Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Islam Blogs by Mike Ghouse

Muslims Together Sites and blogs

The following twelve (12) blogs highlight and nurture the pluralistic values embedded in Islam. To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence.

Muslims Together -
www.IslamtogetherFoundation.com

The organization is committed to bring Muslims together regardless of the denomination, it is something every Muslims dreams of, it is coming together to do good for humanity. What is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice versa to sustain peace and goodwill for years to come. Our Mission

World Muslim Congress
www.WorldMuslimCongress.org
http://WorldMuslimCongress.blogspot.com

This site chronicles events that affect co-existence and offers solutions to build cohesive societies. It is about nurturing pluralistic values embedded in Islam.

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
A new site is in the making, this would be the mother site for all the sites.

Quraan Todaywww.Quraantoday.com http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/
God wants his creation to co-exist in harmony and Qur’aan is God’s guidance to live in peace with oneself and what surrounds one; life and matter. There are nearly 25 translations available now with two of them deliberately mistranslated by the right wing European Kinds in 11^th Century and right wing Muslims in the 20^th century. At this time Mohammad Asad’s translation is recommended until a good one comes along where anyone on the earth can read it and feel that God wants all of us to live in peace and harmony. Finding the truth is your own responsibility.

Quraan Conference www.QuraanConference.com http://www.quraanconference.com/

Myths are manufactured about others without any substantiation; it is an old business of maligning others to have a momentary gain. The purpose of this conference is to remove such myths in an open forum in the public and restore the cohesiveness of our society and build a safe and secure America. Details are in the link Qur’aan Conference. The holy book is about living in harmony with free will, there are mis-translations and mis-interpretations that are addressed, and it will done by non-Muslim clergy from all faiths.

Sharia Laws www.ShariaLaws.com http://sharialaws.blogspot.com/

First of all, Sharia Law is not divine; it is the human interpretation of God’s word to create just societies, as with all human endeavors, a few clauses of Sharia Law needs amendments. I have made an effort to write in an easy to understand language. The personal Sharia guides an individual to live a life of piety and gratitude to the creator while the Public Sharia governs the relationships between individuals and the society like the civil laws. Like all other laws of any given society, abuses creep into Sharia Law as well. The old west mindset is still prevalent in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Sudan and Nigeria, where 50 other Muslim majorities nations are are in line with the civil laws of the world.

The American civil and criminal laws serve justice to all of her population and American Muslims have no desire to replace the American laws with Sharia. Even though the right wingers among Muslims like the right wingers among Christians dream of imposing their laws on others, the desire to impose on others stems out of insecurity and inability to handle the otherness of other.

Women in Islam
http://muslimwomenandmen.blogspot.com/.

Whether it is the American society, India, Chinese, Mexican, Greek, Arab or the English Autocrats, men have always taken advantage of women. While a few Muslim men shamelessly beat their wives, a few African men mutilate the women genitally do deprive them of the joys of live, a few American men will brutally kill their wives or drown them under water, Hindu Mother in laws may douse the women in Kerosene. While a few men will not go to a place of worship where women preach, the other would not shake hands with females that include Imams, Rabbis, Monks and Priests. No one can cast the first stone and all us must work on creating a spiritual balance and harmony between men and women to have a peaceful life with the fear of waiting for the opportunity to get even. Without any reserve men and women have equal rights in Quraan and Islam, even a few of the Muslims have misunderstood the value Islam places on justness and fairness.

Blasphemy Laws
www.BlasphemyLaws.com http://blasphemylaws.blogspot.com/

The purpose of this site is to bring together differing views on Blasphemy, and develop an understanding from Islamic point of view for the good of all humanity. Current Blasphemy laws and practices do not go with the values of Islam; free will and respect for life. Quraan prohibits judgment, prejudice is discouraged and there is no punishment for the ones who maligns God or his prophet. It is a political tool of oppression by right wingers among Muslims.

Muslim Press Releases
http://muslimpressrelease.blogspot.com/

Muslim Press releases concerning issues of the day. Since the formation of the organization in 2003, we have continuously condemned any wrong doing and appreciated the good work. Much of the work is the blogs listed on the site.

