You many have received an email with the heading, “Can Muslims be good Americans?” I have received this at least a dozen times. Do you need to respond to it? The choice is yours; no one has the time to hammer away hatred.
There is a lot out there in circulation and I am pleased to have worked on responses, if you get that again, send them this or create your own. Indeed some of the Islamophobes like Robert Spencer, Nonie Darwish, Geert Wilders, MA Khan, Ali Sina, Walid Shoebet, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Newt Gingrich, Brigitte Gabriele, David Horowitz, Steven Shamrock, Wafa Sultan and others are consistently showing their dumbness in attacking Islam. These men with hate cannot speak love, the lust for power has made them abandon common good things about civility, just like some of the radicals among Muslims.
Let me ask yout this, if there are 200 murders a year in New York City, can we say, all the New Yorkers are murderers? Can we deduce that if Dallas gives 1000 traffic tickets a month, all the Dallasites are reckless drivers? If there are a few bad Muslims, how does it it make Muslims bad guys?
By the way, I am a Republican and like a majority of us, I am a moderate one who cares for every American and stand up for the rights of every American, to me that is a conservative value.
The men and women waving the flag of conservatism like Gingrich and the folks are abusing the usage of the word conservative. I am am saddened that my affiliations with the Republican party, a darn good party is flooded with extremists at the helm. As Americans we can handle the extremists, but difficult to deal with the monkies. I need to build my Republican base to make our Party a truly conservative party and purge the extremism from the extremists.
In the following, dialogues, some dude responded to it in a dozen ways to the question, can Muslim be good Americans? To distinguish who is who, the line starts with his name.
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Can a good Muslim be a good American?
Apparentely, this question was forwarded to a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years. The following was his reply:
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Theologically – no… Because his allegiance is to Allah, The moon god of Arabia.
Mike Ghouse: There is no moon God for Muslims, no Muslim has ever heard of it. You can call any Muslim and find the truth for yourselves. There is only one God, It, he or she is kind, merciful and just. Every one of the 114 chapters in Quraan start with those attributes except one, where it is mentioned in the text. The allegiance is to the invisible creator of the universe who belongs to all of us, and all of us are his creation.
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Religiously – no… Because no other religion is accepted by His Allah except Islam. (Quran, 2:256)(Koran)
Mike Ghouse: This man could have at least read the quote. How many of you believed him when he said, “Because no other religion is accepted by His Allah except Islam.” The quote reads differently.
Well, here is 2:256 “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error …” This is Islam’s unambiguous affirmation of freedom of faith, which also applies to changing of faith. The Qur’an illuminates before the humanity the two highways [90:10], one of which leads to salvation. Islam is an invitation to the highway toward salvation, but it is based on FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
However many a Muslims believe that “No other religion is acceptable to Allah except Islam” based on verse: 3:85 (Asad) “For, if one goes in search of a religion other than self-surrender unto God, it will never be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the lost.” They take it verb Islam as noun Islam.
Islam in its general meaning is submission to the will of God; which is caring for life and environment and maintaining the balance within oneself and with others. The key word is “self-surrender unto the creator”. Anyone who follows the laws of goodness (surrender) to keep peace in the society is following the Den, the dharma, the righteous path to sustain peace. As the verses are quoted earlier, if you do the right karma, God will shower his grace regardless of whether you are a Muslim or not.
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Scripturally – no… Because his allegiance is to the five Pillars of Islam and the Quran.
Mike Ghouse: Muslim Allegiance is to God, the day of accounting and righteous deeds, the five Pillars of Islam are the ritual practices to achieve piety. They are 1) Witness that there is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet, 2) Prayers, 3) Fasting, 4) Zakat (tithe) and 5) Pilgrimage. Jihad is not the pillar of Islam.
I was on a bus in Israel, the tourist guide started out the history of Islam saying the first pillar of Islam was Jihad, killing the infidels… I spoke up and an Imam on the bus joined me in addressing the five pillars of Islam. The guide at least agreed to tell the right thing from here on, we gave her a printed copy of it at the Hotel. Hell, some Muslims also believe Jihad is the 6th pillar of Islam.
By the way, a Muslims faith is incomplete without a belief in all the prophets and the name of Jesus is often referenced in Quraan. Muslims believe that Jesus will come back as the messiah and restore the kingdom of heaven where no one has to live in the fear of the other. It is Jesus who is coming back and not Muhammad.
