HOME :::: f your place of worship facilitates speakers who inculcate ill-will towards fellow beings, please speak up, it is a place to seek peace and not ill-will. Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Temples have all inadvertently allowed such men to speak. Save sanctity of the place.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thank God, Glenn Beck is Gone

For the first time in three years, I gathered the courage and patience to watch this buffoon for 11 minutes as entertainment.  Sadly, I know people in my ambit who love him and I am trying to understand how can they like this man’s message, how can they believe in it?
If you have the time watch this idiot Glen Beck makes a fool of himself.
http://mediamatters.org/research/201106290030?lid=1171804&rid=62008551


Media Matters, Color of Change, and Jewish Funds for Justice Release Statements On Beck's Final Fox Show

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, June 30, 2011

CONTACT
Jess Levin (202) 772-8162


 Washington, DC -- Today, Media Matters for America joined Color of Change and Jewish Funds for Justice in releasing the following statements on the final installment of Glenn Beck's 5 pm show on Fox News Channel
 
"After two years of vitriol, the public has had enough of Glenn Beck. His ratings, relevance, and -- after more than 300 advertisers abandoned the program -- the revenue he produced for Fox were all in decline," said David Brock, founder of Media Matters for America. "However, Fox as a network is still a home for misinformation and hate. Our work is far from over."

"We are happy to see Glenn Beck's show come to an end," said Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorofChange.org. "Beck consistently played racial politics by building conspiracy theories that relied on prejudice to explain problems in our society, with his actions being consistently condoned by Fox executives Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes. We're glad to see Fox end the show, although it only happened once its business interests were threatened by the departure of more than 300 advertisers, which has been attributed to the efforts of our members and our multi-year campaign."

"Through his own poor judgment Beck became a liability to Fox," said Simon Greer, President of Progressive Jewish Alliance & Jewish Funds for Justice. "Beck's divisiveness and hate mongering have been rejected by not only a broad spectrum of Jews, but by a diverse group of people and organizations representing all kinds of Americans who care about the common good."

# # #

Finally! After two long years of extremism, race baiting, lies, and conspiracy theories that have divided our country, Glenn Beck is ending his nightly Fox News show.

But the fight against right-wing misinformation on the airwaves is far from over. Every day, we watch the dishonesty, bias, and political manipulation on Fox News and throughout the right-wing media. And we work to prevent the destructive impact it has on every national debate from health care to immigration reform, from climate change to LGBT rights.

 Now is not a time to sit back; it's a time to ramp up.

# # #

Friday, June 24, 2011

Bigotry of Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Right wing Republicans

I am starting a series to take on the the Right wing Republicans... There are many things in this article that will become talking points to moderate Americans who want to fight back the right wingers attacking Muslims, Hindus, Jews and others, there is short poem written as an example tomake Texans, New Yorkers and Californians angry, it is to make the point about false accusations against Muslims.

There are four clear points communicated in this article and God willing more to come through 2012 Elections. I am going on a Drive America Tour this fall talking about building a cohesive America. If you can arrange with your local Democrats and Republicans party to speak, I will be happy to do that.

As a disclosure, I am a moderate Republican and there are plenty of us, but most of them are gutless like most Muslims are and are afraid to speak up. I will fight with them to bring moderates to the front, you are right, I may not succeed but will make  the points is crucial to activate the sleeping Moderate Americans to counter the right wing propaganda.   


I am writing a series and will be talking on American Politics, if you wish to add your comment to my articles to be published in Huffington Post, Washington Post, OpEd News, New York Times and other papers. I will be happy to include, please let me know if you wish to contribute a sentence or a paragraph to it, you must be willing to stand up for the attacks from right wing Muslims and right wing Christians. It is time now. Let’s us be the catalysts for a safe, secure America.

Let us act now as participants, rather than known protestors.

Please feel free to write your comment at the article to create momentum and not allow me to stand alone.

