Gays, Lesbians and Muslims

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The
following is a civil conversation about Gay brother and sisters, and
Muslim acceptance. The topic is still a taboo, as it is with the
conservative Christians and Baha’i. I believe the Jews, Hindus and
Buddhists are not as belligerent towards Gays.

The world is
changing, despite the attitudes propelled by the gayphobic understanding
of Sodom and Gomorrah stories, a higher proportion of the population is
moving towards acceptance. Being a pluralist (respecting the otherness
of others and acceptance of God-given uniqueness of each human), I am
blessed to be connected with almost all of God’s creation.

http://www.upworthy.com/mapped-where-its-good-to-be-gay-where-its-bad-to-be-gay?c=ufb1
The
world is moving towards genuinely honoring God, by respecting every one
he created intentionally, but sadly the conservative are resisting.
Most Muslim forums shy away from even carrying on a discussion. I am in
touch with many scholarly Imams and they are honestly grappling with it,
instead of the outright rejection. But no one but the progressive
Muslims groups are discussing it. It is time for us the moderate
majority to face the issues, as we have to learn to deal with the world
with nearly 10% of the population that is Gay, some one close to you or
in your family would be a gay, and let’s prepare ourselves for it, while
some reject it outright. It is not easy to discuss – as  moderator of
the groups, I get the brunt of it and it is a responsibility I take
seriously, as I am concerned about the future of societies and want us
to be ready to deal with the issues. The youth among Christians, Bahais
and Muslims are fairly respectful of the otherness of others, the adults
are working on it.

As a member of the family of faiths,
invite everyone to join the forum WorldMuslimCongress@yahoogroups.com ,
we are open to hearing all views, including difficult ones so we can
learn and understand each other.

Gay and lesbians are a part
of our society, indeed, Muslims need to come up with a better way of
understanding God’s creation (49:13) and not reduce his wisdom to the
size of our limitations.

The following comments contributed
to the conversation, and we thank the following members; Dr. Javed
Jameel, Mian Waheed, Rafiq Lodhia, Moazzam Syed, Khalid Faridi, Linda
Barto, Khan Mohammad Hanif and Mike Ghouse. I urge you to read all the
three threads to get a fuller view of the discussion.

 May God guide us to respect all of his
creation without reservation, Amen!

Mike Ghouse, a Muslim committed to do his share of work in building cohesive
societies, where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of
the other.
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com


Dear Dr. Jamil,
Islam
is not a tyrannical religion, where the majority forces or pushes its
opinion on the minority opinion. Islam is about respecting other
people’s opinion, respectfully, even Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) solicited
opinions, and at times he was opposed. We need to value discussion, and
even though your note below is condemning me, as a moderator of the
group, I am publishing it, we have to learn to dialogue and practice
democracy, a practice that is embedded in every aspect of Islam –
whether in Salaat, fasting and other rituals, we are all equal, that is
the Islam I am familiar with.

Your statements below are difficult
to understand, and as Muslims we need to grow up and learn to discuss
and dialogue, and not jump to conclusions and condemnations.

The
tyranny of rulers with Muslim labels pushed Islam out of the domain of
doing good deeds that benefited humanity, and discouraged producing
knowledge in science, algebra, math, medicine and other sciences, they
kept screaming at them that it was the corrupt west that is getting away
from Deen. Muslims barely have a few Noble prize winners; look at the
others, where is the drag?

 Those dictators, monarchs and
tyrants, wearing Muslim labels passed judgments against people who
wanted to conduct a civil dialogue. These men wanted to shut out a civil
conversation to learn,  God has so much knowledge in Quraan, yet we
want to discourage who seek, and punish and condemn those who disagree
with us, because we have the power  to beat up on those who disagree
with us. .

When people are not capable of discussion, they resort
to cursing, pushing, threatening others to obedience. That is not
acceptable in civil societies; the purpose of dialogue is to find
solutions and not pass judgments. The best one among you is the ones who
understand and learn about each other. You seem to fail Quraan on this
account.

There is no need for you to call people in our group to
condemn where you disagree, and why should they? Why do you want to
divide people? Instead, my friend, urge people to intellectually
evaluate each value presented here… and let each one of us make up our
own minds. Don’t ask a person to take sides that is politics my brother.

You are very capable of bringing wisdom to the table; instead of “condemnations” this is not the kind of dialogue

Thank you
Mike Ghouse

This is absolutely disgusting, Mike.

Let me be blunt now.

I strongly and unequivocally condemn your acceptance/support for homosexuality.

I strongly and unequivocally condemn your persistent efforts to misinterpret Quran to suit your misconceived missions.

 I
strongly and unequivocally condemn your efforts to bury the voice of
the majority of Islam lovers under the weight of your mischievous
convictions.

 Stop this! You cannot be allowed to present and
interpret Quran the way you like. I totally reject you as one who has
any right to talk of Quran. Quran cannot accept sins and crimes of
gravest nature, the crimes and sins that devastate social order, family
system and cause widespread mortality and morbidity.

I call every member to denounce Mike’s attempts to legitimize all the vices prohibited by Quran in the name of Quran.

 
I resign from the forum in protest from this very moment. I cannot
stand to such blatant support of what is expressly declared Haram by
God. My resignation will save you from a troublemaker from your point of
view.

  In extreme anguish 

Dr Javed Jamil

— On Sun, 1/27/13, MIKEGHOUSE@aol.com
wrote:

From: MIKEGHOUSE@aol.com
Subject: Re: MuslimsTogether :: Muslim discuss on GAY/ LESBIAN Issue
To: worldmuslimcongress@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, January 27, 2013, 8:17 AM
 
Here is a summary recap,
the gay and lesbians are a part of our society, indeed, Muslims need to come up
with a better way of learning and understanding God’s creation (49:13) and not
reduce God’s wisdom to the size of our limitations in understanding the
mysteries. May God guide us to respect all that he has created, Amen!
1.   We have come a long way in
learning and knowing about each other; respecting the otherness of others
(Mecca peace treaty and the signature); saying to you is your Deen (Sura
Kafirun) respectfully, and listening to prophet delivering and explaining Gods
wisdom – there is no compulsion in matters of faith.
2.   Human rights are an expression of the
God-given rights to breathe and to live. Everyone has a right to live
regardless of what he or she does. The story of Prophet Suleman and how he
denied food to a sinner, and how God took the powers back is told for a
purpose;
3.   Most of us believe that God has a
hand in creation; all is created by him or her. We talked about Prophet
Muhammad getting frustrated because people were not listening to him, God said
to him, your job is to deliver the message and his was to give guidance. Allah
did not permit the prophet to curse them to hell. The Quraan also tells that
had he wanted, he would have created all of us alike.
4.   The basis for hate towards Gays
comes from the Sodom and Gomorrah story. The understanding comes from a
population who hated gays, hated lepers, hated just about anyone who differed from
the kings or the men in power.
5.   However, as we are learning and
knowing about each other, as Quraan guides, we are seeing a better world, a lot
more needs to be done though. Minorities are being accepted, a Black man from
17% of the population can become a president, or a Muslim from with a similar
percent of the population can be a president in India. Prophet Muhammad said we
are all created equal; no Arab is superior to the other and vice versa. We have
accepted the rights of Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Jews and others to live
their lives among the opposite majority we have come a long way. Prophets
vision was a society, where a single woman can go to Damascus and come back to
Madinah, unharmed. That woman represents the weak, the minority, and the one
who is different. We have ways to go, but God willing, we will. We will learn
to respect his creation.
6.   Scriptures? Our inability to see
the wisdom of God makes us reduce his words to smaller meanings. We have been
misled about 4:34 (beating a woman) for 1400 years; we have been falsely
injected with prejudice against Jews and Christians by messing with the
translations of Quraan. Even the Arabic speaking Arabs like Ibn-Kathir and
Ibn-Tamiyya have mis-led us. God wants us to create harmony among his creation
which leads to peace; Islam.
7.    All of us, followers of
Bible and Quraan in particular and other scriptures in General need to focus on
God’s wide universe and majesty. I received the following note from a Christian
friend, and my understanding of God’s word in Quraan is similar, by the way the
specific 6 verses in Quraan and Bible are identical.  Here is a Christian point of view;
Many
believe that the city of Sodom was destroyed due solely to the practice
of sodomy.   This does not align with Jesus’ teachings.   In Jesus’
words, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because spiritual works were
totally lacking in every person.  Jesus said:  For if the mighty
(spiritual) works done in Bethsaida had also been done in Sodom, it
would have remained until this day, Matthew 11:18-24.

