Ramadan For Non-Muslims

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Dr. Mike Ghouse

This article is 2669 words long and is complete and comprehensive. It is everything you always wanted to know about Ramadan. Ramadan is also known as Ramzan in South Asia and Hari Raya Pauso in Indonesia which has the largest Muslim population in the world. Indeed, about 50% of the world’s Muslims (800 million) live in South and Southeast Asia.

Whether you are an Atheist, Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Native American, Pagan, Shinto, Sikh, Wicca, Zoroastrian, or from any other tradition, you may feel a sense of connection with the spirit of Ramadan as you read through it.

There is a cause or a causer (Brahma) who created the universe to come into existence, sustain (Vishnu) and recycle (Shiva) it, and the word for that causer is “God” in different languages (or faiths). There (she/ it) cannot be different causers for the same universe. No matter how and what name you call upon him –he is one.

The physical aspect of the human journey from the sperm and an egg through death is programmed precisely. The formula is the same for all humans, and there is no such thing as a Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, or other genes.

When the universe came into being; the two products were Matter and Life. The matter functions precisely as designed, like the Sun, Jupiter, Earth, or the Moon playing their part. On the other hand, humans’ interactions are not pre-programmed; they have complete freedom, guidance (religion), and intelligence to create their balance to live securely and in relative harmony.

“Festivals of the World” is an educational series since 1993. Given the current situation in India, even beautiful festivals like Ramnvami and Hanuman Jayanthi have become violent, a segment of Hindus don’t get that Ramnavmi is celebrated to honor Shri Ram, the Maryada Purshottam, and Hanuman, a symbol of loyalty and goodness. The source of conflicts between us emanates from the fact that we don’t know each other; whatever we have learned about the others is harmful myths. The solution? When we live in the same street, communities, cities, and the same nation as neighbors, we might as well learn about each other. The best way to build cohesive societies is for its members to participate in festivities and commemorations of each other or at least understand each other’s joys and sorrows. Thus began the series “Festivals of the World” in 1993. You will find the essence of almost every major festival on our sites.

If the following article makes sense to you and if you have one of your own festivals here, and you would like us to continue with the series, we request you to donate to our work. After all, each one of us wants to live with the least conflicts and more security. https://centerforpluralism.com/donate/

Rituals are a part of every Religion

You may note that identical spiritual wisdom emerges in different parts of the world simultaneously. The best example is how a mother figures out what to do with her crying baby in the jungles of Amazon or Hollywood; she knows the child is hungry and needs to be fed.

Rituals are a part of our everyday life – when we get up in the morning, go to the office, have dinner, wear clothes, and go to the gym or visit a place of worship, we follow certain rituals. They are the milestones of our accomplishments in our lives.

They say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and I would say faith is in the heart of the believer, and every religion is dear to its believer. Religion is like a mother who is dear to each one of us.

Religions were established to create cohesive societies where each one of the members of the community feels secure about their faith, race, ethnicity, culture, or other uniqueness.  Religion is never the problem; it is the individual who doesn’t get his religion is the problem.

RAMADAN IN THE LIFE OF A MUSLIM

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar, and it begins with the Moon Sighting. Here comes the politics of Ramadan. One group insists that they have to see the Moon themselves, while the other accepts if someone else has seen it. In the United States, most Muslims go by Nasa’s calendar so they can plan the festivities. However, it is a joy to wait and watch for the pencil-thin Moon to appear in the sky. Parents place their kids on their shoulders, and kids get excited to watch that Moon from the top of their parent’s shoulders.  

Chandni Raat 
 
When one sees the Moon or hears an announcement, they dash to the marketplace to shop and celebrate. It was initially a South Asian tradition but has become universal. It is like shopping for Dussehra, Rosh Hashanah, Christmas, and other festivities.  

Special Ramadan Prayers 

Muslims observe diverse practices – Special Prayers called Taraweeh are prayed in the late evening, followed by nightly prayers called Isha. Taraweeh is usually performed in a congregation, generally a Mosque or a large hall. Most Muslims pray, 20 to 22 units of prayers; some pray fewer, and some don’t. They complete reciting 30 chapters of the Quran in 30 days (or 29).

The Night of the Power known as Laylat al Qadr

Laylat al Qadr is also known as Shab-e-Qadr and is considered one of the mighty nights during Ramadan. It was the night God first revealed the words of the Quran and concluded and completed it in the last ten days of Ramadan over 23 years.

Shia Muslims consider the 19th, 21st, or 23rd of Ramadan as the most critical nights, while the Sunnis and Ahmadiyya look up to the odd days in the third part of the month. 

A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MUSLIM (Times are approximate)
 
 4:00 AM

The entire family rises in the morning, and together they prepare the food for Sahri/ Suhoor – the meal before fasting. 

My family had a routine; I would chop the onions, my sister would flatten the dough to make Rotis (flatbread), one brother would wash the dishes, and the others would sit around and talk. My mother would sit by the stove (Chula), and my father would make sure all the ingredients were available. It is a family affair and brings families closer.  I am sure, it is nostalgic to most Muslims.

Food habits vary from region to region; we made Rotis (Flatbread) with Subzi and Keema (minced meat) and Rice with Daal (Lentil) or Goat Curry and capped it off with a good cup of tea or lassi. 

The cut-off time to stop eating is about 30 minutes before sunrise or around 5 AM- depending from time zone to time zone.

5:30 AM

It is time to pray! It is called “Fajr Prayer” the first of the 5 daily prayers. We pray together as a family or go to the mosque if it were near.  

6:00 AM
Sleep for a few hours (Ramadan only) and go to work. A few choose to study the Quran in a group called Halaqa. This is a month of reflection and connection with family members.
 
1:30 PM

The prayer in the afternoon called “Zohar” is followed by the one in the late afternoon”Asr”. One can pray individually, but a congregational prayer is a good option. Remember, it is about bringing the communities together. The Shia Muslims usually combine two prayers and the Sunnis and Ahmadi do it one by one.
 
6:30 PM – IFTAAR

Iftar is breaking day-long fast.

