2022 Wedding Wire Couples’ Choice Awards

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Courtesy https://www.theindianpanorama Article Link : https://bit.ly/37505z4

  • 14th Annual Couples’ Choice Awards Honor the Top Wedding Vendors Nationwide and Abroad.
  • Interfaith Marriages Named Winner in 2022 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards®

TIP Bureau

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Interfaith Marriages was announced as a winner of the 2022 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards®, an accolade representing the top wedding professionals across the board in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism reviewed by couples on WeddingWire, a leading wedding vendor marketplace. To determine these distinguished wedding professionals, WeddingWire analyzed reviews within its Vendor Directory across more than 20 service categories—from venues and caterers to florists and photographers—to find the most- and highest-rated vendors of the year. The winners exhibit superior professionalism, responsiveness, service and quality when interacting with the millions of couples who turn to WeddingWire to help with their wedding planning process each month.

Wedding professionals who win WeddingWire Couple’s Choice Awards® are members of WeddingPro, a leading B2B wedding brand. A marketplace and community for wedding professionals, WeddingPro connects businesses with more than 13 million unique monthly visitors who are planning weddings on WeddingWire and The Knot, as well as with hundreds of thousands of pros in the industry. Through its online marketplaces, educational programs and community-building events, WeddingPro is dedicated to helping wedding professionals build relationships with couples and pros that grow their businesses. Interfaith Marriages is honored to be one of the top vendors in Officiant in Washington on WeddingWire. F  visit www.weddingwire.com/couples-choice-awards

About Interfaith Marriages

Interfaith Marriages is a wedding officiant service based in Washington, DC. Dr. Mike Ghouse, the company’s owner, is a member of the American Marriage Ministries who specializes in marrying couples of different religions. He adopts an open approach to creating ceremonies by blending each partner’s traditions, whether they are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or non-religious. Mike believes in curating a meaningful experience for all couples who are committed to one another.

Services Offered

Interfaith Marriages is dedicated to curating memorable nuptials that celebrate the love shared between two PRESS RELEASE partners. Mike’s process begins with a consultation where he can learn about the couple and their story, religious backgrounds, and vision for their ceremony. He is happy to incorporate special readings, blessings, or traditions into the nuptials, or create something completely unique. Before the wedding day, the future spouses can finalize any details they would like to include in their service.

Mike Ghouse says: “Marriage is the most important milestone of your love relationship; indeed, it expresses a commitment to the connection between you two. 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.

 Marriage is a union of two individuals for happiness and harmonious living.

“Every living organism has a built-in GPS that brings two individuals together, and from a religious perspective, it is the creator who puts love between two individuals.

“I am blessed to have officiated secular and religious ceremonies incorporating both the couple’s traditions with their respective input and final approval. Whether it is Jewish-Christian, Hindu-Christian, Bahai-Jewish, Hindu Jewish, Atheist-Jain, or other combinations, the bride and groom and their families feel elated and enjoy the sense of marriage in full.

“As an Indian American, it has been my pleasure to have officiated weddings amongst Hindus, Christians, and Muslims in various combinations. We can customize the wedding with the bride and groom’s input, including their family traditions.”

Congratulations to Interfaith Marriages for winning the award, and we decided to interview the winner and what is behind it. Interfaith marriages are becoming common, people from different faiths are marrying each other, and they are finding it difficult to find clergy to officiate the wedding, as they insist on converting the other. Given this situation, we found it interesting that there are organizations that are officiating such weddings.

We sat down with Dr. Mike Ghouse, the wedding officiant with InterfaithMarriages.org, and had this conversation.

Dr. Mike Ghouse, wedding officiant with Interfaith Marriages.org

 How do you get the parents to agree to get their kids married without converting?

Ghouse responded, “As a Pluralist, I believe all religions are beautiful and are designed to create secure societies for every living being. The idea of converting the other assumes that the other’s faith is somehow less than yours, and that is wrong. No faith is superior to the other, each faith does its work for its believer. We talk about the essence of both their faiths and when the parents see the essence is the same but rituals are different, they lean towards the idea of interfaith marriage and we go from there.”

What is your most rewarding wedding?

