Urdu Hindi Pluralism poetry session on June 29, 2013 – Summary Report and Pictures

      Comments Off on Urdu Hindi Pluralism poetry session on June 29, 2013 – Summary Report and Pictures

Urdu Hindi Pluralism poetry session on June 29, 2013 – Summary Report 
URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/urdu-hindi-pluralism-poetry-session-on/


Urdu-Hindi Musha’era is a purposeful event to build cohesive societies.  Indeed, it is our individual and collective responsibility to create societies where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

We appreciate you, the donors, individuals, volunteers and poets  for your  support in seeding the idea of pluralism in Urdu/Hindi languages at this time . This is one small step in our approach to life through the medium of poetry, and hopefully it will be a giant leap for the Urdu/Hindi speaking mankind in bringing about a positive change.

Poetry is a major part of Urdu/Hindi speaking population in India and Pakistan and touches every one through songs, Mushaeras and Kavi Sammelans. We can become propellers of the change and plant the seeds that will become trees and bear fruit and shade in a generation or two.

Urdu-Hindi is the most commonly understood language among the Desis in the world, who form nearly 5th of the world population, and as individuals, many of us feel a sense of duty to serve our people, hence this program.

A total of 25 items will be presented in the session, and the overlap of poetry on the themes is natural, as it is the first time such a focus is given, but it will be spiced up with powerful anecdotes to make the whole program purposeful and meaningful.

Event sequence and a few pictures: 

When: Saturday, June 29
Time: 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Theme: Pluralism
Where: Richardson Civic Center
Address: 411 W. Arapaho Road,
City: Richardson, TX 75080

Panel introduction

Dr. Qaiser Abbas -Chair
Dr. Raghunath Singh
Ms. Shabnam Modgil

Organizer – MC
Mike Ghouse

Management team (Desi Alphabetical Sequence)
A G Chini, 
Amin Tirmizi, 
Anand Punjabi, 
Dr. Harbans Lal, 
Irfan Ali, 
Javed Gill, 
Noor Amrohvi

Donors

Dr. Basheer Ahmed
Shri DD Maini 
Anand Punjabi
Farooq Wazir Ali
Irfan Ali 
Javed Rashid 
Javed Samuell Gill
Mani Rahman  
Mike Ghouse 
Dr. Qaiser Abbas 
Dr. Shamsa Qureshi

Budget

$2,500.00 Planned
$1,900.00 Collected
$0,600.00 Not collected
$1,600.00 Spent
$0,300.00 Surplus for Next Mushaera
* Book was not published 

Volunteers

Live broadcaster: FunAsia
Photographer: Zia Khan
Filmmaker:  Vijay Gurow
Registration – Dr. Kundawala
Tea/Snacks – Anand Punjabi and friends
Snacks – Fun Asia

FIRST SEGMENT OF THE POETRY

Our friends will share about Pluralism and recite the poetry written by famous poets around the world on Pluralism

Dr. Amer Suleman – Defining Pluralism in Urdu
Anand Punjabi – Defining Pluralism in Hindi
AG Chini –  Bollywood Pluralism

Shri D. D. Maini – Opening with Nazir Akbar Abadi’s couplets
Dr. Harbans Lal – Poem by Dr. Teja Singh
Fateh Ali Chetur – Poem by Ashok Chakradhar
Dr. Raj Kumar – Poetry by Dr. B. D. Kalia Humdum
Kundan Sharma – Dilip Kumar- Raj Sharma story

Reciting their own poetry:

Anad Punjabi 
Ahmed Rahi  
Dr. Harbans Lal
Javed Rashid
Javed Samuell Gill
Dr. Shamsa Qureshi
Rehmat Raza
Shah Alam Siddiqi
Zohra Chisti
Mike Ghouse

SECOND SEGMENT OF THE POETRY

D. D. Maini
Dr. Basheer Ahmed
Dr. Raghunath Singh

Acknowledged their poetry
Dr. Ravi Kumar Rosho – India
Dr. Taj Hashmi – Tennessee
Hillol Ray

Senior Poets (not in age, but in poetry)
Naheed Shad
Noor Amrohvi
Saeed Qureshi
Tariq Hashemi
Younus Ijaz

Panelist Remarks
Shabnam Modgil
Dr. Qaiser Abbas – Sadr-e-Mehfil

Mike Ghouse – take home message 
Conflict mitigation
Gift of Language v horns and fangs
Foundation for Pluralism

————PHOTOGRAPHS ARE RANDOMLY PLACED
AND NOT IN ANY SEQUENCE

Dr. Qaiser Abbas

Dr. Amer Suleman

Urdu Poet Tariq Hashemi

Hindi Teacher Anand Punjabi

Hindi Radio Programmer A. G. Chini

Kundan Sharma – Radio Programmer

Urdu Poet Dr. Harbans Lal

Urdu Poet: Dr. Shamsa Qureshi

Hindi Poet Fateh Ali Chetur

Urdu Poet Dr. Raj Kumar

Urdu Poet Ahmed Rahi

Urdu Poet Shah Alam

Hindi Poet Javed Rasheed

Urdu Poet – Javed Gill

Hindi/ Urdu Poet – Zohra Chisti

Organizer -Mike Ghouse

Urdu Paristar – Shri D D Maini

Hindi/Urdu writer Dr. Raghu Nath Sing

Urdu Poet – Noor Amrohvi

                                                        UrduPoet – Rahmat Reza

Urdu Poet – Nahid Shad

 

Urdu Poet – Saeed Qureshi

Urdu Poet – Younuz Ijaz

                                        Hindi/Urdu Radio Broadcaster Shabnam Modgil

Acknowledgement of pioneers (Desi Alphabetical-Duplication in category removed)

Amina Ismail, Arvind Singh, Baba Fazlur Rahman, Irfan Ali, 
Jasbeer Kaur, Jyothi Mallick, Manju Bansal, Majeed Jaami, Najma Ghouse,
Nandlal Singh, Nishi Bhatia, Qamar Naqvi,  Sarwar Alam Raz,  Shoket
Qadri, Syed Ilyas and …

Urdu Hindi Poets of Dallas (Desi Alphabetical)

Dr.
Amanullah Khan, Amer Suleman, Amin Tirmazi, Anand Punjabi, Ahmed Rahi,
Dr. Harbans Lal,  Iqbal Hyder, Javed Rasheed,   Karamat Gardezi, Masooq
Qazi, Nadir Durrani, Naheed Shad,  Noor Amrohvi,  Owais
Nasir, Qaisar Abbas, Qutub Ali,  Rajiv Chakarvarthi, Rehmat Raza, Saeed
Qureshi, Shah Alam Siddiqi, Tariq Hashmi, Yunus Ejaz, Zohra Chisti, 

Urdu Hindi Radio Personalities (Desi Alphabetical)

Aamir
Askari, Aditiya Singh, Ambreen Hasnat, AG Chini,  Asha Ram, Anjum
Anwar, Azad,  Farrukh Hamid,  John Hammond,  Kundan
Sharma, Mike Ghouse, Monicca Kolluri, Pervaz Malik, Rehan Siddiqi, 
Rekha Gajaria, Samson Masih,  Sandhya Sarma, Seema Malik,  Shabnam
Modgil, Sharriq Hamid, Shazia Khan, Syed Talib, Tamim Shipchandler

An effort was made to make the list comprehensive and complete, we placed the names we knew and recommended.

Some day, we will publish the poetry of all the poets…. time and funds permitting. 

NEXT MUSHAERA/SAMMELAN

Saturday, March 29, 2014
Managed by: Saeed Qureshi Saheb and Younus Ijaz Saheb
—————–


Thank
youmike
Mike Ghouse,
President
Foundation for Pluralism

……………………………………………………………………
Studies
in Religious Pluralism and Pluralistic societies
2665 Villa Creek Dr, suite
206, Dallas, TX 75234
Workshops | Radio Shows | Seminars |
Lectures

If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, and
accept the God-given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and
solutions emerge. Pluralism is respecting the otherness of others.

What Is God Doing in Philippines?

      Comments Off on What Is God Doing in Philippines?

WHAT IS GOD DOING IN PHILIPPINES?

Is
God responsible for the disaster in Philippines? It is painful for the
families to lose one, two or three members of the family, but this
disaster is too big to imagine. The question is why? What did the
innocent babies and Children do to have to bear this? What did anyone
do to suffer this? Indeed the clergy in all faiths blame the human
behavior when disasters befalls earth. Some of them even make a villain
out of God and some blame the lifestyles of “others” for inviting the
wrath of God during Katrina. Who is to be blamed and how do we handle
this?