TAKING ON BIGOTRY OF NEWT GIINGRICH, HERMAN CAIN AND REPUBLICANS http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Bigotry-of-Newt-Gingrich--by-Mike-Ghouse-110622-717.html

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Hate mongers of America

The apparent recent surge in popular anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States has been driven by a surprisingly small and, for the most part, closely knit cadre of activists. Their influence extends far beyond their limited numbers, in part because of an amenable legion of right-wing media personalities — and lately, politicians like U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who held controversial hearings into the radicalization of American Muslims this March —who are eager to promote them as impartial experts or grassroots leaders. Yet a close look at their rhetoric reveals how doggedly this group works to provoke and guide populist anger over what is seen as the threat posed by the 0.6% of Americans who are Muslim — an agenda that goes beyond reasonable concern about terrorism into the realm of demonization.
Of the 10 people profiled below, all but Bill French, Terry Jones and Debbie Schlussel regularly interact with others on the list. Most were selected for profiling primarily because of their association with activist organizations. People who only run websites or do commentary were omitted, with two exceptions: Schlussel, because she has influence as a frequent television talk-show guest, and John Joseph Jay, because he is on the board of Pamela Geller's Stop Islamization of America group. Three other activists, Steve Emerson, Daniel Pipes and Frank Gaffney, have interacted with many of the core group as well and also have offended many Muslims, but they are somewhat more moderate in their views of Muslims than those who are profiled below.

Bill French
Bill French

BILL FRENCH
ORGANIZATION
Heads the for-profit Center for the Study of Political Islam in Nashville.
CREDENTIALS Former Tennessee State University physics professor; author of Sharia Law for Non-Muslims (2010; under the pen name Bill Warner).
SUMMARY French has no formal training or background in law, Islam or Shariah law — which in any case is not an established legal code, as the book title implies, but a fluid concept subject to a wide range of interpretations and applications. He garnered attention recently by leading the opposition to a proposed mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
IN HIS OWN WORDS "The two driving forces of our civilization are the Golden Rule and critical thought. … There is no Golden Rule in Islam. ... There is not really even a Ten Commandments."
—Quoted in The [Blount County, Tenn.] Daily Times, March 4, 2011
"This offends Allah. You offend Allah."
— Quoted in The Tennesseean, Oct. 24, 2010, speaking to opponents of the Murfreesboro mosque while pointing to an American flag


Brigitte Gabriel
Brigitte Gabriel

BRIGITTE GABRIEL
ORGANIZATIONS Founder and head of ACT! for America and American Council for Truth.
CREDENTIALS Author of Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America (2006) and They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It (2008). Co-producer and co-host of weekly ACT! for America television show.
SUMMARY Gabriel views Islam in absolute terms as a monolithic threat to the United States, Israel and the West. She is prone to sweeping generalizations and exaggerations as she describes a grand, sophisticated Muslim conspiracy bent on world domination. Of the people profiled here, she alone has focused on building a grassroots organization, claiming 155,000 members and 500 chapters around the country. Questions persist about the accuracy of her autobiographical account of being a victim of Muslim militancy in Lebanon.
IN HER OWN WORDS "America has been infiltrated on all levels by radicals who wish to harm America. They have infiltrated us at the C.I.A., at the F.B.I., at the Pentagon, at the State Department."
— Quoted in The New York Times, March 7, 2011
"The difference, my friends, between Israel and the Arabic world is quite simply the difference between civilization and barbarism. It's the difference between good and evil and this is what we're witnessing in the Arab and Islamic world. I am angry. They have no soul! They are dead set on killing and destruction."
— From a speech delivered to the Rev. John Hagee's Christians United for Israel Convention, July 2007
"Tens of thousands of Islamic militants now reside in America, operating in sleeper cells, attending our colleges and universities, even infiltrating our government. They are here — today. Many have been here for years. Waiting. Preparing."
— ACT! for America website, undated


