A tribute to Mansoor Shah

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This tribute was originally posted on DallasPakistanis@yahoogroups.com
on Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:28 pm and a friend of Mansoor Shah, Mustafeez Raja wrote
in my inbox of facebook on 10/02/12 and was concerned that I did not say a
thing or attend his funeral, and it hurt my feelings, because I was the first
one to write a tribute to Mansoor Shah, and post on facebook groups as well.
Mustafeez wrote, “Ty brother, you took a big load off of my chest.. Because Shah
Ji always talked about you with utmost respect.. For the sake of his family and
a peaceful closure please discourage suicide news.. We have a P.I still working
on this case.. God bless” Then I realized I had not posted on my Diary, so here
it is.”
—————————-

HONORING  MANSOOR SHAH
Please note that the moderation on this forum will be off for two days, to allow his friends to post obituaries, tributes and sentiments .
Mansoor and I have had good relationship for over 15 years, he was the president of the PSNT when the unfortunate event happened  on 9/11/2001. I had asked him to do a press release and share it on my radio show, which Rehan Siddiqui had asked me to do for the whole day, getting the civic, community and business leaders to join me on the radio show. To bring coherence to the chaotic day. Mansoor prepared a good press release and delivered it well and he was on the radio with me for another year. He was also one of the sponsors of  a Unity day few years ago.
When my late wife Najma ran for the City council in Carrollton  Mansoor was the first one to send a check for the campaign,something I cannot forget. 
When we organized the Zindagi Trust’s first fund raiser, there was a misunderstanding developed  between Najma, Dr. Amanualla Khan and him about the leadership role, and I was in the middle of it all. None of us liked it, but all of us carried the ill-will for a few years, then about a month before Najma’s death, I asked Mansoor to come home and meet Najma and that they both need to forgive each other. Thanks to Mansoor, he came,  and both of them cried for the misunderstanding, but they did clear the air and freed each other from it. That was the right thing to do, and I hope we all do that on a regular basis. This information was copied to Dr. Amanuallah Khan and was acknowledged in the email.
 
Mansoor did not have a barrier between him and others, he was friends with Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Christians and others. We had several exchanges on this and he believed in pluralism.
Well, I do miss him, indeed, I made a mistake by not calling him to invite to the Unity Day this year. He was on my list and remained on it. It’s time to think about it.
I lost my 23 years old Nephew yesterday, my brother Shan’s son. He was just married and  his son turned one year a day before he passed away. The kid did not get to see the world. It must be very difficult for my brother to hold his dying son.¦

Maheen’s husbands Grand Mother  mother in law, (Maheen is wife Yasmee’ns daughter) passed away on Friday.

I think of this song frequently..

 kya janay kal koi saathi choot jai
Jeevan ki door, badi kamzor.

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

First Presidential Debate watch with predominantly Democratic friends

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FunAsia Entertainment Center in Dallas hosted the Presidential
debate watch in one of their banquet halls. It was supported by many
non-partisan, non-political organizations to come together and learn about
different points of view.

First Presidential debate watch party after the program
Prior to, and after the debate, two Republicans and two
Democrats shared their thoughts about the debate, I am glad I attended. I was able
to defend the Republican Party from being stereotyped and that is one of the goals
of America Together Foundation, to make a point about not stereotyping any one and any group.

In response to a few comments, I took a firm stand on stereotyping
Republicans with a statement, “All Republicans are not extremists, but most of
the political extremists are Republicans,” with a reiteration, “you cannot
blame the Party for the acts of the few.”
Of course, like all the moderate Republicans such as Governor Schwarzenegger, John Huntsman and million others, I
am one of the America first and party next guys, and that is what makes us
moderates.  We cannot let party interest override
the interests of the nation, if the nation does well, then we all will do well
and vice-versa.

Where right wing Republicans are dominant, they probably
will bash the Democrats, and that would be the case with right wing Democrats. We
need to be more reasonable than that and not make this as a bashing
entertainment party. I am glad this group was serious about knowing and learning about each other.
Who are the right wingers? This is not a group of rigidly
bounded people, but folks like you and I,  insecure in their culture, faith and life
style, they feel threatened when they see others crossing “their” defined lines
on abortion, same sex marriage, freedom of religion and a host of other issues.
They are loaded with phobias and see everyone who is open minded as their
enemy, and their way of finding the solution on the extreme level is to get rid
of you.
As a person committed to build cohesive societies, I urge
fellow Americans to be a part of each other and not live in silos. Attending
this event organized by CAIR and supported by many nonpartisan organizations, was the right thing to do.
Governor Romney’s performance was great and he won the
debate, of course others don’t have to agree with it, and they did not.

