Muslims Together

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Six Suggestions to Muslims

Every day, some one or the other is writing negative things about Islam, it is an industry, the uglier you write, the greater the "other" extremists flock to you and the nincompoops also fund them. Geert Wilder produced a documentary called Fitna which became an international controversy. I responded to his 14 verses from Qur'aan that he deliberately misquoted, I quoted straight from the Qur'aan, one of his sources was USC which was wrong too. Mr. Wilders has read our piece, but yet, does not have the conscience to admit to the public at large that he misinformed the public. The link is placed in one of the questions below. What do you do? I believe the good majority of all people including Muslims do not heed such non-sense, but the negative perception is growing ceaselessly.

Bilingual is a Hispanic American working in India and is writing extensively in a blog called Sulekha, where I have been writing for the last ten years. He and I did some information sharing and then he came up with this challenge and wanted me to respond to his six questions.

Mike Ghouse

RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS ON THE WEBSITE SULEKHA.COM
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/09/six-suggestions-to-muslims.html

Dear Bilingual,

While I agree with most of what you have said, I am pleased to respond to six of your questions and I will write them in a reverse order;

6) Recognize and celebrate the role of women and their right to education and freedoms.....

The women are mistreated all over the world; all of us Men need to stand up to it. When they condemn how Indian women are burnt for dowries, I found out that more women are killed in the US by their violent spouse/boy friends, compare that to women in Islam, fewer are beaten up. All of them are wrong. That is not a solace and things have to be changed. It is the stupid, insecure dumb Men do those things. Religion is simply a scape goat.

I have made a tough call to Muslims:

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/09/remnants-of-muslim-jahilya.html

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/09/islamic-feminism-conference-in-spain.html

5) Promotes and demands a division between Religion and State (Countries)

Indian and US constitutions have laws against corruption and crimes yet all of it happens, in Texas we hang the criminals and death penalty is carried out by eloctrocuting them, yet we are a civilized society!

Islam the religion did not want monarchies, dictatorships or dynasties, yet the nations with larger Muslim populations have them. Prophet Muhammad did not appoint a successor upon his death, Ali would have been the right one but the Prophet did not want people to take it that because Ali was his cousin and son in law, he gave the keys to him. He was against dynasties or successive rulers, so the first four leaders in Islam were elected. People are people whether they are Muslims, Hindus or Christians, they want to control and run – BJP and congress are no different. The problem is not the religion, it is the people and we are making aggressive pushes to keep the state and religion separate. Does this happen in a secular democracy like US or India? No, religion still plays a major role.

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/09/sharia-laws-and-un-human-rights.html

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/08/islam-and-democracy.html

4) Issues edicts on what will not be tolerated in prayers and in mosques

Yes, at least Muslims in America do not tolerate any sermons that incite hate or anger against any one. I will speak out and thousands of fellow Muslim will speak up when we see any such insinuations or inneundos. I have suggested every Mosque to do a recording of their sermons and post it on the website. Most mosques routinely invite the public to attend the sermons. It is open to all and keeps the places of worship dedicated to invividual attainment of peace. However, you "may" find a mosque here and there where violations take place. It happens in all other faiths worship places. Go to a church and listen to the hate sermons by Robertson, Falwell, Stewart, Hagee. For Armageddon to happen they will kill the entire population in the Palestine/Israel territory, their version of God is a cruel God who will massacre every one just so Armageddon can happen. Listen to Thackery, Modi, Togadia, Advani... poison spills out of their mouths. In the Middle east there are quite a lot of Hate Sermons; fortunately in India and other democracties it is not as prevalent. No value is placed on life by these extremists in all religions, they are the counterparts of the Talibans, the Wahhabis and the Ladens.

Check this out: http://hatesermons.blogspot.com/2008/03/hate-sermons-from-pulpit.html

3) Change the curriculum of Islamic education on all levels to something that is compatible with the world’s education.

There is a need for this badly and the progress is not visible yet. One of the Mosques in Dallas, take their students both male and female to interfaith workshops and other places where they are open to dialogue. That is not enough, but the signs are there. In Bangalore one of my cousins who heads a mosque is doing something similar, I have not had the chance to keep up with more of this, just because I don’t know, it does not mean it is not there. But a lot of focus needs to be made here. The responsibility for peace should not fall on any one, each one of us has to bear the burden for a better tomorrow.

2) Provide a recognized and universally approved translation for the Qur’an

Yes, this is a major problem area and significant work is being done on this. The best translation is by Mohammad Asad, fairly represents the essence of Islam that you talked about it so eloquently. It is on one of the major sites called Islamicity.com. I am yet to get it done. However, you can see Qur’aan search at www.worldMuslimCongress on the right hand panel.

Here are three critical items in that direction; I am hoping to do a Quraan translation where a Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jew, Oloriyo, Sikh, Shinto, Toltec, Wicca and a Zoroastrian can relate with it. Believe it or not, an Atheist can relate with it as well. The third link below is a prelude to it.

http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2007/12/not-like-jews-or-christians.html

http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/03/wilders-fitna-and-muslims_30.html

http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html

1. Develop a hierarchy in both the Sunni and Shi’s branches that is universally recognized and obeyed

It will take time but it is happening gradually and I will have to make time to find those articles and work in that direction. The following article on Ramadan brings together all the divisions towards the essence of the faith.

http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/The-spirit-rituals-and-politics-of-Ramadan.asp The comments after the article are good too.

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/08/maldives-constitution-to-be-condemned.html

Peace is in your interest, my interest and every one's interest. Each one of us have to do our share of work in mitigating conflicts and nurturing good will. Those who simply point fingers, shame on them.

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer. He co-chairs the center for interfaith inquiry of the Memnosyne Foundation, president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing interfaith, political and civic issues. He is the founding president of World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website http://www.mikeghouse.net/. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at mailto:MikeGhouse@gmail.com

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Remnants of Muslim Jahilya

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/09/remnants-of-muslim-jahilya.html

Remnants of Muslim Jahilya (ignorance) from the early 2000, hoping you would read this article in the year 2020.

Women led prayers

Oppression of people and suppression of Ideas knocks off the balance in any given society and both go against the fiber of Islam; freedom and justice. Only Justice and fairness can restore peace and tranquility in any society.

Up until 611 AD, people in and around Mecca understood God in a physical form, there was a representation of God in iconic forms for every day, and for every act of nature there was an icon. Indeed it was their culture for thousands of years, as it was all over the world unbeknown to each other.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) brought a renewed message, as did Jesus, Krishna, Moses, Abraham and a countless spiritual masters and told the people about oneness of the Creator, he was preaching oneness of humanity (God produced) reducing conflicts and nurturing a sense of oneness, yet accepting the diversity in God's creation. http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2008/07/religion-and-oneness-of-god.html.

He taught God is formless, shapeless, colorless, genderless, a non-being and an abstact concept of oneness of the creation, by that he was universalizing God to remove the conflict of my God v your God. God is beyond our imagination and beyond definition and we cannot capture him (or her) in words or limit him in images. I love the way the Jewish people write G_d, it is the idea of removing God from all man made limits.

Imagine how radical that idea was? It took decades for people to accept another reality, perhaps a parallel reality. The prophet knew that change always takes time and it has to be from within.

Now Dr. Amina Wadud, a Muslim woman has led the Friday congregational prayers for mixed genders, it is indeed a radical idea for those of us who are entrenched in thousands of years of traditions. We are shocked and are looking for a precedence, just as the tribes of Mecca around 611 AD. Fifty years from now or even in the year 2020, it is possible that the future Muslims will equate our shock to that of the Meccan tribes who opposed that radical idea. A few of them may even call you and I, the "Remnants of Muslim Jahilya (ignorance)” from the early 2000’s. It is time for us to think beyond the box and understand the full beauty of Islam; inclusiveness, equality, justness and openness to learning, the bigger Jihad to build a cushion for differences may become a reality for us.

Please remember that, the insecure men among us (all faiths) are afraid to lose control over the only thing left for them to control; religion. Muslim Men are no different in their insecurities than Jews, Christians, Americans, Arabs, Zulus, Mongolians or the Mayans. If your strip the dirt from the religion, it boils down to "a men thing" rather than a Religious issue. The first Female Rabbi was accepted just about thirty years ago in Dallas in reformed Judaism, and still many Churches are struggling to accept Female Ministers. I have heard extreme statements made by Men from every one of those religious masks. You are welcome to share "those words" in the comments below.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) understood the human nature; he knew no one can be compelled to do anything against his or her will and sustain it. He was a blessing for his followers, whom he freed from the slavery of Priesthoodism, and gave them complete freedom to learn and understand God's book which he was leaving. He believed in individual responsibility, you are responsible for your deeds, he even said that to his daughter instead of giving her a free pass. He made sure that we recite “Malik-i-yom-iddin”, at least 17 times a day in the Fard (mandatory) prayers. Then some devotees add 20 or even 40 more times with their Sunna and Nafl prayers.

That is 57 times a day, we say God alone is the master of the Day of Judgment, do we mean it? If not, we need to mean it and not judge others in their deen (faith) as it would be pre-empting God himself, just as the Neocons want to speed up the Armageddon. It is his decision to grace us in our next life, reincaraned life or in the life after death. Let’s learn to respect God’s role as " the master Judge" and not run over him, we cannot go far, we are bound to lose to God (that which caused life from an atheist's perspective).

One of the reasons Muslims are losing out politically at this moment in history is because our time is spent on gossiping and ill-talking about women lead Friday prayers. If Dr. Amina Wadud and Asra Nomani want to pray, let them, it is between an individual and God, what is our problem? If we don't want to join them, let's stay away from harassing them, we have better things to do than protesting it. Let's become goodwill Ambassadors.

We need to wake up to the new reality that Muslim women have truly realized Islam where, men and women are each other's garments and each others's protectors, none is superior or inferior in God's presence, she is personally and individually responsible for her deeds on the day of judgment as men are. Muslim women in the 7th century Islam had freedom to own business, freedom to choose and divorce their spouse and by God let them have the freedom to lead the prayers. This is not just a Muslim struggle it is a Christian, Hindu, Jewish and other's struggle as well.

Most Muslims want to shy away from controversies, as would most people from other faiths, that encourages the few to jump up and down and make hell for others. Please don’t let any one speak against this freedom.

Years ago, an Imam was telling a story in a small group that how they defeated the Jews in acquiring a Synagogue to use it as a Mosque, by passing it through different hands. I could not resist and jumped in and said it was wrong to make such a statement to cause hate towards others, in this case, the Jews. That was a business deal and there was no need to turn the Jews as villains. Prophet Muhammad would not have liked it nor would any tenet of Islam favors it.