Sunset – some follow the times prescribed for the evening, and some keep looking at the sky (if it is a clear sky) to see the sunset. I like this ritual, life does not have to be functional or mechanical, it has to be a joy.

A prayer call (Azan) goes out at sunset; while the Sunnis and Ahmadi Muslims take the first bite of the date fruit and sip some water, the Shias will wait until after the prayer.

Since the observers have not had anything to drink or eat for the whole day, they will start with fruits and light snacks and let the stomach get ready for the entire meal after the evening (Maghrib-4th of the 5) prayers. It is a thoughtful process.

Did I tell you Muslims abstain from everything from water, food, ill-talk, ill-thought and ill-conversation, and every temptation that comes their way? Of course, I did. Fasting is a learning process to bring self-discipline. It is suitable for all, particularly for procrastinators, smokers, alcoholics, or any addictions or unpleasant habits. 

Iftar Parties 

Muslims invite their non-Muslim friends to join them for the Iftar parties. The parties are community-building events. An entire range of foods is available to eat. Indian Muslims offer vegetarian and non-veg foods (Hindu and Jain) to honor their guests. Originally, the Iftar was to help the poor people join the community and be a part of it, but like all other religions, it is for friends, politicians, and community members, you’ll find very few poor people. I wish it changes, they deserve to eat a good meal.

In a given Mosque, you will find Muslims from at least 20 to 30 countries, and as such, the variety of dishes increases by number. Biryani (Vegetarian for Hindu and Jain friends, Goat Biryani for all others) Brityani is the King of South Asian cuisine, and Naan, Keema, Korma, Rooh Afza, Sweet Lassi, Mango Lassi, and Gulab Jamun are on the plates. One universal item consumed worldwide is the dessert made out of vermicelli; the South Asians call it Seviyaan, and the Shir Khurma is very popular it has chipped Almonds, Raisins, crushed cashew nuts, and other dry fruits. I love to drink in a teacup. If you have not tried it, try it once.

Politicians and corporations also organize the Iftar parties. The tradition was started by President Bill Clinton and carried through President Obama, and we hope Biden will re-start it. There is no religious tone to it, it is purely a social and community affair.

LAST DAY OF RAMADAN  

On the evening of the 28th or 29th day of Ramadan, everyone is out looking for that Pencil thin Moon again; once an announcement comes out, celebrations begin. Chand Raat (Moon Night) opens up, and people go shopping; it is like shopping on the last day of Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, or other festivities. It is a good tradition of excitement and joy for successfully observing the entire month of Ramadan dutifully. 

Children and adults paint Mehendi (henna) on their hands with various designs. They look forward to it. Typically, new clothes are worn on Eid (pronounced Eed – like an eel with a D) as our Hindu friends wear on Diwali. 

Zakat

Every Muslim takes out 2.5% of his/her wealth and passes it on to the needy. Most people pay in advance, but as usual, some pay on the last day, like we file our IRS tax returns on April 15th. Zakat is one of the five obligatory duties of a Muslim.. 

Eid- the big celebration

Everyone in the family gets up in the morning, and it is the dawn of a new era. Eat breakfast and go for the mass or congregational prayers, also known as Jamaat. Since a Mosque cannot accommodate all the people in the area, they rent convention halls or big banquet halls.

 Dallas, Texas is my hometown and the community rented the Convention Center, where some 20,000 people (some ten years ago) gathered for the congregational prayers. Yelahanka, my town, and perhaps in other places, they all go to the cemetery grounds, where they have a dedicated place made for Namaz (prayers). Generally, the Eid committee arranges the long mats to be spread on the floor, and some people carry their own personal prayer rugs. 

It is the day to celebrate and includes forgiving each other and starting afresh by hugging three times. My interpretation of the three hugs is “forgive me,” “I forgive you,” and “Let us forgive each other” and begin the relationship afresh.

The Jains say “Michami Dukkadam,” meaning, let’s forgive each other and start the new year with a clean slate.

In the late ’70s, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Asrani, Mehmood, and other Bollywood actors participated in Eid prayers in Yelahanka, my town of birth, a suburb of Bangalore. Comedian Mehmood lived a mile or two from the grounds and brought those movie stars to the prayers in his tractor. The movie stars enjoyed the different ways one can worship the creator.

Praying for the deceased

It’s like Memorial Day, almost every Muslim visits the cemetery to pray for their loved one buried there. You will always find yourself connected to them. You can pray for them from anywhere, and on this day of joy, you feel their absence even more. Every time I have been to the cemetery, I pray for my parents, family members, and friends, and invariably I cry. I love the Muslim universal prayer, which seeks forgiveness for all humanity and is recited when you depart from the cemetery. It is a good feeling to reflect on life and death, it makes you a better human.

EIDI

It is a gift you generally present to kids and family members as we do during Christmas, Diwali, and other holidays. Traditionally the head of the household, man or woman, presents the gifts to the family members; it is usually cash to spend. During my childhood, my father gave me one Anna (like 25 Paise), my friend and I dashed to the store behind our home and drank Orange Soda which was half Anna. That was the greatest pleasure we had.

Eid Parties 

It is usually an open house for families, friends, and community members to visit for lunch. A typical family visits at least three homes and of course the practices vary from Muslim to Muslim. Back in India, and I am sure in other nations, we walked from home to home, but in the US, we drive to at least three homes.
 
Exceptions: 

Fasting is exempt for individuals with diabetes and other difficulties, pregnant women, and even people traveling. If you miss it, you have the option to make it up.

 Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that God has no need for the hunger or thirst of someone who hurts others, violates their dignity, or usurps their rights. The fasting of the limbs must match the fasting of the stomach. The eyes, ears, tongue, hands, and feet all have their respective fasts to undergo. For example, the tongue’s temptations — lies, backbiting, slander, vulgarity, and senseless argumentation — must be curbed to maintain the integrity of the fast.

The consciousness of behavior and vigilance over action are the most profound dimensions of fasting: the heart’s fasting focuses on the attachment to the divine. Ramadan becomes a source of peace and solace, just as Christmas, Rosh Hashana, or Dussehra go beyond the rituals to bring forth kindness, charity, and caring.