President Obama’s demeanor was not good, neither was his posturing. He was not himself,
he was not looking into the camera, and while Romney was talking, Obama was looking
at the podium,  instead of his opponent. He lost right
there, he seemed helpless.

In the segment about Regulation, Romney said “he was for
Regulation”, one of my Democrat friends Larry Duncan and I communicated with
each other through eyes without saying a word, what the eff? Obama blew that
opportunity, he could have blasted Romney by saying, “Governor Romney, that is your view today, I know it was different yesterday, but what will it be tomorrow?”

Romney did not miss an opportunity to get back at Obama, he told about his five
boys, who repeat the same thing over and over again for him to buy their version as truth, he wouldn’t – it was in relation to the 5 trillion dollars tax cuts.
Obama did not give a clear answer, except repeating it several times.

On repealing Obama Care, Romney had an upper hand.
Twenty minutes into the program, Romney had said two
anecdotes to relate with people, Obama was behind, way behind, until he talked
about his Grandmother, Romney had already made inroads by then. I did not
connect with Obama for the first time in four years. It was not him. He should
have gone impromptu, instead of blankly staring at that darn podium.
 
In the segment about Gridlock, Romney won hands down over
Obama, and Obama blew another great opportunity. When Romney said, “people are
really hurting”, all Obama had to ask was, “Governor Romney, which people, the
47% or your rich friends you care about?
Obama kept hammering ceaselessly on
education, it was little too much to bear. While giving credit to Romney for an excellent
performance, I question his ability to stick to his thoughts. He surprised me
several times tonight with his new revelations, aka flip flops. I am not sure where he
stands. I am still voting for Obama.
I found this event to be more meaningful, we all have to
be with each other with our differences, and not let the differences change our opinion
about each other. 

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly atHuffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blogwww.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.

Texas Faith: The morality of drone warfare

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Drone
warfare is one of the greatest inventions of civilization. It has allowed us to
take Anwar Awalaki out (One of the top Al-Qaeda operatives) with least
collateral damage and minimal revenge multiplier. However, the abuse of drone
warfare has gone too far….. We don’t like the terrorist killing innocent men
and women. Why should they like us when their innocents are being killed? We
need to find responsible people to man these machines and have them go through
frequent psychiatric evaluations, if they are distressed – Mike Ghouse, continued at: http://nabsites.net/demo/texas-faith-morality-of-drone-warfare/

 

TEXAS FAITH: The morality of drone warfare

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist

Drone warfare. It’s become a major new way
to fight battles. Except those doing the fighting may be in a cubicle in a town
here in the United States. In fact, the chances are they will be working here,
far from the battlefield.

Of course, the good news is the soldiers
operating the drones are not in harm’s way. Nor are they spending months, if
not years, away from their families in a distant country.

But they are using the advances in
technology to track and kill people halfway around the world. This new form of
warfare has raised a number of moral questions. This collection of posts from
Andrew Sullivan on the subject provides an insight into some issues in play.
And here is another link worth
looking at from the Wall Street Journal.

Also, the Journal reported
this week in a front-page article that there is not much international law on
this subject. That vacuum matters in numerous ways, but especially when it
comes to determining whether we are actually declaring war on nations that only
tacitly give us approval to use drones in their countries.

I am not looking for applications of
international law here, but I would like to hear how your faith informs your
thinking about drone

strikes. So, here’s this week’s question:

What moral issues, if any, give you pause about
drone warfare?
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

