A letter to Pakistan President Zardari

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http://nabsites.net/demo/letter-to-pakistan-president-zardari/

A letter to Pakistan President Zardari inspired by Prime Minister Erdogan’s speech.

Dear President Zardari,

Please ponder about leaving a legacy behind you and consider the following;

All of us will die and will be questioned over what we left behind, you; I and every one will go into a 2 cubic meter hole for good.

Neither your money, nor your desire to be in power will help you in that hole, you will be all alone.  Zein al Abedin had to run, Mubarak will run or go in to the hole sooner than expected, and you and your son may have to run and live with security guards for ever.  Your wealth will go to waste.

You have a choice to change all that by creating a legacy for your people and changing their lives and working on creating an institution where people will manage their own affairs, it will be their government for them and by them. Do it before your lose the opportunity to do it.

You have a small window of opportunity to do it while you are still in Pakistan. May Allah Guide you to do the right thing for your people; peace, prosperity and well being, Amen!

Mike Ghouse,
a Muslim Activist
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Please note this letter is shaped by the speech from Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey to President for life Mr. Mubarak.

Turkey tells Mubarak to listen to the people
         
By Ibon Villelabeitia and Pinar Aydinli

ANKARA |  Tue Feb 1, 2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/us-egypt-turkey-idUSTRE71047Y20110
201

ANKARA (Reuters) – Egypt ian President Hosni Mubarak should heed his people’s desire for change, Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip  Erdogan said Tuesday, piling pressure on Mubarak to end his 30-year rule in the face of mass protests.

As hundreds of thousands of Egyptians rallied in Cairo, Erdogan stopped short of explicitly calling for Mubarak’s resignation but urged the Egyptian leader to ponder his legacy.

“Mr. Hosni Mubarak: I want to make a very sincere recommendation, a very candid warning… All of us will die and will be questioned over what we left behind,” Erdogan said in a speech to members of his ruling AK Party in Ankara.

“As Muslims, where we all go is a two cubic meter hole,” he said. The speech was broadcast live by some Arabic-language channels.

“Listen to the shouting of the people, the extremely humane demands. Without hesitation, satisfy the people’s desire for change,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan, whose country is held up as a model in the West for democracy in Muslim nations and has seen its influence rise in recent years in the Middle East, went on to say the solution to political problems lay in elections.

“If there is a problem, the place for solution is the ballot box,” Erdogan said. The United States and other Western powers have also urged Mubarak to hold free elections.

Erdogan later said he was putting off a visit to Cairo planned for Feb 8-9, but would go once Egypt returns to normal.

TURKEY’S RISING INFLUENCE

Erdogan’s condemnation of Israel for its policies toward Palestinians has turned him into a hero in the Arab street and analysts say non-Arab Turkey has become a rival to Egypt’s once economic, political and cultural primacy in the Middle East.

Ankara, a close U.S. ally, has been watching the unrest rocking Egypt and Tunisia with concern about instability harming neighboring countries.

Underlying the importance the United States places on Turkey in the volatile region, Ankara has been in close contact with Washington over Egypt, which caught the United States off guard and left it facing a struggle to balance strategic interests.

“They (the Americans) are asking us: ‘How do you see all these things that are going on right now and how should these developments be evaluated?” a Turkish official said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Erdogan over the weekend to discuss the turmoil in the region and stressed the importance of Erdogan as an elected leader of a country in the region with strong democratic traditions.

Saying his own Justice and Development Party, known as the AK Party, sympathized with the downtrodden, Erdogan expressed solidarity with the Tunisians and Egyptians as their country passed through political turmoil.

“Turkey is side by side with the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt at this critical time,” Erdogan said.

“The Middle East has become a region associated with wars, conflicts, blood, tears, poverty, corruption, ignorance and abuse of human rights. We as Turkey believe that the Middle East and Arab peoples do not deserve this.”

Deepening ties between NATO-member Turkey and the countries of the Middle East, most notably Iran, have however raised some concerns that Turkey risks weakening its Western orientation.

(Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia and Daren Butler http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=darenbutler&> ; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

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POSITIVE CHANGES IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

I am moved by watching the “non-violent” peaceful revolution coming out of Egypt, this is a major paradigm change for Muslims. Unlike other gatherings that were typically shown as violent, this one is just incredible and I feel good about the future of Egypt. Mubarak will have to bow out against peaceful people.

America should boldly side with the people, Obama must muster up the guts to speak out, we can alienate the Egyptians and lose a whole lot of nations in the future or be with them and shape the democratic movement across the world.

The Israeli public should act now and dump the age old war monger in the government and side with the people, the deal is between people and people and not Mubarak and Netanyahu, and both are no good for their respective people.

AlJazeera Live
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Mike Ghouse offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, details at http://www.mikeghouse.net/# #

References

Egypt: A positive change in making

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http://nabsites.net/demo/egypt-positive-change-in-making/

I am moved by watching the “non-violent” peaceful revolution coming out of Egypt, this is a major paradigm change for Muslims. Unlike other gatherings that were typically shown as violent, this one is just incredible and I feel good about the future of Egypt. Mubarak will have to bow out against peaceful people.

America should boldly side with the people, Obama must muster up the guts to speak out, we can alienate the Egyptians and lose a whole lot of nations in the future or be with them and shape the democratic movement across the world.

The Israeli public should act now and dump the age old war monger in the government and side with the people, the deal is between people and people and not Mubarak and Netanyahu, and both are no good for their respective people.

AlJazeera Live
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Mike Ghouse offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, details at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

# #

Teens to have non-penetrative sex?

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http://nabsites.net/demo/teens-to-have-non-penetrative-sex/

I was taken back for a moment when I saw the Bill to seek 12 year olds to have non-penetrative sex. It is probably shocking to most, indeed to almost all Indians as the society is conservative.  But it is really about grading punitive levels, however, it is not reflective of the society at large, but it is making room for an eventuality.

On the other end of the spectrum, we will read stories of the few right wingers vandalizing the stores for selling flowers and Valentine cards and harassing the youth just for being together and having a dinner. The Indian News Papers will carry a lot of stories on that. Extremism is represented by probably less than 1/100th of 1% of the population that perhaps is a universal percentage of the right wing radical extremists in all nations, religions, ethnicities and races that seems to be the composition of any demographics.
Mike Ghouse is a speaker on pluralism and Islam offering pluralistic solutions to the media and the public and it is expressed in 22 blogs and 3 websites listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
# # #

India Bill seeks to let 12-yr-olds have non-penetrative sex

Arun Ram, TNN, Feb 1, 2011, 12.56am IST
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bill-seeks-to-let-12-yr-olds-have-non-penetrative-sex/articleshow/7400208.cms

Read more: 2 similar draft bills on child abuse lead to confusion – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2-similar-draft-bills-on-child-abuse-lead-to-confusion/articleshow/7400208.cms#ixzz1CfLpvMGN

CHENNAI: The draft Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Bill, 2010 by the ministry of women and child development will introduce a gradation in the age of consensual non-penetrative sex.

Section 3 of the draft lists under exceptions of unlawful sexual act with a child:

(i) Any consensual non-penetrative sexual act penalised by this chapter is not an offence when engaged in between two children who are both over 12 years of age and are either of the same age or whose ages are within two years of each other.

(ii) when engaged in between two persons who are both over 14 years and are either of same age or whose ages are within three years of each other.

The bill will soon be sent to the cabinet, after which a parliamentary standing committee will scrutinise it.

Suggestions and objections from the states will be considered then, said a senior official at the ministry of women and child development.

The law ministry too has been working on a similar bill with an identical name, in which the age of consent is mentioned as 16 years, with no gradation. The circulation of two bills with the same title has created confusion.

Opinion on the minimum age are divided. Aparna Bhat, an SC lawyer who was part of a National Commission for Protection of Child Rights group that drafted the latest bill said the gradation of age down to 12 years was to decriminalize sexual exploration by two children.

Under the existing law, if two 12-year-olds get physical and if one childs parent complains, the other can be pulled up by the Juvenile Justice Board.

Read more: 2 similar draft bills on child abuse lead to confusion – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2-similar-draft-bills-on-child-abuse-lead-to-confusion/articleshow/7400208.cms#ixzz1CfLil0Cy

Islam Talk at United Methodist Church, University Park

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It was a different audience for me this time; almost all of them were in their mid thirties to forties and perhaps lawyers. The concerns were legitimate and the desire to bring peace to humanity was common, it was almost like speaking to the choir.

The purpose of my talk was not to glorify Islam or Quraan but to remove falsities spread about the faith, so we all can work on creating cohesive societies.
Submitting to God’s will amounts to creating a harmonious peaceful world of co-existence through free will, where we learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us.