Jesus
taught we were not to judge by appearances but by righteous (divine)
judgment.  It’s our spiritual obligation to learn to judge people and
situations righteously, and it’s God’s responsibility to enlighten us. 
They shall all be taught by God, John 6:45.  We are to pray, regardless
of how long it takes, until we receive spiritual insight.

Prayer
on this issue over the years has led me, and many others, to acceptance
for those who have a different life style, as long as they are
peaceful, caring and helpful to others, and are law abiding.  My goal is
to live in a state of peace and caring for others (love) as Jesus
taught. 

The question remains: Is consensual sodomy a sin? Rape
by sodomy definitely is sinful, and this was a problem in the city of Sodom
because women were not available. However, this was only a part of what
brought the city down – all inhabitants, in all areas of their lives, were
without spiritual direction. Therefore, crime was rampant.

8.   The suggestion that, Muslims need
to come up with a “better way” to help lesbians and homosexuals
escape from their deviant lifestyle and lead normal, healthy, happy lives –
reaffirms the existing bias that there is something wrong with those who are
gays and lesbians, they are no doubt different than the majority (as Muslims
are in the United States – had it not been for the work of good Christian
Pastors and Rabbis, the Muslims, Hindus, Atheists would have no place in the
society – they have put in a lot of effort to accept Muslims as a normal
people, and we need to continually express our gratitude to them for standing
up for the minorities, and we need to do the same – Standing up for others.
(check the site www.StandingupforOthers.com )
During the presidential debates, this came up.
Michelle Bachman’s (the former presidential candidate, and one of the stupidest
congress persons we ever had) husband ran a clinic to do that. To undo gay and
lesbian tendencies, he failed and the Psychiatrists and specialist jumped on
him for having false assumptions. We need more research on the topic to see if
this natural or nurtured. Knowing so many gays and lesbians, hearing them out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4 ) brings out the humanity in you.


9.   I am not promoting Gay and
Lesbian life style, it has always been there, and it will be there through the
Day of Judgment. I am defending their rights in the pursuit of their happiness.
It is a shame that fellow humans have to live in fear of the other on the basis
of an understanding developed in a negative way. It suits most of us to bash
and hate the others who are different, we (both sides) make
the Bible and Quraan and suit our understanding, the conservatives want
to stick with what is around for centuries and the liberals believe
God’s word is larger than it is made it out to be. 
10.  Indeed,
Muslims need to come up with a better way of learning and understanding God’s
creation (Children is used in Christian world – Muslims don’t, as God is
neither begotten nor begets). 

Mike Ghouse
Muslims together building cohesive societies.


Thanks Mian Waheed for sharing this piece
Where it’s good to be gays and where it is not

Indeed a very good and passionate
debate!
I agree, a new mouse trap is needed
to help people find the right way. I also do not agree this is a genetic issue,
rather an acquired life style. 
Yet, I would humbly submit that
discrimination can never be an answer. And extrapolating a bit further, on this
or any basis, killing of one citizen by another citizen can never be
legitimized or tolerated. 
If any one ever has to be sentenced
for such an unfortunate punishment, jurisdiction belongs to state and no one
else.  
All of us who feel very strongly
about this subject (for or against) should only rely on peaceful means, coupled
with humble,  sincere and caring prayers – being the most important
way. 
Let’s nurture and preserve the
humanity as a tribute to and for the sake of its Real Creator! With truth and
nothing but truth –  for His Blessings.
 
Moazam Syed

Salam
Homosexuality is indeed an
abnormality. It’s a strange logic that ‘if someone feels its normal…”. I
wonder who doesn’t feel that he is a normal even an extremist does that!
It did not always exist as claimed
by some in this forum unless Allah didn’t know about it when He reprimanded the
people of Prophet Lut (pbuh). Why no one talks of counselling the homosexuals
instead. Perhaps devil’s work and promise that he will change even the khalq of
Allah is proving true. And who shall be saved? He has no control over those who
believe and fear the establishment of the day of Judgement.
The justice should not be confused
with immorality of that act. No one believes that on disputes between a
homosexual and a normal human the law should favour the latter just because of
his normal sexuality instead of the cause or crime.
Quran exhorts people to continue
commanding good and forbidding the evil lest they will be affected by the fitna
whose victims will not be only those who indulge in sin/crime but others too.
As Prophet elaborated this, if you don’t stop people from damaging the boat,
when it sinks everyone will drown with it not only those who are causing the
damage. So Javed Jamil and others should continue to do just that and in his
tolerance Mike has allowed this forum to be as humanly free as possible.
The progonists and the antagonists have similar freedom to enunciate their
viewpoints.
One of the greatest things taught by
Quran is Justice- adl- which must be maintained at all cost. And here it means
civility even when criticizing the view point.
Wassalaam
Khalid Faridi

The Qur’an indicates house arrest, and then it says
“…until Allah provides a better way…” (4: 15).  I think
Muslims should be discussing what that better way is and how we can achieve
it.  (I wrote extensively about this in my book Memoirs of a Hillbilly Muslim
in a chapter entitled “Real Gay Rights.”  See my website www.Lit-by-Linda.com.) 
Muslims need to come up with a “better way” to help lesbians and
homosexuals escape from their deviant lifestyle and lead normal, healthy, happy
lives.
Asalam alaykum,
Linda “iLham” Barto

Sent:
Saturday, January 26, 2013 1:54 PM
Subject:
[SPAM] Re: MuslimsTogether :: Re: Muslim discuss on GAY/ LESBIAN Issue /
Ahmedinejad
The best ones among you are the ones who
understand each other, know each other. Once we know each other conflicts fade
and solutions emerge. God knows as individuals and groups we are in
eternal conflict out of security needs, need to dominate and arrogance.
Rafiq,
thanks for sharing this video where Piers Morgan interviews President
Ahmedinejad
Questions about Gay and Lesbians in Iran http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxrriYaIQLE
Ahmedinejad has always responded well, but
what Piers failed to ask was, “Mr. President, you sound good, but do you
mean it? Can you allow us to investigate what you are telling is the
truth?”  If he is telling the truth, he deserves to be applauded.
Javed,
I respect your take, that you have said everything that needs to be said, its
your choice to be engaged or not. The issue is not going away, more and more
members of fellow humanity feel a sense of relief that at least in some
nations, they can live their life, as they feel.
You and I do not, and should not have the
authority to punish a fellow human for their faith and personal behavior
between two individuals. If we do, then where does it bloody end? Look at what
is happening to each one of the people – among Muslims, Sunni, Shia
or Ahmadiyya, where there is Muslim majority run regimes, or any group,
the Christians, Hindus and Jews are not free either.
As a Muslim, I would not let anyone become a
partner with God and make decisions. No Muslim king, tyrant, dictator, Caliph
has a right to punish any one’s faith and personal practices, as long as
they are not robbing, stealing, physically or emotionally hurting, not
breaking a contract, they can live their lives, the way that they are
comfortable. I wish all nations have the freedom that we have in the US,
India, UK and other democracies.
We all need to stand up for freedom of
individuals.
Religion is personal values, and not to force on others.
Jazak Allah Khair
Mike Ghouse