The morality of
drone warfare becomes justifiable when its purpose is to remove the specific
cancerous cells, and prevent damage to the fabric of the society at large.
We have a
responsibility to protect each other from the ones bent on hurting us. This
responsibility comes with the obligation to guard ourselves from holding the
line and not becoming evil ourselves. We instead need to prevent the evil.
Drone warfare is one
of the greatest inventions of civilization. It has allowed us to take Anwar
Awalaki out (One of the top Al-Qaeda operatives) with least collateral damage
and minimal revenge multiplier. No significant group has shed tears for this
man.
No matter where we
go, the people want justice, which simply means removal of the individual
criminal, without slapping the blame on his political or religious affiliations,
and family members or friends. Let’s not forget, the Muslims did not protest or
demonstrate against his killing. Osama Bin Laden was gone, but his wife was
respectfully left alone. This is one of the greatest successes we need to build
on in our foreign policy ideals: Blame and get the bad guys, but do not torch
others.
However, the abuse
of drone warfare has gone too far. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
estimates the minimum civilian death toll to be 447 during the campaign. It
must be condemned vigorously, and corrected instantly. We don’t like the
terrorist killing innocent men and women. Why should they like us when their
innocents are being killed.
The president said
on CNN, “It has to be a target that is authorized by our laws, it has to be a threat
that is serious and not speculative, and it has to be a situation in which we
can’t capture the individual before they move forward on some sort of
operational plot against the United States.” That is indeed a good policy
worthy of implementation.
We need to find
responsible people to man these machines and have them go through frequent
psychiatric evaluations, if they are distressed. We need to take them out
before they drown us in the abyss of immorality. Civilians are not game animals
to be targeted.
As Americans we need
to set high standards of morality and live by it. At the least, we need to
prevent other nations from developing the drones and abusing them. What if we
are the targets?
Texas faith is a weekly column, where panelists
from different traditions respond to the issues of the day – for all the
responses, please visit Dallas Morning News at http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/texas-faith-the-morality-of-drone-warfare.html/
Mike
Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of
the day. He is a professional
speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the
world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily

Obama's one liners to Romeny

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Here are a few lines I have come up for Obama.
Obama lines
“Governor, of course you were born here, what made you allude that I wasn’t”
“Governor Romney thanks for
your generosity for passing  the defective 47% of Americans, and the
additional 10% for me, and keeping the 44% for yourselves. I have got news for you; I
will be standing up for every one you have rejected after November 6”

“Here you go again Governor, your business experience is good, if you don’t see the profits this
quarter, you will shut the business down, guess what?  I believe in long terms gains, to keep the
million jobs and gave Detroit a chance to come back, because I care about
Americans and I am human”
“So Governor, which one of you shall I respond to?”
“Governor, the Palestinians have the same aspirations as you and I do, to have a family and live without apprehension of fear, and in a country the can call their own,  don’t you owe an apology to them?
Mike Ghouse is a moderate Republican sick of the Republican leadership that does not care about half of the population, and compelled to put America first, and party next and hopes more Republicans consider placing American first and elect the right  man to lead the nation; President Obama. 
To be updated through Wednesday.

Seedling Pluralism in Pakistan

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Pakistan like India has a common pluralistic heritage, but it has lost its tracks since Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and we the Americans countered their encroachment with funding Madrasas to produce Jihadists to go get the soviets, kill or get killed mind set, and they ran the Soviets off, and we abandoned them as well, rendering them jobless and purposeless drifters. Pakistan’s pluralistic heritage completely capsized two decades ago. Today, I am meeting a delegation from Pakistan on a trip to get an understanding of Pluralism and Interfaith.

URL: http://nabsites.net/demo/seedling-pluralism-in-pakistan/

Seedling Pluralism in Pakistan
Today, I am meeting a delegation from Pakistan on a trip to get an understanding of Pluralism and Interfaith. There are not many organizations involved in research and studies in religious pluralism and pluralistic governance; we are one of the few doing this work for the last twenty years.
Seedling Pluralism in Pakistan
I am
particularly excited about this meeting, because, Pakistan like India has a
common pluralistic heritage, but it has lost its tracks since Soviets invaded
Afghanistan, and we the Americans countered their encroachment with funding
Madrasas to produce Jihadists to go get the soviets, kill or get killed mind
set, and they ran the Soviets off, and we abandoned them as well, rendering them jobless and
purposeless drifters. We, the individuals have to do our share of work in
fixing the problem. After all who does not want a safe and secure world?  Restoring plurality is good for Pakistan and
good for her neighbors and the world.

Pakistan’s pluralistic heritage completely capsized two decades ago, where
harassment of Christian, Hindu, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Sikhs and other minorities had gone
unchecked, and the eerie silence of the majority. I am amazed at the positive
response to the documentary on building a cohesive America; a few Pakistanis
want me to make a documentary about building a cohesive Pakistan. They said it
was safer for an outsider to make than the one from among them. I am not sure
if that is just a talk or they are serious, if they fund it, I will make it;
there is so much goodness out there that needs to be released.

For the last seven years, almost every religious and political delegation that
visits Dallas, I am asked to give an orientation on Pluralism and share about the religious
landscape in America and how to build pluralistic societies. The Saudi’s had
met with me in 2003 that led to the interfaith meeting the King held in Saudi
Arabia… I am hoping to show the trailer of the documentary Americans Together
located at www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com . 