Dallas Muslim Center www.DallasMuslimCenter.com
http://dallasMuslimCenter.blogspot.com

The purpose of this site was to provide information about Dallas Muslims. The information is updated as and when I get the time.

Ramadan Exclusive
http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/

There are three great seminal articles on the spirit, politics and Rituals of Ramadan. In the spirit of Ramadan, I pray that Ramadan gets into our hearts and minds and make us embrace all factions of Muslims without undermining their tradition and further pray that we treat every human on the earth with dignity, respect and care. The first year to set the pace, I worshipped and did the Iftaar (breaking the fast at the dusk) in every Muslim Denomination including praying at Masjid-al-Aqsa, the third most revered place of worship for Muslims, that completes my pilgrimage to all the three Mosques.

That is indeed the wisdom expressed in Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, and Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of God, is the best in conduct. God Knows and is Aware of everything you do."

Ground Zero Mosque
http://groundzeromosque.blogspot.com/
This issue is engaging the American Public, both for and against, in this blog I will save the links of articles that come across my knowledge as a reference for the researchers. We have to find solutions for co-existence and sustainable harmony. It is a shrine and it is a catalyst to consciously create a society we desire; where all of us will learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the God given differences. It is anti-theatrical to radicals from all traditions.

Peter King Hearings
http://www.peterkinghearings.blogspot.com/

We are concerned about the hearings and hope and pray that Mr. King would be honest, sincere and fair, although his record is marred with bigotry. We hope he will not destroy the fabric of our society and pit one American against the other. If he does, the American people will not put up with it, as they have done that time and again. I trust our system and our people who have stood up against Vietnam War, Iraq war and supported abortion and civil rights and one of these days’ rights for GLBT and every American.

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Muslim Speaker Mike Ghouse
NURTURING PLURALISTIC VALUES EMBEDDED IN ISLAM

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

The dearth of Muslims to speak up for the moderates has been a major problem in the society; it has created an imbalance in tilting America negatively towards buying in to stereotypical images of Muslims. Mike is an addition to a growing number of Muslim speakers in giving a fuller picture of Muslims engaged in civic society from speakers with beards and head coverings to no head coverings and no beards, just as a majority of Muslims live their day to day life.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on important and complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place. He welcomes all questions and will address the fears many have about Islam. He welcomes questions concerning misunderstandings about violence (jihad) and women's rights and other issues.

God loves his creation and does not exclude any one from his mercy and kindness and adds that he has sent a peace maker, messenger or a prophet to every tribe and nation, indeed no one is deprived of his love. The Quran lays it out very well in Surah Al-Hujurat 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."

God has intentionally created diversity; each one of us has a unique identity with our own thumb print, eye print, DNA and other uniqueness. If we can learn to respect and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. God in Quraan makes it absolutely clear that no one is to judge the other in matters of faith, only he, he alone is the judge and not today, but on an elusive Day of Judgment.

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

Mike's work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/ Mike has chosen the path of moderation that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had advocated to his followers. He sees Islam as guidance to humanity to co-exist in harmony with life and what surrounds one without negating the otherness of other. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) proclaims that he refreshed and updated the same message delivered by other prophets before him to create the kingdom of heaven on earth, where no human has to live with apprehension of the other.

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

Mike is a frequent guest on Fox News, (The Hannity Show), and has been interviewed on nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He is a member of the Texas Faith panel of Dallas Morning News and writes on issues facing the nation every week. He has spoken at international forums including the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, in Melbourne, Australia, Middle East Peace Initiative, in Jerusalem, the International Leadership conference, in Hawaii, in Washington, and elsewhere.

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of those different from ourselves. The World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam, many are not aware that Islam teaches Pluralism. Heavily involved in both, Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and has produced outstanding public events to bring Americans together of different religions, ethnicities and races on common grounds of building a safe and secure America.

He is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the interfaith movement, cohesive societies, Islam, India, hope and world peace. Over 1000 articles of Mike’s have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece

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

Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders.

Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two books will be released this year; The American Muslim Agenda and My Journey to Pluralism.

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

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

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

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Islam Blogs by Mike Ghouse

Muslims Together Sites and blogs

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Moderate Muslim Speaker

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Moderate Islam