There was a deadly pause, that was the most critical moment of the situation, that was the time, the killing time and the dreaded moment that seemed like an eternity. Finally after 3 seconds, another dare devil spoke up and the other sheep jumped in too, thanks God for that. The Imam apologized and agreed never to do that again and he has not, I have listend to his sermons a few times. Believe me, if a sychophant of the Imam at that had jumped in before the other man, I would have been attacked or talked about behind my back. Indeed, this is a common group behavior, even in your own office meetings, community center, church, synagogue, temple or prayer circles this thing happpens. The only one I care about is God and doing the right thing; and you must too. We have to please God (=Goodenss for all) and not any one else. Please know that I have Jewish friends who would do the same; speak out against non-sense and falsities agasint Muslim. We have to speak out against any untruths.

Note added on Monday, September 29th: There is a greater challenge for us Muslims to hear out and live with differences in theological interpretations. When the 4 Sunni and 2 Shia Schools of thoughts emerged, we had accepted the radical differences with great difficulty and have lived with it for over a thousand years. Not only that some of the enlightened Imams are sharing the differences with their congregation without putting down the other schools of thought. This is something Muslims ought to be proud of this acceptance tradition of Islam - that is what Ijtehad is all about, to openly discuss the difference, either reconcile them or live with them. "There is no compulsion in the matters of faith." That is the wisdom and guidance from Qur'aan.

Eid Mubarak

Please don’t demean, condemn or depreciate others if they celebrate Ramadan on a different day than you. Don’t encourage others to spend their time condemning each other; instead they can do something that is beneficial to all. God has not made a deal with your group behind others back, no one is right or wrong, let that be decided by God on the day of judgment and let’s not ruin each others happiness. Let this be a happy Eid, and I will attend as many Eid prayers as I can, you can do it too.

http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/The-spirit-rituals-and-politics-of-Ramadan.asp

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sharia Laws and UN Human Rights

The speech by Tarak Fatah below prompted the following dialogue;

Who speaks for or represents Islam is an eternal question?
Agree with Dr. Farooq, OIC does not represent the Muslims.

We do not have a religious authority, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in his last sermon said that he is leaving the Qur’aan to his followers. It is up to the individual to read, learn and understand one’s responsibilities of living a righteous life.

Thank God we do not have one, nor was it ever intended by Islam or the Prophet. Even if we were to have a religious authority, wasn't Islam anathema to the business of clergy?

Now when it comes to governance of the people, it should be the people who decide what kind of governance works for them respecting every one's individual rights.

The hallmark of civil societies is their ability to reign in on their base temptations as a majority to cause the minorities to obey and adapt. Most of the Sharia laws are of spiritual guidance to one, however the part of Sharia laws that deals with the governance of people has not adopted to the needs of civil societies, nor is it needed. The intent was justice, and the civil laws of the societies serve justice and are universal, and serve the public at large much better. The exclusive Sharia Laws of governance do not serve the Inclusive societies that are emerging since the Middle of the last century and are not needed.

We have to remember that the society during the life of Prophet Muhammad was pluralistic, many faiths co-existed and the Prophet had honored each one to practice their faith as it worked for them. Madinah pact was a testimony to that. However, when the governance part of Sharia Laws were written, the society was mono-religious and lacked sensitivity to other faiths and other people who differed from them, hence those laws did not reflect the practice of Prophet Muhammad to honor people who differed from Islam. Those man made laws do not have the elements of Islamic inclusiveness in them, as they do not contain universality of application.

Research is warranted to study formation of Islamic societies (not religion of Islam) during Multi-religious and Monopolistic-Religious times Islam has existed.

Mike Ghouse
www.worldMuslimcongress.com
www.FoundationforPluralism.com

In a message dated 9/21/2008 1:21:27 A.M. Central Daylight Time, farooqm59@YAHOO.COM writes:

Salam and greetings.

The OIC doesn't speak for Muslims?
I would tend to agree that it may represent the unrepresentative governments of the Muslim World, but it does not represent the Muslims.

Is apostasy subject to ANY punishement according to Islam?As a Muslim, I definitely don't think so. Should the apostasy issue be used to silence critiques even among the Muslims? Absoutely not. For those who are interested, please see the Apostasy and Islam Blog (http://apostasyandislam.blogspot.com) and "On Apostasy and Islam: 100+ Notable Islamic Voices affirming the Freedom of Faith."Do the dictatorial or hereditary monarchies in the Muslim world have anything to do with Islam?I don't think so. Indeed, what we observe in the Muslim world's political infrastructure does not represent the legacy of revolution brought about by the Prophet Muhammad, rather it is rooted in the legacy of counter-revolution of Amir Muwabiya.

Can the practices of discrimination among different types of Arabs, between Arabs and non-Arabs and on top of that abusing the migrant works from various poor Muslim-majority countries represent some sort of apartheid?
Many would agree.

However, I can't but wonder why Mr. Fatah was raising these issues at a parallel conference of IHEU, which is essentially anti-religion in its stance. Indeed, IHEU does not represent humanism in general, but secular humanism, which is akin to secular fundamentalism.

OIC does not represent Muslims. Agreed. But I am wondering who was Mr. Fatah's intended audience through IHEU and whom does he represent?

Recently, there has been some discussion on this forum about Stephen Schwartz. Maybe I have not read enough of the works of Mr. Fatah. Would Mr. Fatah be kind enough to clarify if his thoughts and positions are any different from Mr. Schwartz's on the pertinent issues?

Best regards.

Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
http://www.globalwebpost.com/farooqm

From: Tarek Fatah tarekfatah@ROGERS.COM
Friday, September 19, 2008 4:53:59 PMSubject:
Islamic countries want Shariah Law into UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights

Friends

For sometime now Saudi Arabia has been using the UN Human Rights Council to water down the 1948 UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights and introduce Sharia law into the UN. Riyadh is using Egypt and Pakistan as well as Iran in using the 57-nation OIC to pursue the Saudi agenda. This week the International Humanist and Ethical Union sponsored a talk at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to oppose the OIC move. The IHEU was also joined by the Cairo Centre for Human Rights in opposing the introduction of Sharia Law into the Human Rights discussion.

This was the first time the OIC move was opposed by Muslims at the UN. Also there was Naser Khedar, the Danish MP and head of the Danish political party, the Liberal Alliance.Here is the text of my speech at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which sent the Arab League delegate into a fit.Tarek
--------------

18 September 2008 - 10:09

The OIC does not speak for Muslims

Tarek Fatah
UN Geneva
http://www.iheu.org/node/3275

I speak to you as a Muslim who was born in Pakistan and lived there for 30 years and moved to Saudi Arabia where I worked for 10 years. Since 1987 I have called Canada my home. As an author, journalist and Muslim activist, I have seen the role and agenda of both the soft and hardcore jihadis unfold before my eyes and across the Muslim world.

I approach the issue of freedom of speech and freedom of expression embodied in the 1948 UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights as defending a treasured right that few of my co-religionists can dream off, let alone cherish or possess. We are over a billion strong, but almost all of us live under varying forms and degrees of dictatorship and oppression. Barring a few exceptions such as Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia, and very recently Pakistan, Muslims live under the tyranny of rulers like those of Iran and Saudi Arabia who have used the religion of Islam as a tool to secure absolute power, and to trample all over the human rights of their citizens.

Barely a day goes by without news of gross violations of human rights of Muslims living in so-called Islamic countries. Whether it is honour killings of sisters and mothers or the harassment of gays and calls for their death; whether it is imprisonment of political opponents or attacks on minorities, we Muslims who live in the West are constantly reminded of the rights we enjoy under secular parliamentary democracies as individual human beings.

It is our lives as Muslims in the West that compels us to step forward and expose the duplicity of the OIC when it seeks to water down the 1948 UN Human Rights Declaration and substitute it with so called Islamic human rights. We are alarmed that not only is the UN declaration under attack, but that the Rappateur on Freedom of Expression is being asked to report back on those who are brave enough to question medieval superstitions that challenge the elementary norms of reason and rationalism . Allowing the OIC States to oversee individual human rights is like putting the fox to guard on the chickens.

Life in the OIC countries is the reason why millions of Muslims have escaped and taken refuge in Europe and North America. We are testament of their failures. They rule their populations with a sense of entitlement that they believe is their God-given right, and millions suffer under their tutelage. I urge you to not fall for the charm offensive of those who falsely claim to speak on behalf of Muslims and Islam. They do not, and their record speaks for itself.

While the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran claims he is answerable only to Allah, the King of Saudi Arabia claims to rule in God’s name. Next door in Egypt, a military dictator has monopolised power for 30 years, jailed his critics and his opponent Ayman Nour continues to rot in prison. The difference is that while Iran and Saudi Arabia oppress Muslims in the name of Islam, the Egyptian dictator does so in the name of American sponsored moderation. The result for the ordinary Muslim is the same: the complete absence of human dignity that can only be guaranteed if the 1948 UN Declaration is honoured and implemented in letter and in spirit.
The use of Islam to slaughter fellow Muslims is not a new phenomenon. In 1965 Islamist vigilantes massacred a million of their fellow countrymen in Indonesia; in 1971 Pakistani armed forces conducted a genocide that killed one million Muslim Bangladeshis in the name of Islam. In 1979 an Islamist Military man, General Zia ul Haq who presented himself as the ultimate saviour of Islam, hanged the elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. Five years later, the Sudanese Islamists and the Muslim Brotherhood hanged the great Islamic scholar Muhammad Mahmood Taha after accusing him of apostasy.

After stifling individual liberty and freedom of thought and debate that would include even discussing Islam and how it has been used to oppress and plunder, the Islamists, led by Saudi Arabia and Iran, have brought their agenda to the United Nations Human Rights Council with the aim of legitimising their suffocating ideology. After depriving their own populations of the rights the rest of humanity seeks to embrace; after creating failed societies, the Islamists are using the OIC to validate the crimes that have led to trauma and dysfunctional societies across the Muslim world. We should not let them succeed.

As a Canadian, I am deeply proud of my country’s contribution in the drafting of the 1948 UN declaration. As a Canadian Muslim I am conscious of the fact that the 1948 declaration gave me the rights to practise my faith as I deem fit in a country where my community is less that 3% of the population, yet is treated as equals.

Why should Muslims only enjoy human rights and freedom of expression to discuss their own religion where they live as minorities, yet never be able to do so where they form a majority? Why should I fear for my life simply because I ask why so many Muslim societies have failed despite their enormous natural wealth?