Simply put, it is respecting the otherness of the
other and accepting the uniqueness of each one of us.  In cultural terms, it is
recognizing your culture as a beautiful expression of life to you, as my own
culture is to me. When it comes to food, it is recognizing that you will almost
always you’re your mothers food, you might enjoy a well done steak while, I am
relish 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, your faith is
divine to you as my faith is divine to me.  As beauty is in the eyes of the
beholder, faith is in the heart of the believer.

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.  If you live amidst
others, you must also respect the otherness of others, as you expect them to do
the same for you.

This
was the work of every spiritual Master from Zoroaster, Moses, Krishna, Buddha,
Mahavira, Confucius, Rama, Jesus, Muhammad, Nanak, Baha’ullah  Native American
Shamans – all of them wanted us to get along with each other, for the ultimate
common good of living without fear and living a fairly secure life.

Pluralism
is not a religion or a system, it is not a mish-mash of religion either, it is
simply an attitude of respecting the otherness of others and minding our own
goddamn business, but together creating a cohesive society where all of us can
function effectively and comfortably.

I will
be happy to present an hour or three hours course on Pluralism basics, if it is
in Dallas, it’s my service, outside Dallas pay for the travel and hotel and the
honorarium.

Pluralism
is our future.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive
America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.
He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer
on pluralism, politics, civic
affairs, Islam, India, Israel,
peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest onSean
Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio
networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington
post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blogwww.TheGhousediary.com is
updated daily.

Subway innuendo ads may be a safety issue to New Yorkers

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http://nabsites.net/demo/subway-innuendo-ads-may-be-safety-issue/
The  Subway innuendo ads may be a safety threat

Fox news had interviewed
me on the topic, and I am glad they were able to show a few clips on
Sunday. Through the interview, I have urged the organizers of the subway
campaign not to place the ad at this point in time, and I pray for the safety
of passengers in the New York Subway from inciting the nut cases.
First of all, as
Americans we defend one’s right to free speech, an enduring value of civil societies. No compromises need to be
made; it is a God-given right of the individuals despite its negative consequences. 
However, as a society, we have a responsibility to keep law and order and faithfully
guard the safety of every citizen.  Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting the
peace in a society and it is our duty to track down the source of such hate and
mitigate the conflicts and nurture goodwill. 
The timing of the ad is
wrong; it has the tit for tats element in it, what those ruthless ugly men did
to our Ambassador in Libya does not justify this poster.

I am confident a majority of the subway commuters will laugh at it and move on,
but I am worried about the nut cases and the consequential safety of the
commuters. Here are the crime stats
for New York, for 2010. Of the
19,378,102 New Yorkers, 19,334,235  were
law abiding citizens, while 43, 867 were 
booked up on aggravated assault, of the same number of people, 2771 were
rapists, and 866 were murderers. We cannot blame the law books, New York State
or the religion of the nutcases for the crimes they committed; it was them and
not anyone else, because the other people, the 99.98% of the population have
the same law books to follow, they live in the same state and follow the same
religions. It is never the state, religion or the books, it is always the
individual we need to blame.

The ads are subtle
innuendos to the nuts; they are coded for the crazies to cross the boundaries
of law and order.
We have plenty of nuts
in the world, there was one who beat up the Jewish kids in subway four years
ago for saying Happy Hanukkah, the nut who went on a rampage at Sikh Temple in
Wisconsin confusing Sikhs for Muslims, and the loony who opened fire
in Norway or the crazy who massacred fellow soldiers in Fort Hood, or the one
who opened fire in Luby’s in Kileen.  Those
nuts or terrorists who killed our Ambassador and his staff in Libya and those
who are defacing our embassies overseas are all a threat to the safety of the
people no matter where you go, facts don’t matter to them. 
It is dangerous to
fellow Americans, particularly Muslim women wearing a scarf, Catholic women
coming from a Church, Sikh Women, the older Hindu women with part of the Saree
covering their head, the Non-Muslim women from Africa donning their cultural
headdress. Does the city have a role in imbuing a sense of security in her
people, or they on their own?
If a nut case sees the
innuendo loaded Jihadi ad in the subway, and sees a woman next to it, be it a
Muslim, Sikh, Catholic, Hindu or other, he is tempted to hurt that woman, the
woman can scream that she is not a Muslim; do the nut know any difference? What
if she is a Muslim? 
I hope the Jewish
Federation of Greater New York makes it clear that they did not authorize the
ad to represent the interests of Israel or the Jews, and I hope the New Yorkers
don’t fall for this trap to hate Muslims in the “innuendo” ads.
 