“The most joyous wedding was in Dallas, Texas, where a Christian father disowned his son for wanting to marry a Hindu girl, he was adamant that the girl convert and the girl did not want to convert. The father had refused to see his son for three months and I gave him a call, gradually we were mitigating his no-way stance to a possibility. After two weeks of conversation, I casually mentioned to him that I will be invoking the name of Jesus at the start of the ceremony and closing it in the name of Jesus. He could not believe it and asked me if I really meant it and I said, I did. I invited him to the wedding, he came, and did not want to come inside, but was peeking from the door. When I closed the ceremony, in the name of Jesus, may you be blessed?” He dashed in the door, gave me a hug, and then hugs his son and the new daughter-in-law. They really started celebrating. I felt so happy. However, they did not pay the honorarium, nor did they pay for the food I had arranged for them.”

Keep up the good work of uniting and bringing happiness into the lives of people. We are all cheerleaders for you. Dr. Mike Ghouse.

(Dr.Mike Ghouse is President of Center For Pluralism and lives in Washington, D.C.   He can be reached at (202) 290-3560 (office) and  (214) 325-1916 (cell)

More about Dr. Ghoue at www.CenterforPluralism.com  )

Thank you 

Mike Ghouse, President Center for pluralism
https://centerforpluralism.com Washington DC(214) 325-1916

Happy Ramnvami – Birth Celebrations of Shri Ram

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HAPPY RAMNVAMI 

Ramnvami is the birth celebration of Shri Rama, the Hindu king who set the high standards of morality in governance, accountability, truth, and integrity- his rule was called Ram Rajya. In the Hindu tradition, he is an avatar (representation) of Vishnu, the energy that sustains the world; the other powers are Shiva, which brings closure, and Brahma, who originates life.  

It’s a dream of many Hindus for the return of Ram Rajya, the governance of justice, fairness, and truth. As a Muslim, I revere Rama and what he stood for. When you hear the story of Moses, Buddha, Rama, Krishna, Prophet Muhammad, Nanak, Mahavira, and other souls, we can see the commonalities in the life of all the great spiritual masters – they lived for creating common good in the society. They worked where justice prevailed for every human being, and everyone was treated with dignity. The story is the same, the greatness is the same, and I honor them all. 

The day is not far when all of us on the planet will learn about each other, see the beauty and essence of each tradition, and possibly celebrate and commemorate. Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of the otherness of others, thus creating a cohesive, enjoyable world for us. Please do share this with your friends.

“Festivals of the World” is an educational series by Mike Ghouse that has been active since 1993. When we live in the same communities 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 understand each other’s joys and sorrows. 

Happy Ramnvami: Ram does not belong to Hindus; his message belongs to all of humanity.

Full story at: https://centerforpluralism.com/happy-ramnvami-birth-celebration-of-lord-rama/

Festivals of the world – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vAwvoqz01I

Mike Ghouse
www.CenterforPluralism.com
www.TheGhouseDiary.com


Happy Easter | He Has Risen

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Easters have come and gone; has he risen yet within us? I hope and pray that each of us will let Christ rise and shine through us so that he can bring about a change that we are all yearning for in a world where all of God’s children are respected and honored. Happy Easter!

It was a blessing to know Christ, visit his birthplace in Bethlehem, and get Baptised in River Jordan in the name of the everyday God. Reflecting on Mount Beatitude was peaceful. Experiencing walking on Via Dela Rosa (where he walked with the cross) gave me serious goosebumps. And I also prayed at the spot where he was buried. It was a transformational experience for me. Jesus came alive within me. He is one of my mentors, and I do my best to follow his teachings, care for fellow humans, and forgive and seek forgiveness. 

As a part of learning and teaching with the Center for Pluralism, I chose to experience different faith traditions. 

You can count on seeing a posting on social media about the essence of each significant festival of most religions. When we live as neighbors, we might as well learn about each other. The best way to build cohesive societies is for its members to understand each other’s sorrows and joys and festivities and commemorations. Wouldn’t it be nice to know a bit about your neighbor’s festival and perhaps invite them to your celebrations to start safe neighborhoods by understanding each other? Every human and every religious group celebrates something or the other in their way, each one is different, but the essence is the same; celebrations and commemorations. I have been writing about the meaning of significant festivities and commemorations of all religions.

