Daily Blog - The Ghouse Diary

Pat Buchanan’s Fear of the End of White America and Christianity

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 01/21/2012 01:34 pm at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pat-buchanans-phobias-abo_b_1196352

The phobias stem from the fact that religions have moved away from being spiritual to political entities, simply meaning each religious group is living in its own silos and in conflict with the other.

An article in the New York Times, “Patrick Buchanan’s Future at MSNBC Is Murky,” says, “Mr. Buchanan argues in his book, Suicide of a Superpower — which has the subtitle Will America Survive to 2025? — that the ‘European and Christian core of our country is shrinking,’ which is damaging the nation ‘ethnically, culturally, morally, politically.’ The book also contains a chapter titled, ‘The End of White America.’”

The xenophobia seems to be gripping a few of the white folks like Buchanan. If you recall South Africa, there was a similar phobia when the ruling whites had to relinquish power to the black majority, their expectation was that they may have to flee, but when the surrender actually happened, fears dissipated and the democracy in a black majority became a way of life guarding the safety and rights of every citizen.

There is phobia that the Mexican immigrants will change our way of life, and there is a fear that other religions will dilute the monopoly of white Christianity.

We have some choices to consider: We can choose to become a self reliant recluse nation, and we will not buy products or services from other nations or sell anything to them either, as there is no such thing as one way trade. It might shrink our economy and lower the comforts of our life as it would become expensive for a majority of us to afford most things produced in America.

We will do all our work ourselves without the help of immigrant workers be them Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Somalis or the others. We may as well close the doors of immigration; even most of the European white Christians are secular and want to keep God in the closet.

In the long haul, we cannot survive as a nation with a zero or a negative population growth, we need to get busy in producing children.

People come to America for its openness and freedom; we need to entrench and enrich them with our values, it will ensure continuance of our culture and our societal norms.

We need to work on integrating different parts of the society to act as a whole and to sustain the systems we love and cherish. Each one of us has to become a part of the system and not live in silos and blame others, or else the nation will fall apart.

Personally I grew up in homes with fancy orange, teal and other colors in India. Now, I have learned to love the modest colors of America. I was a home builder responsible for several subdivisions in Dallas Metroplex and I have learned the value of consistency and external appearances. I was also a president of the home owners association, where we set the rules in the neighborhoods to preserve the values of homes through managing external appearances. This is an example of integration to sustain our way of life despite the fact that I was blatantly turned down by employers for my accent.

The last, but resentful, choice is to go buy an Island to live on our own terms, and live as freely as we want.

To feel secure about continuance of our life styles and white Christianity and all others, we have to nurture the values and systems to ensure a comfortable living, instead of griping about it. Americans Together can build a cohesive America, where no one will live in apprehension, discomfort or fears of the other and sustain their way of life.

Stripping Nobel Prize From Muslim Dr. Abdus Salam

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 02/02/2012 02:18 pm at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stripping-nobel-prize-from-muslim-abdus-salam_b_1244138

It is a shame that many of the Pakistani people I have been interacting have bought the government-fed idea that Ahmadiyya Muslims are not Muslims.

Shame on them, they have not only lost political freedom, they have lost their minds as well. As a Muslim, I am disappointed that Pakistan has deprived the Muslim world of a Nobel Laureate, indeed the late Dr. Abdus Salam is the only Nobel Laureate of Pakistan and they don’t list him as a Muslim, and have gone one to erase the word Muslim from his headstone. What a shame! He was the pride of Pakistan and yet no minister or high government official attended his funeral. I wish he lived in America; he would have gotten all the due respect he deserved.

Yet the same Muslims daily recite that God alone is the Master of the Day of Judgment, and he alone is judge of our faith 17 to 51 times a day. What for? Sir Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the great poet scholar philosopher probably wrote this poem to these folks, “tujhe kya milega namaz mein?” (What is there for you in that prayer if you don’t mean it?)

We simply cannot stereotype the whole population based on a few intolerant judgmental men out there. Just like the good for nothing silent majority of Jews, Christians, Muslims or Hindus; and Americans, Indians or Chinese, the Pakistani Muslim majority is another good for nothing lot who don’t have the balls to speak up. We must encourage the good people to start speaking up and bring about a positive change where no Pakistani has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other Pakistani.

They did not have the freedom to sign the Asia Bibi Petition; did not have the guts to step forward to do the funeral prayers for Governor Taseer who wanted to end the misapplied blasphemy laws, and they did not have the nerve to speak up on most issues and put up with the Zardari government.

What has happened to this community that is suppose to value Justice above all else? They listen to the stories of the Prophet and the Caliphs, how they stood up for the rights of Jews, Christians and others even against their own kith and kin. A Muslim cannot be prejudiced and judgmental. How many of us qualify to be a Muslim?

This week witnesses Dr. Salam’s 85th birthday. May Allah bless him for his pioneering research in “theoretical elementary particle physics” benefiting the humanity; may Allah give courage to the Pakistani people to stand up for justice for every Pakistani in the footsteps of the Prophet and the rightly guided caliphs, and treat every Pakistani on an equal footing regardless of his or her religion, belief or denomination.

Valentine’s Day, the Universal Phenomenon

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 02/14/2012 10:27 am at – :https://www.huffpost.com/entry/valetines-day-universal_b_1275148

Throughout the history of language, words have taken on new and expanded meanings; Valentine’s Day is no exception.

From an exclusive meaningful rendezvous between two lovers, the Valentine’s Day will morph into an all inclusive romantic day. It will become a universal affection day within a decade.

Valentines Day is a universal expression of affection between two individuals. Love has no bounds; it is between two people in love, husband and wife, mother and son, father daughter, brother sister, brothers, sisters, friends, uncles, aunties, Grandpa and Grandma and any one you care about.

Please feel free to say happy valentine to your sister, mother, brother, daughter, dad, uncle or a friend. It is a much bigger word now than it started out to be. Take them out for dinner and send them flowers to let them know that you care if you are the only one for them at this point in life.

While we Americans express it by presenting red roses to our loved ones, the Filipinos will break another record; the number of people kissing at the same time, Brazil will have another major festival on her beaches celebrating love. You are welcome to share other such expressions.

On the other side of the world, a few frustrated ones with life go to the other end. The right wingers among orthodox Muslims, Hindus and perhaps Jews will start giving religious tones to it instead of going to their place of worship and seeking God’s love.

Sadly, some of you are going to feel lonely, if you miss the love in your life; you have an opportunity to fulfill it. There is plenty in you that you can give by feeding the homeless, visiting lonely patients in the hospitals or nursing homes, disadvantage women and children, our veterans… share whatever little you have with them including the time and just listening to them. When a homeless person asks, give whatever you can, that is the most affectionate thing to do, you will enrich yourselves far greater by sharing.

Whenever the word affection comes to mind, I picture my dad and recall the way he called out my Mother’s name Khairun, it was romantic and filled with affection and I have always enjoyed the sound of it, it was simply soothing to hear.

I’ve become conscious of my own voice when I am talking with my wife Yasmeen; it gets enriched with that affection. Indeed, the affection is like a rainbow and takes different colors, but it is the same when I address my daughter Jasmina, my niece Tamanna and my sister Dilshad, and now my voice is uploading itself with that affection for Maheen; Yasmeen’s daughter. The same goes with my son Jeff and daughter-in-law Fern and my father like figures Everett Blauvelt and DD Maini.

I dedicate these three songs to Yasmeen, my dear wife. It was our love for Urdu poetry that opened the doors for each other.

Kenny Roger’s, you decorated my life: I particularly like the line which says, there is no rhyme or reason that is what love is all about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkPFSt326c

Ronnie Milsap’s, what a difference you made in my life, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ni1WPGEZtg&feature=fvst

Muhammad Rafi’s ai Husn Zara Jaag in Urdu/ Hindi, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_qGtHjM6Oc

and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s, aap say mil kay in Urdu/Hindi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixRn65ImoRQ

My expressions would be incomplete without honoring the poet of love, Mirza Ghalib, one of the greatest romantic poets of all time who composed his poetry in Urdu/Hindi and Farsi.

Ishk per zor nahin, hai a o aatish ghalib Ke lagaye na lege, bujhaye no bujhe.

Affection is that flame O Ghalib, you cannot light it up or extinguish it, it just happens.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Commitment to Israel-Palestine, Part 2

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 02/21/2012 11:24 am at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/commitment-to-israelpales_b_1263793

Author’s note: Who am I to worry about Israelis and Palestinians? What inspires me to be involved in the Israel Palestine conflict? The following is the story of my struggle to see a cohesive world, the story will take you through different emotions but at the end, I hope you feel a sense of completeness of the story. Due to its length it is a three part article, and this is part 2 of 3.

To read part 1, click here.

Israel’s security, and justice to the Palestinians are directly proportional to each other. Hundred percent security for Israel comes with 100 percent justice to the Palestinians. A majority of people in the conflict understand this, but the leadership runs aground with short sighted false perceptions.

Way back in the early 60s, when I was around 10 years old, my mother took away a book from me, “Eishman 60 Lakh Yahodiyon ka Khatil” — Eichmann killer of 6 million Jews in my mother tongue Urdu. She would not let me read the book; she said I could not handle it.

She was right; I did glance over a few pictures and was unable to take it out of my mind forever. She had psyched me up to run from it, I was unable to watch the WWII movies up until I was 55. Whenever I saw the wagons stalked with skeletonic humans, or marching of innocent men and women towards the pit, my systems would shut down on me and I would turn the TV off or walk away from it.

My gutlessness bothered me, and I had always wanted to do my share of work towards finding a solution. The catalytic moment came on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2005. As Muslims, we took the initiative to commemorate Sept. 11 as Unity Day to bring Americans together to re-dedicate our pledge for the safety and security of America. I had invited people from every faith, race, ethnicity and nationality along with the FBI chiefs, 10 mayors and several council persons.

Mayor Joe Chow was speaking and the fire alarm went off. I can never forget the scene. My Jewish friends in the front row were the first ones to dash out of the hall. There were 630 of us in that hall. Remember we were doing the 9/11 event and it was scary to many. Mayor Mike Simpson of Frisco stepped up and assured every one that it was a false alarm as his Fire Marshall assured him in less than two minutes. I asked agent Gonzales, the FBI chief for Dallas area to speak up. He did and assured every one that it was false alarm … there were about 25 on the stage including mayors, fire and police chiefs and civic leaders. I walked up to my Jewish friends and asked them to come back and they did. That was the catalytic moment for me. The fear in their eyes had a major impact on me and an inexplicable love for my friends and the desire to protect them was welling up in me.

Two months later in Nov. 2005, the United Nations passed a resolution about Holocaust commemoration. Something triggered in me. Perhaps the catalytic moment was moving me to commemorate the event to let the Jewish community know that we care about them and that we are with them in their sacred moment. I called in my friend Bernie Mayoff (who had attended the Unity Day). He lend me a copy of “Schindler’s List” to watch, which I had avoided all along due to my own childhood phobias. I decided to see the movie and understood my mother’s words that I could not handle it.