Quraan 2;62 – “VERILY, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians — all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds — shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.”
Quraan 22:34 – “For each congregation we have decreed rites whereby they commemorate the name of GOD for providing them with the livestock. Your god is one and the same god; you shall all submit to Him. Give good news to the obedient.”
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Geographically – no… Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.
Mike Ghouse: Mecca is the focal point to build uniformity and harmony. A system was created so all worshippers can face in one direction instead of multiple directions. There is no other value than that; it is a sanctuary where people walk in putting aside their conflicts, malice, ill-will and evilness. It is as simple as 500 people sitting in a church facing the pulpit instead of each one facing in different direction. There is no allegiance to Mecca
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Socially – no… Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.
Mike Ghouse: That is sheer non-sense, a Muslim can marry a Jew or a Christian woman without even converting her, the only requirement to marry is that she believes in one God, meaning oneness of God, commitment to one God, one creator…. We dealt with the issue in the Quraan conference, the verse was read by a Catholic bishop, among the ten other denominations. Just read it in the Quraan. Check it out at
http://www.quraanconference.com/
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Politically – no…. Because he must submit to the mullahs (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan.
Mike Ghouse: Muslims do not submit to any Mullah, they submit to God alone. I am really laughing at this. For a majority of Muslims there is no Mullah, there is no central authority in Islam. They put up with them at times in the Friday sermons, but few will support idiotic Mullahs… they are in every group, Mullah Pastor Hagee spews out hate, Obama’s pastor did… Mullah Pat Robertson is hateful, but does he represent the views of all Christians? Muslim clergy are no exception; there are a few bad ones.
However about 15% of Muslim who follow Shia, have some central authority, but they are divided as well and their allegiance to their leaders is for civic leadership.
Islam has nothing to do with destruction of Israel, the Hamas charter calls for it, it was written in 1988, where as the Israeli leaders have said the opposite since 1948 – to treat Palestinians as roaches and push them in to the desert holes. Islam does not even approve killing another human, unless it is in self defense. Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians mean it, they want peace.
Let’s assume, Russians arm the native Americans and create a land for them in Texas, and they become militant and as powerful as Israel and go on rampaging others, boot the people out of their homes and take over…because it was their land before… what do you do, just lay down? While you pillage, bomb and steal their houses? That is what the Palestinians are doing, fighting for their rights.
Shame on us Americans to have listened to the right wing Christians; go by what the Israelis want. They want peace, the right wing Christians and Jews in the US want to mess it up. The right wing among Muslims or no angels either; they mess up other people’s lives.
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Domestically – no… Because he is instructed to marry four Women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him. (Quran 4:34)
Mike Ghouse: Read 4:32- 4:37 yourselves. An American Christian woman told me in the Quraan conference. She would rather be a Muslim woman who gets hit with a feather like stick upon infidelity, than an American Christian man who will violently kill her if he finds her sleeping with another man, or a Hindu man who would douse her in Kerosene and burn her alive. The instruction was not to kill but beat her with a feather like stick as a discipline… the new and correct understanding is “if you find your woman sleeping with another man, go for separation. “ She said to Google the stats, More American men kill their spouse/partners violently than all men combined in the world.
The wrong interpretation has been in circulation that goes against the very grain of Prophet’s teaching – fair and equitable and to treat your spouse with utmost dignity. Check this out. http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2009/05/wife-beating-quraan-434.html
Polygamy has been around; while go through a legal process many a Men abuse women any way. Muslims are no exception. The instruction was limit to 4 for social justice purpose and not for lust. It was not an ordinance, but exception in cases where the woman needed protection … for example after WWII and Vietnam war thousands of women were put on the street… men abused them and took advantage of them, spreading STD’s.. and other stuff… instead of treating a woman as a whore and dehumanize her, marry her and give her the dignity of life she deserves… it was to be approved by his first wife to ensure it was justice and not lust. Abuses happen every where… look in our own backyard… Look at Wiener, Clinton, Newt Gingrich… and some of your friends.
I stand opposed to polygamy, but I have no problem if men marry more than one woman in Iraq, where Bush bombing has put over 250,000 women on street; what do you do with them? Men take advantage of women, they want to use for the favors whether they are American or Arabian. The make them dependent? Give the food for sex? That is a shameless men trait no matter where that man is from. I rather see dignity given to a woman than make her dependent and use her as a sex object. Only in that situation and to give her dignity and not for lust.
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Intellectually – no… Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.
