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Muhammad Appreciation Week in Dallas
Mike Ghouse speech on Friday, June 8, 2012
Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157630024888695/show/
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| Speakers: Imams Qasim, Abdullah, Kavakci, Siddiqi, Shahed and Mike Ghouse |
Aliakum – may you be soaked in peace, drenched in peace and when you say that
back to me, I am in the same boat of peace. Together, we are going to talk
peace and act peace.
work of Imam Warith Deen Mohammad, but before I highlight Imam Warith Deen Muhammad’s
work, let me ask you this, who was the first person on this earth to start the
interfaith dialogue? Prophet Muhammad!
Muslim in the United States to start the interfaith dialogue? Imam WD Muhammad!
Thank you.
Imam Warith Al-Deen Mohammed was one of the most
distinguished Muslim leaders in the United States; He has been the spiritual
leader and inspiration of the Muslim community in general and African American
Muslim community in Particular. Warith Deen Mohammad is recognized worldwide as
a leading Islamic thinker, philosopher and a religious leader.
He was “America’s Imam.” Imam Warith Deen Mohammed saw the limited world
of his father’s Nation of Islam and boldly transformed it into an open
religious community following the principles of Islam. Imam Mohammed’s philosophy
of bringing all faiths together for the good of humanity must be appreciated.
And today, in the interfaith circles, leaders from various spiritual paths
celebrate the legacy of his work.
He had about 2 to 2.5 Million Muslims following him that is about a 3rd
of Muslims in America. Imam Mohammed’s
leadership changed the perceptions of African Americans as well as the Muslims
around the world.
Jimmy Carter, President Clinton, President Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister
Mandela of South Africa, Pope John Paul, Archbishop of Canterbury and several
Rabbis and other religions leaders of the world.
He is an outstanding communicator, his video recordings of the first incident
with Prophet Muhammad, where Angel Gabriel asks him to read, “ Iqra” is not
only humorous, but makes a great point. He followed the teachings of Quraan and found
them in common with other religions.
created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that
you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is
the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing,
all-aware.
of us have problems with each others, isn’t because we don’t know each other? Subhan
Allah, God’s guidance was clear – know each other, and when you do, conflicts
fade and solutions emerge. Say Amen!
Christians and Jews and others to nurture goodwill and good working relations.
Today, we are celebrating his legacy.
When Imam W. Deen Mohammed spoke in San Francisco, he was addressing to nearly
all African American audience, realizing the enclaves people were chambered in,
he urged them to think of themselves not in racial categories but in human
terms.
He was indeed a critical thinker; he was able to see a different perspective
and figure out the best way to work on building a cohesive America, one nation,
indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
think about others, he reminded the Black Caucus in the congress, to think
about the idea of forming a white caucus and how they would feel about. Muhammad urged everyone to think about the
universality of all people – and that defining religion for any one race is
dangerous.
The effort was intended to show that the ideals set forth in the U.S.
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are similar ideals called for
in the Quran.
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
was inspired by Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon, where he said, no Arab is
superior to an African and vice versa… no man is superior to the other.
Indeed that was the equal opportunity mantra that he delivered 1400 years ago,
that we just signed in 1963.
the pledge – one nation under God with liberty and justice for all, what are we
doing about it? What are our fears? What is your vision for America?
change is our responsibility; President Kennedy pointed us in the right direction, “Ask
not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”.
When we give to the country, we collectively receive as well.
want was best expressed by Native American Chief Seattle; “All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the
web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does
it to himself.”
a dream, and each one of us have a dream… a dream to have livable wages, a
loving family, children, a home, reliable car, decent health care, and
comfortable retirement. A majority of Americans want a just society with safety
and security. We want to live our lives as good neighbors and let others live
theirs.
pursue that dream. Our founding
fathers laid the foundation of the creed for such a society, “We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”.
a vision for a future America, Martin Luther King Jr. expressed that in his famous
speech, “I have a dream that our little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of
their character.”
place for each one of us. Let’s treat others as we would wish to be treated and
have compassion for others who might look different.
accept the God given uniqueness of each American, then conflicts fade and
solutions emerge.
training for future leaders. We have programs in place to move forward. All we
need is your support.
intra-faith, to honor him on that work, I invite, Muslims from all
denoniminations to come together in Ramadan. Make a group, one from each one of
the mosques, in our case in Dallas Fort Worth, we have about 30 mosques – we
will form a group and each day, as a group, we will visit a mosque an Iftaar. I
have begun this process two years ago, and Alhamdu Lillah, we need to take this
further.
is committed to building a Cohesive
America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker,
thinker and a writer on pluralism,
politics, civic affairs,
Islam, India, Israel, peace and
justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on
Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to
the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning
News and regularly at Huffington
post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is
updated daily.