Monday, May 9, 2016

What is Islam?

My faith is strong today, because I am open to criticism of Islam, Quran and the Prophet.

Islam is simply another word for Justness, fairness and kindness, and the word Muslim is someone who subscribes to that idea. Of course, not every one in every faith follows its teachings, most people get that right and a few don’t.

The following condensed note is from a speech about Islam, and the language I have used is reflective of a few verses from the Quran.

The more criticism I hear about Islam, the more I dig and learn, and reaffirm the values of Justness, fairness and equity embedded in Islam. Indeed, all religions are designed to build cohesive societies based on mutual trust, respect for the otherness of others and caring and kindness.

I wish and pray that each one of you (Muslim) welcomes the criticism of Prophet, Islam, Quran and Muslims (Reference 1), there is nothing like having a strong faith after you have turned every stone up. Your faith is incomplete if you do not allow criticism or critical questions. Indeed, that is the case with every beautiful faith from Aztec to Zoroastrians and every one in between.

By the way, you’ll never feel the urge to tell that your faith is better, if you understand the workings of your faith – that is to bring tranquility to yourselves and what surrounds you. The fourth synonym of religion is humility.

I have learned and will continue to learn from being critical.

First, let me acknowledge that I chose to purge all the Islamic teachings I had learned through my teen years, I was a severe critique of all that was taught in the name of Islam through my adult life. What was taught did not fit in with my view of the world where all of us have to live together.

You won’t believe what turned me around, first it was a verse from Bhagvad Gita urging one to find the truth on his own, and then a Bible’s verse, “truth brings freedom.” Add to that, my Mother’s persistent saying that you alone are responsible for your actions on the Day of Judgment, and you stand alone defending your record, and there will be no one for any one, and that helped me focus on the purpose of life.

Karen Armstrong’s book on Prophet Muhammad made me see him as a human like me, with whom I can connect. I have actually read the Quran through many translations and discovering that there are two false translations to cause Muslims to have ill-will towards non-Muslims and vice versa (reference 2).

My yardstick measures if a religion contributes towards creating cohesive societies? Mind you, it is the religion I am talking about not its practitioners who may not practice precisely what their religion teaches. I would question the individuals and not their faith. I have come to believe that Islam measures up on the stick like all the beautiful faiths.

Please note that you have to be secure in your belief to give equal value to other faiths, I am seeing more and more people feeling secure to say that all faiths are wise, sane, just, fair and equitable. By the way, if your faith is half-ass, you see other faiths in the same light. I urge you to question your faith if you do not think other faiths are beautiful.

Finally Islam is for me, it is guidance to create safe and secure societies for every human being and seeking harmony between life and environment. My chosen faith works for me as your faith suits you.

Quran is Islam's manual to create cohesive Societies.

Islam is not about ruling any one, controlling anyone, compelling anyone, or telling others what to do.

Islam is not about having an Islamic government, and subjugating people of other faiths. Islam is not about imposing its rules on others.

Islam is not about wearing beards, caps or certain clothes.

Islam is about living an exemplary life of a citizen who is just, caring, trustworthy and around whom others feel safe.

Islam is about living your life in peace and letting others live theirs in peace.

Islam is about minding your own faith and letting others mind theirs.

Islam is about contributing to justice, peace and equality in the society.

Islam is about treating others as you wanted to be treated, and Islam is about respecting the otherness of others. (Reference 3)

Islam is about contributing to the well being of humanity.

Islam says the best ones among us are those who care about following beings, life and environment. Indeed, God assures humanity (not necessarily Muslims) in clear terms that if you are Jewish, Christian, Pagan or other, you need not worry, as long as you cared for fellow beings. You don’t have to be a Muslim to earn God’s grace, but you have to be a contributor to the well being of fellow beings and the universe around you.

God loves those who forgive often and God loves the least among you who is arrogant, and I urge you to think about the wisdom, the depth and breadth of this sentence.

Islam goes to the extent of saying not to treat all prophets as equals including Prophet Muhammad that is the kind humility it imbues.

My biggest joy is removing layers of dust from Islam, and re-discovering its inherent pluralistic nature, I see Quran as a manual to build cohesive societies.

I feel guilty, if my language is not inclusive of other faith traditions. A decade ago, a business radio station asked me to join a Rabbi and a Pastor to talk about Alms giving in the Abrahimic faiths. I asked them if they have other faiths joining, they said no, and then I said, I will do it, if you let me talk about Alms giving in at least three other faiths; namely Hinduism, Baha’i and Sikhism, and they did.

Even if I am talking about Islam, there will be references to other faiths, indeed Pluralism runs through my veins.

Please note, my faith is strong today, because I am open to criticism of Islam, Quran and the Prophet. I had a public challenge to Pastor Robert Jeffress, "if you find three faults in Quran, I will do what you asked me to do" he backed off and we held a full blown Quran conference. a few Muslims said, I should not have challenged him, my response was, did you study Quran, have you developed a faith in it? Video's, Newspaper Report and conference proceedings are at www.QuraanConference.com - it is worth your time, if you have an interest.

References:

1. Criticis of Islam, Prophet and God - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/11/criticism-of-islam-prophet-muhammad.html

2. How I connect with the Prophet - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/how-i-connect-with-prophet-muhammad_b_2547782.html

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

4. Quran Conference - www.QuraanConference.com

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net for his writings at TheGhousediary.com and several blogs listed there in.

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AnonymousNovember 15, 2017 at 2:06 AM
Please tell me about Muslims Events Festivals In 2018-2019 to know about upcoming festival in Islam.

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

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/

Monday, May 9, 2016

What is Islam?

1 comment:

Moderate Muslim Speaker

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Moderate Islam