P. David Gaubatz
P. David Gaubatz

P. DAVID GAUBATZ
ORGANIZATION Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE).
CREDENTIALS Co-author of Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America (2009). As director of operations for SANE's Mapping Shariah project (see David Yerushalmi, below), a privately operated effort to infiltrate American mosques in an attempt to expose radical elements, Gaubatz was paid $148,898, according to Sheila Musaji of The American Muslim website.
SUMMARY A civilian agent who worked in the Middle East for the U.S. Air Forces Office of Special Investigations, Gaubatz made it a personal project — and the theme of his book — to prove the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is linked to international terrorism. In October 2009, four members of Congress led by Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) held an embarrassing press conference claiming the book revealed a Muslim plot to infiltrate government. Their hardest "evidence" was a document showing that CAIR had encouraged young Muslims to become Capitol interns — much like many other Washington, D.C., interest groups.
IN HIS OWN WORDS "As an ideology [Islam] is a terminal disease that once spread is hard to destroy. Once the ideology (cancer) takes hold it is like trying to remove millions of cancerous cells in one's body. Not impossible to remove, but very, very unlikely."
— Essay on the Northeast Intelligence Network website, June 10, 2008
"[T]he political ideology of winning over the West and the world for an Islamic Caliphate is NOT specific to some extremist group of Muslims. This is mainstream Islam and Shari'a. … The goal remains the same: all of the non-Islamic world, and indeed all of the Islamic world, must submit to Shari'a. A Muslim who refuses to do so will be killed. … A non-Muslim, assuming he is not a pagan (typically a Christian or Jew) might be given the opportunity to live in a subservient status in an Islamic society and pay a special head tax to prove his submission. But this option is left to the Caliph or ruler at the time."
— Essay carried by the Assyrian International News Agency, Feb. 13, 2008


Pamela Geller
Pamela Geller

PAMELA GELLER
ORGANIZATIONS Executive director and co-founder (with Robert Spencer; see below) of Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), an umbrella group encompassing SIOA. Both are listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Runs the Atlas Shrugs blog.
CREDENTIALS Self-styled expert on Islam with no formal training in the field. Co-produced with Spencer the film "The Ground Zero Mosque: Second Wave of the 9/11 Attacks," which was first screened at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference. Co-author with Spencer of The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America (2010).
SUMMARY Geller has seized the role of the anti-Muslim movement's most visible and influential figurehead. Her strengths are panache and vivid rhetorical flourishes — not to mention stunts like posing for an anti-Muslim video in a bikini — but she also can be coarse in her broad-brush denunciations of Islam. Geller does not pretend to be learned in Islamic studies, leaving the argumentative heavy lifting to SIOA partner Spencer. She is prone to publicizing preposterous claims, such as President Obama being the "love child" of Malcolm X, and once suggested that recent U.S. Supreme Court appointee Elena Kagen, who is Jewish, supports Nazi ideology. Geller has mingled with European racists and fascists, spoken favorably of South African racists and defended Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. She is a self-avowed Zionist who is sharply critical of Jewish liberals.
IN HER OWN WORDS "Islam is not a race. This is an ideology. This is an extreme ideology, the most radical and extreme ideology on the face of the earth."
— On Fox Business' "Follow the Money," March 10, 2011
"No, no, they can't. … I don't think that many westernized Muslims know when they pray five times a day that they're cursing Christians and Jews five times a day. … I believe in the idea of a moderate Muslim. I do not believe in the idea of a moderate Islam. I think a moderate Muslim is a secular Muslim."
— Quoted in The New York Times, responding to a question as to whether devout practicing Muslims can be political moderates, Oct. 8, 2010
"In the war between the civilized man and the savage, you side with the civilized man. … If you don't lay down and die for Islamic supremacism, then you're a racist anti-Muslim Islamophobic bigot. That's what we're really talking about."
— Quoted in The New York Times, Oct. 8, 2010