Today the same people who have smashed human rights with an iron fist where they govern, and oppress Muslims under their rule, have the audacity to appear before the UN and demand that that their vile policies be validated by the Human Rights Council and that anyone who dares to criticise the principles under which they govern as absolute monarchs, dictators or self-anointed guardians of Allah, be silenced. This should not happen. I as a Muslim urge you to not abandon the millions of Muslims who do not have a voice.

To suggest that any criticism of Islamism , the political ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian Ayatollahs, is anti-Islamic is a bogus and fraudulent position. I would contend that my religion Islam demands that I stand up to these bullies and take away from their right to put padlocks on poetry and chastity belts on independent thinking.

People who were not insulted or offended when the Saudis demolished the Prophet Muhammad’s 1400-year-old House in Mecca, but who ran wild at the sight of Danish cartoons, can at best be described as men who have got their priorities wrong, and at worst as hypocrites.
These Islamists and the governments they control propagate man-made Islamic shariah laws as an alternative to western secular democratic law, yet they oppose any scrutiny of the very same shariah laws that sanction slavery, racism, misogyny and homophobia. My message to these dictators is this: If you continue to pour millions into Canada and other Western countries to promote Islamism, then don’t complain if we Muslims join our fellow citizens and put your political ideology to scrutiny.

Islam is a religion, but Islamism is a political ideology. They are not the same despite what the OIC claims. Everyone has a right to practise Islam without fear of persecution. However, Islamism is nothing more than the use of Islam to secure power over an already marginalized community of Muslims. Proponents of Islamism had better be prepared for criticism, not just from non-Muslims, but from Muslims, who have been the primary victims of this totalitarian ideology.

My message to the OIC is this: Please clean your own house before trying to subvert the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights. Go first and end the slave-like conditions of dark skinned Muslims in the Persian Gulf before spreading your failed ideology and recipe of failure to the UN.
Those who behead people in public and stone women to death, practise apartheid in their Kingdom and wave the sword of apostasy over the heads of their fellow Muslim critics, should be the last people to speak on behalf of their victims. Too many Muslims have fallen victim to your rule. We do not want the UN to be tainted by sanctioning these practices.

If the agenda of the OIC is allowed to succeed, and so-called Islamic Human Rights is allowed to deviously “compliment” the 1948 UN Declaration, then ladies and gentlemen, my speech today would be in violation of the Charter of Islamic Human Rights because I have spoken against the Shariah.

Equality of all human beings, not just in their dignity and respect, but equality of their rights before the law must remain sacrosanct. Otherwise you would have failed the one billion Muslims of this world who live under regimes that implement thought control as a holy doctrine.
Perhaps, I could best explain the relationship between Islam and Islamism this way. Islam is to Islamism, as Uranium is to weapons of mass destruction.

In closing, I want you to imagine a scenario from the good old days of the Cold War. How you would have reacted if the Warsaw Pact countries came to this session and said: “We want the rest of the world to embrace communism. However, there cannot be any discussion about the demerits or flaws of our political ideology because we feel offended when the rest of you discuss it; you are not experts”?. You would have laughed in their faces. You certainly would not have said: “We agree, there can be no discussion of communism in this forum”.

Today you have to reject the OIC demands with the same vigour that the free world rejected the Gulags.

Tarek Fatah is founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress and author of “Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State” (Wiley 2008).
This speech was given at the IHEU parallel conference "An analysis and Discussion of Religion and Freedom of Expression at the Human Rights Council" held at the UN Human Rights Council on 17 September 2008.

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Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Spirit, rituals and politics of Ramadan

The Spirit, rituals and politics of Ramadan
Mike Ghouse, Dallas, Texas

The Spiritual masters have captured the human gravity for rituals and have molded it with the art and science of self-discipline in their respective religion. The noble purpose of each one of them was to bring a balance in our lives and a balance with things that surround us; life and environment. Every faith is composed of a set of unique rituals to bring discipline and peace to human life. Fasting is one of the five key rituals that Muslims around the world observe.

Continued at: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/The-spirit-rituals-and-politics-of-Ramadan.asp

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Obesssion DVD and CAIR

CAIR’s Indifference to Obsession DVD Distribution
by Sheila Musaji

This week, 28 million copies of a DVD of the film “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” will be distributed free of cost in newspapers across the country. I was unable to find anything in the Muslim media, or on the websites of any of the major Muslim organizations in the U.S. including where is CAIR, and this leads me to ask where is CAIR when we actually need them. (I am stressing CAIR’s responsibility only because they are the only major organization whose mission is to be an advocate for American Muslims.) According to their vision and mission statement: “CAIR’s vision is to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding. CAIR’s mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.” The following is what I have been able to discover in the media about this propoganda campaign.

A DVD of the film “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” has been bundled inside more than 70 newspapers and magazines and delivered nationwide to subscribers. “There is no greater threat than radical Islam,” said Gregory Ross, spokesman for the Clarion Fund, a New-York based nonprofit organization that is paying newspapers to distribute the DVD. “It needs to be pushed to the forefront of the political discussion.” (Controversial film on Islam delivered nationwide, Yonat Shimron)

Copies of the DVD were distributed free at the DNC, and at the RNC by the recently formed group watch obsession.org. Earlier this year, the Florida Attorney General required employees to watch this video.

The DVD seems to only be distributed in swing election states. (‘Terror’ DVD Getting Delivered to Millions This Weekend—via Newspapers, Gregg Mitchell) “Aimed at voters in the battleground states the week of September 11, the film is more than a scare tactic or a campaign ploy. It smacks of classic propaganda, boosted through this clever marketing deal by association with the authority of the New York Times brand. The point is to frighten viewers and, it seems clear, to frighten American voters across the country in order to raise security concerns ahead of all other issues in the election.” (Right-Wing Terror Film Delivered To Swing-State NY Times Readers, Denise Dennis)

The DVD is being distributed as paid advertizing: “According to reports in the Huffington Post, 28 million copies of the film are being delivered this week. The DVD has already been inserted into copies of The New York Times distributed in Midwestern states. This weekend and next, it is slated to be distributed in many newspapers in the electoral battleground states of Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and Colorado, in addition to North Carolina.” (Muslims Rap DVD in Advertiser, Tim Funk) “Funding is coming from a New York-based group called the Clarion Fund, a shadowy outfit whose financial backers are unclear. ... Although supposedly a 501 c(3) non-profit, this week the Clarion Fund’s website featured an article supporting John McCain.” (Pro-McCain Group Dumping 28 Million Terror Scare DVDs in Swing States, Eric Ose)
‘’The threat of Radical Islam is the most important issue facing us today,’’ reads a paragraph on the sleeve of the DVD. ‘’But it’s a topic that neither the presidential candidates nor the media are discussing openly. It’s our responsibility to ensure we can all make an informed vote in November.’’ (Is DVD a wake-up call or propaganda?, Josh Drobnykj)

“Anyone can see an electoral vote pattern to the targeted areas, with almost all of the battleground or “swing” states represented. (The daily newspapers in only one such state appear to have refused the ad, Minnesota.) These papers have allowed themselves to be caught up in a “neo-con” propaganda scam in the context of the presidential campaign, and during 9/11 week. As of Saturday, September 13, the rationalizations of the publishers and ad personnel at the two N.C. newspapers were either beggarly excuses for new sources of revenue, or politically naïve in the extreme. (Delivering Propaganda, As If It is Toothpaste, William E. Jackson, Jr.)

And, even fringe groups like the United American Committee are getting in on the distribution and advertising of this DVD and sent out an email saying: “We are assisting in the distribution of MILLIONS of copies of the film ‘Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West’ launched by the Watch Obsession Committee. THIS SATURDAY an airplane hauling a banner with a menacing photo of bin-Laden will be flying over Los Angeles promoting the film, and at the same time a truck with the same message will be circling the streets of L.A., everyone in America must see this film and wake up to the threat posed to our way of life by Islamic aggression.”
Representatives from both presidential campaigns said they were not aware of the DVD mailing. (DVD on radical Islam offends Lemoyne recipient. Carrie Cassidy)

We think we have a watchdog in Washington, D.C. and that they are looking out for the community when it is under attack. This is not the first time that that watchdog has turned out to be toothless, deaf, dumb, and blind. This propoganda campaign against Islam and Muslims is one of the most serious concerted efforts to marginalize and demonize the entire American (and International) Muslim community that I can remember seeing in 30 years of Islamic work, and CAIR is silent when we need them to be speaking out loudly.

It is time for ordinary Muslims to demand answers from CAIR and our other national organizations. What are their resources, and where is the money going? Why is such a major incident being ignored?

In 2006 a Washington Post poll found that 58% of Americans say there are more violent extremists within Islam than in other religions and 46% have a negative view of Islam. In 2007, a CNN poll found that 53 percent of Americans believe conflict between Islam and Christianity is “inevitable,” up from 45 percent in 2003.

You can bet that this campaign will negatively influence the attitudes of Americans towards Islam and Muslims and that a poll done anytime in the next few months will show that percentage to have risen again, dramatically. You can also bet that lots of ordinary Muslims will have to answer questions from their co-workers, school-mates and neighbors in the coming weeks, and where will they get some help? Why is it that our key advocacy organization with a paid staff is unable to flag and identify issues and act proactively on behalf of the community?
As a community we need to wake up and realize that we need to be much more proactive at the grass-roots and to demand more of our national organizations. Contact CAIR National at:
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20003 Tel: 202.488.8787 Fax: 202.488.0833 info@cair.com

Note: The Huffington Post has a list of the newspapers distributing the DVD
SEE ALSO: numerous resources in online article at http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/cairs_indifference_to_obsession_dvd_distribution/0016693

Islamic Feminism Conference in Spain

WUNRN
http://www.wunrn.com

http://www.feminismeislamic.org/eng/

Contact: info@feminismeislamic.org
Third International Congress on Islamic Feminism
Barcelona 24th-27th October 2008

The Third International Congress on Islamic Feminism has been announced by Junta Islàmica Catalana (Catalonian Islamic Board) and will take place in Barcelona, 24th-27th October 2008.

The conference will be focused on the problems of Muslim women in the Global era. Many Muslim women today are facing a double oppression: economic (neo-liberalism) and political (religious fundamentalism). The Congress will consider the responses given by Islamic feminists to this situation, and their contribution towards the construction of a new civil society worldwide, based on a culture of human rights and Qur’anic values such as democracy, social justice, freedom of conscience and gender equality.

Distinguished Muslim personalities will be attending, such as Bouthaina Shaaban, Syria's Minister for Refugees and candidate for Nobel Peace Prize; and Baroness Uddin, the first Muslim woman becoming member of the House of Lords in Britain.

