall be no compulsion in matters of faith, you are not responsible for my beliefs and you  should not be concerned about what I believe. Per Islam, only God has the right to judge my faith and my deeds, and we are told in no uncertain terms that we are individually responsible for our acts on the Day of Judgment (A requisite belief) and no one, not even our Prophet, our siblings, parents, family or friends would have the time or the right to stand up for us, we are responsible and we are all alone.

The society is responsible to contain us from hurting the social fabric through our conduct like lying, stealing, cheating, robbing, hurting, breach of contract, infidelity and other acts that affect others. In the matters of belief,  it will be God who judges.

Al-An'am (The Cattle)

6:163 in whose divinity none has a share: for thus have I been bidden-and I shall [always] be foremost among those who surrender themselves unto Him."

Topics discussed in this Verse:

[Allah:has no partner] [Allah's attributes:Cherisher and Sustainer 

لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (6:163) 

Al-An'am (The Cattle)

6:164 Say: "Am I, then, to seek a sustainer other than God, when He is the Sustainer of all things?" And whatever [wrong] any human being commits rests upon himself alone; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden. [163] And, in time, unto your Sustainer you all must return: and then He will make you. [truly] understand all that on which you were wont to differ. [164]

قُلْ أَغَيْرَ اللّهِ أَبْغِي رَبًّا وَهُوَ رَبُّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَلاَ تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ إِلاَّ عَلَيْهَا وَلاَ تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ثُمَّإِلَى رَبِّكُم مَّرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ (6:164)

Al-An'am (The Cattle)

6:165 For, He it is who has made you inherit the earth, [165] and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you. [166] Verily, thy Sustainer is swift in retribution: yet, behold, He is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

[Allah:raises people to ranks (degrees)] [Allah's attributes:Most Merciful] [Allah's attributes:Oft_Forgiving] [Allah's attributes:Quick in punishment] [Trials and tests] [Vicegerent creation of]

وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلاَئِفَ الأَرْضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَ

ا آتَاكُمْ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيعُ الْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ (6:165)

A Just society

Islam emerged to bring peace, tranquility and equilibrium to the multitudes of tribes at conflict with each other in the 6th century AD. In a period of 23 years, thru suffering, persecution and sacrifice a just society evolved. Diversity was it’s basis, respecting each tradition and bringing them together and appreciating the creator was the foundation stone of Islam. Justice, liberty and freedom are the core values enshrined in Islam.

Pluralism

Islam is indeed a pluralistic faith and imbues a sense of humility and ideals of equality of humankind. These values are embedded in its rituals practices. All people harvest their own deeds.

He fashioned each one of you--and each one of you is beautiful. To God you will all return. He knows all that the heavens and the earth contain. He knows all that you hide and all that you reveal. He knows your deepest thoughts. Most of us get the message whereas a few don't, indeed it is the story of every faith group.  

At-Taghabun (Loss and Gain)

64:1 ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols God's limitless glory: His is all dominion, and to Him all praise is due; and He has the power to will anything.

يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (64:1)

64:2 He it is who has created you: and among you are such as deny this truth, and among you are such as believe [in it]. [1] And God sees all that you do. هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ فَمِنكُمْ كَافِرٌ وَمِنكُم مُّؤْمِنٌ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ (64:2)

64:3 He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth, [2] and has formed you - and formed you so well; [3] and with Him is your journey's end.

خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ (64:3)

64:4 He knows all that is in the heavens and on earth; and He knows all that you keep secret as well as all that you bring into the open: for God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].

64:5 HAVE THE STORIES of those who, in earlier times, refused to acknowledge the truth never yet come within your ken? [They denied it -] and so they had to taste the evil outcome of their own doings, [4] with [more] grievous suffering awaiting them [in the life to come]:

أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَبْلُ فَذَاقُوا وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (64:5

MADINAH PACT

The Madinah pact, prescribes the rights of its Citizens,  an initiative of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) while he was the head of the city state of Madinah. It is probably the first legal document offering the format of pluralistic governance.