David Horowitz
David Horowitz

DAVID HOROWITZ
ORGANIZATION Front Page Magazine (online), published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
CREDENTIALS Organized "Islamofascism Awareness Week" which brought prominent anti-Muslim activists to college campuses in 2007. Author of several books including Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left (2004), which claims that American leftists support Islamic terrorists.
SUMMARY Horowitz, who spent his young years as a Marxist, has in recent years become a furious far-right antagonist of liberals and leftists. He also provides some funding support for other anti-Muslim ventures, including, according to the blog SpencerWatch.com, paying Spencer $132,537 to run the JihadWatch website. Horowitz sees no philosophical gradations; if you're not in total agreement with his view of Islam, you're in favor of Muslim hegemony. He believes the Muslim Brotherhood and "Islamofascists" control most American Muslim organizations, especially Muslim student groups on college campuses.
IN HIS OWN WORDS "I spent 25 years in the American Left, whose agendas are definitely to destroy this country. The American left wanted us to lose the Cold War with the Soviets and it wants us to lose the war on terror. So I don't make any apologies for that."
— On the "Riz Khan" Show, Al Jazeera, Aug. 21, 2008
"Some polls estimate that 10 percent of Muslims support Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. An al-Jazeera poll put the number at 50 percent. In other words, somewhere between 150 million and 750 million Muslims support a holy war against Christians, Jews, and other Muslims who don't happen to be true believers in the Quran according to
bin Laden."
— In the Columbia Spectator, Oct. 15, 2007
"There are 150 Muslim Student Associations on American campuses. The Muslim Student Associations were created by Hamas and funded by Saudi Arabia. … [The associations] are Wahhabi Islamicists, and they basically support our enemies."
— On Fox News' "Neil Cavuto Show," Aug. 15, 2006


John Joseph Jay
John Joseph Jay

JOHN JOSEPH JAY
ORGANIZATION summer patriot, winter soldier (a website; Jay doesn't use capital letters in his website's name or in his writings). Board member, SIOA. Listed as one of the founders of American Freedom Defense Initiative, SIOA's umbrella group (see also Pam Geller, above).
CREDENTIALS Jay worked for 25 years as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C. Geller's Atlas Shrugs blog describes him as a constitutional scholar. In addition to his anti-Muslim commentary, Jay blogs prolifically on the right to bear arms.
SUMMARY Jay is remarkable for his unreconstructed hatred of all Muslims. He believes attacks by Muslim terrorists justify any violence directed at any Muslim, adding that, as he sees it, the Koran itself justifies such blind retaliation.
IN HIS OWN WORDS "every person in islam, from man to woman to child may be our executioner. … there are no innocents in islam. … there is no innocence in islam. all of islam is at war with us, and … all of islam is/are combatant[s.] … islam has established without intellectual doubt that there are no innocent muslims, that the myth of the ‘moderate muslim' is precisely that, and that muslims are no more entitled to exemption or protection from retaliation that [sic] any of the other ‘non-innocent' combatants in the world. … there are no innocent muslims. islam is subject to killing on grounds of political expediency on the same basis as islam kills its victims, and islam cannot ethically and morally claim otherwise."
— From his website, July 14, 2010
"in short, dear muslims, g_d in his infinite wisdom saw in advance this struggle between men and religions to win his favor, and the only thing that is foreordained, is that the strong and the resolute shall win his favor, and so far, it has been amply demonstrated that he has chosen the jews as his people, and favored christianity with science, technology, culture and military power. to islam, he has given the hind and dry tit, and the sewers and the deserts of the world in which to inhabit, and in which to fester."
— From his website, June 27, 2010


Terry Jones
Terry Jones

TERRY JONES
ORGANIZATION Dove World Outreach Center of Gainesville, Fla. Listed by the SPLC as a hate group.
CREDENTIALS Pastor of Dove World; instigator of "International Burn a Koran Day," which was slated for Sept. 11, 2010, but canceled after worldwide protests and calls from senior officials of the Obama Administration. On March 20, however, Jones did burn a Koran, leading to several days of rampages in early April by religious rioters in Afghanistan, including the storming of a United Nations compound, that resulted in the deaths of at least 20 people. Jones showed no remorse over the deaths, which included at least seven foreigners. Author of Islam is of the Devil (2010). Jones has admitted never having read the Koran. He has no academic or theological degree; his "doctorate" is honorary.
SUMMARY A true fanatical extremist who seems to be driven mostly by the need for self-promotion and publicity. Operates entirely outside of the core circle of anti-Muslim activists. Jones is also virulently anti-gay.
IN HIS OWN WORDS "Here's your opportunity, all you so-called peaceful Moslems [Jones' pronunciation]. … We are accusing the Koran of murder, rape, deception, being responsible for terrorist activities all around the world. … Present to us your defense attorney who is going to defend the Koran. Let us really see. We challenge you: do it. Let us not talk. Let us have some action and proof. … The Koran, if found guilty, can be burned … Or the Koran will be drowned. Or the Koran will be shredded into little bitty pieces … or the Koran will face a firing squad."
— From an undated video on the Dove World Outreach website announcing "International Judge the Koran Day"
"The world is facing a great danger, which, if it is not stopped, will sooner or later be a threat to freedom in all nations and specifically to the United States. This danger is the growing religion of Islam."
— From the introduction to Islam is of the Devil, 2010