Third International Congress on Islamic Feminism

The Third International Congress on Islamic Feminism will focus on the problems of Muslim women in the globalization era, who are facing a double oppression: economic (neo-liberalism) and political (religious fundamentalism). We will analyze the response given by Islamic feminists regarding this situation, and their contribution towards the construction of a new worldwide civil society, based on a culture of human rights and universal values such as democracy, social justice, freedom of conscience and gender equality.

The relationship between global feminism and Islamic feminism.
Various strategies for improving Muslim women's rights promoted by human rights associations on a national and international level.

A panel that will be focused on masculinity and the involvement of men in Islamic feminism.

Related issues: Third world feminism; Millennium Goals of UN; Alliance of Civilizations; access to education; feminism, culture of war and communal violence; feminism and Islamism; secularism, cultural diversity and human rights; interreligious dialogue; Quranic hermeneutics; spirituality and feminism.
Objectives

To continue with the achievements of the First and Second Congress on Islamic Feminism, contributing towards the emergence of a pro gender equality Muslim women's movement, on a theoretical and practical level.

To analyze the strategies undertaken by Muslim feminists to cope with new forms of oppression arising from globalization, with particular emphasis on the alliance between neo-liberalism and religious fundamentalism.

To place Islamic feminism in the context of globalization, as part of global feminism and in relation to the anti-globalization movement.
To help consolidate Islamic feminism as a transnational movement through the creation of networks of organizations working in the field of women's rights in Islam.

From: WUNRN ListServe
Date: September 14, 2008 1:17:31 PM EDT
To: WUNRN_ListServe@LISTS.WUNRN.COM
Subject: Third International Congress on Islamic Feminism
Reply-To: mosie@INFIONLINE.NET

Friday, September 12, 2008

Iftaar with democracts

An Iftar with Democrats

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Please mark your calendar! join Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus at our annual Event "An iftar with Democrats" on September 25th, 2008. This forum has traditionally served as an opportunity for Muslim community to meet with the Democratic leadership of this area to interact and exchange views.Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus (TMDC) is an accredited Caucus within the Texas Democratic Party. We seek to increase cooperation and coalition building with other Democrats and the Muslim community.Stakes are very high for our country and for us this year, forces of intolerance are busy taking the country to further extremism this election year. 2008 will be a defining election for us and for our coming generations, issues of war and peace will be settled this year. Neo-Cons are back in their game, who knows how many more thousands or millions of innocent lives they plan to play with. Big corporations war profiteers and their lobbyists are not content with the plunders of our economy since last eight years, they are still conspiring to add more billions. We still see our brothers and sisters harassed and intimidated at airports, schools and by law enforcement agencies.

However, this can be changed with your participation in political process. So let's organize, lets discuss how we can help our Democratic candidates to bring peace to this country and the world. Lets put the country back on track of prosperity, justice and common sense. Like our presidential candidate Barak Obama said in an interview "We need to change the mindset of war". So come join us at the iftar dinner and explore how we can support our democrats win election this November

The iftar dinner in 2006 and 2007 went really successful with the Muslim community as it built the enthusiasm in voters. A number of 2006 statewide and local candidates, party officials and friends came to acknowledge and encourage Muslims participation in Texas electoral process. Our efforts, undoubtedly, contributed to the Democratic victory in all Dallas county races in 2006.Muslims participation in electoral process is producing favorable results for Democratic Party in North Texas . We are witnessing an upsurge of Muslim political power throughout the state of Texas . TMDC goal for 2008 includes, statewide voter registration campaign, precinct chairs appointments, and maximum numbers of district, state and national convention delegates, and elections to state executive committees.

We are encouraging Democratic candidates for various offices to bring their campaign materials for distribution among attendees.

When?: Thursday September 25, 2008 @ 6:30 p.m.Where?: Bar B Que Tonite, 2540 Old Denton Rd. #173 . Carrollton Texas 75006(Phone: 972 466 0786)Thank You
Please RSVP:

Syed Hassan,
President ElectTexas Muslim Democratic Caucus
RSVP: Syed Hassan 682 429 9954
Aftab Siddiqui 817 706 7495
Inayat Lalani 817 504 0636

Muslim presence at DNC Denver

Dear Brothers and sisters ASA,

Alhamd o Lillah, the first ever Democratic Muslim Caucus at Democratic party national convention in Denver Colorado got excellent media coverage (see for yourself). So if you missed the first ever Muslim Caucus at a major party national convention, then see below for some of the media reports. The news is out from India to Taiwan to UK that Muslims seek fair share in US political system. We are out we are enthusiastic and we have numbers. Muslims are destined to be enfranchised, we are a part and parcel of American society, we will overcome all our difficulties.

So my congratulations to all my brothers and sisters in Islam and all my fellow Americans on the success of a great event and thank America for winning our hearts and minds
Thank You
Syed Hassan
President Elect
Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus
Member steering Committee AMDC

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Texan With Character: Sarosha Hansraj

Here is a good story about a Muslim girl who is challenging the false perceptions about Islam through real work - A Muslim should be identified by serving humanity; God's creation. Thank God, Sarosha Hansraj, a Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim is setting that example. Isn't this what Islam is all about?
______________________________________________

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Sarosha.Hansraj.afghanistan.2.800889.html

Yes, she is only 10..
Texan With Character: Sarosha Hansraj

ReportingTeresa Frosini (CBS 11 News) After learning about girls in Afghanistan needing education, 10-year-old Sarosha Hansraj became inspired and knew she had to make a difference. That idea spark turned into an organization named it Children Care for Children. Sarosha's organization provides shoes, backpacks and basic school supplies to the Darnami Girls' School in Afghanistan. "For a long time, the Taliban didn't allow any girl to go to school. And so now that there are laws (allowing) for girls to go to school, I feel it is our responsibility to support them." The 5th grader has helped more than 340 girls who attend the school and hopes to be able all of them and more. "There are over a 120 million children and they don't have any access to primary education so I know I need to help as many children as I can," the Grapevine girl said. Her efforts have gained her recognition as one of the 10 national winners of the Kohl's Kids Who Care scholarship program this summer. She has some advice for other young people wanting to help: "Everybody can make a difference and it doesn't matter how young or old you are, or how rich or how poor you are, because even $1 can make a difference."
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
______________________________________________

Sarosha Hansraj from Texas, found us, P.E.C.A in Minnesota. Her parents Sarfaraz and Seema migrated to the States from Pakistan, and she is helping young boys and girls reach their potential in Khost, Afghanistan. This rather improbable full-circle reaches astonishing proportions when we add this fact – Sarosha is ten years old.

Sarosha was eight when her father told her a bedtime story about an underprivileged farmer and his children. A troubled Sarosha woke the next day; and asked her Mom if there was something she could do to help the kids in this family. Her Mom explained to her that the story she heard was common for many families around the world and that children usually become the victims of such hardships.

Sarosha knew that she alone could not change the world and prevent stories like this from happening. But she thought that if the children around her were to join in and share her vision, together they could make a huge impact by changing the story of one child at a time. She asked her parents’ help to find an organization that worked with children and found us, and the rest as they say, is history.

Sarosha organized a hula-thon as her first fund-raising event and sent P.E.C.A all of the money raised. For the last two years she has organized various events to raise funds. As she turned ten, in an extraordinary act of grace, generosity and compassion, she sent a letter to her friends stating that she had everything and could they make out a check to P.E.C.A instead. P.E.C.A is humbled by these donations. Today, Sarosha has her own non-profit organization called Children Care for Children. You can find more information at http://www.childrencareforchildren.org/.
With her help, we’ve been able to buy all of the boys in Da Dornamio School in Khost a pair of good quality shoes. In addition the funds have been used for school supplies. As I head for Afghanistan, Sarosha is sending with me additional monies AND a stack of English magazines appropriate for elementary school children. The magazines are delightful and appropriate for the Afghan culture.

I talked with Sarosha and her father recently. I found a poised and articulate young girl who is giving presentations about her program and inspiring other children to get involved and reach out to their under privileged brothers and sisters both here and abroad. Her efforts are being acknowledged and she has just been declared a national winner in the Kohl’s Kids Who Care® Scholarship Program that recognizes and rewards young volunteers (ages 6-18) who help make their communities a better place. TEN kids are chosen from a slate of 1900 regional winners.

More information is available at http://www.kohlscorporation.com/CommunityRelations/scholarship/2008NationalWinners.asp. We are very, very, very proud to know Sarosha.

I asked her what motivates her. She told me that she is inspired by her religion (Islam) in which generosity is considered a divine virtue, she is encouraged by her parents and by her community, and she is driven by the fact that 30,000 children die each day – mostly due to poverty.
I asked her if she wanted to see something specific in the article. She said that she wants people to know that giving can bring more joy than receiving and that any amount is good. In countries like Afghanistan, where most people earn less than two dollars a day, a donation of one dollar goes a long way. Sarosha, we salute you and all of our best wishes are with you. We hope your story is heard far and wide and that you realize your hopes and dreams

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Towards Human Understanding through Dialogue

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/08/towards-human-understanding-through.html

.
World Muslim Congress
Good for Muslims and good for the world

To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; that is indeed the purpose of religion, any religion. Mission statement

AA,

Dr. Manzoor Alam,

Alhamdu Lillah, the dust that has gathered on Islam seems to be blowing away one speckle at a time taking back to the Islam of Prophet Muhammad’s time, where several faiths co-existed, where he believed in “live and let live”, when he initiated and co-signed Madinah pact, offered Christians to worship in his mosque, walked up and kissed the Torah in a Jewish procession showing reverence for other faith, unprecedented inter-tribal marriages for people to learn to live with different sets of beliefs without the need to convert the other, giving amnesty to the bitter people who wanted to kill him when he took Mecca back, praying for those who threw rocks at him. The biggest lesson we have to constantly remember is Prophet’s own uncle and care giver, who did not convert.

Over the centuries, we had become reclusive insensitive societies as we deprived ourselves of co-existence and rigidly became monolithic Muslim societies. We did not believe in dialogue for a while as we did not have any one to dialogue with.

Thank God, we see the light at the end of the tunnel; HH Aga Khan has jump started the movement with his Pluralism Center, King Abdullah of Jordan’s has made good moves, Abdul Wahid of Indonesia has great number of supporters for the movement and now King Abdullah puts the capstone to it. We are floundering, but once we understand the reason for co-existence and how Islam is about peace and Justice, we will get a firm back bone and stand firm footed on the kind of society that existed during Prophet’s time, it is coming back again, the evidence is all over.