It was an all inclusive agreement between the Jews, Christians, Sabeans, Quraish, Muslims and other tribes for a peaceful co-existence. An example was set for a pluralistic society in documenting the rights of individuals. Perhaps it was the first historical document that included diverse people with freedom to practice what they believe. The Word Ummah was used in the document to mean all residents of the City.

Freedom

God could have made us all alike; instead he chose to make us humans, giving guidance on one hand, temptations on the other – then giving room to make mistakes, and room for correction. Islam has not claimed monopoly to heaven; it is assured to those who do good deeds. Good deeds are defined by Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) as how your treat others. He told his daughter that it would be her deeds that would earn her a place in the Kingdom of God and not because she is the daughter of the Prophet. There is no free lunch, you have to take responsibility for your actions and earn the grace of God through serving his creation.

Qur'an, Al-Inshiqaq, Surah 84:7-15: Each person will be given a book. Those who are given their books in their right hands (understanding the book correctly) will be judged leniently; and they will return to their people joyfully. But those who are given their books in their left hands (misunderstanding) will call their own destruction on themselves, and burn in the fire of hell. There are the people who have never cared for their neighbors; they thought they would never return to God. Their Lord watches all that people do.

For Millions of years, the physical dimension of the Universe has existed in a perfect balance as it did not have the ego to compete with each other nor had the freedom to mess with it. They do, what God intended them to do. It is the human dimension that needed religion, and every religion is meant to bring peace to individuals and balance to the world around them through free choice.

God willing, the Muslim community will be drawing the blue prints and developing a 14 year plan to find their space in the world of communities, as contributors and active participants in the peaceful co-existence for the people of the World. The Book “Muslim Vision 2020” is on the horizon.

The human desire to monopolize World resources is the root cause of all evil. The pockets of anarchy and problems of the world are born out of fear and insecurities of evil men. Religion is not the source of wars or conflict. In fact, Religion is the best Gift humans have received from God, without which the World would be chaotic.

Praise the Lord. We are pleased to announce the formation of The World Muslim Congress, A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting co-existence and contributing towards a just world. (Formed: 5/25/2006)

Our silence has done more damage to us, our faith and our World. Silent no more, God willing, we will resolutely take back our faith for our good and the good of mankind.

A Major Paradigm Shift

The world has indeed become a global community. Everyone is a neighbor to everyone else; we aspire to nurture the concept of good neighborliness in the world. Our advisory board will be represented by individuals from every faith. It is time for us to be equal citizens of one world, our home. This is a major paradigm shift in how the religious organizations would be conducting their business in the coming years.

Our upcoming website: www.WorldMuslimCongress.com will present a range of values in Islam. It is a shame that some of the translations of Qur’an contain phrases that are not in Qur’an. A dozen translations will be presented verse by verse, with the source. So you may know the truth!

Speak up, silent no more ®

Additional Notes

We are drawing the blue prints, and developing a 14 year plan to find our space in the world of communities, as contributors and active participants in the peaceful co-existence of the people of the World.

God willing (Insha Allah) by the September 11, we plan to role out a Seven point program achieving the mission encrusted in the press release below. We are driven by the thought "How can we make the world a better place for every one".

Nothing has ever happened without taking a step forward. The website www.WorldMuslimCongress.com is scheduled to be launched on Monday, September 11, 2006. It will be interactive and accommodative of diversity within Islam and aims to be a voice of the Majority of Muslims who chose moderation.

Islam is not a monolithic religion and has allowed diversity from its very inception. Justice, Liberty and freedom are its core values. God could have made us desire-less and sinless angels, instead he chose to make us human, giving guidance on one hand, temptations on the other – then giving room to make mistakes, and room to correct ourselves thru repentance. Forgiveness is a full cycle concept and not merely utterance of words. Hence, Islam is a deed based religion.

Our silence has done a lot more damage to us than the damage done by the extremists. We have a forum now to speak up and present the majority view to the world.