True fasting is self-purification. From this comes a rich inner life that brings about values such as justice, generosity, patience, kindness, forgiveness, mercy, and empathy — values that are indispensable for the community’s success.

Knowing about hunger is different from knowing it. Empathy is not an intellectual equation; it is a human experience. Our hardness of heart often springs from our distance from the human condition of others. The poor, sick, disenfranchised, oppressed — we rarely walk a mile in their shoes, not even a few steps. “Rest assured,” cautioned one teacher, “if you do not taste what it feels like to be hungry, you will not care for those who are.”

Ramadan will come and go with such stealth; what do we value, and why? We can change our habits and customs, including obsessive behavior, in the face of a higher calling.

Fasting imparts a sense of what it means to be truly human. Its observance reflects its universality in Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian, and other faiths. For fasting to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims and must extend to forging a common humanity with others. 

Let the spirit of Ramadan develop an understanding and respect for each one of God’s creations – that is, all of humanity.

The most common greetings of the Ramadan festival are Ramadan Mubarak, Eid Mubarak, and Ramadan Kareem, and then there is variation depending on the language you speak.

Picture’s courtesy – Boston Globe and the Atlantic

Dr. Mike Ghouse is Social Scientist, Public Speaker, thinker, author, newsmaker, and an Interfaith Wedding Officiant. He is deeply committed to Pluralism in Religion, Politics, Societies, Human rights, and religious freedom. He is the founder and president of the Center for Pluralism, Director at the World Muslim Congress, a think tank, and a wedding officiant at Interfaith Marriages. His new book American Muslim Agenda is available on Amazon, and “Standing up for others” and “Madame President” are coming soon. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His mission is to open people’s hearts and minds toward fellow humans.  More about him at TheGhouseDiary.com

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Good Hindus Must Speak Up

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Swara Bhaskar

Hinduism is not in danger. Hinduism has been around for nearly10,000 years and it will continue to be there, rightfully it is called the Sanatana Dharma – the eternal righteous way of living. It is like a rock, and no Modi or Bhagwat can mess with it, nor should we allow it. Don’t believe the nonsense spread by the BJP/RSS,

India was ruled by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and others. Still to this day, Hindus comprise 80% of the total population and will remain around the same percentage for a long time to come due to the correction of the mistreatment of Dalits and Tribals through our constitution. However, the correction needs to come on a societal level, if not, you will see conversions continue to take place. Thanks to Dr. Ambedkar for uplifting the dignity of Dalits and putting India on the map of civilized nations.

No human wants to be treated anything less, the humiliation Dalits and Tribals have endured is difficult to grasp. the Hindu society (not Hinduism) has mistreated them for thousands of years. At one time, India was probably 100% Hindu, then many of them converted to Buddhism (through Ashoka), Jainism, Christianity, and Islam as they found dignity among those religions.

Rana Ayub wrote, “Your Honour, the constitution invoked in me a pride for the nation, it invoked in me a sense of duty for my own countrymen and the desire to study journalism and to practice it in the way that it chooses the oppressed over the oppressor.” Her op-ed is worth reading and is listed below. and she speaks for me as well, and that is why I spend so much time appealing to the Good Hindus and Good Muslims, as my duty to Ma Bharat.

Good people always speak up when they see things going in the wrong direction. Good Muslims spoke out against Bin Laden, Alqaeda, ISIS, and other gangs and took off the false label on their religion. Good Jews have spoken out against the Apartheid policies of the Israeli government. Good Christians spoke out against the white supremacists.

However, Good Buddhists (Myanmar, Sri Lanka), Good Atheists (China), and Good Hindus have not done their part on a large scale.

Hindus must speak up if not their religion will get a bad name like the religion of terror and that will put all Hindus in the same boat with the Taliban.

In India, there are several good Hindu men and women speaking up, but not enough to build momentum against a ruthless government. In the United States, there is only one organization – Hindus for Human Rights that has taken a bold stance against terrorists from among Hindus.* A handful of individuals have also taken a stand and spoken up.

If the version of Hindu Rashtra is about Manu Smriti – then good Hindus, Intellectual Hindus, Women, Muslims, Dalits, and Christians will continue to feel insecure. Hindu Rashtra may be a temporary situation, as I know Good Hindus will awake, rise and correct the course.

As a good Hindu, have you spoken against what is happening in India? The call for Genocide of Muslims by the Hindu religious leaders, the harassment of Muslim girls on college campuses, imposing what one can eat, preventing small street vendors from selling their products for their livelihood, and bulldozing their homes (over 70) in daylight even against the orders from the Supreme Court.

Hindus have a moral obligation to speak up to save India’s cohesiveness, they are an overwhelming majority in India and they can save or let India go down in the history with bad governance. We believe, even among the indoctrinated Hindus with extremist RSS Ideology, only a fraction of them are terrorizers as were ISIS. We need to pull the potentially good Hindus from the RSS cesspool into the larger fold of Good Hindus. Can we let a few of them decide what the Indian ethos should be?

Each of us wants our motherland to be a safe and secure home for every Indian. The dream of harmony and prosperity in India will return back after mitigating the dangerous RSS ideology. I hope one of these days the community of nations will ask Modi and RSS to renounce violence. Such ideologies have seen their days, Nazis, ISIS, Alqaedas, and now RSS. Once the BJP is weakened by the Good Hindus, our motherland will return to its glory and prosperity. If religion is not on your mind, you would focus on producing goods and services for the common good of all Indians. Everyone will see the achche din (good times). The more people are working the greater the GDP.

Good Hindus, unfortunately, have a cavalier attitude toward what is going on in the nation. As long as no one attacks them, they care less. But if they let this continue, the RSS guys will get them today or tomorrow, and the Hindus will come to regret it once it hurts them and their families.

The country is going down the tube on every economic, political, democratic, pluralistic, and cohesiveness indicator, and those who speak up to save the nation, the Bhakts call them names. The truth is no Indian, no Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Hindu or the other is Anti-Indian, Anti-Hinduism, or Anti-Hindu. It is the propaganda spread by Modi and Shah for political gains and Bhakts swallow it up without a question.