Although Amina Wadud, Asra Nomani, Tarek Fateh, Farzana Qazi, Irshad Manji and a few others appear to be falling off the stratosphere, without them, we would not have moved an inch off our butts. Instead of letting them dig in their heels, we need to welcome them as reformers and give them a listen and make them our partners in working towards demystifying the myths about Islam. Let’s not lose them to the Neocons.

The Moderate Majority of Muslims are not afraid of exploring the ideas, the conservatives are scared that by listening to these reformers somehow Islam will not be Islam any more. As moderates, most of us are, my guess is 98% of us are moderates, we need to assure them that it won’t, we have to firmly believe in the word of Allah, he will protect his system of goodness that he has created for mankind. Islam has survived and will continue to be a part of billions of people as other faiths of God are. Every one is created by God, and each one of us has to account for what we do, the noblest among humans are those who necessarily care about others. We have a treasure and we need not let it be divided, all denominations and the ones on the left, right and the middle have to work together for a common goal; to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation;

Dr. Alam,

I am pleased to enclose the response from Ambassador Ahsani copied to several movers and shakers of the Muslim community in the US.

You have two of them in your backyard – Dr. Abusaleh Shariff (http://salehshariff.blogspot.com/ ) one of the top 25 economists in India, and top ten demographers in the world. He is our common friend. Insha Allah he will present the paper that he and I would write on the subject “"Towards Human Understanding through Dialogue”.

Dr. Javed Jamil, is a prolific writer on Islam and economics.

I am sure you have Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer working on it as well.

I am also copying this note to Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq, who has written one of the best papers on Sharia Value that has moderated some of the Sharia Busters. http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/2008/03/sharia-value.html

You may want invite Dr. Eboo Patel, son of your soil (and mine too) who is making inroads into co-existence through service work. An young man who will have a major impact on removing the ill propagated perceptions about Islam. He will be a major player in the main stream community. http://ifyc.org/

Dr. Louay Safi is another great writer of our times on co-existence.

Insha Allah we have big plans in Dallas to build the Memnosyne Campus for Humanities, one of the six center is the Center for Interfaith inquiry and I am pleased to take the responsibility to over see the development of the Center as a co-chair. http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Shaping-the-tomorrow.asp

Unity Day USA is our initiative, a Muslim initiative to contribute towards the well being of our nation. Insha Allah, if I continue to work on it, it will become a national day, a Muslim effort on the national event. http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/UnitydayUSA-2008-PressRelease.asp

Aga Khan Network’s “Partnership Walk” is becoming a major national event in the United States and Canada, perhaps in other nations as well. This is dialogue in action. http://www.partnershipwalk.org/

I have copied them all and Insha Allah will also post the event at http://islamicconferences.blogspot.com/

We have to factor in the idea that we have to deal with all possible negatives, comments, cheers and jeers to develop a sustainable ongoing dialogue, if not it would be a farce thing to please ourselves.

Qur'aan :: As-Saff (The Row)
61:2 O YOU who have attained to faith! Why do you say one thing and do another?
61:3 Most loathsome is it in the sight of God that you say what you do not do!

Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress
Memnosyne Center for Interfaith Inquiry
Foundation for Pluralism

Three-day international conference
Towards Human Understanding through Dialogue

Dear Dr Mohammed Manzoor Alam,
Assalamo Alaikum,

Through courtesy of Mike Ghouse, I thank you for contacting me. Mike Ghouse is doing wonderful work in reviving the agenda of World Muslim Congress, first established in1926 at Makkah. Held in 1931 at Jerusalem, under the Presidency of Hajj Amin Al_Hussaini, and with Allama Iqbal as Vice President, and Riad Solh of Lebanon, Mustafa Taba Tabai of Iran, Mohd Alouba Pasha of Egypt, it was in abeyance due to war.

Rejuvenated by Late Inamullah Khan in 1949 at Karachi in which I was present, it assembled a galaxy of leaders of Muslim world like Hajj Amin al-Hussein, Said Ramdan, of Egypt, Mahmud al-Sawwaf of Iraq, Mustafa Sabai of Syria.

As President of Institute of Medieval & Post Medieval Studies, Texas, we are at present working on Renaissance of Ummah/Humanity through Inter-civilization Dialogue.

May I request some Muslim leaders of societal standing as follows::

• Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi-Chairman,American Muslim Fiqh Council,California
• Dr. Ingrid Matson,President,Islamaic Society of North America
• Dr. Saiyyid Saeed, President Interfaith Outreach,WashingtonD.C.
• Dr. M.Fareed,Secretary General,ISNA
• Dr. Faisal Abdul Rauf,Presidnet,ASMA,New York
• Dr. Assad Basool,American-Arab College,Chicago
• Dr. Ghulam Haider Aaasi,Arab AmericanCollege,Chicago,
• Dr. Wasiullah Khan,President East -West University,Chicago
• Dr. Ibne Hassan,Prof.Harvard University
• Dr. Dr. Agha Saeed,Founder President,American Muslim Alliance,National:American MuslimTakd Force,for Civil Rights & Elections
• Dr.Zahir Ahmed,Space Scientist,Producer of Islamic Documentaries-God of 3 Religons,Islamic Spain,now working on a film on Allama Bukhari
• Dr.Dr.Nazeer Ahmad,Space Scientist,author of Islam in GlobalHistory,Member of Nixon Foundation
• Mr. Mike Wolfe ,President of Unity Productions,Documentar Film Producer of Films like Legacy of Prophet,Light of Two Cites,Prince of Slaves, author of book: One Thousand Years of Pilgrimage

.Kindly contact them on the addresses given in CC.
With kindest regards,
Ambassador of Pakistan (to15 countries) Syed A.Ahsani
Chair, American MuslimAlliance,
South West Coordinator,AmericanMuslim Task Force,Texas Chapter,
National & State Delelgate to Democratic Conventions since 1998

----- Original Message ----
From: Institute of Objective Studies
To: WorldMuslimCongress@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2008 1:57:53 AM
Subject: MuslimAgenda :: Three-day international confererence on "Towards Human Understanding through Dialogue" to be held from October24-26,2008 at New Delhi

August 23, 2008

To,

Mr.Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress
Foundation for Pluralism
Center for Interfaith Inquiry
Subject: Request to suggest name of organisations / individuals for the participation in the three-day international conference on "Towards Human Understanding through Dialogue" to be held from October 24-26, 2008 at New Delhi , India

Dear Sir,
Assalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah!

Please find herewith a copy of the approach paper for a proposed three-day international conference on Towards Human Understanding Through Dialogue to be held from October 24-26, 2008 in New Delhi .

The paper spells out various dimensions of issues relating to creation of synergy to generate mutual understanding among nations, civilisations, faiths and cultures so that humanity may find solutions to the present crises and dispel the atmosphere of mistrust. The 21st century presents an alarming and gloomy scenario of dangers of insecurity, terrorism, violence, conflicts and confrontations. This calls for immediate attention of all concerned to find out ways and means to address relevant questions and seek right answers.

It is believed that dialogue among faiths, civilisations and cultures may prove to be an effective means to achieve the objectives at hand. Dialogue is human in its basics and has been used in most crucial situations in human history with valuable results and favourable impact on civilisations. Islam, among other faiths and ideologies, has shown great respect and confidence in adopting the process of dialogue in reaching peaceful resolution of problems.

The Institute of Objective Studies has resolved to popularise dialogue and its importance in modern times through seminars, symposia, books and media discourse.

It organised a three-day international conference on "Inter-Civilisational Dialogue in a Globalising World" on April 6-8, 2005 at New Delhi . It was followed by nearly a dozen regional conferences on various aspects of dialogue at different regional centres in India .

We intend to invite, the above international conference, the top brass of all concerning segments from all over the world. We are sure of getting an excellent response and participation from eminent personalities from different quarters.

We earnestly request you to kindly suggest some name of organisation/ individuals working in this field.

Your contribution will certainly go a long way in fetching desirable results.

Waiting for your response,

With kind regards,

Dr. Mohd. Manzoor Alam
Chairman, Institute of Objective Studies
New Delhi, India

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Islam and Democracy

TVAliar forwared this article.
Islam and Democracy

THE things that concern man most vitally are the most difficult to define. Who has ever succeeded to offer a definition of religion that would satisfy all creeds and all sects and all philosophers of religion? The difficulty is not less in every single religion, great or small. The hundreds of Christian sects would define Christianity differently - everyone considering some one or more traits as essential constituents of it, while the others would regard them either un-Christian or of secondary importance.

Islam is proverbially reputed to have seventy-two sects, though it would be difficult for any research scholar to count more than a dozen. Hinduism is a completely indefinable entity and it is now agreed, only for the sake of consensus, that whoever calls himself a Hindu is a Hindu, irrespective of his beliefs or practices. Besides the division of sects, individuals within the pale of the same creed have widely different views and angles of vision about what actually constitutes the essence of religion.

I do not expect that the view of religion (or Islam in particular) as presented in this book would be universally accepted. However, I may substantiate it by the authority of the Qur'an and the Sunnah [the Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, p.b.u.h.]. My like-minded co-religionists would hold it to be true, but whoever cares to differ may interpret the same verses differently or quote others to contradict my interpretation.

The subject of the relation of Islam to democracy would present further difficulties, because democracy seems to have become as indefinable as religion or love. From the beginning of democracy, in any part of the world, up to the present times, (when it almost seems to have taken the place of religion as an ideal or a way of life) opinions about its nature and value have been divergent and contradictory.

Western political historians usually start with Greek democracies, paying special attention to Athenian democracy as a typical institution. Some lovers of Greek culture praise it as much today as Pericles did when he called it the high water mark of civilization. But the most famous of the Greek political philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, considered it to be an irrational and disgraceful institution. The last one having the biggest world-conquering monarch as his glorious disciple.

Let me quote a sentence from Aristotle's Politics (Book V, Ch. I, Sec. 2). He says: "Democracy arose from men's thinking that if they are equal in any respect, they are equal absolutely." He did not believe in any fundamental equality of mankind. He has asserted that Nature creates some human beings for slavery, and so slavery is a natural institution. The whole of Plato's' Republic is a monumental and elaborate thesis against Athenian democracy and the whole concept of democracy in general.

The teacher and the disciple desired the creation and perpetuation of a rigid caste system in which the majority of superficially free citizens should have nothing to do with the making of laws or the executive government. They too, like Aristotle, considered it just that the majority should consist of virtual or actual slaves. Plutarch says about Lycurgas that to a man who demanded the establishment of democracy in Sparta, he replied: "Go thou and first establish democracy in thy household."