Full story at:  

  1. A Muslim’s Easter –https://centerforpluralism.com/a-muslims-easter/
  2. The gift of Easter to humanity – https://centerforpluralism.com/the-gift-of-easter-to-humanity/

Mike Ghouse | CenterforPluralism.com | WorldMuslimCongress.org | InterfaithMarriages.org | TheGhouseDiary.com 

Blood Libel – Exposing Fake Moderate Islamist Michael Ghouse

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By Freedom Outpost

Laura Ingraham filled in for Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly recently. In one of the segments, she had on Islamic apologist and fake moderate Michael Ghouse on to discuss Muslim outrage over an FBI wanted poster that depicted the world’s most wanted terrorists. Muslims were angry because the terrorists were all Muslim – as if it’s the FBI’s fault that the world’s most wanted terrorists are Muslim.

In defending this Muslim outrage over the truth being told about jihad terrorists, Ghouse blamed … me. Talk about a random and insane segue. Laura Ingraham let Mike Ghouse slander me by blaming me for the death of a person who was killed by a deranged woman, Erika Menendez, in the New York subway system several months ago. Ingraham let this outrageous calumny stand unchallenged. I find this appalling and inexcusable, and am unwilling to acquiesce silently to being blamed for a murder with which neither I nor my work had anything to do.

First off, my ads were not even up in the subway when the murder Ghouse was referring to happened. It had been months since any of my ads had been up. And even if they had been, how does that make me responsible? This murderess stated most emphatically what her motive was: the jihad terror attack of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed 3,000 Americans. She never mentioned my ads, of course. So why aren’t Ghouse and his fellow Islamic supremacists blaming jihad? Al-Qaida? There have been over 21,000 deadly Islamic attacks since 9/11, each one with the imprimatur of a Muslim cleric, each one citing the Quran and Hadith. Why don’t they ever make that very real connection? Apparently, they share al-Qaida’s ideology and goals, and they are trying to use this senseless murder to silence critics of genocide, ethnic cleansing and anti-humanism.

Secondly, the subway murder was a copycat killing of a previous subway shove murder by a devout Muslim who went to mosque every day. This deranged woman also said that she had been beating people up since that day. A retired battalion chief for the New York City Fire Department recounted not long after the subway murder that Erika Menendez had attacked him outside his home back in 2003. During that attack, Menendez was raving not about 9/11, but about other things – and the firefighter was not a Muslim. Clearly Menendez is simply insane, not driven by “Islamophobia.”

In the interests of journalistic fairness, I asked that Bill O’Reilly allow me to rebut Ghouse’s slander at the earliest opportunity. I contacted his producer and Laura Ingraham. Yet despite my requests for rebuttal time or even an on-air correction, O’Reilly and Ingraham let Ghouse’s slander stand.

These Lies Must Be Challenged, For That Is How Public Opinion Is Made.

And so as it happened, I was invited to be on the “Hannity” show Monday evening to discuss the catastrophic consequences in Egypt of Obama’s anti-freedom foreign policy. We also discussed the ridiculous banning of my colleague Robert Spencer and me from entering Great Britain (support our fight here). And lo and behold, my poorly equipped debating partner was none other than Michael Ghouse.

Ghouse said of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood President Morsi: “I would not call him Islamic. He’s an extremist bad guy. What has Islam got to do with it?” (Tina Turner he’s not.) Ghouse and his fellow “moderates” know that Islam has everything to do with it. Morsi imposed a Shariah constitution on Egypt. The objective of the Muslim Brotherhood is to install a caliphate and impose Shariah all over the world. Isn’t Ghouse afraid that lightning will strike him right in his chair when he tells such incredible whoppers?

I also took the opportunity to call him out on his blood libel against me on O’Reilly.

Ghouse at first denied that he had accused me of murder, saying: “I’m not accusing her.” But then he contradicted himself: “Her posters cause danger to the people traveling in subway trains, and, in fact, there was a guy who got killed for mistaken identity.”

So I asked him: “My ads said, ‘in any war between the civilized man and the savage, you support the civilized man. Defeat jihad. Support Israel.’ Are you supporting jihad? Is that what you’re saying?”

Ghouse responded: “I’m not supporting jihad.” Ha! Then he said: “You owe an apology to the people who you are hurting and saying bad things about it.”