Debbie Schlussel
Debbie Schlussel

DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL
ORGANIZATION Columnist; eponymous website.
CREDENTIALS The granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Schlussel is a Detroit-based attorney and MBA. Frequent guest on conservative talk shows.
SUMMARY Uncompromising, viciously anti-Muslim commentator who dismisses ostensible allies if they are willing to believe in the concept of moderate Islam. She has even berated Hollywood for its failure to depict Muslims as sufficiently villainous. She has referred to Muslims as "animals." Her intense animosity toward Muslims appears rooted in strong pro-Israel sentiments.
IN HER OWN WORDS "So sad, too bad, Lara. No one told her to go there. She knew the risks. And she should have known what Islam is all about. Now she knows. Or so we'd hope. … How fitting that Lara Logan was ‘liberated' by Muslims in Liberation Square while she was gushing over the other part of the ‘liberation.' Hope you're enjoying the revolution, Lara! Alhamdillullah (praise allah) [sic]."
— From her website, following the gang sexual assault on CBS Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lara Logan in Cairo, Feb. 15, 2011
"[T]he fact is that the majority of Muslims support terrorism. The vast majority. Not just a few hijackers and a few suicide bombers. But the MAJORITY. This isn't me saying it. It's Muslims saying it. And not just in poll after poll of Muslims around the world including in America. Go to the streets of ‘moderate Muslim' Dearbornistan [Dearborn, Mich.] and see how many Muslims dare condemn Hezbollah and HAMAS. It's like playing "Where's Waldo?"
— From her website, Oct. 8, 2008


Robert Spencer
Robert Spencer

ROBERT SPENCER
ORGANIZATION Runs the Jihad Watch website, a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center. Co-founder with Pamela Geller (see above) of Stop Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative.
CREDENTIALS Spencer has a master's degree in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Co-produced with Geller the film "The Ground Zero Mosque: Second Wave of the 9/11 Attacks" (2011). Author of numerous books including The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion (2007) and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) (2005).
SUMMARY Spencer is entirely self-taught in the study of modern Islam and the Koran. Critics have accused him of doggedly taking the Koran literally — Spencer considers it innately extremist and violent — while ignoring its nonviolent passages and the vast interpretive tradition that has modified Koranic teachings over the centuries. Spencer believes that moderate Muslims exist, but to prove it, they'd have to fully denounce the portions of the Koran he finds objectionable. Spencer has been known to fraternize with European racists and neo-fascists, though he says such contacts were merely incidental. Benazir Bhutto, the late prime minister of Pakistan, accused Spencer of "falsely constructing a divide between Islam and West" in her 2008 book, Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West. Spencer, she wrote, presented a "skewed, one-sided, and inflammatory story that only helps to sow the seed of civilizational conflict."
IN HIS OWN WORDS "Osama [bin Laden]'s use of these and other [Koranic] passages in his messages is consistent … with traditional understanding of the Quran. When modern-day Jews and Christians read their Bibles, they simply don't interpret the passages cited as exhorting them to violent actions against unbelievers. This is due to the influence of centuries of interpretative traditions that have moved them away from literalism regarding these passages. But in Islam, there is no comparable interpretative tradition."
— From The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), 2005
"Where is moderate Islam? How can moderate Muslims refute the radical exegesis of the Qur'an and Sunnah? If an exposition of moderate Islam does not address or answer radical exegeses, is it really of any value to quash Islamic extremism? If the answer lies in a simple rejection of Qur'anic literalism, how can non-literalists make that rejection stick, and keep their children from being recruited by jihadists by means of literalism? Of course, as I have pointed out many times, traditional Islam itself is not moderate or peaceful. It is the only major world religion with a developed doctrine and tradition of warfare against unbelievers."
— Jihad Watch, Jan. 14, 2006


David Yerushalmi
David Yerushalmi

DAVID YERUSHALMI
ORGANIZATION President of the Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE); principal of Stop the Madrassa.
CREDENTIALS General counsel for the Center for Security Policy (see Frank J. Gaffney Jr., above); also, an attorney representing SIOA. Yerushalmi drafted a proposed law filed this year in the Tennessee legislature that would subject anyone who advocates or adheres to Shariah customs to up to 15 years in prison; he drafted a similar bill in Georgia in 2008.
SUMMARY Yerushalmi equates Shariah with Islamic radicalism so totally that he advocates criminalizing virtually any personal practice compliant with Shariah. In his view, only a Muslim who fully breaks with the customs of Shariah can be considered socially tolerable. He waxes bloodthirsty when describing his preferred response to the supposed global threat of Shariah law, speaking casually of killing and destroying. Ideally, he would outlaw Islam and deport Muslims and other "non-Western, non-Christian" people to protect the United States' "national character." An ultra-orthodox Jew, he is deeply hostile toward liberal Jews. He derides U.S.-style democracy because it allows more than just an elite, privileged few to vote.
IN HIS OWN WORDS "On the so-called Global War on Terrorism, GWOT, we have been quite clear along with a few other resolute souls. This should be a WAR AGAINST ISLAM and all Muslim faithful. … At a practical level, this means that Shari'a and Islamic law are immediately outlawed. Any Muslim in America who adopts historical and traditional Shari'a will be subject to deportation. Mosques which adhere to Islamic law will be shut down permanently. No self-described or practicing Muslim, irrespective of his or her declarations to the contrary, will be allowed to immigrate to this country."
— A 2007 commentary entitled "War Manifesto — The War Against Islam," as reported by The American Muslim
"The more carefully reviewed evidence, however, suggests that because jihadism is in fact traditional Islam modernized to war against the ideological threat posed by the West against Islam proper, there is no way to keep faithful Muslims out of the war. If this is true, any Muslim who sticks his neck out of the mosque to yell some obscenity at the West should be considered an enemy combatant and killed or captured and held for the duration of the war. If you kill enough of them consistently enough, those disinclined to fight in the first place will find a way to reform their religion."
— Review of Mary Habeck's book Knowing the Enemy on the American Thinker website, Sept. 9. 2006

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Muslim Speaker Mike Ghouse

NURTURING PLURALISTIC VALUES EMBEDDED IN ISLAM

A Muslim Speaker, thinker, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice versa to sustain peace, harmony and prosperity.

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter. Over 1000 articles have been published on a range of topics in Islam and Pluralism. Insha Allah, a book outlining the Muslim vision is on the horizon.



In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece  
Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

 

If that has been you, Mike Ghouse ought to be your hero.

It is hard to imagine that anyone has worked harder than the Carrollton resident to demonstrate the peaceful and moderate side of Islam.

And that effort includes personally visiting Dallas' First Baptist Church last Sunday just to put a friendly face on the "evil, evil religion" that the Rev. Robert Jeffress denounced a few weeks before.

"It was wonderful," Ghouse said of the visit. "We were so warmly received."
He hopes a quick chat with Jeffress will be the start of deeper discussion about Islam and the importance of respect between religions.

"I want to have a dialogue with him, not to say he is wrong but to share another point of view," Ghouse said.

The 57-year-old Muslim was born in India and has lived in the United States for 30 years. He owns a small property management firm. But most of his day is devoted to building bridges between people of different faiths.

"It is my passion," he said in his distinctive raspy voice.

He has been a guest a dozen times on Sean Hannity's TV and radio talk shows. "I don't like the way Sean cuts me off, but I have to honor him for giving the American public a semblance of another point of view."

Ghouse said he can understand fear and criticism of Islam because he went through a time of similar feelings. As a teen, he was troubled by passages of the Quran. He called himself an atheist for a while.

But he said deeper study led him to realize the Quran had been purposely mistranslated down through history.

In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders.

Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews.

"It was all for politics," he said.
Ghouse said he hopes to present Jeffress with a modern, faithful translation and challenge him to find evil verses.

"If he can, I will convert. I will join his church," Ghouse said. "If he can't, I will call on him to retract his statements and become a peacemaker."

Ghouse acknowledges that deep problems persist within Islam. "Three steps forward, two steps back," he said with a sigh.

And he agrees that mainstream Muslims have not done enough to counter violent images of their faith.

"That is very true," he said. "But part of it is that many Muslims have given up hope that we will ever be heard."

He said repeated denunciations of terrorism seem to fall on deaf ears.

And some efforts have backfired - like the proposed Islamic information center in New York. He said it should be hailed for furthering the moderate Muslim cause.
Instead, it has deepened hostility toward Muslims.

I have been astounded by the amount of anti-Islam propaganda that circulates via e-mail. Tons of it has come my way in the last few weeks.

One theme is that people like Mike Ghouse can't be trusted, that Islam encourages deception.

But Ghouse says actions speak louder than words. And he points to elections in Muslim nations.

More than half of Muslims live in countries with some degree of democracy. And time and time again, Islamist parties are overwhelmingly rejected in favor of secular, mainstream parties.

"The religious parties don't get more than 3 percent of the vote," Ghouse said.
Polls show deep mistrust of Muslims. "But the most important question in those surveys is: 'Do you know anything about Islam?' " Ghouse said. "Most people say no."
What keeps him going is faith in Americans, he said.

"The majority of Americans, if they know the truth, they will change their minds."
 
# # #

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer, thinker, futurist and an activist of Pluralism, Islam, India and Civil Societies passionately offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

He is a commentator at Fox News on the Hannity show, nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR.  He has spoken at international forums including the Parliament of Worlds Religions in Melbourne, Middle East Peace initiative in Jerusalem, International Leadership conference in Hawaii, Washington and elsewhere.

Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other.  We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.  

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies.  Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

# # #

Mike is working on two books scheduled to be released this year; The American Muslim Agenda and My Journey to Pluralism.

Mike has written over 1000 Articles on Pluralism, Islam, India, Peace & Justice and civil societies published in a wide spectrum of Newspapers and Magazines around the world.

Locally, he is a panelist at Dallas Morning News's and writes weekly on a range of issues facing the nation. Washington Post, Huffington Post and other news papers and sites regularly publish his work.  

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your place of worship, school, work place, seminars, workshops or conferences. His work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/


MuslimSpeakerMikeGhouse, Muslim Speaker, Speaker on Islam, InterfaithspeakerMikeGhouse, PluralismSpeakerMikeGhouse

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Caution

If you cannot distinguish between Islamist and Islam, Neocons and Christians, Rightwing Zionists and Judaism, Hindutva and Hinduism, this site is not for you. Don't waste your time.

The good news is that the drivers of such hate are just a few that we can actually list, they are less than 1000th of 1%, unless we speak up they will mess up their own and every one's lives. Let's resist the temptation to be hateful towards the hate mongers, but we should work on creating an iclusive society which is good for every one.

If you see the critique or condemnation of individuals, it is not about you or your religion because of your common religious affiliation with the accused, but him and rarely her, the individual. If the shoe fits you, you do not need to read this site.

We hope to do our share of urging the hate mongers, to find solutions through a dialogue and not hate to understand and not wage a campaign of hate.

As a Pluralist, I challenge every religious leader to do the research, not their own, but other's religious books and declare that no holy book, or God's words preaches hate, malice or ill-will towards the other. Not one book. It’s a big challenge to the people of religion. God is about love and harmony for his/her or its creation and not preference or favors to one over the other. Not one can claim that God has signed a deal with them behind other's back.

This site is for reflection and not incitement, if your aptitude is not solution but anger, this site is not for you, that is not our intent.

 DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME

Purpose of this Blog

The purpose of this blog is to make ourselves aware of those who peddle hate for a buck. They don't care if you are an American, Israeli, Iranian, Arab, Indian or Mexican or even a Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Mormon or a Buddhist... their God is money! 


The irony is only a few religious people hammer hate from their pulpit such as Pat Robertson, John Hagee, late Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham Jr, Robert Jeffress, Rod Parsley and a few Rabbis, Imams and Pundits, but the bulk of them are men and women who have fake defending religion, but made that very religion a source of their livelihood.  


These men are born to sell hate for cash, and as long as there are suckers out there, these parasites grow and enrich themselves and probably laugh at the nincompoops for falling prey to them. Every talk they give, every article they write, every website they own screams out loud for monies.  One should give money if their money is used to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill but none of them has a record of it.


We need to avoid falling in to the pit of hate and resist the temptations to stereotype any one, as it leads to hate and consequences that are not healthy for a society.

I urge you to read the other headings on the left panel to get an idea about the site


I am committed to building a cohesive America, please join me in finding pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. A writer, thinker and a speaker. www.MikeGhouse.net

Purpose of this Blog

It is the individual who drives people into war, hate and destruction and not the Religion. We should not give cover to those who slap their evil onto religion.

It is our duty to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. Hate is one of the many sources of disrupting the peace in a society and it is our responsibility to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it.

We have an obligation to maintain a balance in the society. When we are at peace, we can generate peace and we can expect peace around us. Our words and actions should mitigate conflicts and nurture reconciliation and goodwill

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Rabbi urged no mercy' in killing of Gazans

Rabbi urged no mercy' in killing of Gazans
Chief Military Rabbi Brigadier General Avi Ronzki
The Israeli Army's chief rabbi has caused controversy by calling on troops to 'show no mercy' in their attacks against Palestinians in Gaza.


Chief Military Rabbi Brigadier General Avi Ronzki had distributed pamphlets to Israeli troops implicitly sanctioning the killing of civilians.

"When you show mercy to a cruel enemy you are being cruel to pure and honest soldiers. These are not games at the amusement park where sportsmanship teaches one to make concessions. This is a war on murderers," the pamphlets read.

Human rights group Yesh Din has said that the pamphlet borders "on incitement and racism against the Palestinian people."

The group urged Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Army Chief General Gabi Ashkenazi to dismiss Ronzki.

The pamphlet also quotes statements made by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the extremist leader of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank - who opposes any compromise with Palestinians.

"The Palestinians claim they deserve a state here, when in reality there was never a Palestinian or Arab state within the borders of our country," the pamphlet quoted Aviner as saying.

According to the right group, the pamphlet contains "degrading and belittling messages that border on incitement and racism against the Palestinian people. These messages can be interpreted as a call to act outside of the confines of international laws of war."

Thousands of people, including women and children were killed or wounded during Israel's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Army also used banned weapons, including white phosphorous and depleted uranium, to attack targets inside the populated area.

SB/MMN

Jews can kill Gentiles who threaten Israel

Jews can kill Gentiles who threaten Israel
Book by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro of Yitzhar permits even the murder of babies and children who pose threat.
By Haaretz Service
Tags:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/west-bank-rabbi-jews-can-kill-gentiles-who-threaten-israel-1.4496
 
Just weeks after the arrest of alleged Jewish terrorist, Yaakov Teitel, a West Bank rabbi on Monday released a book giving Jews permission to kill Gentiles who threaten Israel.
 
Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement, wrote in his book "The King's Torah" that even babies and children can be killed if they pose a threat to the nation.
 
Shapiro based the majority of his teachings on passages quoted from the Bible, to which he adds his opinions and beliefs.
 
"It is permissable to kill the Righteous among Nations even if they are not responsible for the threatening situation," he wrote, adding: "If we kill a Gentile who has sinned or has violated one of the seven commandments - because we care about the commandments - there is nothing wrong with the murder."
 
Several prominent rabbis, including Rabbi Yithak Ginzburg and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, have recommended the book to their students and followers.