The broadest definition of democracy is that given by Abraham Lincoln, that "it is a government of the people, by the people and for the people," which Daniel Webster put in other words as the people's government made for the people, made by the people and answerable to the people. As I have said already, democracy has now in many ways taken the place of religion. It is inevitable, therefore, that like religion it should become vague and assume different shapes among different nations, due to [a] difference of temperament and history. The British are proud to have developed representative institutions; and the British Parliament is considered to be the mother of parliaments. But the Magna Carta which John was forced to sign was not a charter of rights for the people since a political entity did not exist. It was the landed aristocracy, the feudal barons, who wanted to share power with the king and the right to defend what they believed to be their rights or vested interests. The people received no protection against the exploitation and tyranny of the feudal lords.

The British, during a long process of political evolution, curtailed and ultimately annihilated the power of the king, threatening to behead him if he was too refractory [insubordinate] and self-willed, but [the] aristocracy continued to be the actual ruling power till the recent emasculation of the House of Lords where the aristocrats with denuded power and pelf [derog. wealth] are allowed to debate but not to decide, just as the king is allowed to reign but not to rule. A century ago, during the time of Macaulay, the franchise was still very restricted and the common man wielded no effectual power. But he proudly said: "Our democracy was from an early period the most aristocratic and our aristocracy the most democratic." Like many of Macaulay's verdicts, the assertion is more rhetorical than historical.

How many different and diametrically opposed systems have claimed to be democratic in recent history? I had au opportunity of discussing the suppression of democracy with Dr Schacht when he was removed by Hitler from the control of finance. At that time he could not dare to denounce the Nazis and, supporting the system, he said that the Jews were suppressed (he did not acknowledge persecution) in the name of German democracy and Hitler was elected by an overwhelming free democratic vote. On the other hand, Communism claimed to be [a] real democracy run by workers and peasants who have little power in a capitalist regime.

The Western democracies collectively have assumed the dignified title of the "free world" implying that the communist world is an enslaved world where people are equal only in the sense of enjoying equality of rightlessness [lack of rights]. The Italian Fascists also believed themselves to be true democrats wielding power for the glory of the people. France, during the French Revolution, raised the slogan of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality, and then Napoleon, the Caesar of Caesars, was the outcome of it. After that, having lost her political hegemony [supremacy].

In Europe, France started or intensified her colonial ventures, defeated in many regions by the British, but still holding fast to the rest. Having been defeated debased and ousted from a part of Indo-China and retaining the rest by the support of the so-called free democracies, France entered on a campaign of genocide in Algeria claiming Algeria to be French because of the exploiting French minority there. This is her practical application of the creed of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality which sounded even better than Abraham Lincoln's "government of the people, by the people and for the people". The Union of South Africa too, is a part of the so-called free world. It took [an] active part in defeating Hitler's Nazism and Mussolini's Fascism, but is actively and violently engaged in preaching and practicing the creed of racial segregation and disenfranchisement of the native population and the colored people within its realm. This too is democracy. Democracy, O Democracy, what crimes are committed in thy name!

Democracy, through its long and chequered history, has assumed many forms and shall in all probability assume many more forms in the future. We have to discuss here democracy in relation to the religion of Islam. Muslims in general believe Islam to be a democratic creed, but it is a curious phenomenon that neither Arabic nor any other Muslim language has any word that could be called an exact equivalent of the word 'democracy.' The word Jamhur'iyat derived from Jamhur, meaning 'the people,' is a twentieth-century translation which is now adopted in many Muslim languages. The Socialist Party in Iran is called Tudeh Party; the original meaning of Tudeh is a mass or a heap. The movement claiming to be the protagonist of the masses adopted the word Tudeh, meaning mass. When even the word did not exist, the presumption is that democracy, as understood in the West, neither existed in ideology nor as an institution.

Dealing with Islam, the question is not difficult to answer. According to the Islamic faith, sovereignty belongs to God and not to the people either as a whole or as a majority. As God is the Creator and the Law-giver of the universe, so all authority in human affairs ultimately vests [is vested] in God. The phrase 'sovereignty of the people' would be considered heretical or blasphemous. Whoever rules among the Ummah [community] rules only by delegated authority.
The real problem is to whom this sovereignty or authority is delegated. If there were an organized Church in Islam, with a hierarchy of ordained priests, this body would claim to be the vice-regent of God on earth. as the Catholic Church holds power in the name of Christ with an infallible pontiff at the apex of the ecclesiastical pyramid deriving his infallibility directly from Jesus himself. It is as if Jesus himself were the executive head of the institution. But as original Islam abolished monarchy and feudalism by abolishing primogeniture [an exclusive right of inheritance belonging to the eldest son], so it categorically abolished priesthood. The Prophet handed over the preservation, propagation and implementation of the faith to the entire community of the faithful advising them to choose their leader from among themselves on the basis of all-round fitness, irrespective of tribe, race or wealth. He said; "Follow your leader even if he is a Negro with tangled hair."

It should be kept in mind that in this book we are dealing with Islam and not with the types of States and societies in which Muslims have lived through these [last] fourteen centuries. Islam should not be confused with the social or political organization of various Muslim communities (or nations) in different epochs and different climes. As Christianity, as lived through the ages, should not be identified with the original outlook of Jesus, or [for] what he desired humanity to be.

Islam, as taught in the Qur'an, and preached and practiced by the Prophet; and a short time afterwards by those on whom his mantel [shadow?] fell, very soon lost its idealism by what may be called a counterrevolution. It became diluted with Arab imperialism which spoilt a good deal of its original egalitarian ideology. When wealth undreamt of by the dwellers of the desert poured in, it accumulated in the hands of a minority [and] all the economic ills and moral weaknesses followed in its wake. From Mu'awiyah onwards, who converted the democratic republic of Islam into a hereditary monarchy, the self-styled successors of the Prophet, assuming the dignified title of Khalifa, combined in themselves the powers a Caesar and a Pope. The whole wealth of an extensive realm became their private purse.

Courtiers and aristocracy sprang up so much so that they began to prefer the accumulation of taxes to the propagation of faith. Revenue collectors reported to an exceptionally pious Khalifa, 'Umar ibn 'Abdul ‘Aziz that the revenues of the realm were declining and all was not well with the State exchequer because those who became Muslims did not pay the poll tax. He said that the State should be pleased because it was not the aim of Islam to collect taxes but to propagate the faith.

Such a man among the later Khalifa was an exception. The ruling junta got rid of him by poisoning [him]. Theology, with [a] few honorable exceptions, became the handmaiden of monarchical power. Nobody raised a voice against these Caesars who sat in the seat of a Prophet who lived in a mud hut, swept his floor, mended his shoes and milked his goats, living for days together on a handful of dates with or without a cup of camel's milk.

The Prophet has said:
"Henceforth there shall be no Caesars and God hates most the man who is called an emperor or king of kings."

How could the world believe that there was anything democratic in Islam when the common man had no say in the working of the State and had no power to assert his rights? Among the people only a nostalgic memory was left of the type of State and society which was brought into being by the implementation of Islam for about three decades. They called this short-lived experiment Khilafat Rashidah, the rightly-guided Caliphate, implying thereby that the rulers that followed were misguided. The glory of Harun al-Rashid, the magnificence of Suleiman the Magnificent, and the splendor of Shah Jahan who sat in the jeweled Peacock Throne, costing half the revenue of his entire kingdom, was not the glory of Islam or the furtherance of its ideology but quite the opposite of it.

Let us summarize the type of State and society which Islam envisaged as an ideal pattern and which it tried to realize within the limitation of an early era, and the relief’s which it was based upon:

(1) Sovereignty belongs to God alone whose chief attributes are Wisdom, Justice and Love. He desires human beings to assimilate these attributes in their thoughts, words and deeds.

(2) Though ultimately God moulds destinies, He has endowed man with free-will so that he may freely attune his will to the will and purpose of God.

(3) In matters of faith, God has compelled nobody to believe; the ways of righteousness and their opposites have been clearly indicated. Anyone may believe or disbelieve and bear the consequences. There must not be any compulsion, in the matter of faith. An imposed faith is no faith at all. Everybody should be free to follow his own way of life, either because of personal preference or because of his belonging to a community, provided his conduct is not subversive of fundamental morality or disruptive of the peace of the realm or does not trespass on the legitimate freedom of others.

(4) An Islamic State is not theocratic but ideological. The rights and duties of its citizens shall be determined by the extent to which they identify themselves with this ideology.

(5) Non-Muslims can live peacefully as citizens of a Muslim realm. They are free to not take part in the defense of the State, and in lieu of this exemption pay a poll tax which shall entitle them to complete protection of life, property and liberty in the practice of their faith. If they are prepared to defend the realm as loyal citizens, they shall be exempt from this tax.

(6) There shall be no racial discrimination within a Muslim realm. People become high or low only because of their character.

(7) All avenues of economic exploitation must be blocked so that wealth does not circulate only in the hands of the few.

(8) A person shall be free to earn as much as he can by legitimate means, without exploitation or fraud. But wealth, even legitimately acquired beyond a certain minimum, shall be subject to a tax on capital. This shall be an inalienable part of a Muslim polity [state].

(9) Women shall enjoy an independent economic status. All their inherited wealth and their personal earnings shall be their own property which they can dispose of as they please.

(10) A truly Islamic State cannot be a monarchical state. It must be a democratic republic in which the president is elected by a free vote of the community on the basis of his capacity and character.

(11) It is incumbent on the ruler to have a council of advisers and consultants for purposes of legislation or major decisions. They shall be chosen on grounds of their wisdom, experience and integrity. The mode of their selection is left to circumstances. In matters not pertaining to faith, non-Muslims are not debarred from consultation.

(12) There shall be no special class of priests in an Islamic society, though persons leading [a] better religious life and possessing [a] better knowledge of religious affairs have a legitimate claim to honor. They shall enjoy no special privileges, legal or economic.

(13) There shall be perfect equality of opportunity and equality before [the] law. The law shall make no distinction between a Muslim and a non-Muslim either in civil or [in] criminal cases. Every citizen shall have the right to seek a judicial decision - even against the head of the state.
There were many instances of this in early Islam. The Khalifa 'Umar appeared in the Court as a party in a suit and the judge stood up as a matter of respect, at which the Khalifa said that he had started with an unjust act honoring one party more than the other; how could the other party have confidence in his sense of justice?

(14) The judiciary was made independent of the executive. In periods of monarchical absolutism, when the judiciary began to be influenced by the men in power, the great jurist Imam Abu Hanifah preferred to be whipped and sent to prison [rather] than accept the post of a judge. He was imbued with the original spirit of Islam which desired uncorrupted justice between man and man. "Do not refrain from justice even if it goes against you" (Qur'an 4:136); "Let not the hostility of a party tend to make you unjust towards it."

These are the fundamentals of an Islamic constitution that are unalterable. No ruler or no majority possesses any right to tamper with them or alter them. This is eternal Islam rooted in the ideals of a God-centered humanity.

An Islamic democracy could differ in its pattern from some of the modern democracies. It is un-Islamic that parliamentary government should run on a party basis.” My party, right or wrong," is morally as vicious as "My country, right or wrong." Once a haughty imperialist British viceroy of India had the audacity to say in a public utterance that Indians are liars. Chesterton, the famous British author, hearing this, said that the atmosphere in India must be chokingly false [in] that a party politician like Corson should feel the stink of it, because a party politician's life is based on hypocrisy and falsehood. The chief aim in party politics is not the welfare of the state or the weal of the commonwealth, but to strengthen the position of the party or weaken the position of its opponents. When a party gets into power by [either] fair or foul means, it very often forgets all the promises and does the very same things against which it raised a hue and cry and accused the opponents. The reduction ad absurdum [reduction to absurdity] of this system is the French Chamber of Deputies, which makes it impossible to have a stable government even for a few months. Every day persons and parties come together or separate to dislodge others. No division on the basis of principles is involved.

Government of the people and by the people has led logically to adult franchise [voice] even in nations where the majority is illiterate and utterly incapable of understanding the complicated economic and political issues of modern life. This kind of political democracy was demanded and furthered by exploiting [the] bourgeoisie in every country who were certain of getting the votes of helpless workers and peasants and dependent women.

People must have equality of opportunity and equality before [the] law, but equality before [the] law does not necessarily mean equality of wisdom and capacity to make laws. As Socrates said in Plato's Republic, it is curious that one would not entrust the work of making shoes to one who has not spent a good part of his life in acquiring this skill, but legislation and political decisions are considered to be safe in the hands of those who do not know the elements of statecraft and are devoid of the knowledge of human nature and human destiny. And how right Aristotle was in observing what we have quoted already that democracy means that if people are equal in some respects, they are equal in all respects!

Surely Islam enjoins that good government must be government by consultation, but the vital question is 'who the persons are entitled to be consulted and how are they to be chosen?' How could you expert a crowd of illiterate and exploited peoples to choose, properly and freely, a person to represent them solely on the basis of wisdom and integrity? Could a poor man who has no money for an expensive electioneering campaign ever hope to get into a modern legislature?
The extension of franchise should go hand in hand with the extension of a right type of education and economic freedom of the common man whether he is a wage earner or a peasant. Even when these conditions are realized, representatives should be chosen on the basis of knowledge and integrity; the possession of wealth playing no part in it.

Some nations experimented with democracy in the past and many more are experimenting with it in the present. It is not difficult to understand why it has so general an appeal. It appeals to the common man because it appeals to his sense of dignity and self-respect making him feels that, in however a humble way, he too counts. He appreciates the idea that everyone is to count as one and nobody more than one. [Immanuel] Kant defined the ethical imperative as meaning that every human being is to be treated as an end in himself and not as a means for the furtherance of ends [that are] extraneous to him.

Throughout the history of civilization, the majority of individuals in a nation or an empire were treated merely as a means to promote the end of a monarchy or an oligarchy or a plutocracy. The governments of the past were devices for maintaining in perpetuity the place and position of certain privileged classes. The democratic ideal is to devise machinery for protecting the rights of the people, and the ultimate extinction of all privileged classes. A democrat rightly believes that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people and the system of state and society should be such as makes it possible for every human being to achieve whatever worth he is capable of achieving. The democratic idea is a religious idea in so far as its starting point is the postulate that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain natural rights; and for the protection of these natural rights, all men are to be treated as equal.

The world must be made safe for democracy if humanity as a whole has to develop the eternal intrinsic values of human life, which a theistic religion believes to originate in the nature of God. Implementation of these values may change but in themselves they arc eternal. This verse o. the Qur'an supports this conviction: "The nature of God, on which He molded the nature of man; the laws of God's creation are inalterable - this is the right religion." (Qur'an 30:30)

Again, the democratic ideal may be compared with religion in this respect that, like religion, so much human perversity and collective egoism of classes and vested interests masquerade in the garb of democracy. Perverse forms of religion have rightly been blamed for the worst types of tyranny. Crusades and unholy wars were waged in the name of God. But all the perversities and aberrations of religion have not made the genuinely religious man despair of it.

Theistic religion offers the highest kind of idealism, which alone can guarantee the spiritual advance of man, making him approximate more and more to the image of God and realize that nature which is rooted in the Divine. Cynics as well as lovers of mankind have looked with horror at some of the things done in the name of democracy.

Burke, in his Reflections on the Revolution in France, says that a perfect democracy is the most shameless thing in the world, and Benjamin Disraeli called a representative government a fatal drollery [joke]. Even a spiritual writer like Emerson looked at perverted democracy as a government of bullies tempered by editors. The Conservative Dean of St Paul, W.R. Inge, who as a good Christian should have believed that Christ established the eternal value of every individual, notes with satisfaction that the democracy of the ballot box has few worshippers any longer except in America. Longfellow called envy the vice of republics; and Bertrand Russell, himself a socialist, has endorsed it by saying that envy is the basis of democracy (The Conquest of Happiness, p. 83).

If religious as well as secular thinkers continue to decry [criticize] democracy, what is the alternative that they propose? Unfortunately, there is no other alternative which, on the whole, would produce more good than any democratic system. Benevolent monarchy or wise dictatorship, that could escape the intoxication of power, could achieve beneficial results in a shorter period in comparison with hesitant and slow-footed democracies. But you cannot have a succession of benevolent monarchs to which the history of all monarchies bears evidence. As to dictatorship, it is always established by ruthless violence and cannot continue without it. The ideal of Socrates and Plato of kings becoming philosophers, or philosophers becoming kings, is only a pattern in heaven.

The Islamic democratic pattern of a republic of free citizens could not last very long because power intoxicated Arab imperialism gave it a fatal blow. Imperialism and democracy cannot go together and any alliance between them is superficial, transient and hypocritical. Islam's original vision, which the best Muslim minds have never ceased to cherish even under most adverse circumstances, was democratic.

The Prophet as the recipient of revelation, and as an exemplar in the embodiment of what he taught, had an exalted and privileged position, but he did not consider himself to be above [the] law. He told his beloved daughter that she should bear in mind that if she stole anything she would receive the same dire punishment as any common thief. He never built a palace or even a middle class house for himself. He identified himself with the poorest citizen of the realm - neither eating nor dressing better than the humble folk. He left no material legacy for his family for he possessed nothing. His illustrious saintly successor testified after the death of the Prophet that he had heard him say that the prophets inherit nothing and nobody inherits anything from them. They are only entitled to the use of things without any claim of ownership.

Jesus had the same attitude towards material goods and considered it a great impediment in spiritual life that a soul should be encumbered with unnecessary wealth. Jesus was perfectly right in his observation that it would be more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. (It is said that a very small window in the city gate through which a person could pass in a bent position with great difficulty was called the eye of the needle because of its extreme narrowness.)

Islam is a practical religion, so it does not prescribe for all such a spiritualized ideal existence in which nobody should own anything. This is only the characteristic of those who have reached a very high state which is beyond the common run of humanity. But this ideal condition defines the direction in which the principle of social justice should move. People should not sit on unnecessary wealth, however acquired. The have-nots have a right to share it. Does not all humanitarian socialism tend towards it, not curbing the initiative of earning as much as one can by legitimate motives? It enjoins to devise a system in which wealth as the life-blood of the social organism should circulate in every part of it. Concentration in any one organ would injure the greedy self centered organ besides having a deleterious effect on the whole organism.

There is a verse in the Qur'an in which a question put to the Prophet is answered in only one pregnant word which sums up the whole ideology of socialism: "They ask you what they should give away (for charity or common welfare); tell them they should part with whatever is 'surplus' " (Qur'an 2:219). The "surplus" is the answer of the Qur'an. Socialistic States are now devising all possible means to take away these surpluses by heavy progressive taxation amounting almost to confiscation when wealth reaches a very high level, and by death duties. They are moving in the direction of the Qur'an. The conservative Dean Inge is indignant about it because it would impoverish British aristocracy and make it impossible for them to maintain their magnificent country houses. He calls it the robbing of an innocent minority by a predatory majority of do-nothing have-nots.

Islam could not give an eternally valid chart of the details of execution and implementation but did give in unmistakable terms the fundamentals of a humanitarian democracy. True Islam in action could harbor no privileged classes and would not tolerate any type of hereditary monarchy. The hereditary principle is bad for the State and does not hold good even in the realm of the spirit. Even a prophet may have a degenerate son and ignoble progeny. There could be no hereditary apostolic succession. Nobody in the Islamic State would have the audacity to proclaim, like Louis XIV, "I am the State."

Islam recognizes neither kings nor their divine right. Feudalism or big landlordism also could not develop in a polity which is truly Islamic. As already stated, the law of primogeniture was the bedrock on which feudalism of castles and serfs was based. The Islamic law of inheritance definitely prohibits it. Even if a person has acquired large tracts of land by legitimates means (which is very seldom) they shall be cut up in small peasant proprietorships within one or two generations. And if surpluses are heavily taxed, capitalism, in the old sense, shall have no legs to stand upon.

In an ideal Islamic State there could be no kings, no feudal lords and no capitalists with a plethora of wealth. It will be a society of good middle-class people who are the backbone of every healthy society.

Shall it differ very much from a Communist State of the Russian type? The answer is yes, for the following reasons:

(1) It derives the fundamentals of life from the great spiritual leaders of humanity who taught that the ideals of human life are spiritual and divine.

(2) It shall not subscribe to the creed of dialectical or historical materialism, which for Communism, is the only eternal truth, if it believes at all in any eternal truth.

(3) It shall be based on the firm belief in the liberty and dignity of the individual. The State is not an end but a means for promoting the maximum welfare of the individual. As the Qur'an says: "You shall be responsible to God as individuals." The personal and private life of every individual must be secure.

(4) This necessitates absolute freedom of conscience which the Qur'an proclaims to the world in the emphatic injunction that there shall be no compulsion about religious beliefs and practices (2:256). No one shall enjoy any privilege or suffer any disability because of belonging to any particular group. There shall be no ruling party enjoying any special privilege or power.

(5) Religious communities shall enjoy the maximum of freedom to the extent that, apart from the general laws of the realm necessary for the common weal - general security and protection of fundamental rights of the individual - they shall have the right to be governed by their personal laws. The Qur'an and the Prophet granted that right to all religious communities which cannot be taken away by any legislation.