Mike
– – – – –
MikeGhouse is
committed to building a Cohesive America
and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker,
thinker and a writer on pluralism,
politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel,
peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on
Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio 

What are friends for?

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I urge you to have a heart to heart, one on one with your spouse and children, friends and fellow workers frequently, knowing that the person cares and “listens uninterrupted” is healing in itself. This last week, a friend committed suicide, shot himself in the car in a parking lot…. It has made us all think through the precariousness of life. How difficult must it have been for him to bear the pain, anxiety or depression to have shot himself…

  You are tagged because you do your share of listening and being there for your friends,  and I just wanted to share what was gonig through my mind this morning. I was thinking about this friend, he has been a part of the Unityday program, and he was on my dial list to call… but I never got around to do that.. and when I heard the news, I said to myself, damn me for not calling him…he and I have talked for at least 15 minutes whenever we tallked. Sometimes, people talk to you even if you are not a close friends, but if they sense you care.

Some 20 years ago, a Boys Scout parent, was anxious, I noticed that and talked to him on the Sunday Scout meeting to meet with him the following week… on Monday evening we waived at each other at a stop sign… then on Tuesday, he hung himself in his home. I have come to regret that fairly frequently; it was so difficult for his son who was a boys scout mate of my son… And now, when I trace anxiety with a person whom I know, I make an effort to set that as a priority to listen to the person.

Every year for the last five years, while wishing well on festivals and holidays, As a part of my personal share of responsibility to the well being of fellow beings, I give out my phone number, for the ones among us to call, and thank God a few do, and it feels good to do my share of work.  If you  want to just talk to someone, please feel free to call your friend and ask them to listen…for at least 5 minutes,  or you can call me.

Thank you
Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net
(214) 325-1916

SMU-DMN Election forum on common good

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Event: Public forum on Elections and Common Good

Date: 09/27/12 by SMU-Perkins School of Theology & Dallas Morning News

Click on picture to enlarge



My opening remarks;
This particular election
has made us acutely aware of the purpose of Governance; to find people from
among us, to bring goodness to America at large, and to every American with bias
towards none.
What is an ideal
society?

Is where, no individual has to live in apprehension or fear of the other, live
his or her own life and let others live theirs.


Indeed if we look at the work of all the spiritual masters, be it Zarathustra,
Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Confucius, Mahavira, Muhammad, Native Chiefs,
Shamans, Nanak, Baha’ullah  Joseph Smith and others . They all had a singular determination – for people to live in harmony. The
common values like Justice, truth, trust and respect the otherness of others,
were their corner stone’s.
What does God want?

Like a mother who wants her children to do well,

 Like a teacher who want his students to make A’s,
Like a Chef who wants
his patrons to enjoy his food,
God wants us to do well
and live in harmony.
God loves us all, and he
makes sure, no one is deprived of his care. There is always a peace maker,
prophet, messenger or a spiritual master who guides the group to live in harmony.

America is God’s own Country
America is God’s own country;
everything you can imagine is here in America…Whether it is a race,
religion, ethnicity, culture, cuisine, nationality… or even different seasons,
hot, cold, mild… it is all here. We are a representation of the universe.
Indeed our diversity is the anecdote for extremism. Please remember God has
not signed a deal with any one behind our backs, he, she or it will never do
that.
As the societies evolve, so did the complexities, crime and good things. And we needed someone to manage
our affairs for us, and we elect them to do so.
We expect them and their
efforts to be driven by common Good. They need to think in
terms of what is good for every American? Without infringing their rights, do
unto others is the best values to guide us.
All of us have to make
sacrifices for the common good. What is good for you has got to be good for me
to sustain.
It’s time to reflect
daily..

The Elections have re-invigorated
the though process, thanks to Dallas Morning News for bringing this up and
making people think about it, more than that, each one needs to ask ourselves…
what good have I contributed to the people around me, without a benefit?
# # 
Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly atHuffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.

Obama Leads Romney by 10%

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 As a moderate Republican, I was banking on Romney, he is in indeed a good
man, but a ruthless business man who will shut down things if they don’t pan
out in the short haul, sacrificing the long term good for America, a typical
corporate guy. He told, let Detroit go bankrupt, Obama did the right thing, and
pulled it through, thus creating jobs and adding to the growth of economy in
addition to regaining our glory in automotive industry.

The
previous president was secretive, and looks like the drove us to this
point.  He was a war monger, so is
Romney, it will screw up America, not them and their buddies who have safe
havens, but the 309 Million Americans. Now he is flip flopping on every
thing… I lost him again in this last week. He will make us a weak nation,
shutting one thing after the other making us weak, while he and his buddies
will walk away stashing in Swiss banks. He is an appeaser and falsely believes
that, the right represent majority of the nation, bad math on his part! I don’t
see any good happening to America through Mitt, and he may do more harm to our
nation than the good he claims to bring.
Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly atHuffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blogwww.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.

Texas Faith: Is separation of church and state an idea to keep religious people out of the public arena?

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The separation of church and state has been a
catalyst in guaranteeing freedom to every religious group. This can be better
understood through stark contrasts between pluralistic nations and the nations
where one religion dominates the others. We enjoy religious freedom, precisely
because of our diversity; an antidote to extremism. You practice your faith and
I will do mine.- Mike Ghouse

Twelve Texas Faith Panelists share their
thoughts on separation of church and state

TEXAS FAITH: Is separation of church and
state an idea to keep religious people out of the public arena?

By Wayne Slater/Reporter
11:18 am on September 25, 2012 | Permalink

In a conference call with Christian
conservatives, Gov. Rick Perry dismissed the separation of church and state as
an idea advanced to drive “people of faith from the public arena.” The governor
went on to say Satan is using it to keep Christians from actively engaging in
public policy. “The idea that we should be sent to the sidelines I would
suggest to you is very driven by those who are not truthful, Satan runs across
the world with his doubt and with his untruths and what have you, and one of
the untruths out there is driven – is that people of faith should not be
involved in the public arena.”

The governor’s take on theology and American
history got mixed reviews – at best – from our Texas Faith panel of pastors,
teachers, theologians, lay leaders and religious experts. The recent conference
call was an effort to motivate conservative Christians to vote their values in
November. Perry used language familiar to social conservatives – “spiritual
warfare” and “Christian soldiers” and a growing tide of “secularism and
atheism” – in warning of those making “efforts to remove any trace of religion
from American life.”

The premise of the governor’s comments is
that separation of church and state is sometimes invoked simply to discourage
people (read it: people whose ideas you don’t like) from getting involved in
politics and public policy. Is that true? And, perhaps more to the point, how
do we make sure that doesn’t happen? In our political debate this election
season, what’s the proper balance between warning against theocracy and
encouraging faith in the public square? The Texas Faith panel had some ideas.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for
Pluralism, Dallas

The separation of church and state has been a
catalyst in guaranteeing freedom to every religious group. Indeed, it is an
incentive to participate in the political process to ensure that one’s rights
are protected, and prevent domination by any group from dictating its terms to
others.

If an attempt is made to infringe on the
rights of others, we all need to stand up for them, just as we did with the
Catholic Church about contraceptives. Most certainly, protection of our rights
depend on protecting the rights of others; a hallmark of enduring
civilizations.

This can be better understood through stark
contrasts between pluralistic nations and the nations where one religion
dominates the others.

In Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan and
other countries, the majority through their deafening silence, continues to
deny the basic religious rights to its minorities. The merciless upper hand of
one religion over the other(s) has undeniably screwed up justice; the source of
anguish, unrest and consequent instability and pain for all.

Compare that to the United States, where the
religious rights of all are protected (relatively). On any given street in
Dallas, you will find places of worship of multiple denominations functioning
together, that was not the case in the United States generations ago, and we
have come a long way, thanks to the separation.

We enjoy religious freedom, precisely because
of our diversity; an antidote to extremism. You practice your faith and I will
do mine.

Governor Perry is perhaps using phrases like
“spiritual warfare” and “Christian soldiers” to whip up support for his
declining political power, and probably may not succeed in his motives, as the
Evangelicals know that the freedom to practice their faith is not trampled.
Religion has been used, abused and misused by politicians throughout the
history of mankind for political gains, Perry is no exception.

We are a land of the free and need to keep it
that way. The separation of church and state is a catalyst that has assured
safer and securer communities in the United States, and we don’t want to
regress from that.

Texas faith is a weekly column,
where panelists from different traditions respond to the issues of the day –
for all the responses, please visit Dallas Morning News at  http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2012/09/texas-faith-is-separation-of-church-and-state-an-effort-to-keep-religious-people-out-of-the-public-arena.html/
Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly atHuffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blogwww.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily