Sunday, December 9, 2012

Steps to bring Shias and Sunnis together

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/12/majlis-e-aza-maulana-hayder-shirazi.html

I attended the Majlis-e Aza, a Shia Muslim gathering at my friend Aftab’s home, over 50 families attended to listen to the visiting Maulana Hayder Shirazi in the Majlis (gathering).

The experience was spiritually enriching and broadening my horizons of accepting the otherness of others. Indeed, it is time for us to get to know each other, we don’t have to agree or disagree with our madhabs (denominations) and rituals, but we can develop the capability to respect each other and find solutions to live in harmony. We need to include in our teaching, that disrespecting Allah's creation, fellow humans, amounts to disrespecting God. Indeed, God says in Quran, killing one person amounts to killing the whole humanity, and saving one life is like saving the whole humanity.

Two teenagers sang the Marsiya (melancholic songs) followed by a chorus, “Mere Abbas Jahan ho” it was powerful and moving. Abbas was the 32 year old brother of Imam Husain (as). He was Imam Husain (as) and Islam's flag bearer. He is known for his utmost loyalty to Imam Husain. He was brutally martyred by Yazid's (self proclaimed, evil king) army when he went to fetch water for the very young children within Imam Husain's family who had been thirsty for more than 3 days.

Ali Asghar was a six month old son of Imam Hussain, who was prevented from getting water from the river for his sick child, while he was waiting and holding Asghar in his arms, Yazid’s men (evil king) shot an arrow at the baby and martyred him. This sad story is a reminder of what the evil is capable of doing, and the need for us, each one of us, to speak out against evil things happening in our daily lives.

The program began by praying for a Shia girl killed in Pakistan. I felt the surge of blood in my veins, what is happening to Pakistan? During this Muharram (first month of Islamic Calendar and the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain on the 10^th) an endless number of Shia Muslims were killed, a few weeks ago a bus was stopped and all the people were asked to get out, and they killed each one of the 19 Shia in the bus, sparing the Sunni. This is simply not acceptable. Until we feel the suffering, and until we stand up for the rights of others be it Muslim or not, the humanness in us gets depleted. These Murderers are disrespectful to God.

Like all minorities around the world, the Shia, Ahmadiyya, Hindus and the Sikhs minorities in Pakistan are constantly harassed and hounded. As I reflect upon it, the issue is much bigger than Shia-Sunni, it is the majoritarian arrogance that wants to oppress the minorities. It takes violent form in Pakistan, but takes different avatars in different places including our own United States, Israel and other nations. Even though we are a blessed country, we still have bigots running and saying things that don’t make sense. Thanks to the founding fathers for making this nation respect the rule of law, which ensures every citizen, a relative safety.

The civility of a nation hinges on how it treats its weak, its women, its minorities and the ones in the ditches.

While sitting in this particular Majlis, for a few brief moments, I asked myself, are we not all Muslims? We eat the same food, we look the same and we speak the same language, and most of us espouse the same faith. What causes the hatred and ill will that is going on in Pakistan? Why do we exclude others in our conversations?

Of course, the Maulana addressed the Shia more than once; after all it was a Shia gathering. The same thing happens at the Sunni, Bohra, Ismaili or Ahmadiyya gatherings; their talk does not include other Muslims at all.

Yet, I have heard the all-inclusive-prayer, even today, as in every Mosque I have been to, “Allahum maghfirli wali walidaiyya wali ustadhi wali jam'il mu'minina, wal mu'minat wal muslimina wal muslimat - Dear God! Forgive me and my parents, and my teachers, and all the believers, the Muslim men and women.” Do we mean it or we just recite it to get it over? You cannot seek peace for just one, and not the other, as our peace hinges on peace to others.

Well, that is the case with every place of worship I have been, whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism or Buddhism. That is contrary to the teachings of all religions, each one of them ….taught to get along and respect the other. We have to learn to know each other, the more we know the other, the less conflicts we would have (Quraan 49:13).

Maulana Hayder Shirazi has that calmness on his face that generates tremendous respect for him, a humble man, as most of the Imams I have known in Dallas. He is visiting from London and studied in Qom, Iran for 14 years! I was glad to hear that they also teach about other denominations of Islam, as an optional subject. The teachers are Shia who teach the Sunni version of Islam, I am sure it will be honest, as I have known the Sunni Imams who respectfully talk the Shia version, as Shia understand it.