I had lost my balance and wanted to regain it. Bernie and I went to see Elliot Dlin, (who passed away in 2010) the Director of Dallas Holocaust Museum, an affable but skeptical person. He saw my passion about the commemoration and also saw that I was willing to go it alone, if he did not want to participate.

We moved forward and commemorated the first Holocaust event on Jan. 26, 2006 and every year since then except 2007. The Holocaust survivors William and Rosalie Schiff were the key note speakers at a gathering of about 300 people represented by every faith. We have taken extensive pictures and all are listed at www.HolocaustandGenocides.com.

This was probably the first time in the world where a Muslim took the initiative to commemorate Holocaust with the general public. The Jewish people have always commemorated as Yom HaShoah at the synagogues, and usually Jewish people have attended the event. At our program we had 11 different religious groups shared their prayers. We were all in there together and the tradition continues; that of education to the general public.

I hope one of these days, through appropriate funding, I could make this happen in every major city around the world. A day where all of us come together to reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted on each other.

There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own. The program would entail learning that other people’s suffering is as legitimate as ours, it is easy to see ourselves as victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us that remains silent or justifies oppression of others or turns the head other way. We need to be full humans to cherish the life and we must learn to value each life and learn to do everything we can, to never let this happen again.

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad denied Holocaust and I jumped all over him in a note at Dallas Morning News. Later found out that he did not deny it, but had questioned it.

Thank God for giving me the courage to stand up for others, and I have continued with education in pluralism and stereotyping and have written extensively about it. I wrote against the anti-circumcision bill in San Francisco and finally it was off the ballot and I believe this article was cited.

Fred Phelps came to Dallas with his anti-Semitic demonstrations, he was at several synagogues, Texas Jewish post and the Holocaust Museum where he demonstrated, so was I gathering the Holocaust Survivors together and leading the peace prayers in the Holocaust Museum. Huffington Post published my piece on the topic as well.

I went to Jerusalem in Aug., 2010 for four days with the Middle East Peace group. a Rev. Sun Myung Moon initiative. I am proud of the efforts of Rev. Michael Jenkins who had led the team to Israel over 30 times. He and his group did what was the right thing to do — engage the faith leaders in dialogue, taking actions such as getting the Israeli and Palestinian Children to play soccer, and eat together. Get the Knesset and Palestinian Parliament members to sit together and talk. I wish, the world can see the power in doing this in finding lasting solutions. Blaming and bullying does no good. The group visited Israel quite extensively and I spoke on pluralism and shared the peace prayers.

As seekers of peace, we need to step above the Jewish or Palestinian issue to find a solution and not keep building barriers. Sadly, the community leaders among Jews and Muslims act the same; deny each other’s initiatives. Indeed, if a sane Jewish voice comes out, as a sane Muslim voice, they will be hounded and barked at in unison.

Commitment to Israel-Palestine, Part 3

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 03/05/2012 11:18 am at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/commitment-to-israelpalestine_b_1263803

Author’s note: Who am I to worry about Israelis and Palestinians? What inspires me to be involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict? The following is the story of my struggle to see a cohesive world, the story will take you through different emotions but at the end, I hope you feel a sense of completeness of the story. Due to its length it is a three-part article, and this is part 3 of 3.

I am proud of President Jimmy Carter who brought Sadat and Begin together and had them sign the peace accord. He is a genuine hero to both the people, as he stopped the blood feud and had them look to each other as collaborators of peace. That is one less conflict between Egypt and Israel. When I put the review of his book on my website, one of my Jewish friends, who had collaborated with me on several issues boycotted me. He would not return my calls or emails. One day, I ran into him in a Synagogue, and begged him to explain to me why. He said, I was a no-good bum because I have Jimmy Carter on my website.

There are innumerable men and women out there who are working day in and day out to bring the people together, who have lived through the most difficult of times. Thanks to President Bill Clinton, another peace maker who climbed several more steps up the ladder of peace by bringing Arafat and Rabin together.

A few hounders had unleashed pit bulls at me on Facebook. They called me up and barraged me with floods of emails. It was a harassment, they were calling me names and telling idiotic things, and tempting me to shout “you people,” so they can nail me as anti-Semitic. They failed miserably, I am not filled with hatred towards any. Thank God for the freedom from hate. By the way, I had jumped on a councilman in Dallas for using the very same phrase against Jews. A few on the right always do things to hurt Israel in the pretense of defending it. They do not want to derail any good any one attempts to do.

The exact same acts were repeated by the right among Palestinians and a few Muslims. A few have made serious attempts to malign me as anti-Palestinian or a Zionist agent, and campaigned against me at every opportunity they got. Despite my appeal to them, that as Muslims they simply cannot believe in hearsay without verification, both the Qur’an and the Prophet have emphasized to live a regret free life by not jumping to conclusions and holding malice towards others.

I guess facts don’t matter to the right, no matter what group they belong to; Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Christians or others. By the way that “right” is not a group, it is a virus that infects all of us from time to time. It did to President Bush, facts did not matter to him.

My energy comes from the laughter they breed. Last year I wrote an article on the topic and immediately the right among Jews and Palestinians pounced on me. It was hilarious, that for the very same article, the Jews (right virused ones) called me an Islamist, while the Muslims (right virused ones) called me a Zionist — it’s the same freaking article! I cannot stop laughing on this. I am sure about 1 percent of you are judging me as well if you have made this far out. I am for building a cohesive society where no human has to live in fear, discomfort or apprehension of the other human. I have nothing to gain but feel worthy of living on the planet.

The real threat to the peace process between Israel and Palestine stems from their inability to look at their own policies critically. And those of us living in America have really messed up security for Israel and hope for Palestinians. We need to take responsibility for our thoughtless stand on issues. President Obama blew an opportunity of millennium for Jews to be who they want to be; a just people, and the Palestinians by denying them justice through veto at the United Nations.

Israelis and Palestinians don’t need the duplicity from the Hagees, Gingrichs, Santorums, Perrys, Boltons, Ahmedinejads or Abudullahs and their shallow words. They need sincerity to deliver security to Israelis and Justice to the Palestinians, one cannot happen without the other.

It is time to quit blaming and start finding solutions. Damn it, the leaders ought to be ashamed of themselves; if they cannot look in the eyes of Palestinian and Israeli Children and commit to give them a better life, they should not be the leaders. The leaders need to learn that, they cannot have peace and security when they keep threatening others around them, period. Both sides are doing exactly opposite of what they really want; security and justice to them respectively.

Until we can see our own faults, peace for both people becomes a forlorn hope. The burden to find solutions falls on all of us, but particularly Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Staying away from each other will not contribute towards peace-making that the communities so deserve. The monster among us was a sad situation of people taking advantage through mis-information. We have to come together without conditions and learn each others concerns and clarify mis-information and together find solutions. If we don’t, then who will?

Israel

Jews have a need to be understood and be acknowledged of their eternal security needs, not the military, but mental security where they can put their guards down and live their life in peace.

Palestine

Palestinians have a need to be understood. They have suffered immeasurably, no human should be stripped of his or her hope and dignity; hope to have a family, work and own a house and call a place their homeland.

U.S.A.

Our presidents need to seriously look at what works. They need to have the vision for peace. They must understand that it may be going against the general opinion and must take bold steps and produce peace for the people of Israel and Palestine. It will save lives and brings peace to them and takes a burden off us.

We need to be above reproach and seek justice for one and all. We must protect Israel, our ally; however, if that protection is based on injustice to either Palestinians or the Jews, our integrity becomes questionable and we must deliver justice to the Palestinians people. We do carry the burden of guilt for messing up their lives.

Mighty empires can crush the weak for a short term; in the long run every one goes down the tube. We cannot rob anyone and live with a good conscience.

The fear of being hounded prevents people from speaking the truth, the need to be lauded keeps people from expressing honestly what is on their mind. It is these people that are not good for Israel or Palestine.

Thank God for blessing me with the ability to see the good and bad things in others without judgment.

If I say hateful things about Muslims and Jews, funds will pour in a hurry, what a shame! And that is the precise problem, everyone is after money. Neither the trumpeters for Israel nor drummers for the Palestinians really care about them, they cash in and run.

This blog has a few selected articles including my own writings. The hardliner Palestinians and Israelis lose their sights and of course attack me. I believe God is with me, as I have nothing to gain from anyone but do the right thing. I have toyed with the idea of going there and leading a sensible movement to bring about a positive change.

All I ask of you is simply this; when you hear voice that talk about revenge, retaliation, annihilation or blame, please appeal to them to join you in mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill to find comfort for all. This attitude has at least a chance of bringing goodness to them than aggravating the situation and making life difficult. If we cannot do good for an Israeli and a Palestinian child, let’s not do any harm either.

I will continue do my work, if it makes sense to a handful of people; I have done my share of Tikkun in the world and I can rest in peace, tying the loose ends of my life, just as my mother did.

A Muslim’s Easter

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 04/12/2012 04:48 pm at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-muslim-easter_b_1407555

Easter is a celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection on the third day after crucifixion. It is Christianity’s most important holiday. A few years ago, I was in Jerusalem and was blessed to sit by the place where he was supposedly buried at the Church of Holy Sepulcher.

One thing the Muslims do at burial sites is to bless the soul of the deceased and wish peace to them. I did my share and expressed my gratitude to God and Jesus for bringing the blessed message of love and forgiveness to humanity.

As a Ppuralist, I just want to make a point here: Jesus and his message belongs to the whole humanity, just as the message of all the spiritual masters including Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna and every one you can imagine, who was a blessing to humanity. If we could purge the insecurity from our hearts, we would appreciate the contribution of each one of the great men and women, who committed to make the world a better place.

For our own salvation and freedom, we need to remove the false perceptions about others. The choice is ours to believe in propaganda and hold on to anxieties; or find the truth and be free.

Many a Christians don white clothing symbolizing purification. It was what Jesus donned once and to this day the tradition is followed at Yardenit, where Jesus was baptized.

Indeed, I was dunked at the same baptismal spot in the river Jordan, a symbolic gesture of transformation and following Jesus. Thank God, the Baptist minister agreed to customize the recitation for me, “in the name of God, and honoring Jesus, I baptize you today at this holy site.” Indeed, two Imams were comfortable to follow the suit. I don’t know the history, but perhaps I may be the first Muslim to be baptized. It was an enriching experience to me in particular, feeling the symbolic transformation.

On the first day of Lent, as a token of solidarity, I joined my Christian friends and gave up drinking soda to honor their practice. I announced it on Sean Hannity show (he is a Catholic) of my intention to observe Lent, although I had forgotten and had soda twice, I have made the effort to follow it as diligently as I can.

Jesus is my mentor, a true pluralist who had no barriers between him and humanity. As a Muslim I reiterate the affirmation of that thought — of being boundless.

Some of you may not be aware that Jesus is revered by Muslims, belief in him as a prophet is a requisition. There is a full Chapter on Mary in the Quran and Prophet Muhammad said there are three women who need to be looked up to as role model: Mary, Asia (the one who raised Moses) and Fatima (the prophet’s daughter). None of the women were traditional, they stood up against odds and changed the course of history. The hijab many Muslim women wear has origins in Mother Mary’s hijab.

Years ago, my daughter observed Lent, and we were glad she did. She got out of an addiction to Dr. Pepper. What a good thing it was! People give up smoking and this period of 40 days is renewal in every sense. Whether you are Christian or not, you can join in the process of reflection and purifying and being in tune with fellow beings.

Lent reminds me of 30 days of Muslim Ramadan; seven days of Paryushan of Jains; eight days of Jewish Passover; and nine days of Hindu Navaratri. The essence of all these events is renewal of the soul and reflection on life. I am happy that these actions are designed to make better humans out of us.

Every faith is composed of a set of unique rituals to bring discipline and peace to human life. Fasting is one of the key elements of observing Lent.

The spirit and intent of Lent lies in a human transformation in a 40 days long inner spiritual journey of finding oneself in tune with spirituality.

Mike Ghouse is a leading thinker, writer and a speaker on pluralism/interfaith and America.

Sri Krishna’s Birthday Celebrations: Happy Janmashtami

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 08/10/2012 09:45 am at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sri-krishna-birthday-celebration-janmashtami_b_1762997

Janmashtami is the celebration of Sri Krishna’s birthday, the man who is the eighth Avatar (representation) of Vishnu, meaning the facet of creator that manages the preservation aspect of life.

Hinduism sees God in three broad categories: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma reflects the creator form of God, and Vishnu represents the preserver aspect of creation that inspires one to be righteous, and Shiva brings a finite ending to life. It is a part of the life cycle: every human is born, lives on and finally disintegrates. Much of Hindu philosophy revolves around the preservation aspect of life; two of the most common and well known reflections are in the persona of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama. Most people including some Hindus see this as Multiple Gods. It isn’t. It’s the same God seen in different lights.

The Hare Krishna devotees prefer to call it the “appearance celebration” of Prabhu (Krishna) rather than the birthday celebration.

The celebration of Janmashtami honors the man who gave us so much wisdom in the Bhagvad Gita. The holy book is an encapsulation of Krishna’s advice to Arjuna when he goes through different phases of thoughts and actions. It is one of the best self improvement books to read. The dialogue is set in a battlefield as allegory of human struggles within the span of daily living.

The preservation aspect of life is built-in. Every piece of material is created to seek its own balance, and so is every human life. The balance is represented by living in equilibrium, without fear, without apprehension or discomfort.

Universe as a spiritual body is no exception and it comes up in Bhagvad Gita: “Whenever the balance of the universe is disturbed by external interference from any of its parts, then I reveal myself as the Power of eternal balancing. For the protection of those who are in harmony, and the rectification of everything disharmonious, I incarnate myself at every juncture of time.” So, it is assumed that the form of God will return back on earth for the establishment of peace, religion and prosperity in society once again when required.

2012-08-10-Janmashtami.Mubarak.TheGhouseDiary.comPluralism.jpg
The other version of the same quote is, “Whenever Adharma (un-righteousness) takes root in the society, God will infuse himself and restores the dharma (righteousness) to the society. In other words the operative word is the self balancing mechanism.

To honor Sri Krishna, one of my mentors, I will read my Bhagvad Gita. The Quran says, to every nation and every community and tribe, God has sent a prophet, messenger, peace maker or a balancer (one who restores righteousness) and I believe that Sri Krishna is God sent to restore peace and balance in the society, and of course, every one of us is God sent. And on this birth day, I salute him and thank him for sharing and giving the wisdom of Bhagvad Gita to humanity.

Just a side note, whether it is the Bible, Quran, Gita, Avesta, Torah, Guru Granth Sahib or any holy book, it is for the whole humanity — and not exclusively for Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Jews, Sikhs or others, respectively.

The wisdom to live a better life is in all these books. We have to clean up our hearts and minds to see it. We should not fear that by acknowledging the greatness of other books diminishes the greatness of my own. Nonsense. All are God’s goodness and guidance for building cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. If you don’t see the wisdom, keep reading until you get it. It is there.

Indeed, my life is greatly influenced and affected by a single verse from Bhagvad Gita: “Finding the truth is one’s own responsibility.” I owe my critical thinking to this verse, and I owe my return to Islam to this verse; it is very dear to me and there is not a week that goes by without quoting this truth in one context or the other. As I am writing this, I recall the famous couplet from a song by Sahir Ludhanavi in Urdu/Hindi language. It is one of the most powerful interfaith couplets I have read and often think about it and sing that song.

Quraan no ho jis may o dharam tera nahin hai
Gita na ho jis may o haram tera nahin hai
Your religiosity and your righteousness in incomplete without Quran
and most certainly your worship place is incomplete without Gita.

India has a long history of pluralism and diversity. It is one of the oldest nations on the earth that has welcomed every one that was persecuted elsewhere; and those who found the freedom to be themselves such as Jews, Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians and others, besides giving birth to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism an Sikhism, it is indeed home to one of the top five Baha’i shrines in the world.

If you are a good Hindu, then you are automatically a good Muslim, good Baha’i or a good Christian. If you are a good Jew, then you automatically are a good Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Wicca, Zoroastrian or follower of the native traditions. Essentially, religion and the rituals lift you up to become boundless, universal and God-like, where distinctions of color, religion, ethnicity and race fade. You feel a sense of relief and freedom. Bhagavad Gita says, the whole world is one family, just as every religious text calls out loud to be one universe and one world.

Perhaps this is what Krishna meant, “Surrender to me”; and Jesus meant, “Follow me”; and the Quraan asks to “submit to the will of God.” Urging and goading us to become like God, to be free to be a part of the ocean and yet have out unique identity as a human, as a follower of one tradition or the other, live in one geographical zone or the other and born with one skin color or the other.

The other Shloka (verse) Shri DD Maini shares with me frequently is: Do your work, and don’t look for the fruit, Kaam kiye ja kiye ja — omething very reflective of Buddha’s teachings.

When I was a baby, I was dressed up as Krishna and a matka (clay pot) with makhan (butter) was placed in front me and apparently I did just like Sri Krishna did with the makhan: ate it all with bare hand. My pictures were in many homes, I have to go find them — after 60 years! That’s how old I am now.

I visited Brindavan, the birth place of Sri Krishna and it was very inspiring to think about the man who changed so many lives, and I was privileged to see that place where he was born. Sri Krishna is one my mentors and inspirations in life and I hope to learn a lot from reading about him.

Indeed, one of the best teachers in Bhagvad Gita in Dallas is Swami Nityananda Prabhu at the Hare Krishna Temple. He shares the pluralistic vision of the Sri Krishna. He and I reviewed the whole Bhagvad Gita on my radio show in about two years, every Thursday of the week, where we learned the wisdom of a religion, every beautiful religion, and every day in the morning.

In Brindavan, I bought several tapes but still could not find the original song. I was frustrated because I could not find the song by Rafi and Lata and instead had to be content with Sonu’s copies. After walking all over Brindavan, I found it.

Today, I am a Muslim because of Bhagvad Gita, and I have written extensively about it and have recorded on several videos, one of them in this video, forward it to 6:50 minutes. It is also mentioned somewhere in this video.

God in Quraan has said that he has sent a messenger to every nation, every community and tribe to restore righteousness in that society. I am pleased to pay my respects to one of my mentors Sri Krishna today. I continue to learn and emulate a fraction of wisdom from Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Nanak, in particular, and many in general, including Bahaullah, Ali, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Aga Khan, Rev. Moon and Obama. No confusion, I am a Muslim and I do not worship any one except the invisible, formless creative cosmic energy called God by different names.

Please go get yourselves a copy of Bhagvad Gita by Chinmaya Mission or the Hare Krishna temple and a copy of the Quran, translated by Mohammad Asad — and if you have the money to buy the Torah, Bible, Gurugranth Sahib, the Kitab al-Muqaddas and other holy books. it is a gift to yourselves to enrich with the spiritualiy. Read the books as God’s guidance for us to live in harmony, honoring the uniqueness of each other. All the books are pluralistic, have the mind set to see it.

Janmasthami Mubarak!
Happy Janmashtami

***Some of my favorite Krishna songs:

Muslims Condemn Blasphemy Charges Against Christian Girl in Pakistan

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 08/21/2012 04:16 pm at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/muslims-condemn-blasphemy-charges-against-pakistan-christian-girl_b_1815127

Muslims together condemn the arrest and imprisonment of a Christian girl, Rimsha Masih, in Pakistan on blasphemy charges.

The New York Times reported on Aug. 20:

The police jailed the girl, Rimsha Masih, and her mother on Friday after hundreds of Muslim protesters surrounded the police station here where they were being held, demanding that Ms. Masih face charges under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. A local cleric had said Ms. Masih had burned pages of the Noorani Qaida, a religious textbook used to teach the Koran to children.

(Noorani Qaida has nothing to do with Al-Qaida, it is simply means principles.)

We urge Muslims in Pakistan and around the world to focus on this particular topic and seek to abolish the blasphemy laws.

There is a way out to find lasting solutions to rid of the abusive practices by a few in the clergy group. These men, literate or illiterate, at least claim to follow Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) life examples; however, they don’t, and it is our immediate responsibility to pass on Prophet Muhammad’s practices to some of these men who pass judgments without any reference to the life of the Prophet. Screaming at them or pushing them to the corner is neither Jesus’ way nor Muhammad’s way.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is considered a blessing to the humanity and rightfully known as Rahmutul Aalameen, the mercy to mankind. It behooves Muslims to protect the integrity of that title and never commit an unmerciful act invoking his name.

There are innumerable examples of forbearance, forgiveness and kindness of the prophet (pbuh) toward those who insulted and even tried to harm him.

One of the most famous stories, often repeated, is about an old lady who threw trash on the prophet every time he passed in front of her door. One day, the trash was not thrown. Concerned, he asked the neighbors and found out that she was sick. He knocked on her door and offered help. Overwhelmed with kindness and love, she honored him by believing in his mission.

Once on a way to the city of Taif, the Prophet was pelted with rocks by miscreants, his associates wanted to retaliate and go beat up the bad boys. Even the arch angel Gabriel offered to crush them and bring relief to the situation. The prophet said no, and instead asked them to join him in forgiving and asked God to bless them with good will. The Prophet preached that the dearest human act to God is forgiveness.

He enjoined us that, “if any one eats a full meal when his neighbor is hungry or starving, then he is not from among us.” He never said “Muslim neighbor.” He loved humanity and asked Muslims to be role models of charity, kindness, concern and love to all.

What was the need for the Prophet to have endured such painful experiences? It was to guide humanity toward kindness and shape long term solutions for peaceful communities and the greater good of the society at large. He was committed to mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill. Indeed, he was the ultimate peace maker, the mercy to mankind.

As Muslims we need to keep his message of kindness alive and bring to fruition what he was all about: Rahmutul Aalameen. Let the mercy and kindness he taught become a blessing to the universe and continue to shower on humanity.

We appeal to the Ulema, thoughtful people and the Government of Pakistan to give life to the examples of the Prophet. Blasphemy has become a source of harassment and to a few who have nothing better to do than create chaos.

We ask the people of Pakistan to seriously debate the blasphemy laws. Islam is about free will and as Muslims we need to stand against any oppression towards any human being following in the footsteps of the prophet.

Mike Ghouse is president of the World Muslim Congress, a think tank and a forum of Muslims together building cohesive societies.

Some Muslims Don’t Get It: Freedom of Speech and the Legitimacy of Muslim Protests

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 09/21/2012 01:24 pm at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/freedom-of-speech-and-the-legitimacy-of-muslim-protests_b_1902427

The legitimacy of Muslim protests about the film “Innocence of Muslims” and the freedom of speech are major issues facing the world today. I am pleased to offer a summary of issues and pluralistic solutions.

It is not the Muslims, Jews or Christians who are bent on a collision course; it is a few bullies among us, who want to give it to the other, kill and get killed, all in the name of religion and freedom. It is sheer insanity as the actions are anathema to the values of religions. As a society, we must resist stereotyping any group of people.

The Muslims who murdered Ambassador Christopher Stevens and staff members were purportedly defending the name of Prophet Muhammad. But they have done the exact opposite of their intention: tarnished the name of the Prophet in the eyes of the few non-Muslims. However, the thoughtful people on either side rarely subscribe to such outbursts; indeed, the Muslim majority has unequivocally condemned this action and calls for punishment of the individuals who have resorted to taking the God-given life.

2012-09-21-Freedom.0f.Speech.MuslimProtests.Solutions.WorldMuslimCongress.jpg Not only Muslims, but the Christians, Jews, Hindus and others have also condemned the badly made trailer. I watched a small part of it, and it was too disgusting to merit watching the rest. I condemn the film and the intent of the film producer without any reserve. However, I understand his probable motivation, he saw how the Islamophobes raked in $42 million, and he thought he could have some too.

Legitimacy of the Protests

The bad news is there are indeed a few Muslims who sincerely believe in killing the person who insults the Prophet, though they sound like loonies, they are not. They are guided by the books, not the Quran, but the ones cooked up as supplementary books.

Hasan Mahmud, a member of the Advisory board of World Muslim Congress, an expert on shariah, cites the following books and statements that legitimize the battle cries to kill those who insult the Prophet. “As reported in Sahi Bukhari and Sahi Muslim, and in Sirat of Ibn Hisham and Ibn Ishaq pages 550, 551 and 675 Prophet killed people who mocked at the Quran and Prophet. Among them were Abu Afaq (120 years old), Asma Binte Marwan (a slave woman mother of five sons), Ibn Khatal’s two singing girls (one of who fled away) and Huwayrith Nuqaydh Wahb Qusayy.”

Mahmud states, “These reports are obviously false. Had those been correct then Prophet acted against the Quran which is impossible.” The Quran 4:140 (Asad), “And, indeed, He has enjoined upon you in this divine writ that whenever you hear people deny the truth of God’s messages and mock at them, you shall avoid their company until they begin to talk of other things — or else, verily, you will become like them. Behold, together with those who deny the truth God will gather in hell the hypocrites.”

Indeed, we are gathering the courage to question the misinterpretations carried out in the past, but are still frightened by the conservatives who are ready to hurl fatwa bombs toward those who make that attempt. At least the new generation of Muslims knows no fear, thanks to the Internet.

The basic sources of guidance for Muslims are Quran and sayings of the Prophet. If you cannot find an answer to an issue, you can do the mutual consultation, Ijma, as the Prophet called it. If we do that, some of those sayings will be erased from the supplementary books.

Quran is the word of God, and not a word has been changed since it was compiled, Muslims have guarded this exceptionally well through the system of memorizing and checking regularly against the original.

When it comes to Hadiths, the second most respected source of guidance, they were collected and compiled nearly 200 years after the Prophet. The first and most respected among them was Imam Bukhari. Thanks to him for examining authenticity of the source of the Hadiths and dropping them from 700,000 down to 7272 in nine volumes, that is a 99 percent rejection rate.

Muhammad Yunus, a thinker and a writer at New Age Islam, shares Imam Bukhari’s quote, “Why do people impose conditions which are not in Allah’s book … Allah’s conditions (as stated in Qur’an) are truth and more valid” (Sahih al-Bukhari, English translation by Mohsin Khan, New Delhi 1984, Acc. 364, 735/Vol.3).

Muslim, Bukhari’s immediate successor had this to say, “If we discuss about all those accounts which are held authentic (Sahih) before the learned, and suspect by a critical scholar — we would simply be tired (because they are so large in number)” (Sahih al-Muslim, extracted from the muqaddimah).

My personal contemplation is, if he had more time, he would have narrowed it down further and retained those Hadiths that would have reflected the character of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and most of the ones quoted above would have been removed.

The third source of guidance, rather misguidance comes from the Supplementary books written by men in the last few centuries, these men probably believed God was their property and not the Lord of the Universe as the Quran says. The Prophet is known as Mercy to the mankind, Rahmatul Aalameen, apparently these men did not believe in Quran or Prophet’s practices to do unmerciful harassment of minorities.

The men chanting death to the movie maker have replaced Quran with the supplementary books as their chief source of guidance. No amount of talking or quoting Quran will do any good at this instance, but there is hope.

Abrupt changes are difficult for anyone, no one, including you and I would change for others, so are they. Those few imams (clergy) and ulemas (scholars) will resist with all their will to abandon those supplementary books. Facts did not matter to our president and the right wingers, and it does not matter to Muslim right wingers either in the short run. However, the need to coexist will bring about the necessary changes through freedom and not impositions.

The change will be effective and sustainable if they believe that the Quran and the Prophet supersede the items they have in their supplementary book. When Muslim Ulema (scholars) debate the issue, and get the Imams to participate in the dialogue and produce the right supplementary books, the old books will be willingly replaced with the new for reference.

Is someone willing to invest in a conference and producing the amended book s to reflect the values of Quran and Prophet’s life examples? It can change the course of history.

There are many verses and examples, suffice it to quote a few. Quran 4:140 (Asad) “And, indeed, He has enjoined upon you in this divine writ that whenever you hear people deny the truth of God’s messages and mock at them, you shall avoid their company until they begin to talk of other things — or else, verily, you will become like them. Behold, together with those who deny the truth God will gather in hell the hypocrites.”

Muslims have failed, nay; a few among Muslims have failed Allah, Muhammad (pbuh) and Islam. In simple words, Quran 5:32 says killing one person is like killing the whole humanity and saving one life is like saving the whole humanity. Did those Muslims in Benghazi remembered that?

Once a man insulted the Prophet, and Prophet said, were you not an ambassador of another nation, I would have asked you to leave right now. Mistreating the embassies and ambassadors is a violation of Arab hospitality as well as Prophet’s words. Hasan Mahmud adds, “One of his three last advices while the Prophet was in his death bed was: ‘show respect to ambassadors of other nations as I did’” (Sahi Bukhari Vol. 4, 393).

“If you are unjust to a fellow being, Muslim or a non-Muslim, by God, on the Day of Judgment, I will stand against you and stand up with the victim.” That was a strong warning from the Prophet about crossing the lines of Justice.

Quran 5:8: “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is acquainted with what you do” (Al-Ma’edah 5:8).

Freedom of Speech

Now a few Muslims are hell bent on punishing the guy who made the movie, and it is embarrassing that a few Muslim rules are calling to pressure the United States Government instead of explaining the value of free speech to their people.

Freedom of Speech is understood in two different ways: One group believes that irresponsible statements must be controlled and censored by the government, whereas the other group believes in complete freedom of speech.

The entire world differs with us on the value of freedom of speech. It’s an American value and not necessarily a western or a Christian value. It is part of our psyche to hold the freedom of speech as one of the greatest values of our nation, whereas their psyche calls for punishment. Neither is a superior or inferior value to the follower of that value, it is part of them.

Freedom is an inherent value of all religions, without which no religion would have come into being, or would have flourished. Islam and Christianity are the biggest beneficiaries of that freedom. Indeed, it is the freedom of speech that has allowed Islam to flourish in Christian majority nations, and I wish Muslim majority nations reciprocate the same to Christians and others who are their minorities. A hallmark of great civilization is free speech and a two way values, live and let live.

Most Americans, including American Muslims have condemned the trailer and the idiot who made it; however, it is not easy to punish the guy in our system. We are who we are because of that freedom, and are willing to defend his right to the free expression.

Even the President of United States cannot do a thing about it, Google turned down his request to yank the film trailer off YouTube, and I hope the Muslim majority nations can appreciate the value we place on freedom, which is guaranteed in our constitution, a good solid enduring system of laws. So, it is not America, it was the individual who made that movie. He has a right to make that, and the others have the right not to see it.

Muslims nations do value freedom and accountability. One of the key values of Islam is responsibility; no one but the individual is responsible for his or her actions on the Day of Judgment, and Muslims are advised to leave the judgment and punishment to God alone.

In the last seven days, I have become an ambassador of American value in engaging with people from around the world in explaining the ultimate common good freedom of speech facilitates. I used the phrase “Freedom of expression ultimately triumphs” as a corollary to Mahatma Gandhi’s “truth ultimately triumphs.”

One of the most common challenges I encountered was the duplicity of practice in Europe. There is a punishment prescribed for questioning the Holocaust, but not for the sentiments of others, and most times that ends the conversation abruptly. We have to do better than that.

Muslim have a special role to play in the world, and not get entrenched in score keeping; they need to follow the model of the Prophet — an Amin, a trust worthy conflict mitigater and goodwill nurturer to build cohesive societies.

I urge the head of Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and our special envoy to the Muslim Nations to quickly gather the statements from major Imams in the area, and make a public declaration as a short term solution and save the destruction and ill-will. Indeed, the Mufti (chief clergy) of Saudi Arabia and the Brotherhood has issued statements that it is un-Islamic to do harm to people and property in the name of the Prophet. I wish they had reacted quickly, and thanks to the American Muslims for responding instantly with advice and condemnation.

To summarize, the short term solution is to pull the Muslim scholars together and issue a collective press release to protect and defend the guests of their nation. The long term solution would be, through consensus and free will, work on replacing the books that contravene Quran and the Sunnah.

Mike Ghouse heads the world Muslim Congress, a think tank and a discussion forum to nurture the pluralistic values embedded in Islam.

A Possible Commuter Threat From Anti-Muslim Subway Ads

Mike Ghouse September 24, 2020 Comments Off

This article was first Published on 10/10/2012 01:59 pm at – : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/commuter-threat-from-anti-muslim-subway-ads_b_1915725

Fox news had interviewed me on the topic, and I am glad they were able to show a few clips recently. 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-tat 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, 2,771 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 percent 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, thenNon-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 nuts know any difference?

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.