There are only two points of agreement between Communism and Islam. Both are against racial discrimination and both desire to do away with economic systems that tend to concentrate wealth in a few hands. One vital question remains to be answered which arises necessarily out of the relation of Islam to democracy and that is: 'How far is an Islamic society free to make laws for itself if a comprehensive code is already prescribed?'

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quraan burning

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 2013| Dallas, Texas

Mike Ghouse
Text/Talk: (214) 325-1916
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Mirza A Beg
(205) 454-8797
mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

PLANNED MUSLIMS RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING BY PASTOR JONES ON 9/11/13 IN MULBERRY, FLORIDA

We as Muslims plan to respond to pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 3000 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.

Our response - we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an” (Muhammad Asad Translation Note 31, verse 41:34). It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.

We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3000 copies Quran on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety – We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.

Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and Fire Chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the City’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

We thank the Media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.

URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

Thank you.

WHAT WILL MUSLIMS DO WHILE QURAN IS BURNT

A PURPOSEFUL EVENT

WEBSITE : www.UnityDayUSA.com

It is a purposeful positive event for Americans of different faiths, races, ethnicities and other uniqueness to come together to rededicate ourselves to our pledge; One nation under God with liberty and Justice for all. We will pray for peace, prosperity and security of our nation.

Last year the event focused on the positive response of Sikh community to the Wisconsin Shooting and this year, we will focus on the positive prayerful response of Muslim community to the planned Qur'an Burning by Pastor Terry Jones in Mulberry, Florida.

Click on pictures to see larger version of the photo

RSVP- ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com
Contact information - at the bottom
PROGRAM DETAILS Pictures indicate for visualization of the program as was done in Dallas, Texas
We honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution, and have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to prevail for the common good of the world.
We hope, our mercy based message will remind those few Muslims elsewhere in the world that violence is not the way. We believe it may bring a change in the attitudes of followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety.

Please join us for a life changing event, you will fall in love with the idea that all of us Americans will come together as Americans and nothing but Americans. While we have our identity, we look to each other as American and rededicate ourselves to our pledge; one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

You will be a part of history in creating a model behavior in dealing with conflicts and building a cohesive America, where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. The 10th Annual event is moved to Mulberry, Florida - for a singular purpose - to mitigate possible apprehensions generated by the planned burning of 2998 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013. We hope the event restores our faith in the cohesiveness of America, and we the people will go on about our business of living our daily lives.The full press release: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

WE WILL GATHER;

to be together as Americans
to express our gratitude to our men and women in uniform
to honor individuals who have contributed to the well being of Mulberry, Florida
to emphasize and appreciate diversity represented by America.
to cherish the otherness of others.
to commit to be good neighbors
to rededicate our pledge to the peace, prosperity and security of America

Please join us with your family and friends to be together as Americans. Your presence is a valuable expression of unity. Along with our elected officials, civic, religious and business leaders, you help fulfill our common values and aspirations. Your presence fortifies our commitment to a pluralistic America.

As Americans, and as American of all hues, we uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. All our faiths reinforce the creed of "One Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all”.

On this Unity Day USA, we, the people of the United States of America of every faith, race and ethnicity, will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, safety, prosperity and the well being of our nation.

PROGRAM: FLAG CEREMONY

NATIONAL ANTHEM

(Preferably joined in by members of at least 7 faith traditions, if not all)

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:

To be led by the Hon. Mayor George Hatch of Mulberry

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgement of dignitaries- Suzanne
Thanking key volunteers - Curtis
Thanking the Media- Butch
Appreciating the sponsors - Lynn

PURPOSE

Purpose - a new positive approach to conflict mitigation and rededicating to our pledge – one nation under God with Liberty and Justice for all- Mike
Blood donation – Dr. Bajwa (3 Minutes) about the nationwide blood drive
One Blood Organization - Pat Michaels will share about the importance of blood donation

GREETINGS

Greetings from several religious traditions a few Video Samples; City of Carrollton-II - City of Carrollton – Chicago Bible College

CIVIC LEADERSHIP

Mayors, Police and Fire chiefs, and Civic Leaders to share 3 minutes each – about their responsibility in treating each citizen with respect and dignity

HONORING THE ACTIVISTS

Those who have stood up for others

SPIRITUAL LEADERS

All-inclusive spiritual leaders will be on stage representing each tradition, and lighting a candle of the next, a symbolic gesture to be the light to others. Every available religious American representation in Polk County will be accommodated. This is not about sermons but about being together as Americans. Please beware, it is about Americans and included in the group will be Atheists, Pagans and other non-religious traditions.

PEACE PLEDGE

I will I will speak up when there is injustice.
I will speak up when truth is not spoken.
I will make my words and my actions mitigate conflicts.
I will do my share in nurturing goodwill for the benefit of all.
I will do my share of peace work, without looking for others
I will do respect the God given uniqueness of each individual.
I will do my best to live and let others live their way.
I will do my best to nurture goodwill in everything I do.

SPECIAL MUSLIM PRAYER

( 3-4 Minutes)Muslim prayers and supplication for the safety and security and unity of our nation. Pray for the well being of all Americans, and seek forgiveness for all of us, and may God guide Reverend Terry Jones to become a be blessed peace maker. Pray for the goodwill of the people of Polk county and Mulberry City, and pray for a cohesive America, where no American needs to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear or fellow Americans.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Hatch and one of the top officials will make the remarks.

BLOOD DONATION

This is exactly what we did on 9.11.2001 in Dallas - Link
Press release about Big Red Bus - Link

FUNDING OF THE PROGRAM

Please donate to defray the costs. All donors over $100 will be listed on this site. If one or two individuals want to sponsor, we would really welcome it. It will save us time. Donate at http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/
MESSAGES - PRESS RELEASES

PRESS RELEASE - MUSLIM RESPONSE TO PASTOR JONES QUR'AN BURNING URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html
VIDEO MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS AND PASTOR JONES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsQq-tbJ89k&feature=youtu.be
PRESS RELEASE ABOUT BLOOD DONATION
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/09/muslim-americans-are-determined-to-turn.html
MUSLIMS PROTESTS - MULBERRY LEDGER http://www.theledger.com/article/20130820/news/130829938
FOR MUSLIMS IN AMERICA, A NOVEL PROTEST - TIMES OF INDIA http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/From-Muslims-in-America-a-novel-protest-against-quran-burning/articleshow/21982162.cms
A PROPER RESPONSE TO INFLAMMATORY ACT - SAUDI GAZETTE http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130821177617
TAMPA BAY FOX NEWS http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/23233567/2013/08/22/pastor-wants-to-burn-3000-korans-in-mulberry
OVER 50 PIECES AT: www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

A FEW CURRENT PICTURES:

MULBERRY MAYOR HON. GEORGE HATCH

LAKELAND MAYOR HON. GOW B. FIELDS

THE MULBERRY UNITY DAY TEAM - MIKE, CURTIS, SUZANNE, LYNN
AND FRIEND SUSIE (NOT ON THE TEAM)

All the original pieces related to the Quran burning even are at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

HOW UNITY DAY WAS BORN
http://911unitydayusa.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

Unity day 2009

Unityday 2006

VOLUNTEERS:

The Mulberry Unity Day USA Team
Suzanne Carter (727) 479-5041- Not in Mulberry Lynn Broom (863) 662-8511- Linda Jezard
Juan Galeano Curtis Rahman Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916 - MikeGhouse@aol.com
World Muslim Congress/ America Together Foundation

Thank you.
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
SpeakerMikeGhouse@Gmail.com

http://quranburningpastorterryjones.blogspot.com/
www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com

www.FoundationforPluralism.com
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
www.UnitydayUSA.com

QURAN BURNING | 911 | ALL BELOW

Please scroll down - everything about Quran burning Pastor Terry Jones and Muslim response and commemoration of 911 as Unity Day USA.

A VIDEO MESSAGE TO PASTOR JONES AND MUSLIMS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsQq-tbJ89k&feature=youtu.be

MUSLIM RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

MESSAGE TO URDU SPEAKING MUSLIMS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxa69A5Xn3o

WHAT EXACTLY WILL MUSLIM DO ON THAT DAY?
www.UnityDayUSA.com

DONATE 12000 PINTS OF BLOOD ON 9/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/while-pastor-terry-jones-_b_3874056.html#es_share_ended

MUSLIMS PROTESTS - MULBERRY LEDGER http://www.theledger.com/article/20130820/news/130829938

PAY NO ATTENTION TO MAN BEHIND QURAN BURNING - Jeff Weiss at Washington Post and Religion News Service
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/09/09/commentary-pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-burning-qurans/#comment-353607

FOR MUSLIMS IN AMERICA, A NOVEL PROTEST - TIMES OF INDIA http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/From-Muslims-in-America-a-novel-protest-against-quran-burning/articleshow/21982162.cms

A PROPER RESPONSE TO INFLAMMATORY ACT - SAUDI GAZETTE http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130821177617

TAMPA BAY FOX NEWS http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/23233567/2013/08/22/pastor-wants-to-burn-3000-korans-in-mulberry

OVER 50 PIECES AT: www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

Contact: Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916/ text/talk
email: SpeakerMikeGhouse@gmail.com

QURAN BURNING PRESS RELEASE

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 2013| Dallas, Texas

Mike Ghouse
Text/Talk: (214) 325-1916
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Mirza A Beg
(205) 454-8797
mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

PLANNED MUSLIMS RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING BY PASTOR JONES ON 9/11/13 IN MULBERRY, FLORIDA

We as Muslims plan to respond to pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 3000 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.

Our response - we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an” (Muhammad Asad Translation Note 31, verse 41:34). It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.

We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3000 copies Quran on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety – We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.

Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and Fire Chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the City’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

We thank the Media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.

URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

Thank you.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Six Suggestions to Muslims

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Remnants of Muslim Jahilya

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sharia Laws and UN Human Rights

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Spirit, rituals and politics of Ramadan

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Obesssion DVD and CAIR

Islamic Feminism Conference in Spain

Friday, September 12, 2008

Iftaar with democracts

Muslim presence at DNC Denver

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Texan With Character: Sarosha Hansraj

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Towards Human Understanding through Dialogue

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Islam and Democracy

MUSLIM SPEAKER

Voice of Moderate Muslims

SUCCESSFUL NAATIA MUSHAERA ON 2.21.14

Moderate Islam Speaker

quraan burning

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

CIVIL DIALOGUE

A FEW CURRENT PICTURES:

THE MULBERRY UNITY DAY TEAM - MIKE, CURTIS, SUZANNE, LYNN
AND FRIEND SUSIE (NOT ON THE TEAM)

All the original pieces related to the Quran burning even are at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com