Maulana talked about loyalty and obedience to the principles, and elaborated Ateeullaha o Ateeur rasool very well. If you are not loyal to your wife, and vice-versa, more than likely you will not be loyal to the creator, if you don’t listen to parents, more than likely…. I was watching the youth listening to him attentively. He communicates well with his message.

He also talked about Tasweef; that is procrastination. He shared the story of two brothers from Baghdad who went to India, and one of them could not go to Hajj while the other did. The point he was making was, if you postpone Hajj, you can justify it to perform next year, or when you get older, or if it is about repenting, we cannot wait till the last breath, as we may not get the chance to repent it. His advice; do it now.

He was talking about the Ghayab Imam, or the Imam who would appear one day, and he will, if we do our part, be righteous.

The Haram and Halal conflicts ends with life on the earth, he said one would be free from such conflicts in heaven. God can do anything kun fa ekoon, he just thinks and it happens.

He was telling the story of Karbala and when he narrated the part, where Yazid wanted Zainab be killed and brought to him in disgrace. Thanks to Munawar-Ali Abbas for sharing the following, "Zainab was the sister of Imam Husain (as). She accompanied Imam Husain (as) to Karbala. After the brutal Martyrdom of Imam Husain (as) by the army of "evil king," Yazeed (la), the women and children of Imam Husain (as) were made captive by the army of Yazeed (la). They were all taken in great disgrace and were tortured from Karbala to Kufa, and from Kufa to Syrai (Shaam)."

She would not compromise her principles but willing to die for it instead. The adults started crying out loud, and for a few minutes, I was the only one who did not. As the story progressed, listening to the humiliation of Zainab endured against Yazid’s unabashed harassment, I could not hold myself from crying. I just could not believe I did that. It felt good to intensely feel the suffering, humility and pain. You always salute those who stand up for the righteous principles.

At the end of the program, everyone got up and followed the unique Shia ritual, of beating the chests with both hands; it was loud and in unison and went on for about 15 minutes. The chanting was “kat gaye aale Muhammad ke gharanay walay” - martyred are the prophet’s family members.

Everyone was deeply involved in the chanting and the chest beating, and momentarily I felt odd…and out of place, but was admiring the bonding it was facilitating. There was a temptation not to be an odd ball and do what others were doing… but I was severely fighting within myself, then I chose not to, as it would be something other Sunni or other Muslims cannot replicate, but we need to know each other. My comfort increased when I invoked Pluralism ideals in me that we all have to learn to respect the otherness of others, and we do not have to agree with each other, but be respectful of each other. Indeed, that model was provided by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as expressed in the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsbuwRSnvNY

And that is what knowing each other means in Sura 49:13 is expressed in the following video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDwxcz65XY

The food was good, it was lentil-meat with Naan and Halwa!

Insha Allah, I will be writing the essence of Hanukkah, Christmas and other festivals in December, so we can now about each other. Please make an effort to participate in Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Ahamdiyya, Ismaili, Deen Mohammad and other Muslim events. To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill.

Thanks to Munawar-Ali Abbas and Tahira for the corrections, their comments are included below.

Related articles about getting to know each other

Huffington post - Centrality of Imam Hussain http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muharram-2011-centrality-imam-hussain_b_1117929.html
Imam Hussain, epitome of Justice http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/07/imam-hussain-epitome-of-justice-and.html
Day 5 of Ramadan, Momin Center http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-5-of-ramadan-2011.html
Who is a progressive Muslim http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2011/11/who-is-progressive-muslim.html

Ramadan day 8, Imam bargah http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan-day-8-imam-barga-e-hujjat.html

Ramadan day 17, Momin Center http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/08/ramadan-day-17-shia-momin-center.html

Shia Massacred in Pakistan http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/03/shias-massacred-in-pakistan.html

Muharram together http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/muharram-time-to-come-together.html

The Shia sunni Strife http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/07/sunni-shia-strife-economist.html

Saudi cleric- shia infidels http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/01/saudi-cleric-shia-infidels.html

----------
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

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/
.............

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."

# # #

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/

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Steps to bring Shias and Sunnis together

No comments:

Post a Comment

Moderate Muslim Speaker

.

Moderate Islam