Welcome to MikeGhouse.net

Thank you for joining me in celebrating the life of Najma Ghouse on Sunday, June 29, 2008. Here is the brochure, and the thoughts shared by our friends will be in part II.

More about Najma:

Najma had prepared herself for this journey and no wonder she passed away with a smile on her face, as if saying, I have successfully completed my life as an individual, a woman, mother, sister, daughter, grand mother and a wife and now I need to experience the eternal life. Full information. We thank your for your kind comments

God's Grace - Najma Ghouse

I draw inspiration from all faiths and share this beautiful precise expressive phrase from Jainism “ Michami Dukadam”, the essence of which is, on this day, let’s forgive and ask for forgiveness and start the next breath of life with a clean slate, free from guilt, free from anxiety, free from hate, malice, anger and all those enslaving emotions.

Do we trust our Media?

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.

Carter Peace Initiatives

Why can't the US listen to its wiser statesmen? Why do we have to stand against the world and make enemies instead of friends?

Godman held for indecency

There is a weakness built into each one of us, the weakness to make mistakes and the weakness do the wrong thing. The Catholic Ministry has gone through so much of this. It has nothing to do with one's religion, it has to do with being human. It is human to make mistake and if one has made the mistake, he or she must be punished for messing up the lives of children.

Praying Passenger removed from the airplane

NEW YORK - A passenger who left his seat to pray in the back of a plane before it took off, ignoring flight attendants' orders to return, was removed by an airport security guard, a witness and the airline said. The story has a few surprise for you personally.

HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT & AMERICAN MUSLIMS

I can understand the reluctance of Muslims to meet His holiness Pope Benedict. It is based on three mis-spokes within the last year. His words were not mitigators but provocateur of conflicts and Muslims were not clear about his intentions, they did not want to invite themselves unless they were invited. Mother Teresa once said, “If you want to make peace, you go talk with your enemies, you don’t make peace with your friends”. God bless her soul for such wisdom.

ILLUSION OF AN ISLAMIC STATE

It may come as a surprise to you, but democracy is rooted in Islam. Prophet Muhammad did not want to pass the mantle on to the most deserved one - his son in Law Ali, as it would have become a monarchial governance. The successors were chosen with much debate and campaigning and consensus.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR, EBOO PATEL

"if it was not for Rosa Parks, and if it were not for Martin Luther King Jr. none of the immigrants would have made it to America, I am here today because of them and I owe my gratitude to them". I am pleased to see Eboo take on the subject squarely and speaking on our American Legend.

CARROLLTON MAYOR BECKY MILLER

You are invited to meet and greet the Mayor of Carrollton this Sunday at 4:00 PM. In the last few years I have grown to understand and respect her leadership in taking Carrollton forward. She has what it takes to pull different resource and people together to make our City the place to live and do business.

JOHN MCCAIN

Senator McCain is too eager to pull the trigger, he was going to bomb Iran without verifying the information, then all of them had to shut up after the facts. McCain, tells it with a bold face that Iran is training Al-Qaeda, Lieberman had to correct him on camera. Is this the kind of commander in chief we want? Do we trust him to pick up that phone at 3:00 Am ? Do we trust him to ponder before pushing the button?

Hilary and Barack represented as Radha-Krishna.

Presidents Bush and Clinton were given every possible Indian image they can, and here is Senator's Obama and Clinton' turn now. Radha-Krishna is a model couple that Indians respect and honor. Lord Krishna was known to play flute or communicate beautifully. Here Hilary and Obama are the represented as Radha_Krishna.

Pope Baptizes a Muslim on Easter
Alhamdu Lillahi, praise the lord, (الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 1:2) he knows and he is aware of every thing we do. He is the Malik-i-Yom-iddin, (مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ 1:4) master of the day of the judgment. We have several choices, and we need to evaluate the consequence of each choice.

Atheist delusion

Humans have always wondered about God, its existence and its appearance. We go through the phase of being a disbeliever, particularly when we cannot understand the injustices to us and to the world around us. Many of us have had the delusions about God as presented one time or the other. .

Obama's perfect union Speech, a historic speech

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

A Catholic Church in Saudi Arabia:

A Catholic Church in Saudi Arabia. have lost track of a Saudi minister who had asked me to put together an interfaith meeting with about 20 people, comprising Jews, Christians and Muslims. I fought with him to include all faiths, but finally agreed to work in stages, from familiar to unfamiliar ones. It was some where around 2005. I am pleased to see at least a dialogue is emerging between Vatican and Saudi's. Neighboring Dubai has just opened up a mega church this month.

Yes, we can bring peace to Gaza:

Israel owes peace and security to her citizens and it is directly dependent on the security and peace needs of the Palestinians. You cannot live in peace, when your neighbor's aren't. Finding a balance is the most difficult thing to do and both the nations are trying and failing. No wonder the phrase "love thy neighbor" plays such a crucial role in every society.

International women's day - Gender Equality Now:

Justice is the basis for peace, be it between spouses, family members, business partners, stockholders and consumers, president and the public, minorities and majorities, communities, nations or the globe. Whenever one takes advantage of the other, the balance is lost and the unit is crippled. In personal relationships, the disadvantaged ones are waiting for the moment to get even or get justice. It is the hope that keeps the life moving forward.

Pluralism Prayers in Carrollton City Hall -

Hon. Becky Miller, Mayor of City of Carrollton introduced Mike Ghouse to do deliver the invocation at the Carrollton City council - 7:00 PM, Tuesday, March 4, 2008.

Obama the Shepherd -

Thank God for Obama, he mirrors the dreams of millions of Americans and is our new shepherd on the political spectrum. He will lead us to a safe, secure, strong, and respectable and a healthy America.

Please sign the petition to save Fawza Falih -

Mike Mohamed Ghouse, President of the World Muslim Congress was disturbed that such a trivial item has consumed international attention. "It should not have even taken up the judicial time. Fawza Falih is a human being like every one else and does not possess any such super-natural powers to affect the lives of other human beings, let alone cause one to be impotent. As Muslims, we believe that no one but God has such powers and he alone is the master of the Day of Judgment. I appeal to His Excellency King Abdullah to put an end to this by releasing Fawza Falih and offer her state protection from any public harassment."

Bush appoints Muslim Envoy to OIC - Congratulations to Mr. Sada Cumber for his appointment as a special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Countries. Thanks to Jason Embry for writing such a fine piece (appended below). Indeed, I was gunning for that position and had sent a note to the state department about it. I am pleased to see Mr. Sada Cumber has been appointed. He is he right guy. At least in his last days, the President has done some thing right, it is a good decision and Sada will deliver results.

Islam and Pluralism - The attacks on Islam after 9/11 propelled me to study the veracity of the statements ascribed to Islam by the media. The traditional translations of Qur'aan did not offer much hope, and it was a taboo to question those translations. Thank God for the internet, the net waves got flooded with information in addition to the availability of multiple translations of Qur'aan in the market. Every translation added a new dimension, and reflected translator's background; they were obviously influenced by who they keep the company with.

Obama Rally in Carrollton - We need a healthy America and he will bring health care to every American. The healthier we are, the productive we become in nation building and keeping us strong economically. To keep a healthier America is not a social medicine, it is our duty. It is our duty to keep our citizens safe, secure and healthy. I hope my republican friends can comprehend this idea and they will in a few years.

Join us between 4 and 6 PM on Sunday, March 2 at the Banguet hall next door to Barbeque Tonite, in Carrollton at the SE Corner of Old Denton and Trinity Mills (Bush Frwy or I-90). Be a part of the change to put American on the path of peace, progress and co-existence.

Will John McCain have the decency to apologize? - Senator McCain in his lust for power looses the basic American decency and courtesy to show respect for his fellow Americans who number 6 Million and I am one. It is an ironic number to remember.

Reflections on Holocaust - If you felt sorrow for some and not for the others, please check out your peace meter for your bias and prejudices against groups, nations, ethnicities, religions, cultures or races. Higher the prejudice lesser the peace and vice versa.

Muslim response to Dutch Criticism of Qur'aan - “Geert Wilders, Dutch conservative lawmaker, has made a ten-minute film exposing the horrific passages of the Koran. Per AP Wilders refers to the selected verses as “fascist.’”. Mr. Wilders, I have personally prayed for your safety and well being and request our Imams to do the same across the world.

John McCain, the Bush-Lite Neocon - This is the guy who wants to Bomb, Bomb and Bomb other nations, entangle our Armed forces for another 100 years. Peace is not in his veins even after deaths of a 1 Million Iraqis and 4,000 of our Men and Women.. We cannot have peace if what we create chaos around us.

A Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr - If it was not for Rosa Parks, and if it were not for Martin Luther King Jr. none of the immigrants would have made it to America, I am here today because of them and I owe my gratitude to them.

Am I a Hindu? I came across this excellent piece "Am I a Hindu" explaining religion in its simplest terms. I recommend every one to take a few minutes to read through this. It is the simplicity of talking with an young American girl on airplane that makes this article beautiful. I have added comments and enhancements below the article.

Qur'aan Reading: Approaches to studying Qur’aan vary. I believe if we can study from the point of view of a guidance book to humanity and in the light of co-existence, then we see a common sense develop, that is on par and reflective of the goodness emitted in Qur’aan. The key is your orientation.

Did Senator McCain Betray America? I am sorely disappointed in our Journalists; particularly Tim Russert, Charlie Gibson, Chris Wallace and George Stephanopoulos. When Senator McCain said, “I’ll get Osama bin Laden. I’ll get him even if I have to follow him to the gates of hell” . They failed to ask. Senator, then why did you not get Osama? Why did you have to wait to be elected to do that? Isn’t that a betrayal to our nation?

America Bragging Let the world know that we are one of the greatest nations when it comes to honoring and respecting the God given uniqueness of each one of the 303,171,404 Americans. On Jan 3^rd the Americans have demonstrated their morality of putting people first, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity. This is the America we want to share with the world; this is the America we want to brag about.

HH Aga Khan, Inspirational Leader - At a time when the Muslim world is increasingly at odds with itself and the West, the Aga Khan represents a rare voice of moderation, speaking up for pluralism and diversity, supporting charities, hospitals and schools all over the developing world, and working tirelessly to promote dialogue between civilizations.

Happiness for Sale He looked at me intently and asked, would you promise me something? In gratitude I said yes, but shuddered what now? He took time and looked at me again and said these life changing words to me “Next time, if you see some one needs help, would you stop and help?” I eagerly said Yes, satisfied; he asked again, are you sure? I gave an emphatic yes, to which he said,

Dallas Salutes Benazir Bhutto She stood like a solid rock and made bold statements that needed to be made to bring peace and freedom to the people of Pakistan

Hope for Pakistan - She threatened the extremists, a dare move perhaps calculated to win the support of majority of moderates in Pakistan who want to live a normal life. They got to her before she could get them. Pakistan is ripe for democracy; a majority of her people believes in it. We cannot “Bush out terrorism” with bombs, we can certainly erase it through dialogue, education and patience.

Religious Violence in Orissa, India Four major towns in the state of Orissa, India are under a curfew to check the communal tensions between the Christian and Hindu communities. Eleven Churches have been razed to ground following an attack on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a political party leader. Shamefully this is a normal thing in India and it needs to be stopped before it escalates.

Republican or Democratic, Which Way? In the land of the plenty, paucity of good candidates for President is amazing and stifling. The undecided majority of Republican voters are confused; which way do we go; Republican or Democratic? "Do we need to continue to put America on peril with wars, wars and wars?

Gujarat 2007 - Congratulations to Modi : Congratulations to Modi for winning the elections, and, he now has an opportunity to win the heart of every Gujarati regardless of his or her affiliation. My appeal to every Gujarati is to pause and seriously consider the option of forgiveness.

Apology to Jews, Christians, Hindus and others If you are a Jew, Christian, Hindu or other and happen to pick a free copy of the Qur'aan and happily open the book to read and understand it, you will go through a pleasant trip but will come to rude shock.

Reform Islam or Reform our understanding of it? A group of Muslims have decided that “The verses in Qur'aan promote divisiveness and religious hatred, bigotry and discrimination. They must be either removed from the Koran or declared outdated and invalid, and marked as such.”

Silence of Moderates, a rebuttal : Religion is not a divider for moderate Muslims. In practicing their faith they give room to some flexibility and rigidity. Like moderates anywhere they seldom wear a glaring religious neon sign. Indeed their presence holds through the turbulent storms of the world.

Muslim father kills his teenage daughter : Every human should condemn this act of betraying the trust of a daughter, and certainly Muslims condemn this act. This Criminal's act is not inspired by Islam, although he referenced it in that fashion. We the Muslims additionally condemn Muhammad Parvez for killing another human being and wrongly labeling the religion for his abuse. He does not have a space in Civil Societies.

The Chris Plante Show on Muslim outrage : The constant question is “Where is the Muslim outrage?” Chris Plante’s main contention was lack of rallies by Muslims to stand up with America, and he compares Al Sharpton’s rally in a hurry against the treatment of six African Americans. Farrakhan got a million mans March in DC. Where is the Muslim March for 9/11?

Continued at: http://www.mikeghouse.net/views.asp

Mike Ghouse

is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer.

He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing interfaith, political and civic issues.

He is the founding president of World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world.

His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net.

Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com

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Celebrating Najma's Life

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