If you would like to join the discussions on any topic, please send your email request to:  WorldMuslimCongress-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Supremacism Taking Roots in the US

The article below highlights Imam Shamsi Ali, the Imam of Islamic Culture Centre of New York who is telling that Quran was preserved through the Sword and other things about Islam that are not kosher. First of all, I will contact the officers of their board and if no response, I will visit the mosque to present an alternate view. I do need to ensure that  the information is accurate as finding the truth is one's own responsibility.

As Americans, we value free speech,  he has the freedom to say anything he wants just as the Spencers, Gabrielles, Horowitzs, Santorums, Gingrichs and others have it and use the altars of places of worship to deliver it.  As a Muslim, I want to speak out against it, at least we cannot do evil things just because others do. I have been monitoring this for a while, this is the first one in several years... and Insha Allah, I will visit Imam Shamsi Ali and hope to begin the process to end that kind of rhetoric. 


Mike Ghouse
# # #

By Sultan Shahin, editor, New Age Islam

7 Dec 2011

• Islam is a universal religion. Our prophet came to serve humanity. All other prophets came to serve only their people. Only al-Islam is a universal religion for all humanity.

• Sword protected al-Islam for 1,000 years. There was no state to protect Bible or other holy books. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) created a state to protect the Quran. So Quran was protected. Sword protected it.

• Quran is word of God. Word for word. Word of God and Man are mixed together in Bible. In Torah, Prophet Ishmael is described as an ass. Can God call one of his prophets an ass?

• A dozen people come to this centre to convert every month. A 21-year-old girl came recently. Father English Methodist. Mother Irish. Her parents were not happy with her decision. But she was adamant. How could I reject? 12 times a month, people come to get converted to Islam. Because Islam is the word of God.

• Islam solves problems beautifully. Easy, clean solution. For instance, polygamy is required in certain situations. War creates situations in which there are not enough men for every woman. Half a husband is better than nothing. Because of the practice of polygamy a childless wife is not divorced.

• The use of Quranic verses to justify violence like 9/11 is the worst disfigurement of Islam. 800 Muslim lives were also lost on 9/11. 9/11 was not a religious event. It was purely political. Muslims have never been terrorists in history. Even in the fight between the US and Soviet Union, Muslims were on the side of the US. Osama bin Laden was then a friend of the US. He probably wanted a price for supporting the US in the struggle against Soviet Union. But got nothing and so turned against the US. We felt relief after his killing. His ghaibana namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayer in absentia) was not said here in America. He was a major cause of Islamophobia.

• Islamophobia and Terrorism are souring our lives here. We are trying to convince Americans that we are a moderate people. For instance, there is a lot of violence in America. Thousands of cases of rape and murder and other acts of violence are reported. The one community whose members do not commit violence is Muslim. Muslim crime statistics is zero. At world level too, the Muslims who engage in extremist violence constitute merely a tiny percentage of the 1.5 billion strong community.

• Islamophobia is a new phenomenon, promoted by anti-Islam media. US foreign policy is turning more positive towards Muslims. Bush period was bad. Things are getting better under Obama. But certain vested interests in the country fuel the fire of hatred.

• Islam is the last and the youngest religion. Islam is the fastest growing religion. It is perceived by some vested interests as a threat, growing threat. Nobody is attacking other religions. The reasons are not difficult to see. Islam is against pornography, drug trafficking, alcohol, pork, gambling, Western banking – so it is a threat. All these interests join forces against Islam.

• I don’t believe there are any Muslim terrorists in this country.

• As long as a Palestinian state is not established, there will be violence, terrorism.

• Arab Muslims are demanding freedom, democracy. So Muslims and the United States are in the same boat. We support the values of the United States. But as Muslims we live by Islamic values.