To that I said: “You’re saying the truth hurts people. Don’t you see how irrational your logic is? How dare you accuse me of murder!”

But this is what the left and the Islamic supremacists do: They relentless demonize their foes, trying to destroy them and clear away all obstacles to the jihad’s advance. That’s their goal. Jihadists can kill thousands in the cause of Islam and the media, the left and political elites are OK with that – but some nut does something nuts and I am responsible? That’s the war we are in.

The fact is that Ghouse said he didn’t support jihad. If that’s true, then he and all “moderates” would be standing with us and supporting our ads in defense of freedom.

A Muslim And Jewish Call For Shalom, Salaam, Peace In Jerusalem, Israel, And Palestine

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May 13, 2021; 2 Sivan, 5781; 1 Shawwal, 1442 

On the occasion of the Islamic Holy Day of Eid and as we approach the Jewish Holy Day of Shavuot,  the Muslim and Jewish communities must both deplore the violence between Israel and Palestine and note the disproportionate response of the state of Israel, beginning with the attack on the Al Aqsa mosque on Laylat al Qadr, one of the holiest nights of the year. 

Some Israeli extremists continue to advocate for Israeli seizure and destruction of this holy site. Though their numbers are small, it is as if small numbers of people were known to be planning for destruction on Easter Sunday of St. Peter’s  in Vatican City, or on Yom Kippur of the Western Wall so sacred to Jews, or on July 4  of  the US Capitol together with the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, even if no one were to be killed – most unlikely in all four cases. 

Given the intense devotion to this place,  one of the most important sites in the Muslim world, and given the constant anxiety caused by the known threats to it, the actual attack was extremely provocative. We must question the motivation, the timing, and the necessity.  

And we mourn the loss of lives, all sacred. We plead with our co-religionists in Israel and Palestine, and world-wide, to return to the shared vision of Jerusalem as a Holy City, one that reflects vision, light, hope, compassion and peace, and reflects the profound dignity and value of all humans as Images of the Holy One. 

We ask both governmental leaders and private citizens, those with power and those in the street, to do everything in their power to de-escalate the conflict and further calm, to protect life and limb, restore the safety of all,  and prevent any damage to the sacred sites of all. 

Injustices and inequalities feed this conflict. Though we deplore the rockets from Gaza as we deplore the Israeli bombing, the most immediate crisis in Jerusalem has its roots in the continuing military occupation and siege of lands that comprise the necessary aspirations of the Palestinian people  —  East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza – and the constant forcible pressure to replace Palestinian residents of these lands with settlers who often act oppressively, with  military and police protection.There may be several different ways to end this unjust occupation and to protect the safety of all who live in the region. So long as it continues, crisis after crisis, bloodshed after bloodshed, will be its consequences. 

For there can be no true security without justice. Nor will there be peace without justice, only  pacification based on force. Though many feel that the US has not maintained its neutrality as an honest broker in this ongoing conflict, President Biden should far more energetically promote a peace process both in Israel and Palestine, meanwhile responding to the concerns of the international community. The US Government has  so far seemed unable or unwilling to confront the settlement movement that has played such a destabilizing role in Israel as well as Palestine.  

Our own spiritual and religious communities throughout the world are deeply affected by what our communities in Israel and Palestine do. The vision of the ancient Hebrew Prophets and of the Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon them all, of a world of peace and justice – and the shape of a Jewish People and Islam struggling to carry out those visions today – will be deeply compromised by injustice and violence committed in their names. 

Blessed be the peacemakers. On this occasion, we affirm that our shared religious and moral values require an embrace of peace and justice, especially when our views and perspectives differ. The other alternative is oppression and conflict without end.

Mike Mohamed Ghouse

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Mike Mohamed Ghouse is an Indian-American social scientist and writer. Ghouse’s primary interests include religious pluralism in the United States, human rights, and U.S. foreign policy. Currently based in Washington D.C., he is also the director of the Center for Pluralism.

Early life

Mike Ghouse was born in Yelahanka, Bengaluru, India. He was born to Khairun Nisa and M. Abdul Rahman, an Indian freedom fighter and the mayor of the town of Yelahanka, Karnataka during the early 1950s.