Some of the answers are at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/what-is-god-doing-in-phil_b_4258045.html

Mike Ghouse
www.TheGhousediary.com 

Guru Nanak's teachings and its relevance on his 545th birth Celebrations.

      Comments Off on Guru Nanak's teachings and its relevance on his 545th birth Celebrations.

The Sikhs across the world would be
joined by Hindus, Muslims and others in celebrating the 545th birth anniversary
of Baba Guru Nanak, the fountain head of Sikhism.

URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/guru-nanaks-teachings-and-its-relevance/

Also Published on page 18 of The Indian Panorama weekly, a Dallas Paper


The tradition of celebrating the
anniversary of the Gurus or the spiritual teachers is called Gurpurb
(celebration of the teacher). There are ten Gurus in Sikh faith and their holy
book is called the Guru Granth Sahib. Granth Sahib is a compilation of entire
teachings of the Gurus, and remains a perpetual guidance for Sikhs.
As a pluralist who has done over 25
hours of Radio Talk shows and two workshops on Sikhism as a part of
“Understanding the wisdom of Religion, all the beautiful religions”
my goal was to share the essence of each faith and their relevance to the
common man on the street who is not related to that particular religion.
Let me begin with the recognition of
how Guru Nanak’s teaching has produced an exemplary model of dealing with the
conflicts today.   
On August 5, 2012, a gunman Wade
Michael Page walked into the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek Wisconsin, and opened the
fire killing 6 people causing tremendous panic and apprehension. This is an
accumulation of many smaller incidents beginning with the murder of Balbir
Singh Sodhi, a gas station owner in Phoenix, Arizona, and many incidents later,
the humiliation of Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh Professor in New York and
harassment of Mr. Jageet Singh, a truck driver by a Judge in Mississippi. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/harassment-of-sikhs-in-ne_b_3997899.html  
How did the Sikhs respond to the
harassment and the violence?
They followed the teachings of Guru
Nanak by responding to the Wisconsin massacre with forgiveness, patience,
forbearance, and kindness, it was the right thing to do when tragedy befalls a community.
They set a new benchmark in America.
Instead of expressing anger,
threatening to sue the authorities, or demonstrating their apprehensions, the
Sikhs across America chose the most powerful tools of all: Prayer and
forgiveness. Indeed it resonates with the teachings of Jesus, Prophet Muhammad
and other great masters, and recently Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March and Martin
Luther King’s march in Selma. It disarms the oppressor and the message of
goodness gets conveyed. 

Every Gurdwara in America held candle light vigils and speeches focused on
forgiveness and goodwill – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNxrf8fFU0I
 
The selfless service to mankind known as Seva is central to the teaching of
Sikhism. There is no thought of reward or gains, it pure service to fellow beings.

The Sikh community must be
appreciated by one and all, and were indeed appreciated at the Unity Day USA
for setting the standards of dealing with conflicts.

Indeed, it is our duty to “honor and cherish individuals “who have dedicated
their lives to building bridges among Americans. Their pioneering spirit in
facilitating communities to know each other and to respect each other is
appreciated by the people of Dallas/ Fort Worth. On this day, we appreciate and
celebrate their contributions towards building a cohesive America, where no one
has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

Click on picture for enlarged version

Picture: Sikh Community Honored at
IX Annual Unity Day USA in Dallas. 
Mayors of Richardson, Garland, Police and Fire chiefs and
representatives of 7 Gurdwaras, Bob Mong, CEO of Dallas Morning News, Dr.
Harbanslal and the event Chair Mike Ghouse.


Guru Nanakji’s birthday
has a special significance to me, indeed, the religion we called Sikhism today,
started out as an interfaith movement, where Guru Nanak primarily brought
people from different religions together and taught common sense goodness, and serving
humanity and caring for the neighbors.

Today, I wrote my weekly piece at Dallas Morning News on Pluralism, I was asked
what verse from Quran I would recommend to those who serve in public office. The verse I
recommend reminded me of the Sikh Brother, Bhai Kanhaiya’s story from the
battle of Anandpur Sahib in 1704.

Quran, 5:8 (Asad translation): “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 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.”

Indeed, the word hatred has multiple meanings in this case – bias to color,
race, appearance, deport and other temperamental proclivities that are
destructive to everyone. Indeed Bhai Kanhaiya took it further to include enemy
soldiers.  Martin Luther King Jr., said,
“Injustice to one is injustice to all” – thank you Bhai Kanhaiya for setting
the new standard of inclusion and caring.  

Here is a dialogue between Bhai Kanhaiya and Guru Gobind Singh; the 10th
Guru of Sikhism who put the final touches to the religion, this story is
narrated by many sources including Wikipedia.  

Guru Gobind Singh summoned
Bhai Kanhaiya and explained that he had received a complaint about his actions
on the battlefield.

_ _ _ _ _
Guruji, “These brave Sikhs
are saying that you go and feed water to the enemy and they recover to fight
them again – Is this true?”
Bhai Kanhaiya, “Yes, my Guru,
what they say is true. But Maharaj, I saw no Mughal or Sikh on the battlefield.
I only saw human beings. And, Guru Ji, they all have the same God’s Spirit? –
Guru Ji, have you not taught us to treat all God’s people as the same?”

Guru Ji said, “Bhai
Kanhaiya Ji, You are right. You have understood the true message of Gurbani (compositions
of Sikh Gurus) “.
He then continued and told the Sikhs that Bhai Kanhaiya had understood the
deeper message of the Gurus’ teachings correctly and that they all have to
strive to learn lessons from the priceless words of Gurbani.

Guru also gave Bhai Kanhaiya Ji medical Balm and said “From now on, you should also put this balm on
the wounds of all who need it”’
Then turning to the sangat
Guru Ji said, Saadh
sangat Ji, Bhai Kanhaiya is a God-fearing saintly soul. His impartial and
non-biased behavior towards others has led him to achieve Sehaj-avastha. Let
him carry on with his mission. Many more will follow in his footsteps in the
years to come and keep the tradition of Nishkam Sewa alive.”
 _ _ _ _ _

Guruji was committed to peace and harmony.

I hope on this auspicious occasion of Gurpurb, the Sikhs can make a genuine
effort to pay tribute to the spirit of Guru Nanak Devji and remove the
misunderstandings that erupted from a wrong translation of Quran that happened
350 years ago during the reign of Aurangzeb,  and has rightfully etched in the psyche of
Sikhs.

In an article in Huffington
post about Kentucky Senator
David William’s bigotry I wrote, “No one has a right to belittle other’s
faiths. If Senator Williams has a problem let it be his problem and no one
should malign Christianity for his bigotry.” Likewise, King Aurangzeb’s bigotry
should not be slapped on to Muslims. I have nothing to do with it, nor does any
Muslim today has anything to do with him.

One single mistranslation of a verse from Quran has created a great
misunderstanding between Muslims and Sikhs since the times of Aurangzeb, and
has lasted till this day. Sadly there was a lot of bloodshed during the
partition of India that has deepened the ill-will among a few Muslims and a few Sikhs. It is time to forgive
for our own sake, as it will release the tension and apprehension within us and
deal with each other as free individuals.

I was a speaker on “reading the scriptures” at the Parliament of world’s religions in Melbourne, Australia
and discovered this longest running ill-will between Sikhs and Muslims with Dr.
Avatar Dhaliwal of Tennessee.  I hope, to
honor Guru Nanak, we can put this behind through a serious dialogue. I am
willing to invest my time for the sake of common good and peace between people
of different faiths. We cannot have walls between us by the men who are no
more.

Sikhism was one of the first formal religions that began as a reconciliatory
goodwill nurturing faith and let’s give the full value to it and work together.

May the Noor (divine light) of Guru Nanankji brighten the world today and for
eternity. Amen!


SPECIAL
NOTE:
 
The DFW Sikh Community
invites you, our friends, neighbors and all members of the community, to
join us in the celebration of the 544th coming of the founder of the
Sikh Faith, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. His ideals of peace, harmony, egalitarianism,
social justice, living in the presence of the One Creator and with dignity and
honesty are the fundamentals we strive for everyday. This celebration will
include the 1st parade in the City of Richardson.

When: Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 10:00 AM – 2 PM.
Where: Gurdwara Singh Sabha of North Texas in Richardson.
Langar
will be served. This is the Sikh institution of the community kitchen and as
with any and all Sikh events it will include a complimentary vegetarian meal,
sweets, refreshments and drinks.

# # #           

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker
and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work
place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and
offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and
has done that throughout his life as an activist. 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 all his work through
many links.   

Pope Francis: This is my Pope, and I am a Muslim

      Comments Off on Pope Francis: This is my Pope, and I am a Muslim

This is my Pope, and I am a Muslim.

URL-http://nabsites.net/demo/pope-francis-this-is-my-pope-and-i-a/


There was a paucity of moral leadership in the world, a leader who can confidently bring about a balance and not let the equilibrium of the society be run down. Thank God for this angel; Pope Francis.

I have studied him for over six months, and have written articles including two in Dallas Morning News. Now, I have chosen him to be my moral guide. I have come to believe that he has what it takes to lead the world and build that elusive kingdom of heaven where no human has to live in fear of the other.  That is the end goal of all religions.

As a Muslim, I significantly differ with the Christian theology and rituals, but I would like to believe that the Pope and I understand that they are merely means to achieving spirituality, piety or Taqwa as it is called in Islam. Taqwa becomes your moral compass in doing things ethically. It is becoming God-conscious, or becoming Brahma as Hinduism calls it. It is a state of mind where you become a fully integrated part of what God is all about; just, kind, loving and caring with zero discrimination towards any.

When you achieve piety, you will not look down on any individual, they become an equal part of God, as you are, then arrogance fades, insecurities start disappearing and humility sets in connecting you with the universe. You and the Universe would be in union, or yoga and that is the state of mind that Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Mahavira, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Nanak, the Bab, and several spiritual masters in the native traditions had achieved. You feel the universe and you are one and the same with no apprehension that is indeed the true freedom.

My other living mentors include HH Aga Khan, Barack Obama, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi and Bishop Tutu and few others in the making. I am learning about others, but these men and women (soon) respect the God given life and the life hereafter as a guide to living a moral, but fuller life.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had once said that he wished his people had a book of guidance like Jews and Christians, and today, I wish that we the Muslims have a guide like Pope Francis, that the Catholics have. These words came to me after reading this statement from the pope. This is exactly what Muslims need, and I am pleased to take him as my moral guide.

To paraphrase Pope Francis, as a Muslim I would say, ““We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the Islam is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Quran.  The Muslim Clergy have locked themselves up in small things, in small-minded rules.  The most important thing is the core value of Quran “Mercy” followed by Justice, equality, humility and truthfulness.  And the Imams must be Imams of mercy above all.”

This is what Pope Francis said, “We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.  The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules.  The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you.  And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all.”

I am proud to have written 8 articles about the pope from the minute he was ordained to now. Insha Allah, I will make a pilgrimage to visit him to pay my respects and offer to be his ambassador. As a Muslim and a Pluralist, I will make myself available to jump at his call for creating peace in the world, where no human has to live in fear of the others, let the world be the new kingdom of heaven where we all feel safe and secure with each other. Amen!
  
I wrote the following pieces:

 

Mike Ghouse is a
speaker, thinker
and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at
work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and
offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes
in Standing up for others
and has done that throughout his life as an activist. 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 all his work through
many links.

Yom-e-Ashura – commemoration of Imam Hussain's martyrdom.

      Comments Off on Yom-e-Ashura – commemoration of Imam Hussain's martyrdom.

URL – http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/11/today-is-yom-e-ashura-commemoration-of.html

Note: This is unusual, most of this note is from different sources, my own writing is included in the links.

Today is Yom-e-Ashura, the 10th
day of Muharram
and marks the martyrdom of Husain
Ibn Ali and awakening of the ideals of Islam; justice, mercy, humility, equality and truthfulness.  
I urge fellow Muslims of all hues including Sunni and Ahmadiyya to join
in the commemoration at the Shia, Bohra and Ismaili places of worship, or at
least let them know that you stand with them.

This
event, the 10th Muharram is commemorated with two themes; commemorating
Imam Hussain’s martyrdom and following the Jewish tradition.


It is commemorated by Shi’a Muslims as a day
of mourning for the martyrdom of Husain 
ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad (pbuh) at the
Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram in the year 61 AH – October 10, 680 CE). In some
Shi’a regions of Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Pakistan, the Commemoration of Husain
ibn Ali has become a national holiday and most ethnic and religious communities
participate in it.[citation needed] Even in predominantly Hindu majority but
secular country like India, Ashura (10th day in the month of Muharram) is a
public holiday” – Wiki.


It is also commemorated by Sunni Muslims (who also refer to it as
The Day of Atonement) as the day on which the Israelites were freed from
Pharoah of Egypt. According to Sunni Muslim tradition, Ibn Abbas narrates that Muhammad (pbuh) came to Medina
and saw the Jews fasting on the tenth day of Muharram. He asked, “What is
this?” They said, “This is a good day, this is the day when Yah saved the
Children of Israel from their enemy and Musa (Moses) fasted on this day.” So he
fasted on this day and told the people to fast. Many Sunnis also recognize the
importance of the events at Karbala and the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in
regards to Ashura.

Insha Allah,  either I will visit the Momin Center or stay home and pray
depending on my health.

Will Shiite
and Sunni Islam Ever Reconcile?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/will-shiite-and-sunni-islam-ever-reconcile_b_2898461.html
The Centrality of Imam Husain to Islam.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/muharram-2011-centrality-imam-hussain_b_1117929.html

Intra-faith dialogue

There is another bold frontier to be
crossed – that is to get rid of our prejudices against fellow Muslims and let
each one be who they want to be; Muslims as they believe. Thanks to Allah for
blessing me to treat all Muslims equally with no prejudices – be it Ahmadiyya,
Sunni, Shia, Ismaili, Bohra, WD Muhammad and other groups. Alhamdu Lillah we
have conducted the first such conference at the Boniuk Center at Rice
University, and two more are planned in 2014.

Islam needed a home after 1400 years of stagnation and choking done by the
monarchs, mullahs, kings and dictators; finally it is free and at home,
here in America.

If any one of you wishes to sponsor the event, we can hold one in Dallas, and
Insha Allah it will be not be superficial talks, but serious talks that will
make a difference.  I will be happy to
moderate with the express purpose of finding solutions and not just talking.

Thank
youmike
World Muslim
Congress
……………………………………………………………………………………………
To
be a Muslim is to be a
peacemaker, one who mitigates conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful
co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his
creation; life and matter. Mike Ghouse is a Muslim speaker,
thinker and a writer on pluralism, Islam, interfaith and other topics. He
is committed to nurturing pluralistic values embedded in Islam and
building cohesive Socieities and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the
day, all his writings are at www.TheGhouseDiary.com  

Google Mircale helps India Pakistan Langoti Yaars Reunion

      Comments Off on Google Mircale helps India Pakistan Langoti Yaars Reunion

URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/google-mircale-helps-india-pakistan/

This is one of the simplest, shortest but powerful video, and I hope
you feel the emotions of happiness that come with a good ending of an epic or a movie.  

I must admit, I cried with joy!

A while back I saw another video where a Pakistani fighter pilot had
shot a passenger
plane that strayed into the war zone, he was not sure, but it was a
split
second decision and he regretted finding out later that it was a
passenger plane. He was
laden with guilt for a long time and wanted to apologize to the family,
which
included the Chief Minister of Gujarat then.  It finally happened after
two decades – it was like purifying oneself from the guilt and releasing
the other.
That is human, and purely human sentiment.   There were a few more I
have seen, but regret
not saving them. 

My first boss was Mr. Sunder Lal was from Lahore – and he was dreaming to
go to Lahore and meet his “langoti yaar” like the man in this video.  He would ask me to bring certain sweets from Karachi
Sweet Meat Stall in Bangalore and eat with me and share his stories…. his
sister was raped and killed in the mayhem, but he did not blame anyone but the
politicians.


Zia Khan’s family, our famous photographer in Dallas left everything in UP and
moved to Peshawar – Dr. Akbar Ahmed experienced similar things and has written
a beautiful poetry book on the topic called “Suspended Somewhere Between,” and it was a joy for me to write the book review.   Shri. Davendra Maini Saheb was a young boy in
Lahore, and one of his family friends gave his family a ride to the train to
Delhi, all of them are beautiful nostalgic events.

Sunder Lal was right; you and I suffer because of these SOB politicians. These
rats should be punished from making hate speeches, or any speech that puts
down other Indians in our case, and Pakistanis in their case. We
have to do our share and knock out every damned politicians who spills hatred
for fellow Indians, Pakistanis or any one.

Partition was a very
unfortunate event – the Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims who were hurt and lost their
relatives hold bitter memories and some of them have shamelessly poisoned their
kids and their grand kids.  Parents should
pass on the good and not the bad, but unlike the US, India and Pakistan did not
set up rehab camps for the refugees to help them ease out of anger and the
subsequent ill-will. I hope at least our generation stops at this,  and chooses
not to poison the next generation.

A few Indians and Pakistanis of our generation (born around independence)
are soaked
in hatred for the other, what a shame! Every opportunity they get the
express
and propagate their hatred. They go to Hajj and Ganga, magar dil phir bhi
ganday ka ganda. What good are the meditative retreats and Hajjs if
your heart is not
purified?
We
don’t feed our children the food
that will give them ailments, but then why do we feed them thoughts
that
burdens them for life and hatred for the other. In Dallas we have our
own share of Indians and Pakistanis who need some psychotherapy to get them
out of their hatred.
 

 I
wish we can share more of these, let the kindness and goodness overwhelm us and
wash away our ill-wills.  If I am loaded with malice, then I cannot ask
you to unload yours.  Even if our parents
have done it, we are responsible to clean our own heinie as we grow up.

If you liked the above video – and felt good about it, it is a mark of goodness that
we are created to be good beings. If this does not prompt goodwill, we have a
problem and not the others.

This is posted at the yahoogroups
and at www.TheGhouseDiary.com and http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/
Mike
Ghouse is a speaker and an author committed to building cohesive societies
where no one has to live in fear of the other.

Don't let your money go to your kids – they don't need it, let it go to good works

      Comments Off on Don't let your money go to your kids – they don't need it, let it go to good works
URL: http://nabsites.net/demo/dont-let-your-money-go-to-your-kids/

Thanks to Bill Gates for leading the Philanthropic work and donating his riches to good work, the work that benefits the general public. He is blessed to see good things happening with his donations during his life while he is alive.

Those folks living in America and have made it good can follow Bill’s example.
Your kids don’t need a penny from you, they will make a lot more than you do, or at least enough to live comfortably. God has blessed you to do good for the fellow beings and do it now while you are alive, rather than your money go helterskelter if you just quit one day without giving notice to any one.   

Dr. Raj Seekri of Dallas writes back to me, I like your suggestion,  ‘’ Don’t let your money go to your kids – they don’t need it, let it to good works.’’ –  My both children are doctors. They can take care of my beautiful 6 grand-children. My wife and I are spending our saving on setting up scholarships at different universities and colleges. We have already setup several of these and are planning to add many more. All these scholarships are in my father’s name.

Satish and Yasmin Gupta of Dallas have just donated $12 Million to University of Dallas for furthering schooling and they will see the benefits of their good, and will receive the blessings of joy while they are alive.

Dr. Basheer Ahmed is donating and funding the Muslim Community Center to help women suffering from Domestic Violence. Dr.  I just witnessed Dr. Muhammad Hussain in Kentucky do the same and there are a lot more out there who are doing things. Dr. A. R. Naqadar has a full time school in Gujarat for all Children of the area.

Indeed, the bottom of all religions is to create societies where every living being feels safe. If the words like God and religion are removed from the work of spiritual masters like Zarathustra, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus, Confucius, Muhammad, Guru Nanak, the Bab and several others, what we find are principles of building and sustaining peaceful societies. Every one who is invincible today becomes vulnerable one day, and religious teachings are an insurance against those who need help and no one is an exception to this.

Azim Premji in India has donated Rs. 8000 Crore towards Education and upliftment of India’s Children.

Hold your breath, you may be a philanthropist too. Those who are volunteering their time for the common good are nothing less of a Philanthropists. It is time for those who receive the goods and services from others and not give back, to at least have a healthy balance in life of receiving and giving. Receiving is having a job, and or having an income.

If you wish to give, give it your own way but give. If you wish to support the organizations who are doing a lot of common good, that benefits the society at large, then I invite you to consider the following organizations – Foundation for Pluralism and America Together Foundation. Join me as a volunteer or a donor to do common good that benefits the whole humanity as well.

Donate at: http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/ – and you can watch the trailer of the film in making at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8#t=515


The work we do is listed following Azim Premji’s story below.

# #
#

Azim Premji tops philanthropy list with donation of Rs 8,000
crore

The writer has posted comments on this
articlePTI
| Nov 13, 2013, 07.22 PM IST
Azim Premji tops philanthropy list with donation of Rs 8,000 crore
Wipro chief Azim Hashim Premji emerging as the most generous
Indian with a donation of Rs 8,000 crore in the past
year.
MUMBAI: When it comes to philanthropy, Indians
don’t share the table with the likes of Bill Gates but still there are a few who do really
donate and the latest list is topped by Azim Premji of Wipro.

Close on the heels of
releasing the second edition of Hurun
India Rich List, China-based Hurun Report Inc launched the inaugural
Hurun India Philanthropy List 2013, with IT tycoon Azim Hashim Premji emerging
as the most generous
Indian with a donation of Rs 8,000 crore in the past year.

Hurun
Report included donations made by companies in which an individual had a
significant share, by applying the percentage the individual has of the company
on the donations. Education was the most important area for the Indian
philanthropists with a total contribution of Rs 12,200 crore.

It was
followed by social development (Rs 1,210 crore), healthcare (Rs 1,065 crore),
rural development (Rs 565 crore), environmental cause (Rs 170 crore) and
agriculture (Rs 40 crore).

“This list demonstrates the responsibility
taken by entrepreneurs,” Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief
researcher of Hurun Report said. HCL group chairman Shiv Nadar is the
second highest contributor in the list with a donation of Rs 3,000 crore. The
Shiv Nadar Foundation, which completed 20 years in philanthropy this
year, works towards educational initiatives and expansion programmes, directly
benefiting 15,000 students across India.

Hurun India Philanthropy List
is a ranking of 31 Indians who donated more than Rs 10 crore (equivalent to $1.6
million) in cash or cash equivalent during April 1, 2012 till March 31, 2013. GM
Rao, through GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, donated Rs 740 crore for the education
of underprivileged children, becoming the third biggest philanthropist in
India’s corporate world. Nandan and Rohini Nilekani stand fourth in the list
with a contribution of Rs 530 crore.

Ronnie Screwvala, whose initiatives
are housed under the Ronnie Screwvala, whose initiatives are housed under the
Swadesh Foundation (UTV group), contributed Rs 470 crore for achieving rural
empowerment through the best practices and modern technology values.

“Biotech Queen” Kiran Mazumdar Shaw made a donation worth Rs 330 crore,
while Ratan Tata donated Rs 310 crore to various charitable
organizations for the underprivileged through the JRD Tata Trust and Sir Ratan
Tata Trust.

London-based mining major Vedanta Resources chairman Anil Agarwal donated Rs 290 crore to support the cause
of healthcare. PNC Menon of Sobha Developers and DLF chairman Kushal Pal Singh contributed Rs 270 crore and Rs 200
crore, respectively for programmes like adoption of villages and skill training
of the youth.

The average age of the philanthropists in the list is 62
years while the average age of the top 10 donors is 64 years. Region-wise, the
report said, south Indians showed the way for making contributions with a
cumulative donation of Rs 10,000 crore while north Indians pitched in with
contributions of Rs 4,865 crore.

The Companies Bill, 2013 mandates
companies, with a net worth of more than Rs 500 crore or revenue of more than Rs
1,000 crore or net profit of more than Rs 5 crore, to earmark at least two per
cent of their average net profits of the preceding three years for CSR
activities.

“This amendment to the Companies Bill should provide more
transparent reporting of corporate donations,” said Anas Rahman Junaid,
publisher at large of Hurun Report India.

# # #

What will we
do?
 

Establish the Center for Pluralism, an institute to study and teach
cultural, family, social, political, and religious pluralism. The
shortest definition for Pluralism would be-respecting the otherness of
others. When we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

We have to consciously build cohesive societies where no human has to live in tension, discomfort or fear of the other.
 

Production of footage for the film, Americans Together, building a
cohesive America.  Post production and marketing to be done in 2015-16. 
Hopefully, this would be a first film where every representation of
America can be seen. It is again a movie to reflect the book Standing up
for others and building cohesive societies. We need funding for this.

Push the Interfaith dialogue to its limits, so we can face tough issues
head-on, and get it over with it.  I hope we learn to live with our
differences, rather than pretending to be nice, but live with a load of
sill-will within. Such attitudes are explosive and generate phrases like
they asked for it, or they deserved it when the other group is in
difficult situation.

Initiate a Leadership program in political Pluralism. We hope to establish the
program to orient leaders with the concept of inclusiveness. We want no bigots
in our politics and for that we have to plan it.

Establish a Center for Pluralism in
Bangalore, India

NURTURING
UNITY—UNITY DAY USA

We
have been celebrating 10 years of Unity in a determined way. Annual Unity Day
USA events – to build bridges, undo-stereotyping and bring people of different
faiths, races, politics, and ethnicities together to focus on the common good
and safety of America.

Each one of us feels at home, and at peace when
we have a sense of Unity, it happens when New Town shooting takes place, 9/11
occurs or Tsunami hits. Unity day is about nurturing Unity during peace times as
well as times of conflict. It is driven by the belief that knowledge of each
other leads to understanding, and understanding to acceptance of each
other.

We have to be genuine in our effort, no tokenism but sincere
inclusion of all Americans, yes, every American is included. Please visit  www.UnitydayUSA.com  


CONFLICT
MITIGATION MODEL

A
major change in dealing with conflicts in the history of the world is
established now. The Mulberry event seeded the change about how Muslims would
react to future Quran burning, criticism of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Islam,
and how Americans perceive Muslims; an alternate but standard behavior was
established for the first time in history. 
Respecting the freedom of speech of Pastor Jones and respecting the
Quran, the precise point made to Muslims and fellow Americans respectively. The
program communicated those two clear messages to the world.


It’s
a powerful story –over 300 news papers around the world carried our story,
Saudi, Pakistan, India’s leading papers endorsed our model, the Shia and Sunni
News agencies reported in Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq. Our men and women were out
of harm’s way, and no violence took place this time… anywhere.  I am encouraged by the tremendous support it
received from all corners of the world. It was good to see Malala replicate it
in her own way, and if we keep doing this… we can see a lessening of violence
and mitigation of conflicts. It takes two sides to see peace.  It’s a special report on Quran burning at
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com.

EMPATHY
FOR HUMANITY | HOLOCUAST AND GENOCIDES

It
is a purposeful event for people to come together and develop empathy for each
other’s pain, and look to each other’s suffering in the most human way. Unless
we feel the pain of others, why would others feel our pain?  It is also an event that takes you out of the
“me, me and my suffering only” to,  “we
are all in this together” and have to work and bring the change for common
good.  

7 years of Holocaust and Genocides events – Touching upon
Holocaust every time and highlighting different Genocides across the world.  The feedback we received from all groups was
healing. 

Until we started the
program, non-Jews never commemorated Holocaust anywhere; we were the first ones
to commemorate for the general public. It is also a Muslim initiative to bring
about understanding between peoples. 
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

PLURALISM
WORKSHOPS

We
have conducted 26 workshops in understanding the essence of all the beautiful
religions,  including Atheism. The idea
is to know each other.

Festivals
of the world—for the last 20 years, I have written the essence of about every
festival in every major religion. If we merely understand the essence of each
festival, we would appreciate how other people commemorate or celebrate their
tradition. 

Talk
Radio on Religion— we have done over 520 hours of Radio shows on every religion
including Atheism. The idea is to free ourselves from bias towards the others.

There
is more, but this is good!

20 YEARS OF RESEARCH ON PLURALISM
 
People of different faiths, races and  backgrounds come together

 

click on picture to see larger version

We have to build a cohesive America, where no American has to live in anxieties, discomfort or fear of the other. 


It
is our individual and collective responsibility to keep law and order
and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. Hate, prejudice and
stereotyping are some of the many root causes of disrupting the peace in
a society. It is our duty to track down the source of such ill-will and
work on mitigating it.


We
believe humans are open to choices, and will make best choices if the
path is paved for them. We have provided many paths, through our annual
events, like Unity Day, Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides,
Thanksgiving and other conferences. It has been our experience that our
participants walk out with a commitment to be less biased, less
prejudiced and willing to stand up for the others for the sake of  common good.

click on picture to see larger version

7th Annual Holocaust and Genocides
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

click on picture to see larger version

Due
to sensibility of the event, we want to assure you that it is an all
inclusive event, over the last several years, we have focused on
Holocaust and several Genocides across the world, and we hope to
commemorate every one of them.  This is a symbolic event to represent
all Genocides and the Jewish Holocaust.

The purpose of this event is education, we hope to learn to acknowledge
our failings, and our mission is to create awareness of the inhumanity
within each one of us to find the solutions.

Are
we willing to see other’s pain, or are we focused on just ours? We hope
to learn about every human tragedy in the given time we have, and our
character is determined by how patiently we resist the temptation to
reduce other people’s suffering.

Please mark your calendar, invite your friends and invite sponsors for
the event and share about this among your friends. We also would like to
list all the organizations who commit to be present at the event. All
donors over $100 will be listed on this website.

The
event is on 1/26/2014—for details, please visit the site. Volunteer if
you could, you’d feel you have done your share of work to better the
world

……………..

Americans Together
A DOCUMENTARY FILM

Americans Together is a documentary about Americans working toward building a cohesive society. 

It is time we bring fruition to the change we want, here is the first
step towardbuilding an America that is good for every one of us. Our
focus will be overall prosperity rather than pitting one against the
other.

Every American must feel a sense of security, safety and freedom. If we
can learn to accept te otherness of others and respect the God given
uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Collectively, we are represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity,
language, culture and religion. We see God as one, none and many and in
every form; male, female, genderless and non-existent, being and
non-being, nameless and with innumerable names. America Together
Foundation is committed to preserve this pluralistic heritage of
America.

We are looking for partners:

· to fund and participate in our documentary

· to research stories and write script. 


Americans Together is
an educational and pragmatic initiative to weed out myths from reality,
which are hurting the social cohesiveness of America. The myths are
vigorously propagated by a few to disrupt the delicate balance in our
society by pitting one American against the other for their own
perceived gains. We need to counter it with love, caring and affection.
We have the systems in place to rectify.

The trailer is at www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com
 

To
be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts
and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. Just about
every activity of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) included  those two elements. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter.
We
are driven by the Qur’an, Al-Hujurat, 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 Allah, is the
best in conduct. Allah Knows and is aware
Our
Mission is to work for a world of co-existence through inclusiveness
and participation. 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, for the goodness to
sustain.
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.
Our
short term goal is to understand different faiths and let the values of
Islam be understood as well. We know very little about other faiths
just as others know almost nothing about Islam. The idea is to know each
other, so we can be good to each other.   
Our
Long term goal is simply to bring a realization that the purpose of
religion is to bring peace and tranquility to an individual and further
create balanced relationships between the individual, society and the
environment. Learning about other faiths need not imply infidelity, but
rather the search will enrich one’s own faith, it reaffirms the idea
that the intent of every faith is to “fix” the individual as an active
working and participating spoke in the wheel of life. Most people get it
and a few don’t. www.WorldMuslimCongress.com


SYMPOSIUMS

1. Anti-Semitism—Not
a week goes by without someone making an anti-Semitic remark, and shame
on us for not saying a thing about it. If each one of us can stand up
against Anti-Semitism, we will individually contribute towards a better
society that we really want to live in. It is subtle. Should others do
that to you?


2. Quraan Conference—Myths
are manufactured about others without any substantiation; it is an old
business of maligning others to have a momentary gain. Those who malign
have not made a sincere effort to find the truth, let alone understand
the book.


3. GLBT—It
is embarrassing to watch our presidential candidates’ vitriolic against
GLBT’s, yet they subscribe to our constitution where all men are equal,
what hypocrisy?


4. Racial issues —We
are developing the content for understanding racism and hope to make
short documentaries and find solutions to this evil, it will not go away
for a few generations, all we can do is to make an effort to reduce it
and bring awareness to the society, how it hurts and affects the overall
society.

5. Stereotyping—This
is the most common form of ignorance that surfaces every minute of the
day in our lives. Our freedom to think is lost when we stereotype people
and fall in ditch when we justify it. If we want others to treat as
fairly, we have to do it too.


6. Women’s rights—Women
are 51% of our population, yet they are not fully represented in the
government and leadership of the nation in civil and religious
corridors. This has got to change for the sake of creating a better
society. It should be your character and skills that determine your
abilities and NOT your race, gender or religion…more

7. Native Americans—Chief
Seattle, a Native American said this perfectly, “All things are
connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man
did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he
does to the webs, he does it to himself.”

 

It
is a purposeful positive event for Americans of different faiths,
races, ethnicities and other uniqueness to come together to rededicate
ourselves to our pledge; One nation under God with liberty and Justice
for all. We will pray for peace, prosperity and security of our nation.

Last
year the event focused on the positive response of Sikh community to
the Wisconsin Shooting and this year, we will focus on the positive
prayerful response of Muslim community to the planned Qur’an Burning by
Pastor Terry Jones in Mulberry, Florida.

You
will be a part of history in creating a model behavior in dealing with
conflicts and building a cohesive America, where no American has to live
in apprehension or fear of the other.  The 10th Annual event is moved
to Mulberry, Florida – for a singular purpose – to mitigate possible
apprehensions generated by the planned burning of 2998 copies of Quran
on September 11, 2013. We hope the event restores our faith in the
cohesiveness of America, and we the people will go on about our business
of living our daily lives.The full press release: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html

We will gather:

to be together as Americans

To express our gratitude to our men and women in uniform

to honor individuals who have contributed to the well being of Mulberry

to emphasize and appreciate diversity represented by America.

to cherish the otherness of others.

to commit to be good neighbors

to rededicate our pledge to the peace, prosperity and security of America

As
Americans, and as American of all hues, we uphold, protect, defend and
celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. All our faiths
reinforce the creed of “One Nation under God, with liberty and justice
for all”.

On
this Unity Day USA, we, the people of the United States of America of
every faith, race and ethnicity, will gather to express our commitment
to co-existence, safety, prosperity and the well being of our nation.

www.UnitydayUSA.com


Our
mission is to encourage individuals to develop an open mind and an open
heart toward their fellow beings. If we can learn to respect the
otherness of other and accept the genetic uniqueness of each one of us,
then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

What is Pluralism? In
cultural terms, it is recognizing your culture as a beautiful
expression of life to you, as my own is to me. When it comes to food, it
is appreciating the well done steak you enjoy over the medium rare I
delight, or vice-versa. Religiously, it is learning to honor the way
your worship or bow to the creator in gratitude, is as divine as my own.

By
the end of 2020, there will not be a major city in America, and perhaps
in the world, where you will not find people of different faiths,
cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds
working, eating, playing, marrying, and doing things together.

We
need to prepare ourselves for those eventualities to prevent possible
conflicts and lay a good foundation for nurturing goodwill and effective
functioning of the societies. Exclusive communities will become a thing
of the past.

Pluralism
is our future, and as a futurist, based on the trends, I foresee, that
two generations from now, we would be comfortable in saying, my
religion, culture or life style is one of the many choices, and further
down the road, a significant number will proclaim that my way of life is
not superior or inferior to any.

Claiming
superiority would be sheer arrogance and religion (a major part of life
to many) is believed to imbue humility that builds societies,
communities and nations in creating that elusive kingdom of heaven where
all live their lives without apprehension or fear of the other.

Every Wednesday, you can read my column in Dallas Morning News offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.  www.FoundationforPluralism.com


Peace is attainable and we should not give up on it. The Jews deserve
security and the Palestinians the hope. Both deserve peace and security.

“Peace hinges on hopes for the Palestinians and security for the
Israelis, anything short of justice will not produce sustainable peace” –
If Jews and Muslims can take the position that we cannot have peace
when others around us don’t and work on first removing bias and
stereotyping from their own minds, conflicts will fade and solutions
emerge. (more on left panel)   
www.IsraelPalestineDialogue.com


“We provide all people the
ability to celebrate marriage and other religious functions according
to their beliefs. We believe that this is an innate human right and is
also protected by the 1st Amendment. Our values come from the
understanding that all people, whether religious or not, have deep
personal values and should be treated with respect, acceptance, and
understanding.”

Marriage is a celebration that brings people
together, and we want to extend that ethos further by being a church
comprised of a wide cross-section of people that have found common
ground in the service of bringing people together.

To begin, the
legal dimension to officiating a wedding simply involves completing a
piece of paper, the marriage license. The marriage license is the legal
document of marriage. It is filed for by the couple from their local
government prior to the wedding.

The
role of the minister is to conduct the wedding, have the couple
present their marriage license, make sure that the information is
correct, and complete the license. The couple then returns the completed
license back to its office of issuance. http://interfaithmarriages.blogspot.com/

We are proud of our heritage – a multi-faith, multi-cultural,
multi-regional and multi-linguistic society, where we have come to
accept and respect every which way people have lived their lives. For
over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of pluralism – it has embraced
Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i and Zoroastrianism to include in
the array of the indigenous religions; Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and
Sikhism. 

Indian democracy is a
shining example to the world, where the people have peacefully
transferred the powers. Indians are inherently secular and economically
capitalistic. They believe in “live-and-let-live” life style, which is
the essence of capitalism.Through the years we have expressed the
highest degree of maturity on handling extreme situations; the more
divergent opinions we hear, the larger our heart grows, the bigger our
embrace would be and we can cushion more differences.

Let’s continue to
honor the concept that there is always another side to the story, as
finding the truth is our own responsibility.I am proud of my heritage
and am proud to be an Indian-American. Please join me in the discovery
of India on a daily basis, as time permits and share the wealth of
knowledge you have on this forum. http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/

This is the
Book
Standing up for Others
IF YOU ARE NOT
WILLING TO STAND UP FOR OTHERS,
WHY SHOULD ANY ONE STAND UP FOR
YOU?

Standing
up for others is the right thing to do; every human goes through a period of
invincibility to vulnerability, and if we don’t stand up for those who are
vulnerable, then why should anyone stand up for us when we are
vulnerable?
The
most difficult and influential scene of my life was watching Jews inhumanely
herded to a huge pit, and were shot into it during the Holocaust. The hurtful
looks in their eyes has been very painful to me. I connected with their plea, in
my college I helped a friend with answers during the exams, and was caught red
handed and taken to the Principal’s office. None of my friends stood up for me,
I was looking at them, perhaps even for an acknowledgement, and they walked away
as if I did not exist. I can never forget my helplessness and I said, never
again.

The story is same whether it is Bosnia, Rwanda, Gujarat, Sikh
Genocide, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Native Americans, Africans, Maya….  There is a pattern of hatred, control and the
insecure animal in the perpetrators. The world betrayed the victims in all
cases. I saw the pain in their eyes standing in front of that pit with dignity.
They were looking at the world and saying in their hearts “where are you my
friends, where are you? Where is humanity in you? Are you just going to let this
happen? What happened to our friendship, did that mean anything to you?

Evil
persists in the world, not because of bad people, but because good people do
nothing about it.  We have to tell the
bad guys that the world is not with them and when enough people speak up to
begin the process of weakening the bad and strengthening the good, for the
common good of all parties.   The
idea of alms, charity, taking care of the elderly, weak, sick and the
children is a common theme in every religious tradition. It is indeed
insurance for every one’s well being. I cannot be at peace when others
around me aren’t, and hence it behooves for me to take care of the ones
who need assistance.

If we allow bias towards any human, we
miss out a part of God in our  spirit.  Fight your bias towards others
from now on, and see how happy you would be. We are made to be good
humans and if we become one, we are home! 

Standing
up for Atheists

Belief
in God is not a requirement to live a normal day to day life; it is not a
requirement to be a good human being either. Whether one believes in God or not,
the creator loves his creation anyway, and every human will spend the time he
was charged up with whether he is a theist or an atheist. Every life will
end.  Indeed, we have created God in our
own image. The story is about defending their rights to their belief with many
examples.

Senator
Williams’ Remarks Offended Hindus

Governor
of Kentucky attended a factory opening ceremony that created 275 jobs for
Americans in Elizabeth Town.  Senator
Williams criticized the Governor for sitting cross-legged with a “dot on his
forehead,” and described the ceremony as “polytheistic.” It is not only a Hindu
issue, it is indeed an American issue and so I spoke up and wrote a piece and
hope to meet him and share the wisdom of Hinduism. Unless we stand up for each
other, we cannot expect an America where all men would be equal. Many such
stories are included in the chapter of Standing up for Hindus.

Security
for Jews and Justice for the Palestinians

What
inspires me to be involved in the Israel Palestine conflict? The following is
the story of my struggle to see a cohesive world, the story will take you
through different emotions but at the end, I hope you feel a sense of
completeness of the story.

 Standing up for Christians

Wherever
Christians are harassed and persecuted, I have spoken up. Whether it is Asia
Bibi in Pakistan, Pastor Naderkhani in Iran, Christian Convert Abdul Rahman in
Afghanistan, Lena Joy in Malaysia, burning of Santos Albertus church in Bekasi,
raping of Nuns in India or torching 150 Christian homes in Pakistan, we have
spoken up as well as documented the belligerent opposition of a few.

Standing
up for Gays and Lesbians

Don’t
make the mistake that one has to be gay to stand up for gays, if that were the
case, the world would be chaotic and ruthlessly selfish. Each one of the
spiritual masters worked to build a society where no one had to live in fear of
the other, as it will keep everyone in the fear. The role of religion was to
build cohesive and secure societies. I have taken a strong stand in support of
the rights of LGBT, and again it is tempting to do nothing and save harassment,
then what good am I,  if I cannot stand
up for a fellow human?

Standing
up for immigrants.

It
was not easy to walk into the Mayor’s office in the City of Farmer’s branch
along with the Mexican and other Latino immigrants. Dallas Morning News decided
to publish my picture on their front page and my statement was quoted instantly
in every Latin American news paper.  I
have been involved in immigration reforms, and please to be a fully participant
citizen.

Standing
up for Others

Standing
up for Baha’i, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Native Americans, Jain, Wicca, Zoroastrian
and others…. and of course Muslims! The book has a chapter for every group of
people.

I urge you to speak up when you see
oppression of any human, particularly those who are not related to you in any
form. 

THIS IS THE JOY OF MY
LIFE – If you wish to donate – all Donors over $100 will be listed on the website.

http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/


Thank
you
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
text/talk
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a
writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work
place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in
Standing up for others
and has done that throughout his life as an activist. 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 all his work
through many links.

Muslims in the west are embracing Humanity, praise the lord!

      Comments Off on Muslims in the west are embracing Humanity, praise the lord!
Muslims are coming around to embrace humanity, Alhamdu Lillah!
URL: http://nabsites.net/demo/muslims-in-west-are-embracing-humanity/

In
an unprecedented manner, Muslim organizations in the west are coming out of their shells and helping
people in the devastated Philippines. The other news about embracing humanity is the action of ISNA – Islamic society of North America, who just made the new by standing up for the rights of gay and lesbians. This is good and a welcome news.

With the exception of Katrina and Tsunami, most Muslim organizations based in the west focused on disasters where Muslims were hurt. This is for the first time,
Muslims in the west have really gone out to do good for others who are not Muslims. Let me be clear, I am talking about Muslim organizations in the west and not elsewhere, the Muslims in Muslims majority nations have always done their share of work for the humanity.

In the
past,  the Muslims living in the west did not serve people who were not Muslims, and this is a mighty change and must be collectively appreciated and encouraged. Thanks to the almighty for this renewed guidance.

Allah (through Quran) and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have repeatedly asserted and encouraged Muslims to serve humanity first as the most important duty.  Indeed, the Prophet went on to say that those who do not take care of their neighbors are not in my community and went on to elevate the status of those who do.

The Prophet was asked once who would enter the paradise between an individual who is praying to God all the times,  and the one who is drunk, and does not pray, but when the evening comes, he knocks on the neighbors (7 layers from your physical neighbor to all the way around the world) to find out if they are hungry, and shares whatever he has available to share. The answer is obvious. Such is the value placed on serving others.  Hitherto, for many a Muslims in the west, neighbor meant Muslim – whatever is happening to change their hearts to understand neighbor means any human is a good thing and I applaud this new change.

In the recent past, Muslims in the west were utterly
disgustingly selfish and would not serve or help out non-Muslims in need.  I was told by those Muslims that they
will not volunteer at Unity Day, or the Holocaust and Genocides commemoration events because it was not about Islam, how short sighted
and how un-Islamic they were?  I am glad to see Muslims are finally listening to God and the Prophet. Praise the lord!


This is how good societies are built – standing up for each other without reservation and I am optimistic about the future of Muslims in America and elsewhere.  You might consider reading this basic article I wrote in 2007 – Are Muslims a Part of American Story?

Although
it is a tragic event, there is hope and joy that Muslim organizations
are out there. In the last few days – I have been receiving information
from the following:

1.    Muslim Aid Australia was the first one to get out  http://www.muslimaid.org.au/NewsDetailed.aspx?BannerId=88 

2.   
Humanity First was out there immediately
http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2013/11/asia/humanity-first-responds-to-typhoon-haiyan

3.    Philippines Typhoon Relief by Helping Hands  – Muslims for Humanity https://www.hhrd.org/donate.aspx?proid=212

4.    Islamic Relief USA is there now http://www.irusa.org/emergencies/philippines-humanitarian-aid/

5.   
Insha Allah, my article – Where is God in Philippines will appear in
Huffington post this week – it explores our responsibilities and the role of God in our lives.

In Muslim majority nations things are turning around after nearly 50 years- In Pakistan, Muslims stood outside the Churches in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad to protect the Christians, however they are still prejudiced towards fellow Muslims who are Shia and Ahmadiyya and stood by and did nothing when they were harassed and killed in day light. Now a Hindu temple land is being given away to a developer, and I pray they would stand up against it. In Egypt, the Muslims formed a circle around the Coptic Churches to protect the worshipers from the harassment.

In Malaysia, the government nearly pushed the law to ban Sikhs and Christians from using the world Allah – the Malaysian Muslims did not have the balls to stand up, but the Muslims from around the world did, thank God it is out now. In India when the Gujarat Earthquake took place, I recall Muslims donating whatever they had towards the relief, one of my aunts pulled her only gold bangles and donated for relief effort.  There is hope and I hope we all move towards building cohesive societies where no one fears the other. Indeed Prophet Muhammad has established that in Medina – setting up the Pluralistic charter to govern the City State, we just need to follow his teachings.

Finally ISNA comes around.

The
Islamic Society of North America has come around and endorsed the
human rights of Gays and Lesbians – Among Muslims, Representative Keith
Ellison and myself have boldly stood up for their rights for a very long
time, and we have received ton of hate mails and calls from fellow
Muslims, since they cannot mess with Ellison, they let it out on me, thank God I can take it all with grace.

Allah
has blessed this nation America, more than other nations – it has one
thing in abundance; the God given freedom. Keith Ellison would have had a
fatwa on his head in any one of the 56 Muslim majority nations, but
thank God, America is the land of the free and the brave. As followers
of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), we are as bold as he was, who preached
monotheism against all odds and harassment.

Thanks to ISNA for
taking this bold step, we will move ahead.  Allah is not our enemy, even
though a few Muslims make him out to be. Allah loves us all. Quran is
an eternal book and not what it is made out to be by a handful of
Muslims.  http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/05/standing-up-for-gays-and-lesbians.html 


ISNA has long ways to go, but go they will. Currently it reflect the wishes of Donors and not the Muslim public sentiment. There is a dire need for integration, intra-faith dialogue and political involvement. I am always willing to volunteer before I talk. I sent in proposals for workshops in their annual convenation – What does it take to be a Mayor? What does it take for Muslims to come together? What does it take for us to be fully participating and contributing members of the society?  Someday they might listen and I pray for that.

INTRAFAITH

There
is another bold frontier to be crossed – that is to get rid of our
prejudices against fellow Muslims and let each one be who they want to
be; Muslims as they believe. Thanks to Allah for blessing me to treat
all Muslims equally with no prejudices – be it Ahmadiyya, Sunni, Shia,
Ismaili, Bohra, WD Muhammad and other groups. Alhamdu Lillah we have conducted the first such conference at the Boniuk Center at Rice University, and two more are planned in 2014.


Islam needed a home
after 1400 years of stagnation and choking done by the monarchs,
mullahs,  kings and dictators, finally it is free and at home, here in
America.

SHARIA

Make no mistake about it, American Muslims are about living
their faith and letting others live theirs, they are
not about imposing or pushing Islam on any one. An overwhelming majority of Muslims in America do not want the Sharia Law (as practiced elsewhere) in America. Islam is not about ruling, Islam is not about
governance, indeed,  is is a faith to free one from the clutches of greed,
control, anger, power and oppression and suppression of others. To be
just and truthful, merciful and humble. I am hopeful that in a few years, the major Muslim organizations of America will declare that Islam is about Justice and our laws, the American laws serve Justice and we have no desire for Public Sharia or any other laws to govern our lives in public square. 

Mike Ghouse is
committed to nurturing the pluralistic values embedded in Islam. More at www.MikeGhouse.net  

Texas Faith: What words of religious faith should politicians really hear and heed?

      Comments Off on Texas Faith: What words of religious faith should politicians really hear and heed?

Even though religion is equated as a pathway to God, its bottom line is
creating societies under a common umbrella where every living being
feels safe. If the words like God and religion are removed from the work
of spiritual masters like Zarathustra, Moses, Krishna, Buddha,
Mahavira, Jesus, Confucius, Muhammad, Guru Nanak, the Bab and several
others, what we find are principles of building and sustaining peaceful
societies. – Mike Ghouse
————
Texas Faith: What words of religious faith should politicians really hear and heed?
By Wayne Slater, Dallas Morning News, Published: November 12, 2013, 1:12 pm


Dick Thornburgh, former Pennsylvania governor and U.S. attorney general, gave a speech last month entitled “The Role of Faith in Public Service.” In it, he said not only that his religious faith was important to him as a lawyer, governor and cabinet member under two presidents – but also that he tried to keep “a particularly instructive passage of scripture” in mind. It was Micah 6:8, a well-known passage for many Jews and Christians: “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”

In his speech, Thornburgh explained why he tried to keep that particular passage in mind.

As a prosecutor, Thornburgh said the idea of justice meant making a good-faith effort to combine the toughness necessary to govern with a compassion for people in need. Of kindness, he said: “This admonition encompasses the highest claim upon those of us in public life – that of assisting others.” As for walking humbly, that sometimes means admitting when you’re wrong.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, and speaker on interfaith affairs, Dallas

Over the years societies have evolved with the unstated goal of self-preservation, and invariably justice is the foundation upon which societies function. Indeed, the purpose of the Bill of Rights was to guarantee the individual rights of its citizens under the constitution.

Even though religion is equated as a pathway to God, its bottom line is creating societies under a common umbrella where every living being feels safe. If the words like God and religion are removed from the work of spiritual masters like Zarathustra, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus, Confucius, Muhammad, Guru Nanak, the Bab and several others, what we find are principles of building and sustaining peaceful societies.

Now coming to my religion Islam, and if I were to define it in one word, it would be Justice.  Indeed, justice is the key to building cohesive societies where every human can live out his God given life as he chooses without fear of the other. However, most Muslims get that and a few don’t, and that is the case with every religion. No society is free from violations of its civil, religious and criminal laws.

For those who serve in public office, I would recommend the following verse.

Quran, 5:8 (Asad translation): “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 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.”

The word hatred has multiple meanings in this case – bias to color, race, appearance, deport and other temperamental proclivities are destructive to everyone at the end. Injustice to one is injustice to all – MLK.

There are innumerable examples of Prophet Muhammad and the first four Caliphs punishing their own kith and kin against the complaints of injustice from others. They paid a price to build a society, where one can trust each other and mind their own pursuit of happiness.  Justice is what keeps the society going forward.

Islam is built around five core values; Mercy, Justice, truth, equality and humility.  Everything else is structured to achieve these combined values lumped out as Taqwa, Trust or simply piety. The most dominant characteristic of God, as repeated in Quran is Mercy.

To see the response of other Panelists, go to Dallas Morning News at – http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/texas-faith-what-words-of-religious-faith-should-politicians-really-heed.html/?nclick_check=1#more-31522
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a
writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work
place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in
Standing up for others
and has done that throughout his life as an activist. 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 all his work
through many links.

Creation, Religion and God's will.

      Comments Off on Creation, Religion and God's will.

Creation, Religion and God’s will.

I
see Islam and Qur’aan as a universal systems and not the exclusive
religion of Muslims. Legitimate criticism and appreciation is invited.
You are welcome to express it in the comment section at the end of this
article.

Essence of creation, religion and God’s will.
Mike Ghouse

We
exist, and that is a fact of life and perhaps depending on our
orientation, we can trace us back to a singular source; be it the
intelligent design, big bang or the evolution. For the sake of using a
common word or a generally acceptable identification of that causer, we
can name that creator and the sustainer, a God**(note below)*, love or
simply the causer of life.

When the matter and life came into
being, each one was designed to seek its own balance. For example, the
Planet Jupiter has been precisely set to circumambulate around the sun,
and it has been doing that for millions of years; it has its own place
in the scheme of things, and designed to stay on its course, it respects
the other planets’ space and co-exists with them.

Whereas,
the humans were not put on that trajectory, they were given the freedom
to create their own space and balance. The creator is all about love
and intentionally reached out to each one of the seven billion of us and
delivered a beautiful formula called religion through the spiritual
masters to live in peace with oneself and others.

Even though the
claims of the self appointed guardians of religion tend to be based in
arrogance, religion itself is opposed to arrogance. Indeed, religion is
about humility. The claims of truth are fine, but when that truth is
based on denying other versions of the truth, then it is sheer arrogance
and strips the humility from religion and becomes dirty politics.
Furthermore, claims like the best, the oldest, the wisest, the peaceful,
the non-violent are all colored with arrogance and goes against the
very grain of the religion; humility. We need to go back to the basics
and do the research and give credit to God’s wisdom; let’s not lock up
God and confine his words to mean exclusive benefits to us. God cannot
be a small guy in his outlook towards his creation.

When you find
in peace with yourselves and what is around you, when you feel that you
do not hate any one, do not cultivate ill-will towards others and do
not look down upon others, then you have become a peace maker
yourselves. You have understood the wisdom of your own faith, and you
would have earned the capacity to be a contributor towards peace and
balance towards what is around you. You cannot be secure and safe when
others around you are not. As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I
would say, faith is in the heart of the believer.

Please remember
that God did not skip any one, (Sura Hujurat 49:13) he reached every
soul, every tribe and every community. Furthermore, he did not sign a
deal behind any one’s back to favor one over the other, or privilege one
or the other, he just cannot do that, if he did that he would be a
sneaky God and that is not what God is all about. Just as we love
whatever little we create, God loves us all despite our shortcomings. He
has blessed us with an opportunity to be our best in creating balanced
societies (One self, to ones’ own family to the world) where one can
live without fear, where justness is the norm of the society.

What is God’s will?

Qur’aan
has stressed our duties and obligations towards others, think of it,
there are two parts to Islamic teachings; i) Connecting with the Creator
for serenity and peace from within and ii) extending and sustaining
that balance with others.

Islam has crated beautiful pathways to
be in peace with oneself. Every act of worship; fasting, sharing
(zakat), and Hajj has the component of bringing the communities together
– to create harmony and build the idea of co-existence.

One
who does good to others is dear to God. God cares those who care
themselves (not exclusive but inclusive themselves) Doing goodness
involves the existence of others. Prophet Muhammad explains the good
deed as an act of planting the tree, knowing well that you may not be
the beneficiary of its fruits and shade.

What is the ultimate will of God?
It is the harmony in creation through Justness.

Each
one of us is dear to the creator and it is our individual and
collective responsibility to keep that ecological, social, moral or
spiritual balance within us and with what surrounds us; life and
environment. Those who sin, i.e., creating an imbalance in the society
through murder, theft, falsities or taking advantage of others, will pay
a price for it in terms of un-settling emotions and discomfort within.
Those who work for keeping that balance intact will rejoice a balanced
tranquil life.

The verse of Qur’aan 49:13 can be summed up in the
following manner. Please remember that God did not skip any one, he
reached every soul, every tribe and every community.

Jesus was a
Pluralist, he embraced every one and set the example to us that we
should not reject any one because they are lepers, prostitutes or
whoever we don’t agree with, he was representing God’s point of view.
Moses was a Pluralist uniting the tribes to live in peace under One God;
Muhammad was a Pluralist who brought all the differing tribes and
faiths to co-exist and live their own traditions under the Madinah pact
and he declared no man is superior to the other and that all are equal
(acknowledging the otherness of other) in God’s presence. Buddha was a
Pluralist and taught the principle of pain (internal hell) and pleasure
(paradise), Mahavir taught to accept the different views to find solace
within; Krishna the Pluralist said whenever there is immorality on the
earth, he will emerge and restore the balance back to the society;
Zarthustra the Prophet of Pluralism taught the concept of what is good
and bad some five thousand years ago; Pluralist Nanak said service to
mankind with a blind eye amounts to creating beautiful societies, and
Bahaullah, the pluralist said we are all one race and one humankind and
all religions are beautiful. The Shamans in Cherokee, Mayan, Toltec and
all other native traditions in America, Africa, Europe, Australia and
Asia taught us to co-exist, live together with our differences. They
were all God’s men and women and God is all about pluralism; i.e.
co-existence.

The day is not far when individuals of every faith,
race and ethnicities will work with you in the same office and live in
the same neighborhood, perhaps it is the same street and the same
community. We have to learn to live with all and keep that elusive
balance, and it comes from learning to accept the otherness of other,
and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts
fade and solutions emerge.

It is sad that a few men, including a
handful of Muslims attack the idea of co-existence. A majority of people
in all faiths understand that Pluralism is not a religion, but a
practice of ‘living and letting others live’. It is simply an attitude
of accepting the otherness of other and respecting the God given
uniqueness of each one of us. Pluralism is an attitude of religious
co-existence, letting others to be who they are and resisting the
temptations to look down upon others who believe differently. What is
the need for it?

By initiating and signing the Madinah pact,
Prophet Muhammad boldly acknowledged the otherness of other religions
and peoples and taught us not to live in denial. The Sura Kafirun
incorporates the idea of co-existence and embodies the ideals of a civil
society –
http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html

Mike
Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer on Islam, Pluralism,
interfaith, peace, civic issues and India. He initiated the World Muslim
Congress with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good
for others and vice-versa for the world to co-exist in peace and
harmony. He expresses his ideas through several forums and Blogs
dedicated to each topic. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local
television network offering pluralistic perspectives on issues of the
day. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the
Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net.