We must consider the following scenario; it is very harsh but possible.

Based on the trends, predictions for dire consequences are real. If Good Hindus remain silent, they will be responsible for harming our motherland, but more importantly themselves. There is a saying by Edmund Burke which is repeated by others something to the effect, Evil exists not because of evil people, but because good people do nothing about it.

The majority of Hindus are still good people. However, the dangerous development is Modi’s fringe has risen to about 25% of the net voters. Thanks to a few Good Hindus for speaking out. You must join them and shut the bad Hindus from taking over the country.

Under the current administration, India is becoming a rogue state, and the future generations of Indians will become ruthless thugs roaming the streets and threatening everyone. No Indian will live in peace if the inept, Modi administration continues to rule.

First, they (BJP/RSS) came for Muslims, then the Christians were targeted, Dalits have always been oppressed and mistreated, and now, they are going after the Sikhs. If the Jains, and Buddhists, believe that no one will touch them, they are wrong. They are next, they were wiped out of power a millennium ago.  

Some of my fellow Indians don’t believe in the dire consequences, and they have been wrong thus far and will continue to be mistaken in times to come. 

Why would Good Hindus regret it?

1. Hinduism will be branded as a religion of terror, a religion that is 5000 years old and gave so much to the world and does not deserve it. Then the good Hindus don’t deserve to be Hindus either. To undo the branding as a religion of terror will take years.

2. The US and other European nations will pass laws restricting the terrorists and racists from among Hindus entering their soil. Unfortunately, Good Hindus will bear the brunt along with the terrorist Hindus. It is a reality, and the Evangelicals will take it up for beating up on Christians.

3. The next generation would destroy India and its trade with other nations, bringing utter poverty to the country that it once witnessed in 1947. The Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, and other nations will pick up the slack in the gulf countries if the Arab mobs resort to lynching them in the Middle East and the Hindus start fleeing.

4. KCR, the Telangana Chief Minister said it aptly: Why do the Global corporations invest in India and not Pakistan? His answer was political stability. India will soon face a civil war, causing millions to die in the mayhem; no one will be safe. The Global corporations are aware of India’s political instability, unreliability, and impending Genocide. They will pull out of India, foreign direct investment will dry up causing massive unemployment. The losers will be millions of men and women in the IT sector.

5. Before 2024 approaches, the Muslims and Christians who have endured harassment, lynching, deprivation of their livelihoods, putting up with barging in, and bulldozing their homes will run out of patience. They will resort to violence to defend their families and livelihood. They don’t have any other option.

6. If Jains and Buddhists believe that they are safe, they are wrong. The supremacist ideology had destroyed their flourishing kingdoms once. Whatever wealth they have accumulated now will be gone. They had better speak out and not kiss Modi’s heinie. No one means anything to him, he is all about power and dictating others.

7. Violence won’t be easy to stop. A few Muslims and Christians will not bear the pain anymore and will announce retaliation in self-defense. The question is not how many Muslims and Christians will be dead, but how many Hindus would Modi want dead. I hope the good Hindus will wake up and take the nation’s reins and stop the impending Genocide of fellow Indians. 

* I was able to get Stuart Varney of Fox News to change the phrase from “Muslim Terrorists” to “Terrorists from among Muslims”. Sean Hannity said he will, but did not keep his word. As a result, I have opposed the phrase Hindu Terrorists and wrote extensively to distinguish between Hindutva – a terrorist ideology, and Hinduism and Hindus – a religion of love for fellow humans.

I have been urging good Hindus to speak up and am pleased to share the articles and video links below.

LINKS TO VIDEOS & ARTICLES
We will add more links

Videos:
1. Muslims and Hindus together – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGn3O74vXFA
2. Good Hindus Are Speaking Up – https://youtu.be/7U2kL46e0Qg
3. Good Hindus with Hindu Sena are speaking up – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGuL_4rVB64 4.Good Hindus Speaking Out – https://youtu.be/BZxBGOfeTng 5. Good Hindus Must Speak up https://youtu.be/JRHIWkBnkiA

Other Articles
1. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/letters-to-editor/letters-to-the-editor-hindus-against-hate-7883429/
2. https://thewire.in/communalism/hindutva-politics-violence-minorities
3. https://centerforpluralism.com/poisoning-your-kids/
4. https://centerforpluralism.com/hindutva-is-not-hinduism/
5. https://www.deccanherald.com/state/karnataka-districts/amid-communal-tensions-newly-wed-hindu-youth-hosts-iftar-party-at-mosque-in-dakshina-kannada-1104558.html
6. https://ranaayyub.substack.com/p/your-honour?s=r

The Road Not Taken By The Media

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Mike Ghouse

http://interjunction.org/article/the-road-not-taken/

Could the Iraq war have been prevented had the American media asked the right questions? How do conservative media commentators frame the actions of different religious communities? Does the media pay due attention to history? Mike Ghouse reflects on the political impact of mainstream media decisions.

INCREASINGLY FOCUSED ON competitiveness and profits, the mainstream American media is under pressure for its own survival. Indeed, it is at a critical juncture of having to choose between fulfilling its societal responsibility or succumbing to the political compulsions of our times. As a society we need to evaluate the importance of the media in our American system of governance. Does it still play the crucial role the founding fathers of our nation had envisioned for it?

Thomas Jefferson made a strong statement about the role of the media in a democracy when he noted, “If it were left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Describing the role of the press, George A. Krimsky, the former head of news for the Associated Press’ World Services and co-author of Hold the Press, writes, “In the wake of America’s successful revolution, it was decided there should indeed be government, but only if it were accountable to the people. The people, in turn, could only hold the government accountable if they knew what it was doing and could intercede as necessary, using their ballot, for example. This role of public ‘watchdog’ was thus assumed by a citizen press, and as a consequence, the government in the United States has been kept out of the news business.”

Could one say that the government in the United States was kept out of the news business in the past, but not any more?