After obtaining his master’s degree from Bangalore University in 1973, Ghouse immigrated to the United States in 1980.

He then graduated with an MBA from the University of Dallas in 1984, and has also obtained an honorary D.D. (Doctor in Divinity) from Trinity International University in Dallas.

Career

Mike Ghouse is currently the director of the Center for Pluralism (also known as the Foundation for Pluralism), as well as the America Together Foundation. As a peace and human rights activist, he has advocated for the peaceful co-existence of Islam with other world religions and spoken out against both Islamophobia and religious intolerance within the Muslim community.

Ghouse has spoken at various international forums and events, such as the Council of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, and the Middle East Peace Initiative in Jerusalem, Israel. He has also served as a commissioner for the municipal government of Carrollton, Texas.

In addition, Mike Ghouse has organized interfaith weddings in the United States, and is an activist for peace religious co-existence among Muslims and adherents of different religions.

Ghouse is also a supporter of moderate Islam. He frequently organizes and attends interfaith dialogue events.

Media

Ghouse has appeared as a guest in talk shows hosted by Sean Hannity, Stuart Varney, Laura Ingraham, and many other TV hosts and journalists. He has also written dozens of articles for various newspapers and magazines.

Selected books

  • 2019. American Muslim Agenda: Muslims Together Building a Cohesive America ISBN 978-1984575821
  • 2012. Islam: Silencing the Critics

See also

References

  1. ^ “Dr. Mike Mohamed Ghouse Dedicated both to Islam and to ‘the Other’ | New Age islam Edit Bureau”. www.newageislam.com.
  2. ^ “Mike Ghouse | HuffPost”. www.huffpost.com.
  3. ^ Ghouse, Mike. “My Father Abdul Rahman – The Ghouse Diary”.
  4. ^ “Mike Mohamed Ghouse: A Pluralist, and an Outstanding Interfaith and Peace Activist”. October 21, 2016.
  5. ^ “eSpeakers”. www.espeakers.com.
  6. ^ “Mike Mohamed Ghouse Officiant Profile”. American Marriage Ministries.
  7. ^ Ghouse, Mike Mohamed (April 24, 2020). “The rituals of Ramadan”.
  8. ^ “‘Hannity’ Investigation: Radical Muslims on the March”. Fox News. March 24, 2015.
  9. ^ “Dr. Mike Ghouse with Stuart Varney on Fox News about Anti-ISIS demonstration” – via www.youtube.com.
  10. ^ “June 2013 – The Ghouse Diary”.
  11. ^ “Islam: Silencing the Critics”. Goodreads.

External links

Retrieved from “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Mohamed_Ghouse&oldid=1074733295“

Muslims Request Kerala Judge Kalam Pasha To Consider Apologizing For His Miscommunications.

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April 8, 2022 – Washington DC — Muslims are concerned about the orders of Justice Kalam Pasha to interfere in the cultural dance show by renowned Mohiniyattam dancer Dr. Neena Prasad from performing. 

“Pasha had allegedly directed the event organizers to “reduce the volume of the show.” Instead, the Police intervention caused the dancer and her troupe to abruptly wind up the program, which evoked widespread civil society and lawyers’ protests. It was, apparently, the high-handedness of the police.

Pasha showed his intolerance to the loud noise, which (the noise) is common in India no matter where you go. He should consider apologizing for the miscommunications, and the police need to apologize as well. 

“According to the reports, Pasha, who resides near Government Moyan Lower Primary School in Palakkad town, claimed that Neena Prasad’s Mohiniyattam show was scheduled to be held around 08:30 PM on Saturday was a nuisance to him and forced the organizers to stop the show.” 

Following the incident, Dr. Prasad said, “This was the bitterest experience of my dance career. It was a humiliating experience for me and the fellow artistes who mounted the stage with high hopes after more than two years of hibernation”.

Mike Ghouse,  

World Muslim Congress

References: 

Kerala: Judge Kalam Pasha stops renowned Mohiniyattam dancer Dr Neena Prasad from performing, humiliates her

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/thiruvananthapuram/kerala-days-after-halting-ace-dancers-show-judge-says-pained-false-allegations-7836438/

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, author, community consultant, pluralist, activist, newsmaker, and interfaith wedding officiant. Mike is deeply committed to Pluralism in Religion, Politics, Societies, and the workplace. He is an activist for Human Rights and freedom.  He has dedicated his life to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions to the media and the policymakers on issues of the day. Everything about him is at www.TheGhousediary.com  

Happy Doctor’s – Thank You Doctors

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I wish all the Doctors a very Happy Doctor’s day. I am grateful to every Doctor who attended to his/her patients wholeheartedly, out of love for fellow humans’ lives.  Someone from your family and friends’ circle was taken care of by some doctor, and it is time to thank them.

Muslims and Jains have a universal prayer that they pray for every human being, and I would like you to share such a blessing from your faith tradition.

Gratitude is one of the essential elements in human life, and it restores and sustains one’s equilibrium in life.  Like most of you, there is not a day in my life that I am not grateful to that invisible, unimaginable creator, and I thank him/her/ it every day. 

Recently my son was in an accident, and thanks to the Plano Medical City Doctors, Nurses, and the techs for taking care of him, God bless them, and I am grateful to my daughter-in-law for being there for him every minute of the day.

In June 2008, we invited the Doctors, Nurses, and Techs who cared for my late wife Najma for nearly nine months to celebrate her spirit of volunteerism and to appreciate them. I must acknowledge Dr. Ram Rao, a UT Dallas professor, who inspired me to celebrate, following him in celebrating the death of his wife, Dr. Kalpana Rao, whom I called Akka – my sister.

I am pleased to share a few names that I recall and am grateful for; Dr. Sultan Choudhary, Dr. Jalil Khan, Dr. Basheer Ahmed, Dr. Amer Shakeel, Dr. Yamin Khan, Dr. Amanullah Khan, Dr. Pervaz Rahman, and many more. I am also grateful to Dr. Amer Sulaiman, Dr. Jarrah, Dr. Harbans Lal, Dr. Nauman Anwar, Dr. Lisa Martin, Dr. Dominque Raj, Marilyn Rizavi, Dr. Shailendra Sharma, Dr, and Drs. Hakki, who attended to me, thank you all.   

Here are some of the pictures from the celebration.

While my wife was in and out of the hospital, I kept a diary with all the details, including the names of Doctors, Nurses, Techs, medicines, and all.  I regret, someone took it from the hospital, and I lost all the records. But I am thankful to all of them.

100+ Pictures https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/albums/72157683543969933

Happy Doctor’s Day.

Mike Ghouse

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, author, community consultant, pluralist, activist, newsmaker, and interfaith wedding officiant. Mike is deeply committed to Pluralism in Religion, Politics, Societies, and the workplace. He is an activist for Human Rights and freedom.  He has dedicated his life to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions to the media and the policymakers on issues of the day. Everything about him is at www.TheGhousediary.com  

Countering Love Jihad

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A Person of Indian origin floats Interfaith Marriages.

While India is regressing by passing laws against Interfaith Marriages by the fanatics, the United States is progressing in respecting the wishes of adults they marry. 

The American system trusts adults to make their own decisions. In contrast, the patriarchial fanatics of India do not trust Hindu women to make their own decisions, as if they are mentally disabled. It is so disrespectful to the women of India. 

Citing a Pew survey, two in five Desi Americans marry outside their faith, marrying a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Sikh, or even hard-core atheist. Dr. Ghouse asserts that a few parents have expressed frustrations like, “I raised my girl with good religious education. She was observant of all the rituals and traditions we followed, and I cannot believe she chose to go with this guy from another faith.”

The more we are united, the lesser the friction between the peoples and the greater the prosperity in the long haul.

https://www.counterview.net/2022/03/countering-love-jihad-person-of-indian.html 

Countering Love Jihad? Person of Indian origin in US floats NGO Interfaith Marriages

By Our Representative 
In an email alert to Counterview, a senior Washington DC-based activist has said that recent trends suggest, when India is regressing, the diaspora in the US is fast progressing ahead with having interfaith marriages. In the long haul, the more we are united, the lesser the friction between the peoples and greater the prosperity, he believes.
According to Dr Mike Ghouse, President, Centre for Pluralism, “Unlike the young men and women in India where parents arrange their marriages, in the US, the children find their own mates”, adding, “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 them.”

A person of Indian origin, Dr Ghouse said, “Back in our home countries, parents establish the criterion to select your spouse, and you check them off to find the spouse that fits the criteria. One of the shameful criteria is what kind of dowry she will bring, and what kind of financial status the guy has, is the person from the same caste or religion, or ethnicity.”

Claims Dr Ghouse, the American young men and women of South Asian origin “are independent, and unlike their parents, they are open-minded, and have no barriers between them and another person. The question of religion does not arise with them, but it becomes an issue with the parents.”

Pointing out that he has floated an organization called Interfaith Marriages, which has “taken up the role of officiating interfaith single-faith weddings making it easy for the parents and the bride and groom”, Dr Ghouse, who volunteers as interfaith marriage officiant, says, “In last decade I have officiated nearly 200 weddings from people of different faiths and nationalities, several of them went smoothly.”

The organization has been floated amidst the Sangh Parivar in India has been campaigning against what it calls Love Jihad, alleging Muslim boys seek to allegedly lure Hindu girls into marriage. Several states have promulgated laws seeking to restrict this type of allurement.

Admitting that some of the parents in the US are also adamant that they will not accept a Hindu boy, Muslim girl or a Jewish, Christian or a Sikh spouse, he says, “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.”

Citing a Pew survey, which says that two in five Desi Americans marry outside their faith, that is marrying with a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Sikh, or the other that includes even hard-core atheists, Dr Ghouse asserts, a few parents have expressed frustrations like, “I raised my girl with good religious education, she was observant of all the rituals and tradition we followed, and I cannot believe she chose to go with this guy from another faith.”

He adds, “The 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. A few of them yield to such demand, provided there is no record of the temporary name anywhere, lest their family members and their friend back in India make a ruckus about it.”

“When a couple is deeply committed to marrying, they go ahead and get married any way but sorely miss out on the ceremony. Over the years, I have seen too many couples miss out on the joy of that additional sense of completeness that comes with a religious tone in the ceremony”, he says.
He underlines, “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.”

Thank you. 

Mike Ghouse, President
www.CenterforPluralism.com
Office (202) 290-3560
Cell (214) 325-1916
Washington, DC

Muslim Minds To Return To Reason

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Commentary by Mike Ghouse

Dr. Faizur Rahman, a Muslim scholar from Chennai, India, writes about Mustafa Aykol’s book, “A scholar of Islam implores Muslims to stop deifying received tradition and undertake a critical study of their religious past, shedding unyielding legalism and close-mindedness.” 

A good article to read: 

https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/reopening-muslim-minds-a-return-to-reason-freedom-and-tolerance-review-theology-of-tolerance/article65248268.ece

We have only one book, the Quran. All other books are understanding of the scholars of the given time. Indeed, in general, Muslims worship traditional scholars’ work and consider it supplementary to the Quran. 

In his last sermon, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) communicated clearly. He said, to paraphrase him, “I am leaving this book to you, and you cannot go wrong if you follow it.” Please remember he did not assign Al-Azhar University or some Scholar Sheikh to interpret the book. You are on your own. It has to change; we have to have our own understanding. 

Many scholars of the past have been dead wrong in interpreting the verses from the Quran, and for nearly 14 centuries, we believed in them. I have interviewed many Muslim women, and most of them hated verse 4:34 but lived with it, thinking it was the word of God. The Christians and Jews hated 1:7, and it is one of the sources of Islamophobia. 

Thank God our current scholars have peeled off those falsities and are making corrections. There is a lot more we need to do. 

The Quran is for all times, not just the times of crusades when the scholars reacted to the situations and wrote their understanding of the word of God. We should have our knowledge of the Quran in contemporary terms. 

What does it mean to us today in the given situations? 

Many scholars are working on correcting those errors – among them are Mustafa Aykol, Faizur Rahman, Safi Kaskas, and I am doing my little share of the work. 

The American Muslims have an advantage of the ability to see the different cultures in the Mosque and at Eid. We need to peel off the cultural dust Islam has gathered over the centuries as Islamic. 

At the World Muslim Congress, our slogan is 

“If it is not common sense, then it is not Islam.”  https://worldmuslimcongress.org/


Mike Ghouse