Mike Ghouse: American constitution and Islam have a lot in common- Justice, Equality, dignity and respect for all. Don’t give me that it is not the case, indeed it is, we in America did not treat the women and African men equally until 50 years ago… Because we misread our own constitution, thanks God all of us are growing ….. Muslims also know that Averroes the Muslim influenced the two other wise men Aquinas and Maimonides, who are influential in our constitution drafting. Indeed, the US Supreme court has the frieze that shows Quraan.
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Philosophically – no… Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran does not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.
Mike Ghouse: ” … Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error …” [2:256] this is Islam’s unambiguous affirmation of freedom of faith, which also applies to changing of faith. The Qur’an illuminates before the humanity the two highways [90:10], one of which leads to salvation. Islam is an invitation to the highway toward salvation, but it is based on FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
5:8 (Asad) O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of any-one
[19] lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do.
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Spiritually – no… Because when we declare ‘one nation under God,’ The Christian’s God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as Heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in the Quran’s 99 excellent names.
Mike Ghouse: It’s a pledge every Muslim takes. One nation under God indivisible … looks like this dude who wrote is divisive.
[4:59] O you who believe, you shall obey GOD, and you shall obey the messenger, and those in charge among you. If you dispute in any matter, you shall refer it to GOD and the messenger, if you do believe in GOD and the Last Day. This is better for you, and provides you with the best solution.
Dude: Can a good Muslim be a good American? Therefore, after much study and deliberation… Perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. – – – They obviously cannot be both ‘good’ Muslims and ‘good’ Americans. Call it what you wish it’s still the truth… You had better believe it. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future.
Quraan 49:6 “O YOU who have attained to faith! If any iniquitous person comes to you with a [slanderous] tale, use your discernment, lest you hurt people unwittingly and afterwards be filled with remorse for what you have done.”
“i.e., verify the truth before giving credence to any such report or rumor. The tale-bearer is characterized as “iniquitous” because the very act of spreading unsubstantiated rumors affecting the reputation of other persons constitutes a spiritual offence.”
President Reagan had echoed the same sentiments with the phrase, Trust, but verify and Bhagvad Gita guides, finding the truth is one’s own responsibility.
“O you who believe, you shall be equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses. Do not be provoked by your conflicts with some people into committing injustice. You shall be equitable, for it is more righteous. You shall observe GOD. GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do” (Quran 5:8)
Mike Ghouse: I hope you can see the BS this guy has given and I pray that you circulate this to the same sources you got this from. And I ask you to check it out:
Read this, there is an item about Quraan Mistranslations in this:
By the way, there were similar articles by many:
All these men and women are about making money, frightening the crap out of you and ask for money, every time.
Robert Spencer
A Good Muslims is a good American is a good Canadian,
A Good Christians is a …..
A Good Jew is a …
A Good _____ is a good ______________
Mike Ghouse is a speaker thinker and a writer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
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THIS FOLLOWING NON-SENSE IS IN CIRCULATION
This is very interesting and we all need to read it from start to finish. And send it on to everyone. Maybe this is why our American Muslims are so quiet and not speaking out about any atrocities.
Can a good Muslim be a good American?
This question was forwarded to a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years. The following is his reply:
Theologically – no… Because his allegiance is to Allah, The moon god of Arabia.
Religiously – no… Because no other religion is accepted by His Allah except Islam. (Quran, 2:256)(Koran)
Scripturally – no… Because his allegiance is to the five Pillars of Islam and the Quran.
Geographically – no… Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.
Socially – no… Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.
Politically – no…. Because he must submit to the mullahs (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan.
Domestically – no… Because he is instructed to marry four Women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him. (Quran 4:34 )
Intellectually – no… Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.
Philosophically – no… Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran does not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.
Spiritually – no… Because when we declare ‘one nation under God,’ The Christian’s God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as Heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in the Quran’s 99 excellent names.
Therefore, after much study and deliberation… Perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. – – – They obviously cannot be both ‘good’ Muslims and ‘good’ Americans. Call it what you wish it’s still the truth.. You had better believe it. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future.
The religious war is bigger than we know or understand!
Footnote: The Muslims have said they will destroy us from within.
SO FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.
THE MARINES WANT THIS TO ROLL ALL OVER THE U.S.
Please don’t delete this until you send it on.
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer. He is committed to building a cohesive America.
The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, and World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your work place, place of worship, school, seminars or conferences. He is a media commentator offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Mike’s work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/