Dear Dr Javed Jamil and friends
salam and rehmat.
Sir, its up to you what belief
system you ascribe to whom you decide to hold as a final authority in the
matter of DIIN (دين), its not my business. However when you quote verses in
support of your opinion, you should not confuse reader by quoting half truth.
Allah in verse 4:15 is giving guidance to men how to deal with women
generally if they are found guilty of lewdness (الفحشاء).
The verse is gender specific. You’ve omitted the entire verse from your quoted
translation and jumped to the preceding verse to ‘support your argument’. And
concluded ‘if two men’ are guilty of lewdness? However, you have now admitted
your derived meaning is even debatable by scholars. All translator and
commentators are unanimous that in verse 4:15 commandment is directed
towards women. Even if for argument sake I accept your quoted faulty and
questionable translation, you could not cite a verse that says men guilty of
lewdness (الفحشاء) as a last resort be executed! 
After reading your quoted
translation, you will realise that it does not paint a fuller picture on the
subject matter. Your meaning in isolation, with out connection to the former
verse is incomplete and unclear. It is based on translator’s personal opinion,
no regards to context, totally contrary to Arabic language rules and uncorroborated
by Qur’an. You quoted translation of verses 4:15-16 as follows:-
     “If two men
among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they repent and
      amend, Leave
them alone; for Allah is Oft-returning, Most Merciful.”
(Qur’an 4:15-16).
The position with hadith followers
is not to accept repentance and for sin of lewdness they must administer death
penalty. How can you leave alone (homosexuals) when they are dead? Is the
Qur’anic command and hadith punishment be the same. Is Allah right or inventor
of hadith? Obviously, both can not be right???
The same mistake and method is
applied by biased non-muslims to criticising Islam through half truths.The
basic principle that I adhere as a Muslim.
1. The Qur’an is the Word of God,
ultimate truth and final arbitrator on matters of belief and disputes.
2. God alone is the final authority
on all matters. He shares His authority with NO ONE.
3. Muhammad pbuh is last Messenger,
he followed commandment delivered to him and contained in the last revealed
Book from Allah swt. He had no authority to cancel Qur’anic injunctions and
substitute anything as a Messenger. Even hazrat Zaid did not follow his command
because Zaid knew in his personal matters ‘Muhammad the man’, cannot enforce
his authority.  “Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the
grace of Allah and thy favour: “Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife,…
(33:37)
4. As far as Secondary and other
source of ‘Islam’ is concern, I trust Allah’s sure commandment by following His
Qur’an.  “Do they not consider the
Qur’an (with care)? Had it been from other Than God, they would surely have
found therein Much discrepancy”. (4:82)
Any material contradictory to the
teaching of the Qur’an can not be from Allah or His messenger. The messenger
was sent to convey Allah’s message. If Qur’an says punishment for adultery is
100 lashes that is good enough for me. Some one says that adulterers should be
killed for xy ‘commandment’ from ‘Allah’ that is clear-cut contradiction to
Allah’s command.
The woman and the man guilty of
adultery or fornication,- flog each of them with a hundred stripes: Let not
compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye
believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness
their punishment”. (24:2)
I do not believe, stoning to death
for (الفحشاء) adultery is from Allah nor do I think Muhammad had
gone against revealed injunction. 
5. I will not be asked what people
before me did. Allah would judge me on my own merit. How did I arrive at a
certain beliefs.   “That was a people that hath passed away. They
shall reap the fruit of what they did, and ye of what ye do! Of their merits
there is no question in your case!” (2:134).
6. The Messenger of Allah will not
be called for anything but to testify against Ummah’s conduct and when he will
be told that they fell well short of Allah’ commandments, The Prophet would
say:   “O my Lord! Truly my people took this Qur’an for just
foolish nonsense.” (25:30)
I am trying to act on dictates
contained in Allah’s BOOK. If I am asked at The Judgment Day why didn’t I
follow so and so person and this or that ahadith. I will hopefully be in
position to reply because – You alone my God is worthy of command and I didn’t
follow other source because it contradicted your supreme authority and WORDS!!!
May Allah guide me and help me
follow His command. 
Hanif

Dear Mr Hanif
ASAK 
You are talking as if the translation of 4: 16
was mine. There is of course a debate about whom it refers to. Man and man,
woman and man or woman and woman. The dominant view is that it refers to
homosexuality. Others say it represents any two. But the Quran’s stand on
homosexuality is so clear that anyone who talks of accepting homosexuality is a
clear transgressor.
As I had made it clear that I am not a Qur’an-only
protagonist, and I believe that understanding Qur’an requires several other
sources, the most important of course being the Prophet’s own interpretations
and explanations followed by those of his close associates. In my previous
letter, I have also shown that we may require reading Old Testament to
understand a few verses. Abraham wanted “mercy” on the people of Sodom
because he feared that some innocents might also be killed. How exactly the
conversation took place has been given in detail by Genesis.
As far as the position of Islam towards homosexuality is
concerned, you can see it summed up in the following article: 
This will explain to you why I have advocated “death’
as one of the possible options.
As you have deliberately chosen to neglect my questions
regarding permissibility of institutionalization and commercialization of
homosexuality in Qur’an, and Mike Ghouse is determined to keep the debate
going, I now feel I have said enough. To repeat Mike’s oft-repeated words,
“To you your method of understanding things, to me mine.” 
I don’t have any more time to continue debating with
one who refuses to condemn homosexuality and accept that if mankind is to be
protected, a concerted campaign against homosexuality is needed. I have
repeatedly said that there is room for debating the nature of punishment, but
there is no room for legalisation, social and moral sanction, and above all,
commercialization of homosexuality. If you can understand this much, my
position is vindicated. You can otherwise join the bandwagon of Mike who has
completely forgotten the difference between normal human beings and sinners and
criminals. If his argument is followed, even murderers and terrorists need
compassion.  He continues day and night to say that he loves Quran but is
negating its position on almost everything that it speaks about, from the
question of Halal and Haram to belief and disbelief. 
Javed Jamil

From: KHAN MOHAMMED HANIF  
Date: Friday, January 25, 2013, 11:47 AM
Dear all and Dr Javed Jamil salam w rehmat
Dr Javed Jamil has quoted two
verses from the Holy Qur’an but the conclusion he draw from them is absolutely
misconstrued. Any one with basic knowledge of Arabic grammar will  see it.
I invite reader to open the BOOK and study the relevant verses and will know
that these verses has no correlation with male perpetrators of
homosexuality. 
   (4:15) Verse fr
The word وَاللَّاتِي is feminine plural relative pronoun and the whole
verse is addressing group of women. The theme carries on to the next
verse, addressing group of women, among them two (or more) may be
allegedly have committed, an act of الْفَاحِشَةَ. I accept commentators has also referred it
to lesbianism. I think the term is used here is more comprehensive, however,
before arriving at a informed decision please consider the following.
The verse (4:16) is referred to
two women because masculine dual relative pronoun وَاللَّذَانِ is used. To pin these verses on men is a deliberate
attempt to mislead reader and it is contrary to Arabic grammar rules. Any such
effort must be condemned, absolutely, as it amounts to تحريف tehreef. 
After the above explanation, I
quote both verses, so reader can understand the actual context. 
4:15 – “AND AS FOR
those of your women who become guilty of immoral conduct, call upon four from
among you who have witnessed their guilt; and if these bear witness thereto,
CONFINE THE GUILTY WOMEN to their houses until death takes them away or God
opens for them a way [through repentance]”. 
How would one get FOUR
WITNESSES? If this act take place in privacy? Therefore, context is clear that
it is a public law offence. Any such act if proven must be appropriately
punished. The Qur’an, however, doesn’t leave punishment for speculation and
thus prescribes house confinement as a punishment. 
4:16 -“And punish
[thus] both of the guilty parties; but if they both REPENT and MEND their ways,
LEAVE THEM ALONE: for, behold, GOD is an acceptor of REPENTANCE, A
DISPENSER OF GRACE”.  The Question may arise, if after repentance the
same offence is recommitted then what should be done.  Allah has already
answered it, confine them to the house!!!. Or any other appropriate arrangement
that is thrashed out amicably between the family and the habitual
offender. 
DR JAVED JAMIL sahib please
explain to reader whom you have mislead that as a last resort
homosexuals/Lesbians may be killed?
These verses deals with a wider
social problem and not limited to lesbianism. Such acts those ultimately leads
to prostitution, all such acts are PUNISHED even under the English law. So
Punishment is not exclusive to Muslims. This is accepted sharia of many
countries. Those reader who need further details on the issue can locate my
article by logging to the following blog:
Sep 7, 2011 – Muslim Woman:
Last amongst the Equals By Mohammed Khan Hanif (UK). 
What more can I say except
express my frustration through Ghalib.  
Ya rab na voh samjhe hain na
samjhaien ge meri baat, De aur dil unko jo na de mujhko zuban aur. Hanif