These are the views of Imam Shamsi Ali, the Imam of Islamic Culture Center of New York, which is the city’s largest mosque, located in 96th Street and 3rd Avenue Manhattan. He is chairman of the Al-Hikmah Mosque in Astoria and the Director of Jamaica Muslim Centre in Queens. He serves as an Advisory Board member to numerous interfaith organizations, including the Tannebaum Centre and Federation for Middle East Peace. He is also chairman of the Board of Trustees for the ASEAN Muslims Federation of North America. He is also a Board member for the Partnership in Faith in New York and co-founder of the UNCC (Universal Clergy Coalition-International). Furthermore, he is also Assistant Director and a Board member of the Muslim Foundation of America, Inc., and Chairman of the annual Muslim Day Parade in NYC. He also serves as the Vice President of the Asian-America Coalition USA (AAC-USA) and it’s UN Representative.

This may appear to be a rather long bio for a short article, but actually it is quite short, just 10 percent of the one provided by State Department to us, a visiting team of 20 Asian Muslim journalists as part of its programme “Many Facets of Islam.” The point is: Imam Shamsi is a very influential Muslim religious leader. The US administration, several other governments as well as leaders of different faiths treat him with utmost respect. He indeed has great influence among Muslims in New York and perhaps elsewhere in the country.

It’s a careful study of his views that is likely to tell us where American Islam is heading. One must carefully study, therefore, his thoughts on Islam, pluralism, interfaith relations, terrorism, Islam and the west, Islam in America, 9/11, and so on to be able to understand the state of American Islam. The above quotes must have given you some idea. Imam Shamsi is clearly a representative of Wahhabi, petrodollar Islam. And why not? He is the Imam of a mosque that was built by Arab petrodollars, mostly from Kuwait. So the ambassador of Kuwait is always the chairman of the board of management that runs the Islamic centre; nearly all Arab ambassadors are members of the board.

Imam Shamsi can be safely considered to be a representative of the community of Muslim Imams in the United States. All the imams come from madrasas and Islamic studies departments funded by Arab petrodollars. The one and only curriculum available anywhere is the one provided by Saudi Arabia and Saudi-funded Islamic websites.

In another interaction, this time with a representative of moderate Islam, Daisy Khan, founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), along with her husband Imam Feisal Adbul Rauf, I asked if a moderate curriculum is available anywhere. She said ASMA is retraining Imams in Afghanistan and plans to do so in Pakistan. I asked her what her experience with retraining imams in America was and if she did think that these people could indeed be retrained. But it transpired that this question was based on a wrong assumption. I had assumed that she must have already experimented with retraining Imams in the US. She couldn’t explain why charity did not begin at home for her but I assume that this may be due to a widespread misconception in many multi-religious societies including India that living in a secular, multicultural society Muslims here would naturally evolve into a community tolerant of diversity and respectful of other faiths.

Islam has a long history of respectful co-existence with other faith communities. Respecting founders of other faiths and giving them the same status as our own Prophet (pbuh), is a part of our faith, as taught in the Quran. But Islam-supremacism, even contempt for other faiths, has been spread with such passion by petrodollar-funded media, schools, universities and madrasas, distorting the message of Islam, that it has become a widespread belief among Muslims all over the world. “We (Wahhabis) alone will go to Heaven, the rest of Muslims, and of course, others, are all fodder for Hell,” has become the reigning sentiment. Facts, however, prove otherwise. God told us that Islam is not a new religion; it is the same religion that has been revealed to tens of thousands of prophets since the first man and first prophet Adam (pbuh) came to earth. All these prophets taught to their people in the language of their region and time. God promises in the Quran to judge people on the basis of their faith and deeds. But Imam Shamsi and all other imams actually, tell us that Islam alone is a universal religion. So Christianity and Judaism should remain confined to Palestine and Israel, Hinduism and Buddhism to India and so on.

It is anybody’s guess how his Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu interlocutors react when Imam Shamsi tells them in the “interfaith dialogue” he holds that the founders of their religions brought to them teachings that were meant only for their regions and not the whole world and only the teachings of God that were revealed to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) were meant for the whole world.

But, more importantly, if American Muslims are allowing such Islam-supremacist, un-Islamic views that directly contradict teachings of Quran, to cloud their horizon, this doesn’t augur well for their integration in American society. Already, as I discovered, in a large room designated as a Muslim prayer hall in the Congress building on the Capitol Hill, almost all the participants in Friday prayers, were trained in and followed the Wahhabi way of prayer. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are all Wahhabis. All Wahhabis too are not extremists. And if Wahhabi imams, media, books, websites, etc. are the only ones available to provide religious training, what else would one learn. But imams like Imam Feisal Adbul Rauf need to expend more energy in making an alternative moderate Islamic educational system, curriculum, text books, etc. available, first to American Muslims, and then to Afghanistan and Pakistan and the rest of the Muslim world.

It would be a tragedy if American Muslims too went the British way. What Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad, founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir and Al-Muhajiroun, did in the United Kingdom in 1980s is being done in the US by a number of organisations and imams like Imam Shamsi today. Naturally in the post 9/11 environment, these elements have to be guarded in their language. They all have to mouth platitudes about Islam being against terrorism, etc., which, of course, it is.

But ask them specific questions about pluralism, co-existence, respecting other faiths, treating others religious groups genuinely as Ahl-e-Kitab, present-day applicability of war-related instructions in the Holy Quran, ban on minority religious worship places in Saudi Arabia, near-ban on propagation of other religions almost everywhere in Muslim-majority lands, etc. and the thin veneer of civilisation starts to wears off. The irony is completely lost even on the Muslims who are saying their prayers in the Muslim prayer hall on the Capitol Hill, the seat of American democracy; they do not care to express any opinion on the impossibility of having a prayer place anywhere in the whole country of Saudi Arabia, the seat of Islam. They may not ask for “Sharia-controlled zones” and the like a la Britain, but who knows where this trend is leading.

Incidentally the Muslim prayer hall was officially sponsored by Muslim congressmen Andre Carson (D-IN) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) and permitted, of all people by the right wing republican presidential hopeful and then House speaker Newt Gingrich. Regular participants in Friday prayers include about 100 Muslims who work for Congress in capacities like information technology, policing and legislative research. It’s their organisation the Congressional Muslim Staff Association (CMSA) that manages these weekly Friday prayers. While there is a standby Imam, almost every week organisers invite a guest Imam or a trained khateeb (preacher), who can be even social and political activists, from different parts of the country. If you can believe Fox News, one of the prayer leaders here once was even Anwar al-Awlaki, the notorious Al Qaeda cleric killed recently in Yemen.

Clearly moderates who can read the writing on the wall have to fight as fierce a battle in the US as elsewhere. Saudi Arabia will continue to export Wahhabism around the world. It will continue to spend tens of billions of dollars on the project as it has since 1974 and has continued even after 9/11. It would be futile to expect any support from the US or any other government. The US will continue to protect Saudi evangelism and flouting of civilised Islamic norms of behaviour. If there was one country asking for regime change after 9/11, it was Saudi Arabia. 16 out of 19 terrorists involved in 9/11were Saudis. But what to speak of clamping down, the US probably did not even so much as warn the Saudis. It cannot intervene in internal, particularly religious matters. This is the message I got in a nutshell from both envoys of the Obama administration for outreach to Muslims, Farah Pandith and Rashad Hussain, with whom we interacted in separate meetings. Ditto for every other country.

And perhaps that is as it should be. Government intervention might make matters worse; give the purveyors of Jahiliya in the name of Islam another stick to beat the world with. In any case this is war within Islam more than anything else. It is an attempt to colonise Muslim minds. It is Muslims who should fight it. It is for progressive Muslims, moderate ulema (religious scholars), to create a social movement that can reverse the growing tide of radical Wahhabism, so assiduously promoted by Saudis, no matter how Herculean the task may appear to be.

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamAndWest_1.aspx?ArticleID=6086

Burqa Ban

Burqa Ban

there are at least 25 articles at Huffington post on the topic including one by Mike Ghouse
www.huffingtonpost.ca/tag/burqa-ban  

Rethinking Islamic Reform: Hamza Yusuf & Tariq Ramadan

This is nearly three hours documentation.


Hamza Yusuf and Tariq Ramadan are two of the giant Muslim scholars in the world today.

The Rethinking Islamic Reform conference, originally held May 26, 2010, features two of the world's foremost Muslim intellectuals as they provide guidance in the ever polemical topic of reform in Islam.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY17d4ZhY8M&feature=related  

Double standards of Islamic and western societies

This article is an experimental writing, the first five paragraphs are copied and pasted as the next five, the difference is the first set highlights hypocrisy in Muslim majority nations while the same words express the hypocrisy in western democracies.

Law is one thing and practice is the other. As an American and as a Muslim, I have to be critical of both groupings and work toward creating cohesive societies where no citizen has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. Here is a summary of 2011 and what we can aspire for 2012.

Published at Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/citizenship-islam-and-ame_b_1174834.html

Published at the Ghouse diary

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/01/citizenship-islam-and-america.html

Published: Indian Muslim Observer and Two Circles

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker. (214) 325-1916 - www.MikeGhouse.net

Double standards of Islamic and western societies

This article is an experimental writing, the first five paragraphs are copied and pasted as the next five, the difference is the first set highlights hypocrisy in Muslim majority nations while the same words express the hypocrisy in western democracies.

Law is one thing and practice is the other. As an American and as a Muslim, I have to be critical of both groupings and work toward creating cohesive societies where no citizen has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. Here is a summary of 2011 and what we can aspire for 2012.

Published at Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/citizenship-islam-and-ame_b_1174834.html

Published at the Ghouse diary

http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/01/citizenship-islam-and-america.html

Published: Indian Muslim Observer and Two Circles

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker. (214) 325-1916 - www.MikeGhouse.net

Texas Faith : Do we need a Steve Jobs of Religion?

Do we need a Steve Jobs of religion, an innovative thinker who can "invent not a new religion but, rather, a new way of being religious?" If so, where would that person come from? And what would they try to offer? If you don't think we need a "Steve Jobs of religion," please explain why. Here is my response;

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

Throughout the history of mankind, the "Steve Jobs of religions" have made significant contributions to innovative universally-synthesized acceptable traditions for living a balanced life. However, they ended up becoming another competitive religion instead of the one that everyone would embrace. Indeed, there is a new focus in understanding the essence of religion and looking at all religions as valid alternative paths to achieve freedom.

Three thousand years ago, a man shared a corollary between the laws of physics and laws of society. Just as matter finds its own balance, the society will find its own order whenever it goes awry. Someone from among them will rise up and restoresthe order, or the dharma as Lord Krishna called it.

Twenty-five hundred years ago, another Steve Jobs of religion appeared with the name Gautama Buddha. He shared a simple philosophy of life to live with minimum (or no) suffering. He taught a balanced approach between ascetic life and living with given human desires. Today, it has not only become a distinct religion with adherents performing specific identifiable rituals but has split itself into three threads.

Two thousand years ago, there was another one who found a way to bring relief to mankind through teaching and prescribing the psychological medicine of forgiving and loving thy enemy. His teachings were for the whole humanity. but they got monopolized by a group. Two thousand years later,multiple groups claim their version is the truth. Jesus was his name.

Fifteen hundred years ago, yet another Steve Jobs appeared on the horizon with an innovative idea to bring harmony among creation. He said all men are equal before God and that God's love reaches out to every human and every community through the peace makers, messengers and the prophets. Prophet Muhammad said it behooves us to know each other so we can learn to co-exist. He said submitting to the idea of a cohesive society (will of God) is Islam.

Five hundred years ago, Akbar, the Great King of India, made serious efforts in finding a common ground among Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism and initiated Deen-e-Ilahi, religion of the creator. It died with that Steve Jobs.

The last four hundred years have witnessed Guru Nanak and Bahaullah initiating interfaith movements to bring people together in spirituality. However, they ended becoming Sikhism and Baha'i faiths.

Rituals are the differentiators; they signify the mile stones of our daily life. Every significant moment of the day is a ritual. It is an unwritten way of measuring our progression; a memory pattern to bring discipline to our actions. From the moment we are born to the last rites of our life and every moment in-between is laden with rituals, though some of us may deny it.

When specific rituals are prescribed or become a part of the group it will generate yet another religion rather than a commonality.

The bottom line to religion is to bring a balance to an individual and the balance with what surrounds him, people and the environment.

We have to shed the arrogance that our tradition is superior or the only way to salvation. Indeed, arrogance is the root cause of all conflicts. We have to remember that God has not signed a deal with anyone behind my back or your back, if he did, then we don't a God like that and he is not the one we need to bow.

The foundation for pluralism has done extensive experiments and workshops in religion and getting for people to see the value and essence of each religion that are deeply embedded in the rituals.

Steve Jobs would probably have echoed my belief: To build a cohesive society where no one has to live in apprehension of the other, we have to learn to respect every which way one worships (or not) the creator and accepts the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

# # #

For all the twelve responses go to:
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/01/texas-faith-do-we-need-a-steve.html

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day; he is a writer, thinker and a speaker. www.MikeGhouse.net

 

Muslims and the Koran

Muslims and the Koran

In the beginning were the words
http://www.economist.com/node/21542162

Muslims revere the Koran. But its study is not taboo—and is in some quarters increasingly daring

Dec 31st 2011 | from the print edition

RELIGIONS invite stereotypes, holy texts even more so. Non-Muslims often see Islam as a faith followed by people who hew so closely to an unchanging set of words that they ignore awkward new facts sooner than contradict its message. For critics, this attachment to a text encourages extremists—like Boko Haram, a group that in December attacked Nigerian churches: hotheads can generally find a passage that seems to justify their violence.

Such passages abound in the Koran, just as they do in the founding texts of Christianity, Judaism and many other religions. There is also a long tradition of interpreting such verses in reassuring ways. For example, it is often stressed that the Koran’s injunction to “slay the unbeliever wherever you find him” relates to a specific historical context, in which the first Muslims were betrayed by a pagan group who had signed a truce.

In this section

• »In the beginning were the words
• Believe it or not

Reprints

But when it comes to parsing holy writ, there is one big difference between Islam and most other text-based faiths. Barring a brief interlude in the ninth and tenth centuries, and a few modern liberals, Muslims have mostly believed that the Koran is distinct from every other communication. As God’s final revelation to man, it belongs not to earthly, created things but to an eternal realm. That is a bigger claim than other faiths usually make for their holy writings.

The Koran may be interpreted but from a believer’s viewpoint, nothing in it can be set aside. Yet, at least in the calm, superficially courteous world of Western academia, debating the precise text of the Koran is increasingly common—as at a conference hosted by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), part of the University of London, in November. One organiser was Muhammad Abdel Haleem, an Egyptian-born professor who has translated the Koran into stylish modern English, drawing acclaim from many, but grumbles from purists. Other contributors included a professor from Turkey, and a scholar based in Iran. But most were non-Muslims who study the text as they would any other written material—as prose whose evolution can be traced by comparing versions. New techniques, such as the use of digital photography, help compare variations and solve puzzles. All participants implicitly accepted the idea that methods used to analyse Homer, say, or German myths might elucidate the Koran.

In much of the Islamic world, even the agenda of such a meeting would be controversial. What can be debated in most Muslim countries differs hugely from what is discussed in the West. Staff at a London-based Islamic research body, the Institute for Ismaili Studies, have ranged from radicals like Mohammed Arkoun, a leader of the French deconstructionist school, to traditional Sunni or Sufi scholars. They follow the trail of al-Suyuti, a 15th-century Egyptian who accepted the existence of slightly different versions of the Koran.

Such diversity under a single roof would be impossible now in Karachi or in Cairo, the bastion of Islamic scholarship. There, the interpretation of Islam and its history is strictly a task for believers. Non-Muslim offerings would be called “orientalism”, based on colonial arrogance. Muslims in such places who take a different view face not only academic ostracism but physical danger. Egypt’s leading advocate of a liberal reading of the Koran—Nasr Abu Zayd, who died in 2010—was denounced as an apostate, forcibly divorced from his wife and had to spend his later life abroad. The rise of Islamism in Egypt offers no prospect of a friendlier climate.

Meanwhile, scholars in Europe, stimulated by the manuscripts in great European libraries, are working hard to find out how and when the Koran’s written form was standardised. In America more effort has gone into relating the Koran to what is known from other sources about political and social history. Patricia Crone, of America’s Institute for Advanced Study, once argued that Islam originated in a revolt by Semites against Byzantine and Persian power. She has revised her views, but copies of her 1977 book “Hagarism” change hands for hundreds of dollars.

A burst of new Koranic scholarship erupted at SOAS in the 1980s. These days, it is one of several British campuses where scholars say they find it hard to get funding for work that threatens orthodoxy—a change they ascribe to the influence of conservative Saudi donors. But in France, the home of literary theory, and Germany, the fatherland of textual analysis, free-ranging study of the Koran continues. If you want to argue that partial versions of Hebrew and Christian stories are visible in the Koran, or that its historical portions are inaccurate, nobody will stop you.

Most Muslim children are told that they need know only one thing about the Koran’s origin: that it was revealed over a period of 23 years by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad. But Islam has more to say than that. A well-known narrative tells how the fourth ruler of the Muslims, Caliph Uthman, realised that several variants of God’s revelation were circulating, and established a single version, ordering the destruction of all the others. Non-Muslim scholars, too, see signs of a conscious, but not wholly successful, effort to settle on a definitive form. The continuing variations are not all trivial. Dots over a single letter can change the tense or person of a verb, notes Keith Small, an American participant in the SOAS event. His book, “Textual Criticism and Qur’an Manuscripts”, says efforts to standardise went on for four centuries after Uthman.

Before the beginning

Excitement surrounds the study of some Koranic material found in Yemen in 1972. Early analysis of images of these folios suggests some may precede the first big standardisation. This study is being undertaken in Germany, not Yemen. But in the light of the Uthman story, the survival of divergent early material (which escaped the standardisers’ efforts) need not be unbearably shocking. After all, Islamic tradition also credits Muhammad with accepting at least seven oral versions of the Koran, albeit differing only a little.

Turkey and Iran stand out as mainly Muslim countries where, in academia at least, it is possible to talk about the Koran’s textual origins. Turkey’s secular constitution helps to safeguard free inquiry. Ankara University and Istanbul University still reflect the rationalist ethos of a secular republic; the Islamist tone of Turkey’s present government affects newer campuses.

If Iran is a little more open than most Arab countries, that is because of Shia Islam’s stress on theology, and the interpretation of texts, as a continuous enterprise. A Paris-based Shia writer, Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, has caused a stir recently by arguing that the Sunni/Shia split was really over the text of the Koran.

Most Shias would say this overstates the schism. On core beliefs Iran’s Shia clergy remain united: they agree that the text they now have is exactly what Muhammad was told. Such tenacity is a reminder that if people expect Islam to change into something like liberal Christianity—treating scripture as a useful but fallible aid to belief—they are wrong. As Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish writer, says: “If you say the Koran is a human text, then you cease to be Muslim.” Over hadiths, sayings about Muhammad’s life, there is flexibility; some can be weeded out as unsound or outdated. But nothing in the Koran can be dismissed.

Yet some attitudes can shift, Mr Akyol adds. His book, “Islam without Extremes”, cites slavery as an issue where the Koran’s words can be reread. The text favours freeing slaves, but does not demand the abolition of the practice. “Does that mean God condones slavery, or that God spoke within the norms of the seventh century which are open to change?” he asks, noting that several Muslim theologians have said the latter. As it happens Christians have made similar points, picking over the words of Saint Paul. Islam, like Christianity, offers rigidity for those who yearn for it. But it leaves room for nuance too.