In the recent past, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams told host Howard Kurtz that the Bush administration had “the right” to pay a columnist to tout its views in his column. As this article notes, Kurtz spoke of the “Pentagon planting positive stories, in some cases paying for positive stories in Iraqi newspapers.” The administration also paid journalist Armstrong Williams to promote its No Child Left Behind education policy. The Government Accountability Office, however, determined that the Bush Administration was wrong in promoting its educational policy through Armstrong’s column.

The essence of democracy is the ability to question everything in fairness and without worrying about censure against such inquiry. How many journalists from the mainstream media have failed this test in recent times? Let us examine a few situations and see the specific failures of the American media in each case.

The qualities of a commander-in-chief

As we speak, the airwaves are saturated with coverage of the presidential nominees in both parties. Why aren’t journalists questioning the rhetoric from McCain and Clinton that they are fit to be the commander-in-chief of the nation? We are a democracy, and it is not essential that our government should be run by a military expert. That was not the intent of our system.

I do not expect my president to be an expert in nuclear, biological, botanical, or other sciences and certainly not a military expert. I want a judicious person who can call on real experts as the situation demands and make the right decision in each case.

Journalists can still ask the candidates this question. Will they?

Precedent and patterns in the Rev. Wright controversy

The second week of March 2008 witnessed relentless coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermon, “God Damn America,” in the American media. It was all one could hear on the cable channels. The pundits were suggesting that this might indicate the end of presidential candiate Barack Obama’s political aspirations, given that Wright was Obama’s pastor.

In the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ralph Luker pointed out that “the quotation comes not from Wright, but from the Rev Martin Luther King Jr’s first address to the Montgomery Improvement Association on December 5, 1955. Both African-American preachers have understood prophetic biblical preaching far better than those who feign shock at and condemn Wright’s words.”

“Obama’s Minister ‘Hates America’ But When My Father Said the Same Sort of Things He Became a Hero To The Republicans” wrote Frank Schaeffer in the OpEdNews. Schaeffer quoted his father, religious right leader, Francis Schaeffer, expressing similar sentiments. “Take Dad’s words” Frank Schaeffer went on to say, “and put them in the mouth of Obama’s preacher (or in the mouth of any black American preacher) and people would be accusing that preacher of treason. Yet, when we the white Religious Right denounced America, the white conservative Americans and top political leaders, called our words ‘godly’ and ‘prophetic’ and a ‘call to repentance.’”

The mainstream media largely failed to investigate if there was a precedent, if some one else had used this kind of language, if the reaction had been different, and why that might have been the case.

The burning of the US embassy in Kosovo

While driving around on Friday, February 22 earlier this year, I listened to every news channel. Our embassy was torched in Kosovo by radicals on that day. The media did not describe the violence as religiously motivated nor name any religious community as the culprit. I believe that was the right approach on the part of the media.

But I wondered: had those radicals been Muslims, what kind of demonization would mainstream conservative commentators like O’Reilly, Hannity, Beck, and Limbaugh have engaged in?

The war in Iraq

As the Bill Moyers Journal’s special edition program, “Buying the War,” compellingly demonstrated, the mainstream American media uncritically accepted the administration’s claims about Saddam Hussein’s ambition to acquire nuclear weapons and his links to Al-Qaeda. The five chapter report speaks for itself.

Had the media stood their ground, perhaps our administration would not have engaged in policies that have resulted in the deaths of over half a million Iraqis as per the figures provided by the medical journal Lancet estimate, 4,000 of our men and women, and a cost of anywhere from 1 to 2 trillion dollars.

Was their inability to ask the right questions of the administration not a colossal blunder on the part of the mainstream media?

Mike Ghouse is a writer and activist based in Dallas. He runs the blogs Foundation for Pluralism and World Muslim Congress.

Hinduism In 100 Words Or Less

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The purpose of life is four-fold in the Hindu tradition; to achieve Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Dharma means living righteously and acting morally and ethically throughout one’s life. Artha means honest work to live a good life, and the Kama is about fulfilling desires and passion in one’s life. Finally, it is Moksha – freedom from the cycle of life, and to me, it means living freely without tensions and conflicts – that is what paradise is all about.

Compiled by the Mike Ghouse at the Center for Pluralism www.CenterforPluralism.com

All Religions Are Beautiful

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I teach and do workshops on Pluralism – respecting the otherness of the other in religion, politics, culture, and the workplace. In our next program, we will invite June and Sidiki to speak about the right way they have learned to respect the otherness of the other.

This week is about the essence of Christianity and Islam, next week, it will be about Hinduism and Christianity.

Since June and Sidiki come from two different faith backgrounds, I am pleased to share a few notes:

Sidiki grew up in an Islamic tradition where the emphasis is placed on human dignity, equality, and caring for each other.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. In his last sermon on March 6, 632 AD had said, “All humankind is from Adam and Eve, and the summary is all are equal, and no one is more privileged than the other. Thomas Jefferson incorporated similar ideal 1144 years later in our immortal declaration of independence, that all men are created equal.

Islam has a huge role in his life; it made him a good, charitable, and caring person that June adores. Prayer has taught him the importance of self-care, punctuality, and humility.

Do you know humility builds relationships, and arrogance kills them? Fasting has taught him patience and understanding of what it is like to be hungry when millions of people out there have no food. Zakat is another Islamic tradition that has taught him compassion and helped him respect June immensely.

Indeed, a religion makes one a good human being and a great citizen. I am so happy to hear how Sidiki will be a great husband to June. Indeed, that is all parents want, their daughter and sons to lead a happy life- Right?

June grew up in Christian tradition, which has taught her forgiveness, repentance, and unconditional love. She is raised with a belief in the Holy Spirit, the Church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Jesus taught us how to love our fellow humans, as we all are God’s Children.
He taught us forgiveness. Each of us has complicated relationships with family members, friends, customers, clients, and community members. Take the time to forgive and seek forgiveness to start life with a clean slate from that day forward.

Forgiving is a practical thing to restore harmony among people, and that is what God wants. It brings clarity to the foggy mind, and you feel liberated.

When you forgive someone, you are not doing a favor to the other, but you are cleaning up yourselves. Forgiveness is a beautiful Christian value that contributes to the well-being of individuals, family members, communities, and nations.

June and Sidiki, you have two beautiful religious traditions, and it will bring completeness and fulfillment to your relationships. It will bring you happiness, which is what parents want – for their offspring to be happy.

Let me say this, your Marriage is very patriotic – you are creating one nation under God, and that is all God wants – harmony and peace amongst his creation.

Mike Ghouse – Wedding Officiant – www.InterfaithMarriages.org
President, Center for Pluralism www.CenterforPluralism.com
Persona site – www.TheGhouseDiary.com

A Tribute To Bilqees Edhi

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Bilqees passed away this month; she is one of the individuals I admire and want to write a tribute to here; here is the short version. She ran a center along with her husband Edhi; they fed the hungry, gave a drink to the thirsty, received strangers in her center, clothed the naked, and took care of the sick. 

One heartwarming story was that she picked up a girl from the street and did not know her name or her whereabouts. She was lost in a religious event in Pakistan, and her parents had given up looking for her. Later, they discovered that her parents must have been Hindus as she identified with specific deities. Then they raised the girl with a Hindu name and Hindu tradition, and upon reaching adulthood, they delivered her to her parents in India. Such a beautiful story of Pluralism – respecting the otherness of the others. 

Here is the story of another woman who Bilqees Edhi raised.

By Rabia Bibi Osman

Twenty-eight years ago, I was abandoned in a baby carriage at the #EdhiOrphanage located in Karachi, Pakistan. You found me; you named me after your mother Rabia Bano, forged my identity, and gave me a home. I am a somebody, have an identity, and have loving parents to call my own. You fought for women’s rights; you were an activist, a philanthropist, a rebel for a good cause. You taught me the power of woman, always having an unwavering sense of self, and being unapologetically ambitious. Because of you today.

Because of you, a little Pakistani girl orphaned at birth dared to dream. Because of you, I am an independent woman with graduate-level education and a place in the world to call my own. You gave me the opportunity. You awarded me a chance to dream, and you presented me with freedom.

To the world, you were Bilquis Edhi, but to me, you were Bari Amma (Elder mother). I have two loving parents who made sure I had everything a little girl could have ever asked for, thanks to you. I went to a great high school, got scholarships throughout college, did an internship in NYS Assembly, Bronx District Attorney’s Office, U.S Congress, and U.S Senate, and went to law school to pursue a master’s in Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Law. All because of you.

For those reading about Bilquis Edhi for the first time, I want you to know who she was to me and all of Pakistan. #BilquisEdhi was a hero; she was a mother to so many orphans (like me) and a powerhouse for humanity.

Losing Bare Abbu (#AbdulSattarEdhi) was tough, but your loss made me feel orphaned again today.

My name is Rabia Bibi Osman,

and I will forever be a proud #Edhi baby…”

—Rabia B. O.

Senior Privacy & Compliance Analyst at Nike. 

May you continue to shine and succeed in life and be a beacon of hope and inspiration.

# # #

Indian American’s Interfaith Marriages Imitative Honored With Award

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by Huma Nisar

Interfaith Marriages, a Washington-based wedding officiant service, led by a prominent Indian American Muslim Mike Ghouse, has been recognized as a winner of the 2022 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award.

WeddingWire is a global marketplace connecting engaged couples with local wedding professionals, and its Couples’ Choice Awards® recognizes local wedding professionals who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism.

Dr. Mike Ghouse, an author, and head of the Center for Pluralism is a member of the American Marriage Ministries, specializing in marrying couples of different religions. As an advocate of interfaith harmony and inclusion, Ghouse believes in curating a meaningful experience for all couples who are committed to one another.

“Marriage is the most important milestone of your love relationship; indeed, it expresses a commitment to the connection between you two,” he said in an interview.

But interfaith marriages are sometimes a contentious issue among South Asian families, especially in view of the family and societal traditions that immigrants cherish but suddenly find in conflict with what their children, who grow up in a multicultural environment, the one they experience and follow.

Ghouse, however, views things from a holistic perspective, especially because they relate to the lives of couples.

“When you take the bold step to become one regardless of your origins, faiths, races, cultures, and ethnicities, you must be appreciated and applauded. You are setting a new standard on how to live in harmony despite your inherent differences. You are practicing genuine pluralism, i.e., respecting the otherness of the other and accepting the given (God/Nature) uniqueness.”

Perhaps, the most important decision for immigrant parents to make is to reconcile their ideal of molding children into their image with the aspirations of their children.

Mike Ghouse acknowledges the tension that arises and says he understands how parents and families from South Asia feel but there is the other side to the picture.

“I know many Desi (natives of India and Pakistan) American parents go through a difficult time when it comes to the marriage of their children.  Unlike the young men and women in India where parents arrange their marriages, in the US, the children find their own mates.”

But, Ghouse, says reconciling traditions with new realities is something that families should be ready for.

“In the United States, we have an open environment socially, the children go to school together and fall in love with their classmates or meet them at the workplace and fall in love with them and want to marry them.

“What is good about our kids is they don’t have filters like religion, nationality, race, or ethnicity, they rightfully fall in love and look forward to marrying their sweetheart.”

As a facilitator of a positive intercultural interface, Ghouse takes an open approach to ceremonies. He blends each partner’s traditions, whether they are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or non-religious.

“This is to help couples and everyone in the family feel that each and every individual’s cultural traditions and religious beliefs are sacred and demand respect, that is the way towards mutual acceptance and a happy union.”

Mike Ghouse’s Interfaith Marriage organization has officiated nearly 200 weddings for people of different faiths and nationalities.

Describing the outcome of such marriages he says several of them went smoothly, but some of the parents were adamant that they will not accept a Hindu boy, Muslim girl, or a Jewish, Christian, or Sikh spouse.

“This happens even with single or divorced adults in their 40’s and 50’s. But in every case, we had a fruitful conversation, and finally, everything comes together for the happiness of their children.”

Ghouse cites a Pew Research survey, saying two in five “Desi” Americans marry outside their faith.