Dear Mr Hanif
It is you who is campaigning against
me for something which I am not campaigning. I have made it clear several times
that I am not campaigning for killing of homosexuals straightaway and have
spoken of death sentence only as a last option in later phases. On the other
hand you are campaigning against any punishment to the gays and instead
advocating accepting their behaviour not only in private but also in public. As
far as Islam is concerned, the options for punishment are very clear. Qur’an
says:
If two men among you are
guilty of lewdness, punish them both.
If they repent and amend, Leave them alone; for Allah is Oft-returning, Most
Merciful.” (Qur’an 4:15-16)
Qur’an also prescribes
exile, cutting of one hand and one leg and death as possible punishments for
those that spread mischief. 
The Hadiths describe various
punishments, which are well known, for different sexual misdemeanours.
Can you tell me if anyone has been
punished in a Muslim country for homosexuality in recent years? Is there any
news of discrimination against gays in Muslim countries? This is not because
homosexuality is totally non-existent in the country but because it is
considered illegal and immoral. The result is that the few who indulge in it do
it clandestinely, and most of them, under the weight of social and moral
pressures, sooner or later return to straighter ways. In West, what happened
was due to the overwhelming role of economic fundamentalists whose only concern
is the success of the market. This is why they simply did not let a sin
silently remain at a low level in society but campaigned for its
institutionalization. Their strategy has been simple. First talk of freedom of
choice. Use “compassion” to defend sinners and criminals. Then produce
figures to show that a considerable section of the population is already
indulging in it with the aim of normalizing an abnormal behaviour. Then they
would campaign for its legalization through the use of sophisticated logics and
mischievous “scientific” reports. Once legalized, large scale
commercialization would begin. This strategy was used for institutionalizing
and commercializing almost all the social vices: adultery, premarital sex,
promiscuity, prostitution, nudity and pornography and now homosexuality. The
same is true for drinking and gambling. Each one became a big business with the
result that sex is the most growing business today and within the sex market,
gay market is the fastest growing. The line of the argument will be quite
different when they are dealing with issues that do not support market
interests. So promiscuity is promoted while polygamy is illegalized, abortion
as such does not attract compassion but female infanticide is made a big issue.
Killing of human fetuses in millions and millions oes not arouse compassion but
death the murderers and rapists would.
This point, Mr. Hnaif is not what sort
of punishment is to be given. The point is whether Qur’an can support
legalization of homosexuality? Does Qur’an support its institutionalization
and commercialization? Does Qur’an support gay marriages? If you are such a
big expert and follower of Qur’an, answer these simple questions. The first
need of the hour as far as Muslims are concerned, is to clearly and
categorically state that homosexuality is a serious threat to mankind and must
therefore be made illegal with adequate punishment to those who
institutionalize and commercialize it. Once this much is done, the gay movement
will lose its luster. The biggest success of the gay market has been the
sanction of gay marriages with the right to adopt children, something which
will ensure sustenance and growth in a big way. Poor children who would have
otherwise had the bigger chances of growing as normal, will have to remain
exposed to gay relationships throughout their period of growth. Obviously, a
large number of them would grow into gays.
Regards
Javed Jamil

Saudis and Pluralism

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The State Department has listed me as one of the stops for people visiting America to learn about our Religious landscape, interfaith trends, future of religion and pluralism.  Over the last six years, I have had conversations with over 100 visitors from about 30 some nations including China, central Asian, Middle East, Balkans, and North African religious leaders and scholars. 

It is exciting to meet with them; they are a match with our trends. This group is from Saudi Arabia, Imams, Scholars and heads of religious affairs. It is embarrassing that we Americans stereotype the Saudis; indeed they have their percent of fanatics as we have ours.  The first interfaith meeting ever for Saudis was organized here in Dallas in 2003; indeed,  it is a pleasure for me to see them take this further.

Please remember nearly 4 Million Americans are incarcerated, they are indeed Americans, them and the 208 Million of us are judged by the same law books, yet, they broke the law and we, the 99% did not. And no one on the earth can call us criminals for that 1% among us, and that is what bloody stereotyping is; to irrationally judge a people based on the examples of a few. The story is no different for Saudis.

One of the toughest discussions we had was about conversions, they were taken back to hear me say, that I don’t ask anyone to become a Muslim, as I respect the other religions equally. I do not consider any faith to be less than adequate. The pluralism /interfaith workshops we conduct, is to bring people together to know each other, so we have least conflicts in the society.  There is no intent to convert any one, and no one will get away, claiming his or religion is superior to the others, and I will take the stand and many like me will speak up. Indeed it is a cardinal sin to have such intent in interfaith dialogue. The purpose of dialogue is to learn about each other and not bent on converting the other, or score keeping.

It took them time, but they were open to the idea. I said, if people like to become Muslims because they like my attitudes, even then I ask them to spend the time in learning their own faith than Islam, despite that about a dozen chose to become Muslims, that was their choice. They asked me a lot of questions about Islam, and as an Individual, I am required to learn about my faith, that was the call from the prophet in his last sermon. They appreciated the bluntness, and said a lot of people, say otherwise to appease them.

This is not the first time, the Imams from Egypt, Chad, Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, China…some 30 nations have concurred their belief in Prophet’s mission of respecting the otherness of others, and almost every one quoted Prophet’s last sermon and the Madinah treaty, first of its kind that endorsed pluralistic governance, the kind that India, UK and Indonesia follow, where the follower of every faith has an option to seek justice by his or her own religious cannons.

There is a lot of goodness out there; we just have to make an effort to invoke it. The purpose of religion is to bring humility to an individual, to know himself and get along with others with least conflicts, ultimately, each one of us is responsible for a cohesive society, where no one has to live in fear of the other.  url – http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/01/saudis-and-pluralism.html

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

Texas Faith, Is the religious left too nice and without influence?

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The future of our society will be shaped by the moderate majority, for the first time in our long history, the moderates have discovered that they don’t need to bang their fist on the table, or scream bloody murder to be heard, they have done it effectively at the ballot box, they waited for the left or the right to move towards moderation, and the left jumped on it and got the ride in 2012, and now the right is scrambling for the ride. Continued at: http://nabsites.net/demo/texas-faith-is-religious-left-too-nice/
…..

Texas Faith, Is the religious left too nice and without influence?

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist, Dallas Morning News, January, 29, 2103

The Washington Post’s Lisa Miller wrote earlier this month about how “nice isn’t going to win the battle for the religious left.”

Miller noted how the religious left once made the case for issues of great consequence, such as women’s suffrage and civil rights. But she contends the religious left needs to greatly improve how it makes its priorities and activities more compelling and newsworthy.

Wrote Miller: “Kumbaya is not a story. Why can’t we all just get along is not a story. Since the rise of the religious right in the 1970s in reaction to the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade, the religious left has failed to gain any comparable visibility, traction or voice on major issues in the political sphere.