Place: University Park United Methodist Church,
Room: Genesis
Here is the outline of my talk:

Greetings; The essence of and different religious greeetings

Creation – Regardless of Evolution or Creation or Big Bang, Life and matter came into being and we exist, don’t we?
Two products of such beginning, life and matter.  Life is about finding the balance, where as Matter has a built-in balance mechanism.
Origins of Religion – All
Religion defined – God has indeed reached every one of us and has offered that formula – Religion
Religion is a divine guidance to every human to find his or her own balance within oneself and with what surrounds;
_ _ _ _ _
Islam
Islam Defined – In one word it is Justice
Submission to God (goodness ).
When there is justice, there will be a sense of safety and peace. If no one takes advantage of other, one feels safe and secure… that generates peace and goodwill.
If there is justice between spouses, family members, communities and nations, the peace is certain. God does not want any thing more; he wants his creation to live in peace and harmony. 
Essence of Islam
Islam teaches one to be non-judgmental, and consistently encourages individuals to do good. It emphasizes about individual responsibility towards the peace and security of society at large.
Islam is not a new religion
Universality of Islam
The Qur’aan starts with the word الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ  Sura Al-Fatiha 1:2 All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, “God of Universe” (not an exclusive)   
and ends with قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ (114:1)
An-Nas (The Mankind) 114:1 SAY: “I seek refuge with the Sustainer of men, “Humankind” (and again not Muslims).
No humans to judge one’s faith
Almost all Muslims are cognizant and repeat the verse مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4)           
 Al-Fatiha –  Lord of the Day of Judgment! مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4)  
“God is the master of the Day of Judgment, and he alone we worship”. A fully observant Muslim recites this verse from 17 to 51 times a day.  
There is no compulsion in the matters of faith, says the Qur’aan. 
Accountability -Individual responsibility – Islam emphasizes on Individual responsibility for one’s words and actions.  
Prophet’s comment to his daughter about responsibility.
Qur’an, Al-An’am, Surah 6:163-164: All people will reap the harvest of their own deeds; no one will bear another’s burden. Ultimately, all of you will return to your Lord, and he will resolve your disputes. Al-An’am لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (6:163)
Pluralism embedded in Islam – PLURALISM
Prophet Muhammad, a Pluralist and an interfaith dialoguer

Prophet Muhammad is perhaps the first religious person to initiate interfaith dialogue, he not only invited people of other faiths to dialogue, but he also offered them to pray, their own prayers in his mosque. 

Prophet Muhammad was not only a Pluralist religiously, but he believed in co-existence and living in harmony with life and environment.
Free will
Ritual
Rituals are the path markers to spirituality, whether you do Yoga, Meditation or any other activity… the ultimate goal is well being of the person.
1. Faith – everything starts with a belief
2. Prayer – piety, humility, arrogance
3. Fasting – self discipline
4. Zakat – playing the role of trustee
5. Haj – Large scale community equalizer
Key Values
1.      Justice
2.      Equality
3.      Peace
4.      Accountability
5.      Belief in Oneness of God, humanity and the world for peaceful existence
ISSUES
            1. Sunni and Shia branches
            2. Sharia Law
            3. Ground Zero Mosque
            4. Apostasy
            5. Blasphemy
            6. Cartoons
            7. Jihad
            8. Conversions
            9. Quraan Translations 
    
CONCLUSION
Finding the truth is your own responsibility… what you see on TV or hear on Radio… is propaganda to malign the other… you may have witnessed that even against your church.  
Religion was given to each one of the 7 billion of us to make ourselves a better being, most of us get it, and a few don’t.
A few Residents of your city violate the traffic rules; do evil things, murder people…. people wearing faith badges violate their faith as well. 
That does not make the city a bad City or a religion a bad religion. Individuals commit crimes and we need to make them accountable and not their faith or their City. Blaming the City or the Religion does not do a thing, blaming the individual allow bringing justice to the society?

Thanks to Rev. Bill Matthews for facilitating this.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer. He runs the Foundation for Pluralism championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other and is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress.

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your place of worship, school, work place, seminars or conferences.  He is a media commentator offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

Mike’s work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/

GOD and Miracles

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I watched the following video and I am glad I did. I had a lot of questions and I hope you do too.  http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/SAF13v5_WS
After the video, please resume reading the following observations from a pluralistic point of view and kindly share your thoughts.
Those who do not believe in miracles may have to find some scientific explanation for this and resist ruling out the possibility of a Pause in one’s life. We are yet to understand the mysteries of life; someday we might be able to harness the full power of the God given intelligence to understand this phenomenon.
There may be reluctance from those who are not Christian in this instance, and may have difficulty in believing in miracles. Even the Hindus, who witness miracles more frequently than the others may want to, hold on to the temptations to deny miracles because Jesus was invoked in this.  Same goes to Muslims and Jews who may not accept this because Jesus is not God to them and some of them may even label it as “their God”, falling into the trap that there are different Gods.
Whether one calls the creator, Allah, Krishna, Yahweh, Jesus, Ahura Mazda or what not, God remains the same. God does not change with our perceptions and invocations. If we can see this miracle as a miracle of God, the God that is common to all of us, (or the creator of energy for those who do dot subscribe to the religious version) then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
If one can create the same film with a Hindu doctor invoking Shiva, Krishna or one of the Avatars, would the Christians and Muslim accept that as a miracle?
If you reject these miracles, reject it for impossibility, but do not reject because it has a labeling of one religion or the other.  Personally, I do not believe God needs to perform miracles on a daily basis, every life is indeed a miracle, the birth of child is a miracle, the way our body works is a miracle… a whole human being is programmed out of a drop of semen is a miracle.
Pluralistic attitude will cause you to reflect on it as a Miracle of God, it was the common God that is the focus and not “someone else’s God.” A pluralist will feel comfortable with the scene whether you invoke Allah, Krishna, Jesus or any other name.
Have the peace of mind knowing that God has not signed a deal with any one behind other people’s back, he is just, kind, merciful and loving and treats us the same. It is up to us to do good or not, and feel at peace if we do, and disturbed if we don’t.
Mike Ghouse, speaker, thinker and a writer offering pluralistic solution on issues of the day. Details at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Article at: http://nabsites.net/demo/god-and-miracles/

 

Mahatma Gandhi Today

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Today is the sixty third Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom; he brought freedom to the people of India. He is affectionately called Bapu and the father of the nation. I have always admired the title some one bestowed on him – “Mahatma”, the great soul. Indeed, he was one of the greatest souls of the last century along with Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr,  my inspirers.
He is my mentor and I think of him quite frequently. I have a special bonding with him, he was in my dream twice patting on my back and telling, “son you have work to do” and that has been an inspiration to me. Yes, much of my work on Pluralism is inspired by him. He was indeed an absolute pluralist.
I have found myself in gratitude when I discover that the Mahatma also has said the things that I write. One of the things I wrote was ” a good Hindu is a good Muslim, is a good Jews, is a good Christian and is a good Muslim” years later I found that Mahatma had written very similar to it. He was the pluralist of the last century. Pluralist is one who accepts the otherness of other and respects the God given uniqueness of each one of the fellow beings.
Its time for me to reflect on the life of Mahatma, MLK, my father and a father of my friend Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk who passed away 8 years ago today. May God inspire us to serve the humanity; there is peace and blessing in it.
My son Jeff and daughter in law Fern have paid their visit to Raj Ghat, marking Gandhi’s presence in India,  and I am yet to do that, on my next trip, God willing.

 

The item is also published in my diary, my facebook companion – http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/01/mahatma-gandhi-today.html
Mike Ghouse, speaker, thinker and a writer offering pluralistic solution on issues of the day. Details at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Egypt: Making a Lemonade out of Lemon

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Just finished the Radio show, it was a 15 minute segement with Hannity and Shoebet. You can find your radio station at  http://www.hannity.com/stations

For a change Hannity, Shoebet and I were on the same page with a few differences.

 I believe the US has taken the right approach in not alienating the Egyptian people while cautioning Mubarak to back off from violence and crushing the uprising.

The fear of the Brotherhood taking the situation in their stride is legitimate and it is critical that we (US) play it right. We need to take the initiative to allay the fears of people and remove the anti-US sentiment, and it will give us the room to shape democracy there. A democracy that is sustainable and good for the people of Egypt, Israel, US and others.
Obama understands that equity is sustainable than inequities we have been wrong many times, and I hope this time we will get it right and I trust Obama will do the right thing.

Israel has to play it right as well. The peace deal was with the people of Egypt and people of Israel and not with their governments – and Israel needs to make sure that it is with the people and not Mubarak. Mubarak will wither away and anything we (U.S.) can do to show support for the aspiration of people will do two things: firm up the people to people peace agreement and prevent the opportunity for brotherhood to take advantage of this.

CIA has goofed up on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and else where. Why could they not foresee the uprising? We blew it with Iran by sticking with the Shah and I am Glad Clinton and Obama are clear on being with the people.

We really can make lemonade out of lemon in this situation.

I will upload the link to the radio show later on this week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYHm2fafBu0

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on Pluralism and Islam. He is with the newly formed America Together Foundation, building cohesive societies and offering pluralistic solutions to the media and the public. His work is expressed in 3 website’s and 21 blogs listed at www.MikeGhouse.net