“In some cases, parents on both sides, make subtle to blatant efforts to ask the bride or the groom to convert to their faith. They pursue this relentlessly no matter how many times their kids say No to them, then finally they beg to at least have their name change to suit their faith.

“But I have also seen people who accept things with an open heart.”

Ghouse says once a marriage solemnizes two souls, it is the duty of their friends and families to help the couple. Otherwise, tensions add to difficulties for everyone.

“Marriage is between two individuals, and their families and friends ought to be supporters and cheerleaders to celebrate and complete their joy. When we officiate a wedding, we work with the couples and the parents to ensure the wedding goes smoothly and everyone is on the same page, that is to cheer the couple.”

Ghouse honored by Religion Communication Council

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Ghouse was honored by RCC 13 years ago on April 16, 2009

RELIGION COMMUNICATORS COUNCIL HONORS THREE DALLASITES.

Mike Ghouse accepts the recognition with humility.
Mike’s 5 Minutes Speech at the event
I want to thank the Religion Communicators council and Ms. Slater in whose husband’s name this recognition was initiated in 1929. I appreciate my friends for their support; particularly I want to thank Bill and Norma Matthews, Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk and John Shore with their presence. And I am pleased to congratulate the other two individuals who are recognized today;
– Religion Communicator of the year goes to a church or a religious organization or a person in such an organization effectively communicating faith values. (This year’s awardee is Larry James, Central Dallas Ministries)

– Communicator of the year is given to a secular/media organization or a person in such an organization that effectively communicates faith values. (This year’s awardee is Mike Ghouse)

– Lifetime Communicator of the year is presented to a person whose lifetime career has effectively communicated faith values. (This year’s awardee is John Lovelace) http://www.rcc-dfw.org/awards.html

Thank ya’ll again.

Living a Safe and Peaceful life is my responsibility, your responsibility and every one’s responsibility.

You cannot be safe as an individual or a nation when others around are not. It becomes our duty to consciously create better societies to live and let live.

Communication is the key for a successful relationship between family members, friends, associates, co-workers, and even an event like this. It is important to communicate the right message be it your business or world peace or religion.

So what is our role as religious communicators? I believe it is to mitigate the conflicts and nurture goodwill for peaceful co-existence of every one, indeed it is the un-stated purpose of religion, any religion; it is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill among different peoples and nations.

Life and matter is about balance; every thing that came out of the big bang theory or through intentional creation seeks its own balance. Everything be it matter or life, has a built-in mechanism to seeks its own balance.

When it comes to matter, there is something that keeps the planets circumambulating around the Sun, that there is something that keeps the stars hung in a place. There is something that keeps the earth have its own precise balance. They are all put on a trajectory, they don’t have to think or work for the balance. Do we have a precise word to describe that ‘something’, for the sake of convenience and for a greater acceptance, can we call that ‘something’ a God?

Unlike the matter, human life was not put on a trajectory; we were not put on a plan to circumambulate around something, or hung in one place. We were given the freedom to create our own balance. Whether we believe in God or not, we still seek that balance.

Friends, God loves his creation just as each one of us loves what we create, be it the food we cook, the clothes we wear, the paintings we paint or sculptures we sculpt.

It is the love of the creator that gave each one of us, each community, each nation and each tribe a “formula” to live in peace within ourselves and with what surround us. He, she or it communicated that formula through the spiritual masters in the form of scriptures like Torah, Bible, Quran, Bhagvad Gita, Avesta and other scriptures including the oral traditions. Please remember, God has reached to every one of us and has offered that formula – to seek a balance for ourselves and a balance for what surrounds us; life and the environment.

God is about love, kindness and justice.

Hate is one of the few sources of disrupting peace in a society and it is our duty to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it. We have an obligation to maintain a balance in the society for our own individual good.

In your solitude, it is you who personally feels the anxiety, apprehension, fears or the joys of life for the actions you take in your life. Your Pastor, Pundit, Rabbi, Imam or Clergy are not responsible for it, even if they were; it is you who has to live with yourselves, so finding the truth is your own responsibility.

Prophet Muhammad once said to his associates that if some one uploads you with words that will cause you to have ill-will, malice, hate, anger towards other beings, you have to investigate before you believe, you should do your best to live a regret free life, you should not hate or pre-judge negatively any one without finding the truth.

We lose that balance when we let hate mongers, hate sermons and hate lectures creep in our societies, much of it is product of insecure men and it breeds arrogance. Arrogance that my way of life is superior or my religion is the only way to heaven. Arrogance is the source of most of the conflicts and much of the evil.

I am a Muslim and Islam works for me, just as Christianity works for you, Judaism works for you, Hinduism or other faiths work for you. And further I am humbled to say that my religion is not superior to others, that claim would be a sheer arrogance. There is a beautiful chapter in Qur’aan about it. http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html

As religious communicators we need to explore and communicate that God has not signed up a deal with any religion behind our back, he just cannot do that. Let’s honor every tradition and faith whether they believe in one, multiple or no God. The essence of the creator and causer of the universe does not change with our beliefs.

Let’s learn to accept the otherness of other and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Thank you.Pictures from the event are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157616859531207/show/

BIO OF MIKE GHOUSEMike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer.

He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism, interfaith, Islam, India, Multiculturism, Terrorism, Peace, Politics and Civic issues. He co-chairs the center for interfaith inquiry of the Memnosyne Foundation and presides the Foundation for Pluralism. He is the president of World Muslim Congress a think tank with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world and vice-Versa.

His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Web sites and Blogs listed at his personal web site http://www.mikeghouse.net/ . He has authored over 600 articles on Pluralism, interfaith, Islam, India and peace.

His life mission is to open people’s hearts and minds towards fellow beings by mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill. He is a peace maker and an educator with two Master degrees and working on his doctorate in Psychology. He has two books on the horizon ; Basic Islam- everything you want to know about Islam and Pluralism, a text book on Pluralism 101. Mike is a Neighborhood Commissioner at the City of Carrollton, and a Board Member of Dallas Peace Center. He is an Ambassador for Peace for the Universal Peace Federation and a member of the International leadership council. He has initiated the annual events like the Annual Thanksgiving Celebrations in its 12th year, Unity Day USA in its 5th year, Holocaust and Genocides, event just finished its 2nd Annual event. Mike Ghouse Cricket Gold cup and several other initiatives were taken. He was Past President of Indian Creek HOA and North Texas Cricket Association and has been a member of several Boards.