“News releases from the precincts of the religious left continue to emphasize niceness over moral authority….There’s nothing wrong with being polite, of course. But a great, galvanizing, undeniable moral argument is better. ‘Civility is a great friend of the status quo,’ says Jim Naughton, partner at Canticle Communications, which advises faith-based groups. ‘People aren’t going to change because you’re nice to them.'”

What do you think of her point? Is the religious left indeed without the same influence and profile as the religious right? If so, is it because the religious left has tried more to be civil and nice than to make a compelling moral argument?


MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism,
Dallas

We are conditioned to seeing everything from a binary perspective; left or right.  We lose sight of the critical third dimension; the deadbeat moderate majority. This is the group that is meek, civil and polite, but does act decisively while casting the ballot.

Indeed, the religious left is more influential than the right in pulling the moderate votes.

Obama is reelected with a greater margin over his rival on the right.  The public support for legal abortion is accumulating despite the religious right. Same sex marriage is gaining greater acceptability. Obama care is in, Immigration reforms are underway, and gun safety regulation is gathering momentum. Heck, the wars will end with no desire to engage in another senseless war.

On the other hand, the religious right is losing, not because of inadequacy in their principles, but because of their belligerent, unintelligent pounding on the airwaves, and turning the moderate majority off.

Jim Naughton makes a powerful point that Civility is a great friend of the status quo; he is talking about the moderates, and not the ones on the left. Whether it is the city council meeting, church gathering or in informal gatherings, it is always the people on left or the right who drive the conversation, they have no qualms in speaking out passionately, even though they get shot at alternatively by the other, they don’t lose the enthusiasm for their point of view. Whereas the moderates, keep raising their hand politely, hoping to get their turn, but never get a chance to get their point across, they don’t know how to bang their fist on the table, such an act is rude and stupid to them.

Years ago, a Nun made a remarkable point on Tim Russert’s Meet the press. The right will frighten the public and attempts to win by guaranteeing to take care of them, the left will match their tall claims, while the moderates have difficulty in embellishing and giving false hopes, they lack passion.

America is moving towards the center, the moderate majority is realizing its power to keep things at an even keel; they want an America that is good for every one of her citizens, in fact they made that difference in 2012 through the ballot, as they do not have the passion to speak out. Indeed, Americas’ future will be shaped by the moderates.

. . . .
Eleven panelists
contributed to this forum, to read the contributions from all the panelists, please visit –  http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/01/texas-faith-is-the-religious-left-too-nice-and-without-influence.html/
 
————

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

Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Genocides

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There is a shameless cruelty in our societies when it comes to acknowledging other people’s suffering. Either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own and/or it amounts to infidelity to our own cause.

 

  
One of the immortal dialogue clips from a 1958 Bollywood movie “Yahudi” is included in the article, where the Jew challenges the roman emperor,  “Tumhara khoon, khoon, aur mera Khoon pani?”

    A Muslim shouts, “Why are you commemorating Holocaust of Jews?
    A Jewish speaker did not want to hear about Gaza massacre
    A Muslim initiative was asked to be removed from the publicity material
    A Hindu friend jumps for not including the Kashmiri pundit while it was
    A Pakistani says Bangladesh genocide talk equals defaming Pakistan
    A Sikh Genocide talk, amounts to shaming the mother land

I submit to you, that the human atrocities are pent up frustrations and unresolved issues that reach a boiling point and explode into massacres and genocides. As civilized societies, we need to bring a closure to the issues through forgiveness, apology and restoration of justice. The least we can do in the process of healing is to know and acknowledge every one’s pain. 

Full article at Huffington post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/holocaust-remembrance-and-recognizing-all-genocides_b_2547164.html

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

Belligerent questions about Holocaust and Genocides

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url- http://holocaustandgenocides.blogspot.com/2013/01/frequently-asked-questions-about.html

 I
am writing this essay as a built-in-response to address the belligerent
questions that come, and they are coming from all directions, not just
the ones mentioned as examples.

We are volunteers and are 100%
inclusive, however, we request you to help us out. Kindly list all the
genocides of the 20th Century, please remember, if you miss one, someone
or the other will accuse you of ignoring “their” genocide.

By
nature many of us are disgustingly selfish, nothing but our own
interest matters to us. Do you recall standing in a food buffet line at a
friend’s wedding reception? Someone said that the food may be short,
but yet, the guy in front of you piled up his plate, or maybe you did it
too, knowing well that there a lot of people behind you in the line and
some will not get the food.

Standing in line to wait for
your turn is one of the most human things to do. You accept equal rights
of others, and others needs as much as yours. We have a list of about
50 genocides, and each year we will focus on a few, as no one will sit
through the day to understand each one of them, most likely you will
find yourselves guilty of not listening or paying attention to other’s
tragedy but your own.Slap yourselves, if you do not think others’s
plight is not as important as your own.

No matter how thorough you are, you
are going to miss some. Unless we have a fully funded organization where employees
work full time, then we can expect a complete list and do a three day conference to address every issue. Please do not assume that we
are excluding any human atrocities.
For example someone accused that “you
are writing about the holocaust of Jews, you forgot what Stalin did?”  My instant response would be, “did you forget
the genocides of Gays?”  In your note, you
also forgot about the genocides of Native Americans, African Americans over the
Atlantic… the list is a long one.  Can I
accuse you, that did you did not care about the others?
Please
read on to understand the
selfishness embedded in us, if we can stand up for others, for
strangers, and
then there is a greater self nurtured within us, making us a better
human with peace inside us. We have to stand up for women’s right and
the rights of minorities as a part of fixing the future. Each one of us has to do our share of good to the world around us, for our own good at the end.

I have
made an attempt to answer as many questions as I can for this site. No
human suffering should ever be denied, as it amounts to denying our own
humanity. Fellow humans must develop a culture of pondering about human
atrocities everywhere, as Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere.”

 If
I am guilty of anything, it would be not focusing on the Gujarat
Genocide, however, I also would have felt a sense of guilt, if I had
focused on what affects me and my community first. I believe in standing
up for others, at the end we all should stand up for justice and the
rights of others.  A few of my Hindu friends have come forward to take
up the Gujarat Genocide and I am glad they did. That is the spirit of
standing up for others

Please consider the following situations;

A MINUTE

If
you have one single minute available, you can probably recite 30
Genocide names – and if you want to add the place to the name, you can
do about 20, and if you want to name the parties involved in it, you can
do utmost 10/minute, with normal intelligible delivery. Does that mean
you did not care about the others?

ONE HOUR

If
you have one hour, you cannot do justice to more than three or four
Genocides. Should the other 46 think you don’t care about them?

YEAR

We
observed silent prayers and asked every one present to reflect upon the
genocides and massacres that they were aware of, at least run them
through their mind during the silence and honor each one of the
Genocides and Holocaust. I hope collectively we do not miss any.

MUSLIMS

Way
back in 2006, I was in a public meeting; one of the Muslims shouts at
me in the public, “Why are you commemorating Holocaust of Jews, why
don’t you commemorate the Holocaust of Palestinians?” I countered, all
of this should be done, why don’t you do it? He was belligerent; he was
one of the loose mouths and not a doer. I have reminded those guys a few
times, not only they did not mean it, but they really do not care about
it, as I had invited them to join in when we were addressing about
Gaza.

Another Muslim knocked God out of his throne, and chose to
declare, “If you don’t talk about Palestinians, you are not a Muslim.”

There
is a lot more ignorance out there.  Perhaps, other than Dallas
Palestinians, no one else has done as much work for the Palestinian
cause, as I have. Check out years of work in different forums, but
certainly at this site www.IsraelPalestineDialouge.com

JEWS

I
have known the community closely through strong interactions, through
conflicts, rather than superficial salaams and Shaloms. 25 hours of
Radio programming in understanding Judaism (done on all religions too)
was done during 2003-2004 here in Dallas, two workshops were conducted
as well (2 for each faith over 2 years), and I write about the essence
of major Jewish (and others too) festivals – so that we all can
understand each other. I am not sure if any other Muslim has done this
much work. We have to stand up for each other and every one. Check it
out www.StandingupforOthers.com

A few years ago a Jewish speaker
canceled his speech at the event in the last minute, because we were
addressing the Gaza Massacre as one of the seven items; he considered it
anti-Israel and did not participate. However, my Jewish friends
attended the event, and called him back to let him know that it was not
about Israel, but the human suffering and the brutal inhumanity in all
of us.   He did not want to face the truth, that someone from his
tradition is capable of murdering and annihilating people.

No
one should be ashamed of what fellow humans from your group do, what you
should be ashamed of is your own attitude towards another human being
regardless of who it is.

I was severely criticized and asked to
remove the phrase “A Muslim initiative” by a few Jewish friends, instead
of cheering the effort; they were bent on not giving credit to Muslims
for extending the hand of understanding. Please remember, it was not the
Jews, it is few individuals who wore the label Jews. Indeed, I have a
whole book to write about Jewish Muslim relationship.

INDIAN MUSLIMS

They
are no different than any one, like most people; they love to shoot
criticism without verifying anything. A friend writes another friend’s
quote, “The question was why Mike forgot 2002 Gujarat Holocaust &
Genocide that was lot bigger and wider than 1984 Sikh Holocaust &
Genocide.”  Mike did not forget, nor will he ever forget any Genocide. 
In April 2002, rallies were held for Gujarat in down town Dallas, when
Shabnam Hashmi came to Dallas, she was hosted to show the documentaries
of that genocide.  I urge fellow Muslims to do something rather than
talk.  I stood up in a major meeting to include observing silence for
Gujarat, and there is a lot more work done. If the event is dear to the
people, they should express their love and commemorate it. We will do
our share; each event is taking its turn. I have severely criticized
Narendra Modi, and have become a hated person for a handful of Dallas
Indians.


HINDUS

Several of my friends have
jumped on me for not including the plight of Kashmiri Pundits, they,
like all others are so obsessed with their own, that others don’t matter
to them. We have mentioned this at least 3 out of five years, those who
criticize don’t come to the event, unless it is “about them”, but
loosely run their mouths. We need to stand up for everyone, and
certainly stand up for others before you do for your own.

DISGUSTING SELFISHNESS

I
have dealt with most communities in Dallas from Atheists to Zoroastrian
and every one in between. I must confess that in every community,
through our silence we are disgustingly selfish. We are so obsessed with
our own that we don’t see others pain, it is me, me and me. My event is
more important than others… my pain is deeper than others…

There
is a shameless cruelty in our societies, either we shy away or refuse
to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue
our own, and or it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. Shame on us
that we justifying massacres by pretending and propagating that the
victims deserved it or asked for it, they had it coming, or we simply
turn the face the other way.

STANDING UP FOR OTHERS:

Standing
up for others is the right thing to do, every human goes through a
period of invincibility to vulnerability, if we don’t stand up for those
who are vulnerable, then who will stand up for us when we are
vulnerable? www.Standingupforothers.com The world becomes a better place when we all stand up for each one.

Indians and Pakistanis, Hindus and Muslims are worked up

A
few Pakistanis think that talking about 1971 Bangladesh Genocide is a
conspiracy to defame Pakistan, whereas a few Indians do the same; they
think talking about Sikh Genocides amounts to defaming India. This was
the essence of a few emails about the event we are holding; the 6th
Annual reflection on Holocaust and Genocides, on Sunday, January 27,
2013. Details of the event are at: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

it
is always a few who have the passion to propagate conspiracies, while a
few buy their gossip without questioning, most of them reject it.
However, I thank those who made the inquiry to clarify, rather than
manufacture conspiracy theories and live in misery.

It’s a human
thing, a fraction of a percent of each group of people, tend to think in
those terms, be it Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist or
other. It is the same story with Americans, Italians, Chinese, Arabs or
Mexicans as it is with Indians and Pakistanis.

Those few may be
followers of Rush Limbaugh, to whom a good Republican is one who says
bad things about Democrats, and a bad Republican is one who praises
Obama – said around John Huntsman exit from candidacy when he refused to
balk at Obama, and when Chris Christie praised Obama at the Sandy
disaster.

The same mindset believes that questioning George
Bush for all the disaster his wars caused overseas and the consequent
messing up of America is unpatriotic. Indeed, questioning the government
is the most patriotic thing to do.

Let me assure you, this
event is not about condemning a nation or a group of people, it is about
understanding the human suffering and the beastly attitudes among us.

A
few years ago a Jewish speaker canceled his speech, because we were
addressing the Gaza Massacre as one of the seven items; he considered it
anti-Israel and did not participate and some did not. However, my
Jewish friends attended the event, and called him back to let him know
that it is not about Israel, but the human suffering and the brutal
inhumanity in all of us. The speaker became friendly after he learned
about it. However, he did not want to face the truth, that someone from
his tradition is capable of murdering and annihilating people.

A
few Muslims had the audacity to call me names in public, one said, if
you don’t talk about Palestine, you are not a Muslim. A few Hindus said
“shame on you for not talking about the plight of Hindus in Kashmir “… 
and these men did not even attend, but kept talking, without
verification.  Given the time, two hours per event, we can address only
about 5, and not all the genocides.

The Reflections on Holocaust
and Genocides is a comprehensive event about humanity, with no
exclusions, also remember in one breath you can say only so many words,
and in one hour you can say only so many words.

“There is a
shameless cruelty in our societies,  we either shy away or refuse to
acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our
own, and or it amounts to infidelity to our own cause.” Some of us are
so selfish and stuck in our own pain that we do not see others pain, we
want others just to think and talk about us.

Consider this:

        Condemning drone attacks does not amount to shaming America,
        Condemning Sikh genocides does not amount to shaming India,
        Condemning Bangladeshi genocide does not amount to shaming Pakistan.
        Condemning the ugliness at Abu-Graib prison does not amount to shaming America
        Condemning Shia and Ahmadiyya killings does not amount to shaming Pakistan
        Condemning the Massacre of Muslims in Gujarat does not amount to shaming Gujarat
        Condemning Aurangzeb or Ghazni does not amount to shaming Indian Muslims

Condemning
is an expression against a disgusting act, of which we are all a part
of, some by doing the wrong, and some by remaining silent and some by
turning a blind eye.

As an Indian, I am embarrassed about what
fellow Indians have heaped on each other, and as an American I am
embarassed about the destruction we have caused in Vietnam, Afghanistan
and Iraq overseas, and in our recent past  of the slavery and treatment
of Native Americans.

My father gave a sane advise during the
Jabalpur (India) communal clashes, don’t blame the acts of the idiots on
a community, religion or a nation. Get the bad guys, do the justice,
faith in the society gets restored…blaming intangibles is as effective
as the dogs barking at the wrong tree in a desert.

We have to
learn to differentiate between abuse of human rights and patriotism.
Patriotism is not justifying the wrongs, but speaking about it, and
preventing the wrongs from happening again.

Here is the part of the press release

Every
year we have reflected on our failings, massacres, Genocides and
Holocaust, this year, we will focus on the Sikh Genocide of 1984, a Sikh
speaker will deliver the key note address on the topic. Mr. Hasan
Mahmud will share about the Bangladesh Genocide of 1971, Dr. Petra
Weldes will talk about the effects of Stereotyping on the societies, and
Kelly Obazee will reflect on current massacres around the world. Mike
Ghouse will speak about the need to take stand against oppression of
others, and Holocaust continues to be our anchor event.

Unless one attends the event, they will live in eternal conspiracies.

Full Press Release: http://holocaustandgenocides.blogspot.com/2013/01/6th-annual-holocaust-and-genocides-sikh_18.html

Republicans Need to back off attacking Hillary Clinton

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It will be to their detriment and ultimately to the detriment of the nation. 

Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton is being grilled by the house foreign
relations committee… as an American, I applaud this process; no one is
free from Criticism, and she needs to answer all the questions
diligently. This is how democracy works and I am proud of our democracy.
Hillary needs to answer and she will tell the truth, but don’t play
dirty politics, it will be to the detriment of Republicans.  

However
I condemn the dirty politics played by a few stinking Republicans, just
a few dirty rats, they could not get over the idea of a Black man
heading the nation and to show that they are not, they are sticking the
worst guys in our face like that bigot Allen West and others.  A
majority of Americans are happy that we have one of the greatest
presidents.

They tried to nail Obama over Benghazi including
McCain, the American public said, screw you Republicans, and sure as
hell voted for Obama with a higher margin ever.

Now they will do
everything to derail Hillary’s chances, and are attempting to stick
Benghazi on Hillary, it will not stick; the Americans already have their
middle finger ready to show to my fellow Republicans who have 26%
approval rating. Do the idiots get it? No. We have four Americans dead,
while the CIA is working on finding the criminals; Republicans are bent
on making Hillary the scape goat. She is firm and fair, and in the end
Republicans (those) will pay for it dearly in 2014.

Hillary is
the most capable national and international leader now, thank God, she
is a woman, and we need a woman president to complete American
transaction of living the vision of the immortal declaration by our
founding fathers, that all men are created equal.  That will make
America God’s own country, where every American is treated fairly. There
is not a Republican who can match her abilities to run this nation. If
there is one, it would be either John Huntsman or Colin Powell and other
radicals will not make it, unless they are sensitized and are given
lessons in math and biology.

I am a Republican and am embarrassed
with the way, a few assess in my party act. I will get on board with
Colin Powell, John Huntsman, Chris Christie and a few other great
Republicans with whom I relate. We have to be bold to save the GOP from
these extremists.

We need to preserve our democracy by having a
strong two party system – meaning one house remains with the Republicans
and the other with Democrats – both with bare majority – we need them
to fight, argue and discuss and do the right thing, rather than slam
dunking or becoming a hindrance to the good bills.

Here is what moderate Republican sounds like:

Collin Powell – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2013/01/21/colin-powell-birther_n_2520578.html

John Huntsman – http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/jon-huntsman-cant-stop-talking-about-the-republic?s=mobile

Christ Christie –

Mike Ghouse – http://nabsites.net/demo/republican-party-and-mike-ghouse/

A Blog in the works – http://republicanmoderates.blogspot.com/

Mike
Ghouse committed to building a cohesive America, where we all can learn
to respect the otherness of others. More at www.MikeGhouse.net and
TheGhousediary.com.

Texas Faith: What is America’s common creed and how do we forge it together?

      Comments Off on Texas Faith: What is America’s common creed and how do we forge it together?

President Obama is one of
the best communicators that there is. I am writing a full blown article on how I
felt through the inauguration and I am sure some of you can relate with it.
However, in this piece at Dallas Morning News, it is about his masterful skills
in building bridges between the entrepreneurial individualism of Republicans and
Communalism of Democrats. This is our moment in history, and we have to leave a
legacy of peace, prosperity and harmony to the next
generation.

Published at Dallas
Morning News, Monday, January 21, 2013.
Continued at: http://nabsites.net/demo/texas-faith-what-is-americas-common/

Texas Faith is a weekly
column at Dallas Morning News moderated by Bill McKenzie and Wayne Slater. At
least ten panelists contribute each week including Mike
Ghouse.

Throughout his inaugural
address
today, President Barack Obama emphasized our common creed, we the
people and taking action together. In short, his speech was heavy on the
communal aspects of our work as Americans. His address contrasts with the
individualism you often hear from Republicans. They regularly emphasize
enterprenurialism, personal initiative and the power of local communities. So,
here is the question I would like you to consider: What is America’s
common creed and how do we forge it together?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for
Pluralism, Dallas


President Obama is one of
the greatest communicators in our modern history. Perhaps he is the first
president to have articulated America’s common creed profoundly, clearly and
comprehensively as envisioned in the immortal declaration by our Founding
Fathers: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

The
success of an individual hinges on the success of others around him or her. You
cannot build a successful business without the support system and consumers for
your goods and services. The president said, “We believe that America’s
prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle
class.”

Indeed, the entrepreneurialism of Republicans will bear fruit and
multiply when there is an environment for it. It is not a charity, welfare or a
noble thing. Instead, it is a genuine investment in human capital that pulls up
men and women from the ditches onto a level playing field. That effort allows
more people to compete in the marketplace for resources and become “synergists”
to each others’ success.

He also articulated the need to be free and to
be regulated: “Together we discovered that a free market only thrives when there
are rules to ensure competition and fair play.”

The president turned the
light on a bridge between individualism and the communal aspect of our life. The
bridge was always there but had remained in the dark due to the chasm developed
through arrogance of bigger majority in the house by each party in the last
eight years. Instead of serving the purpose they were elected for their purpose
became defeating the other for some.

The message of the president was for
all Americans. I hope the elected ones will heed his wisdom and continue to be a
catalyst in the pursuit of our happiness.

And here comes the ultimate
wisdom from the president: We have always understood that when times change, so
must we, that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new
challenges, that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires
collective action.”…..
..

Eleven panelists contributed to this forum, to read the
contributions from all the panelists, please visit – http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/01/texas-faith-what-is-americas-common-creed-and-how-do-we-forge-it-together.html/

————

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

Indians and Pakistanis are annoyed

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Dallas Event:: Sikh Genocides of 1984 and Bangladesh Genocide of 1971

Indians and Pakistanis are not happy,
O kitnay thay? Sirf Paanch! (How many? Just five).


 
A few Pakistanis think that talking about 1971 Bangladesh Genocide is a conspiracy to defame Pakistan, whereas a few Indians do the same; they think talking about Sikh Genocides amounts to defaming India. This was the essence of a few emails about the event we are holding  – 6th Annual reflection on Holocaust and Genocides, on Sunday, January 27, 2013. Details of the event are at : www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

It is always a few who have the passion to propagate conspiracies, while a few buy their gossip without questioning, most of them reject it. However, I thank those who made the inquiry to clarify, rather than manufacture conspiracy theories and live in misery.

It’s a human thing, a fraction of a percent of each group of people, tend to think in those terms, be it Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist or other. It is the same story with Americans, Italians, Chinese, Arabs or Mexicans as it is with Indians and Pakistanis.

Those few may be followers of Rush Limbaugh, to whom a good Republican is one who says bad things about Democrats, and a bad Republican is one who praises Obama – said around John Huntsman exit from candidacy when he refused to balk at Obama, and when Chris Christie praised Obama at the Sandy disaster.

The same mindset believes that questioning George Bush for all the disaster his wars caused overseas, and the consequent  messing up of America is unpatriotic. Indeed, questioning the government is the most patriotic thing to do.

Let me assure you, this event is not about condemning a nation or a group of people, it is about understanding the human suffering and the beastly attitudes among us.

A few years ago a Jewish speaker canceled his speech, because we were addressing the Gaza Massacre as one of the seven items; he considered it anti-Israel and did not participate and some did not. However, my Jewish friends attended the event, and called him back to let him know that it is not about Israel, but the human suffering and the brutal inhumanity in all of us. The speaker became friendly after he learned about it. However, he did not want to face the truth, that someone from his tradition is capable of murdering and annihilating people. 

A few Muslims had the audacity to call me names in public, one said, if you don’t talk about Palestine, you are not a Muslim. A few Hindus said “shame on you for not talking about the plight of Hindus in Kashmir “…  and these men did not even attend, but kept talking, without verification.  Given the time, two hours per event, we can address only about 5, and not all the genocides.

The Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is a comprehensive event about humanity, with no exclusions, also remember in one breath you can say only so many words, and in one hour you can say only so many words.

“There is a shameless cruelty in our societies,  we either shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own, and or it amounts to infidelity to our own cause.” Some of us are so selfish and stuck in our own pain that we do not see others pain, we want others just to think and talk about us.

Consider this:

  1.     Condemning drone attacks does not amount to shaming America,
  2.     Condemning Sikh genocides does not amount to shaming India,
  3.     Condemning Bangladeshi genocide does not amount to shaming Pakistan.
  4.     Condemning the ugliness at Abu-Graib prison does not amount to shaming America
  5.     Condemning Shia and Ahmadiyya killings does not amount to shaming Pakistan
  6.     Condemning the Massacre of Muslims in Gujarat does not amount to shaming Gujarat
  7.     Condemning Aurangzeb or Ghazni does not amount to shaming Indian Muslims

Condemning is an expression against a disgusting act, of which we are all a part of, some by doing the wrong, and some by remaining silent and some by turning a blind eye.

As an Indian, I am embarrassed about what fellow Indians have heaped on each other, and as an American I am embarassed about the destruction we have caused in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq overseas, and in our recent past  of the slavery and treatment of Native Americans.

My father gave a sane advise during the Jabalpur (India) communal clashes, don’t blame the acts of the idiots on a community, religion or a nation. Get the bad guys, do the justice, faith in the society gets restored…blaming intangibles is as effective as the dogs barking at the wrong tree in a desert.

We have to learn to differentiate between abuse of human rights and patriotism. Patriotism is not justifying the wrongs, but speaking about it, and preventing the wrongs from happening again.

Here is the part of the press release

Every year we have reflected on our failings, massacres, Genocides and Holocaust, this year, we will focus on the Sikh Genocide of 1984, a Sikh speaker will deliver the key note address on the topic. Mr. Hasan Mahmud will share about the Bangladesh Genocide of 1971, Dr. Petra Weldes will talk about the effects of Stereotyping on the societies, and Kelly Obazee will reflect on current massacres around the world. Mike Ghouse will speak about the need to take stand against oppression of others, and Holocaust continues to be our anchor event.

Unless one attends the event, they will live in eternal conspiracies.

Full Press Release: http://holocaustandgenocides.blogspot.com/2013/01/6th-annual-holocaust-and-genocides-sikh_18.html

My Civil Heroes and President Obama

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MY CIVIL HEROES

The following individuals were/are bent on uplifting the human spirit, and gave hope to the
world! A world, where justness prevails, and no one has to live in
apprehension or fear of the other.

Please note, these are my favorites, you have your own, Ceaser Chavez for example is hero to many, and I admire him, but I did not spend time learning about him. We all have to accept the limitations of our time per day and how much we can learn.  

My list includes; Mahatma Gandhi,
Martin Luther King Jr. Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Abdul Sattar
Edhi, Aga Khan, President Carter , President Obama* (a reserved
entry), Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Nana Saheb (Maternal Grand father), my father and Mother.

Several things were common to them; among them are:

1) No wall between them and another soul
2) No religious and political boundaries for them
3) No preference when it came to serving another human
4) The good they did, benefited larger humanity than self
5)  Justness was a paramount value for them
6) No bone of prejudice in them.
7) Their world is the same size as God’s world.  


As a pluralist, who respects the otherness of others
and accepts the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, I have come to like Barack Obama. Ever since I read his speech in 2007 delivered in the Illinois state senate, way before he announced his candidacy,  I have become his fan. That speech was an epitome of
pluralism and inclusiveness. The inclusiveness that Jesus and every
great spiritual master taught.

If I get a chance, I will put
together a few statements by tomorrow, and I feel certain that most
of it will be reflected by Obama in his speech on Monday. 

I have written 65 Pieces about him including cheers and
Jeers, appreciation and criticism. My reservation has been on two
fronts, he blew the opportunity to bring peace between Israelis and
Palestinians, and the idiotic drone attacks on innocent civilians, these
are his two major flaws that will prevent him from becoming one of the
greatest political leaders in human history. I have written a few good
pieces on the topics and hope to meet this guy, and I believe I can
achieve an understanding between the two peoples in the Middle East and
coast them towards acceptance of each other. The Israelis need to have a
sense security (explained in detail) and Palestinians need basic
justice, both can be achieved, if he musters up the courage to do the right
thing, regardless of the attacks from a few.

Obama will go down in the history as one of the
greatest presidents, and I believe he will bring fruition to what Carter started. He is indeed a catalyst in bringing America forward
to become God’s own country, where the uniqueness of every human is
valued. He gives meaning to the idea of a Republic, our Republic where
individual rights are valued and not run over by the mobcracy. 

*** I am a Republican, a moderate one like Chris Christie, John
Huntsman, Colin Powel, Schwarzenegger and many more. I request my fellow
Americans not to judge the GOP by the morons out there representing the
party. It is time to speak out, and speak out I will… hopefully by the
end of this year. 

The stability of our nation and health of our
democracy is dependent on a strong two party system. Most of the evil in
the past has occurred when either Republican or Democrats were in all
the three branches of Government. Stupid though they are, I like the
house in the hands of Republicans, they provide an ugly check, and it
ensures that, we the people are not bulldozed. Obama has done a great
job in bipartisan support in passing the aid to Sandy, and now on
getting both the parties to develop a responsible gun ownership policy. 


Updates at www.TheGhouseDiary.com,
Thanks to Sean Hannity and friends for promoting this Blog.

(4 photos)

I am a follower of them!

Mike Ghouse on Hannity Show with Brigitte Gabriel

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I
made a few points that I needed to make – a complete absence of another
point of view is not healthy for a nation. No talk show by left or
right, either by Matthew or Hannity allows their guest to give a complete
picture… they keep shooting questions and
you got to figure it out to hit your points.. I make a few of my
points, instead of no points. They give a
hair thin chance to get your point…. its not easy.

MY POINTS

1.
We should not have gone into Afghanistan in the first place, we need to
pack and come back home, Afghans have been around for millennium and
they will manage their affairs, we don’t need to baby sit them.

2. War is wrong and we should go after the terrorists individuals, and not the nations.

3. Never punish the good people as collateral damage. We need the good people on our side, and must isolate the bad apples.

4. These outfits claiming to be linked with AlQaida or Talibans may be faking their claims just to get credibility

5. We should not fund Egypt, if Morsi does not relinquish is absolute powers.

6.
We need to continue to negotiate with Iran, War is not the answer and
we cannot mess our economy with another war. We are just not capable of
another war. If we can get the job done through a dialogue, that is the
wise thing to do.

7. Humans dialogue to resolves the conflicts, animals lock in their horns. Dialogues is the only way to go forward.

….
it was a 15 minute conversation between Hannity, Gabrielle (the ranter)
and myself. In the shows, I do not get into her diatribe, or even
respond to another item, as I do not want to be derailed from the points
I am making… I rather stick with a few points and I did it.
about a minute ago ·

Ghouse and Gabriel on Algeria
Sean was joined by Mike Ghouse
and Brigitte Gabriel to discuss the latest hostage crisis in Algeria and what
President Obama is doing to solve this issue. “I thought Al Qaeda was on the
run,” sarcastically commented Sean, “I’m kidding, I never thought this was
over.” “The way I see this is that our enemies see Israel as weaker,” continued
Hannity, “As we look at the rise of radicalism, we need to ask how widespread
this is.” “Exactly,” agreed Gabriel, “There were forty four wars going on
between Muslims and Non-Muslims in 2006 and we’re even worse off now and yet we
hear nothing from the West.” “Radical Islamists have figured out that our
President doesn’t have the stomach to take them on,” concluded Sean, “He just
doesn’t.” “The majority of people are good people,” countered Ghouse, “What we
need to do is keep the good people on our side.” While another war is far from
what America needs right now, one thing is clear and that’s our need to stand up
to radical Islamists who’re hell-bent on trying to destroy America and yet, keep
an open arm to those “good people” who are on our side. For the latest on the
Algerian hostage situation, click here. http://hoaxandchange.blogspot.com/2013/01/executive-order-is-disorder.html?m=1 

I will remember to add the audio link or other write ups.

Mike