The
first Holocaust and Genocides event by Non-Jews was organized by
Muslims in Dallas, Texas. The timing was perfect, right after a delicate
situation in a 9/11 commemoration there was a need to address the issue
of Holocaust and Genocides, and the United Nations unanimously passed
the bill to commemorate Holocaust in their 60th General Assembly meeting
on November 1, 2005. They designated January 27 of each year as
Holocaust Memorial day, the date coincides with the liberation of
Auschwitz.
The first event was organized on Sunday, January 29th
and was addressed by the Holocaust survivors, Ms. Rosa Lee Schiff and
the late Mr. William Schiff. This year, we will start with the Holocaust
conversation followed by the Genocides of Native Americans and the
Gujarat Massacre. This is a serious event for us to reflect on the
inhumanity within each one of us, and learn to do our individual share
of saying never again.
I have always believed, and I read the
assessments of some of the best brains that if we can resolve the
Jewish-Palestinian conflict, i.e., security to Jews and justice to the
Palestinians, most of the world issues will collapse and a period of
peace on earth will begin.
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| Holocaust Survivors Rosa Lee and William Schiff |
Commemorating Holocaust and Genocides for seven years is a fulfillment of a life time drive to build bridges.
Of
all the people on the earth, my mother would be pleased to know that I
am doing what it takes to be a “good Muslim,” to respect, honor and
protect the sanctity of life.
A healthy society can be defined by
how well it functions together, where no member of the society has to
live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.
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| Rabbi Haas, Mike Ghouse, Bernie Mayoff and William Schiff – seated Rosa Lee Schiff |
Hate
is one of the many sources of disrupting peaceful functioning of a
society and it is our duty, both individually and collectively to track
down the source of such hate and mitigate it. Indeed, each one of us
needs to do our share of work. This hate takes many avatars including
Anti-Semitism, racism, Misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia, and other
ailments of the society. Untreated, they will erupt in violent and
hostile expressions like crusades, inquisitions, 9/11, terrorism by
individuals and nations, Holocaust, Genocides and Massacres.
The
Jewish Christian conflict stems from Jesus’ crucifixion; the Christian
Muslim conflict has origins in how each sees Jesus, and the Jewish
Muslim conflict took root in the late 1940’s. Much of the conflict with
Native Americans, Native societies, Hindus, Pagans and others stem from
forced conversions by the arrogance of Christian and Muslim
missionaries.
Religion came into existence to save the mankind;
most people get that right and a few don’t. No religion teaches hatred
or encourages hostilities. On the contrary, religions are committed to
building cohesive societies where no has to live in discomfort or fear
of the other. The bottom line of all religions is based on the Golden
rule, “Do unto others as you would wish to have done unto you.”
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| Mrs.Elan, Gil Elan (AJC) and Rabbi Haas |
There
is always a room for bringing a positive change, even if it were a
small step. The Foundation for Pluralism, Memnoysne Institute and the
World Muslim Congress have teamed up to find solutions, which begins
with the acknowledgement of the problem and taking small healing steps.
We
are pleased to invite you to join us for the 7th Annual Holocaust and
Genocides event is set for Sunday, January 26, 2014 between 3 and 6 PM
at the Unity of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230. Details are
at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
The purpose of this event is
education, and we hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a
personal commitment to do our individual share of saying “Never Again”.
The
spark of hatred will not disappear through law and order, it would be
temporary off the screen, but will reappear at every little
conflagration. As civil societies, this has to be worked out for the
long term good.
What we need is to have a heart to heart dialogue
with each community with a goal to acknowledge the differences and
figure out how to live with each other with least conflicts. After all
we are inextricably connected to each other in our day to day life.
The
goal ought to be respecting the otherness of others and accepting the
God given uniqueness of each one of us, anything short of that will
leave unattended-sparks ready to flare up at short notice with the whiff
of oxygen.
There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy
away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it
will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own
cause. What a shame it is to believe that the victims deserved or asked
for it.
We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:
- Other people’s suffering is as legitimate as mine;
- It is easy to see ourselves as Victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us;
- When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
- We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
- The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from other’s suffering.
- A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened
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| Indelible Image that has influenced this writer |
Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear of the other –www.MikeGhouse.net