Mike is a Dallasite for three decades and Carrollton is his home town.

Armed Anti-Muslim Protests: An Opportunity For Dialogue?

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Many US Muslims are wary as armed anti-radical Islam protests were planned at over a dozen US mosques. Other Muslims see such protests as a rare opportunity to engage with skeptical Americans.

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)Anti-muslim and pro-Muslim protesters gather outside the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix, Friday, May 29, 2015. About 500 protesters gathered outside the Phoenix mosque on Friday as police kept two groups sparring about Islam far apart from each other.

By Patrik Jonsson Staff writer

Courtesy https://www.csmonitor.com/ Article Link : https://bit.ly/37nPL5n

Mosques in up to 20 US cities prepared for the arrival of armed “anti-mosque and pro-America” protesters on Saturday, raising concerns about potential violence amid heightened tensions over the growth of Islam in the US.

But at least one US Muslim saw the planned protests – dubbed the Global Rally for Humanity – as a “big opportunity” to build solidarity with Americans who have legitimate questions about Islam and Muslim culture.

Instead of “hiding,” US Muslims should openly engage with protesters at the mosques, even serve them water and “kosher hot dogs,” writes Mike Ghouse, a well-known moderate Muslim thinker and writer, in the Illinois-based The Arab Daily News.

Writing that immigrants to the US have always faced a “battery of tests” as they attempt to assimilate,  Mr. Ghouse points out that “inaction, isolation, retraction, silo-ing ourselves or hiding behind walls are not options for us; it simply prolongs the transition process and may inadvertently serve to intensify the sense of distrust that exists among a few.”

He adds: “This is a big opportunity and we have to do it right to bring about the needed change.”

The planned anti-mosque protests are the largest and most aggressive iteration yet of a new strategy by self-described “American patriots” who say they’re concerned about the march of radical Islam into the heartland. 

The protests have been organized through Facebook, some of which have restricted access. But it appears that protests will at least take place in Atlanta, Charleston, S.C., Dearborn, Ellicott City, Md., Florence, Ky., Louisville, Ky., Medford, Ore., Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Ocala, Fla.

In a Facebook post, organizer Jon Ritzheimer, an ex-Marine who has emerged as the leader of the movement, encouraged attendees to come armed “in case [protesters] come under that much anticipated attack.”

“I want warriors by my side,” Mr. Ritzheimer added.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, anti-Muslim rhetoric has increased in the US, exacerbated by political rhetoric ahead of a presidential election and the refugee crisis in Europe. The tensions come as the number of mosques in the US has increased from 1,200 in 2000 to more than 2,100 today, according to Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

“We’ve never had this many events targeting mosques in this kind of national way,” Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in a conference call last week. “This is widespread in a way that these things have not been before.”

Across the US, Muslims have been debating how to respond to the protests.

“In one of their emails, they said they were going to bring 3,000 people to Washington, D.C., in front of our mosque, and they instructed them to bring their weapons,” Ibrahim Mumin, director of community relations for Masjid Muhammad mosque, told USA Today. “Well, we consider that kind of a threat.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country’s largest Muslim advocacy organization, urged Muslim leaders to ask for police presence and to take video of protesters.

Other officials urged Muslims to, in essence, ignore the protests.

“As we have learned from experience in the past, the best way for the average person in our community to handle these incidents is to ignore them,” Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly wrote Friday on the city’s website. “The demonstration is not really a forum for honest dialogue, and anything that intensifies emotions will only intensify conflict.

In his commentary for Arab Daily News, Mr. Ghouse disagreed with the Dearborn mayor. He pointed out other recent protests, including one in May outside a Phoenix mosque, where Muslims engaged in what he called a productive dialogue with Ritzheimer.

“While it may be tempting, as American Muslims, we should avoid viewing anybody as our enemy out to get us,” he writes. “While asserting our rights as American citizens, we will be well served by acknowledging that many citizens have questions about our faith and our books. As fellow Americans we should boldly address these questions and allay their fears. We have to come together as Americans and solve our problems together.”

Pamela Geller And Mike Ghouse Shouting Match

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By Josh Feldman

Courtesy ttps://www.mediaite.com/ Article Link : https://bit.ly/3OurKKP

Sean Hannity tonight brought attention to Egyptians taking to the streets to protest the regime of President Mohammed Morsi. Pamela Geller and Mike Ghouse got into an angry, heated back-and-forth when Geller confronted Ghouse for claiming her New York subway anti-jihad ads were responsible for someone losing their life in the subway. She shouted at him, “How dare you accuse me of murder!”

After slamming President Obama for helping the Egyptian government, Hannity touted how he said from the very beginning that instituting a president with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood would turn out badly for Egypt. Ghouse said that it’s wrong for the U.S. to be aiding Egypt, and agreed that Obama should not be offering his support for the Morsi regime. He called Morsi a “bully,” Hannity called him an “Islamic extremist” (though Ghouse disputed the necessity of including the “Islamic” part).

Geller noted how Morsi fully believes that Obama will ultimately not side with the protestors, saying the American president is consistently “on the side of jihadic Islamic supremacist regimes” from Libya to Egypt. Geller also explained that she was banned from England for her outspokenness on these issues. She then confronted Ghouse about accusing her and her anti-jihad ads of causing the death of someone in the subway system, demanding an apology from him.

Ghouse refused to apologize, noting that last year he warned of the “dangers of those ads,” but Geller insisted that the ads said nothing about Islam, just about jihad and “savages.” Ghouse shot back, “You owe an apology to the people who you are hurting and saying bad things about it.” Geller countered, “You’re saying the truth hurts people, don’t you see how irrational your logic is?” She shouted, “How dare you accuse me of murder!”

Watch the video below, courtesy of Fox News: