2005  UNITY DAY USA - EVENT | PARTICIPANTS | MEDIA | COMMENTS | PICTURES
   2006  UNITY DAY USA - Report Right below - for Just Pictorial Album - Click Here
   2007  UNITY DAY USA - Coming to your town on Sunday, Sept 9, 2007-  Info@FoundationforPluralism.com
   UNDERWRITERS: MaryAnn Thompson-Frenk of www.MemnosyneFoundation.org

Welcome to

 

911 MEMORIAL / UNITY DAY THEME / CO-EXISTENCE

 

Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 4:15 to 7:00 PM - Doubletree Hotel

Midway@ LBJ Freeway, behind Wal-Mart

4099 VALLEY VIEW DR, DALLAS, TX 75244 (972) 385-9000

 

Unity Day USA was born to express that each one of the 297,018,658 of us are part of the mosaic that is America.
Peace and prosperity for every American is our vision. In order to achieve that, we need to remain connected to one another, we need to come together as one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all. This event is a fulfillment of that vision.

 

Our 2006theme is Co-existence. Our religious prayer leaders will seek guidance through prayer from scriptures of their respective faiths. Our Civil servants and leaders will echo the same sentiment and suggest ways in which we as individuals can work towards a cohesive and thriving community.


Unity Day USA is about coming together as Americans and expressing our innate desire to rededicate our pledge: "One nation under god with liberty and justice for all."

Unity Day USA is about coming together as Americans to appreciate, respect and honor the God-given uniqueness of each one of the 297,018,658 of us.
Unity Day USA is indeed born out of the great tragedy and enormous suffering on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and it is from this day forward, that we pledge to continue to foster healing and unity.

 

We the people of the United States of America, of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background, gather today to pray for peace, unity and security of our nation and the world
 

Media Reports:

TONIGHT'S PROGRAM - CIVIC
Theme: Co-Existence in Harmony

American National Anthem - Jasmina and Carli Johnson-Scott
Pledge of Allegiance - Yasmine Al-Bustami
Statement of Purpose - Mike Ghouse
Acknowledgement of Sponsors
Acknowledgment of Dignitaries

Civic Leaders

Hon. Joe Chow, Mayor of City of Addison
Hon. Mike Simpson, Mayor of City of Frisco
Hon. Bob Phelps, Mayor of City of Farmers Branch
Hon. Pat Evans, Mayor of City of Plano
Hon. Gary Slagle, Mayor of City of Richardson
Hon. Pat Malone, Councilperson, City of Carrollton
Hon. Robert Casey, FBI Chief, SW Region

 
SPONSORS OF UNITY DAY
We express our gratitude to the following individuals and companies who have made this event possible.
.
GRAND SPONSORS:  Anjum Anwar & Jamal Gharbieh

 Anjum Anwar, Realtor, Century 21

 Jamal Gharbieh, Quality1 Energy Systems
 

 Shawn Bhagat, CEO, American Oil & Fuel Distributors

 Dr. Mohammad Khalid, President, American Muslim Forum

GOLD SPONSORS

  • Shawn Bhagat, CEO, American Fuel & Oil Distributors
  • Dr. Mohammad Khalid, American Muslim Forum

SILVER SPONSORS

  • Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America
  • Jonah Mandli, Oxford Fine Homes
  • Abu Tariq, Woodforest National Bank
  • Davin Ward Insurance Agency, Farmers Insurance Group
  • Najma Real Estate & Property Management Services
  • Akram Syed
  • Dr. Asif Syed
  • Muriel Pinkus
  • Amir Omar
     
  • DECORATIONS: Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk & Anthony Chism Interiors
  • PHOTOGRAPHY: Rehan Obaid (214) 783-3297
  • VIDEOGRAPHY: Aftab Chagani, Pro-Video (972) 679-7921
  • BANNERS: Syed J. Rafi, Advanced Nameplates (972) 644-3794
  • SECURITY: Dallas Police Officers Ricky Turner & Bobby Jones
  • REFRESHMENTS: North Texas Islamic Council through Fadi's Mediterranean Cuisine, Texas Ranch Buffet, Brick Oven, Kasbah Grille-Moroccan Cuisine, Afrah Restaurant & Pastries and Wok of Fame-Halal Chinese Restaurant.

TONIGHT'S PROGRAM - RELIGIOUS PRAYERS

Prayer theme is Co-existence and is based on the scriptures led by our prayer leaders, along with the messages of the clergy of the respective faiths. If you know of any faith that is not represented, please write to info@foundationforpluralism.com to be included next year.

REQUEST: The Clergy and Organization heads of respective faiths are requested to stand by the stage, and join the prayer leader upon their turn. If you are delayed please remain besides the stage until the prayer has concluded.

 

 

PLURALISM

  
   Mike Ghouse, Foundation for Pluralism.  
OPENING

WORLD FEDERATION OF PEACE

  
  Opening by: Bishop Mark Hernandez, Federation of World Peace  

AFRICAN YORUBA

  
  Oloriya Leja Onifa, Priestess of the Olokum Sanya Awopeju community  

BAHAI

  
  Regina Rafraf, Bahai's of Dallas  

BUDDHISM

    
     

CHRISTIANDOM

  
  Bishop McGriff of  The Church of Living God  

HINDUISM

  
  Swami Nityananda, Hare Krishna Temple & Madan Mohan  

ISLAM

  
  Imam Zia Sheikh, Islamic Center of Irving  

JAINISM

  
  Kirit Daftary  

JUDAISM

  
  Rabbi Neal Katz, Congregation Beth El  

SIKHISM

  
  Dr. Harbans Lal, Academy of Guru Granth Studies  

ZOROASTRIANISM

  
  Dr. Poras Balsara and Dr. Firdosh Mehta  
WICCA    
  Bryan Lankford  
 

NAVAHO & APACHE

 
  Hon. Ambrose Willie, Navaho Tribe and Gregory Gomez, Apache Tribe.  
MORE PICTURES WILL BE LOADED SOON - FOR ALL PICTURES CLICK HERE: http://picasaweb.google.com/MikeGhouse/UnityDayUSA2006_Album02

VOLUNTEERS: We appreciate each one of the persons and organizations listed on the brochure, and the following volunteers who are not listed
.
Azir Ahmed, Alan Keith, Anjum Anwar, Muriel Pinkus, Jan & Bruce Woody, Maliha Durrani, Julie Ann Turner/OrbitsofInfluence.com,  Nadine Belll, Najma Ghouse, Plano Indian Lions Club members: SK & Sudha Mittal, Ajay Singh, Rishi Kuba, Kundan Sharma, Sunder Naidu, Usha Arora, Anna & Naresh Mittal and several others who have joined after printing this brochure. A special thanks to Karen Schloer and Carlos Ramirez , staff of Doubletree hotel for the extraordinary service they have rendered to make this event successful. We salute you, the sponsors and the Volunteers.
Representative Organizations

Memnosyne Foundation: Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk
Working to enable the people of the world to become conscious cultural creators!

North Texas Islamic Council: Jamal Gharbieh
NTIC is a council of the area's 16 largest Islamic Organizations formed to achieve unity, clarity & understanding of Islam and Muslims in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Foundation for Pluralism: Mike Ghouse
Is an non-profit organization committed to promoting goodwill among the peoples of different affiliations, we believe knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different point of view.

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

We thank the following organization for expressing their support by attending the event, please send your information,  we will continue to update the press releases and our website with the same at www.Foundationforpluralism.com . Please send to ConfirmAttendance@Gmail.com 
  1. Foundation for Pluralism - www.Foundationforpluralism.com
  2. World Muslim Congress - www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
  3. Memnosyne Foundation –
  4. Orbits of Influence - www.Orbitsofinfluence.com
  5. Hare Krishna Temple of DFW - http://www.radhakalachandji.com
  6. Baha'I Faith -  http://www.bahaisofdallas.org
  7. Jain Society of North Texas
  8. Federation of Jain Centers of North America - www.jaina.org.
  9. DFW Hindu Temple Society of North Texas - www.Dfwhindutemple.org
  10. Adat Chaverim Synagogue -  www.adatchaverim.org
  11. ILE Olokun Sanya Awopeju of Texas - http://www.ileolokun.org
  12. Zoroastrian Association of North Texas - http://www.zant.org 
  13. The National Association Of  Muslim American Women
  14. Academy of Guru Granth Studies - 
  15. Indian Cultural Heritage Foundation -  www.ichf-us.org
  16. Muslim Community Center
  17. Orthodox Christian Church - www.stsavaplano.com 
  18. Center for Spiritual Living - http://www.csldallas.org
  19. Dallas Masjid Al-Islam
  20. American Clergy leadership conference
  21. Masjid Warith Deen Mohammed
  22. Family federation for world peace
  23. American Family Coalition
  24. The Church of Living God, Oak Cliff
  25. International Shinto Foundation- http://shinto.org
  26. Kurdish Human Rights Watch - www.khrw.org 
  27. Center for Spiritual Living - http://www.csldallas.org
  28. Mera Ticket - www.meraticket.com
  29. Sikh Temple of North Texas - http://www.sikhtempledallas.org
  30. Somanatha Kshetram of North America (SKNA) - WWW.SRISM.ORG/
  31. Plano Indian Lions Club
  32. Hazara  American Welfare Association, Inc.
    33.
  33. Ismaili Muslim Community of North Texas
  34. Art Spirit - Center for Spirituality - www.artspiritdallas.org
  35. Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam -  www.alislam.org 
  36. Texas Muslim Womens foundation - http://www.tmwf.org
  37. Madinah Masjid of Carrollton - http://www.madinahmasjid.com
  38. American Muslim Forum -  www.AmericanMuslimforum.org
  39. The Lone Star Crescent - www.myCrescent.com
  40. Muslim Alliance Southwest
  41. Institute of Medieval and Post Medieval Studies
  42. American Muslim Task Force
    43.
  43. Center for Global Diplomacy
    44.
  44. Islamic Association of tarrant County
  45. Brahma Kumaris of Dallas - www.bkdallas.org  
  46. Department of Justice, Community Relations - http://www.usdoj.gov/crs
    47.
  47.  India Association of North Texas - www.iant.org
  48. American Federation of Muslims from India
  49. United Nations Association of Dallas
  50. Unity Church of Arlington
  51. IANT - Free Medical Clinic
  52. 911 Unity walk - Washington DC - www.911unitywalk.org
  53. Dallas County Republican Party
  54. Dallas County Republican Party
  55. Pakistan American Congress
  56. The Freedom and Justice foundation - www.freeandjust.org
  57. North Texas Islamic Council
  58. Chinmaya Mission of North Texas

Full report : http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/UnityDayUSA.asp

 Contact information

 

THE FOUNDATION FOR PLURALISM

Studies in Religious Pluralism and Pluralistic Governance.

 

Our mission is to encourage individuals to develop an open mind and an open heart toward their fellow beings. If we can learn to accept and respect the  God given uniqueness to each one of the Seven billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge -  I believe knowledge leads to understanding, and  understanding to appreciation of a different point of view. - Mike Ghouse

 

Upcoming Events of Understanding:

 

1.      An Evening with Islam -  Understanding Islam -  Saturday, 10/28/06

2.      Thanksgiving Celebrations - Cultural Pluralism on Saturday, 11/25/06

3.      An Evening with Christianity – understanding Christianity – Saturday, 12/23/06

4.      Holocaust Commemoration – Sunday, Jan 28th, 2007

5.      An Evening with Hinduism – essence of Hinduism – Saturday, Feb 24th, 2007

6.      Check the website for updates...

 

Unity Day is an initiative of:

 

World Muslim Congress

GOOD FOR MUSLIMS & GOOD FOR THE WORLD

PRESS RELEASE - NANCY PELOSI

Contact: Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916

Dallas, Texas. Friday, September 8, 2006.  Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was rather pleased at the proposal of Unity Day USA, to commemorate the tragedy of 9/11 and celebrate the Unity of Americans.  She was excited with the idea of introducing the bill in the house to proclaim 9/11 as Unity day USA.

I spoke with the house democratic leader Nancy Pelosi this morning, after she addressed a gathering of Dallas Walla’s. She talked about 9/11 and said that she and her party are inviting the President and his party to join together on the steps of the capital Hill and express unity and solidarity to the nation by singing the American National Anthem, as they did five years ago.

The idea of the Unity Day USA has come now, we hope, we can pursue this to have Nancy Pelosi introduce a bill to make UNITY DAY USA, a national Holiday. 

The Foundation for Pluralism, the World Muslim Congress and Muslims of North Texas are hosting the 2nd Annual UNITY DAY USA. You are cordially invited to part take in the ceremonies commemorating the tragedy and celebrating the Unity of Americans on this day.

Peace, prosperity and security for every American is our vision. In order to achieve that, we need to remain connected to one another; we need to come together as one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.  UNITY DAY USA was born to express our vision, that each one of the 297,018,658 of us is part of the American mosaic. This event is a step towards fulfillment of that vision.

  • WHAT - 9/11 Memorial - Unity Day USA   

  • WHEN - 4: 15 PM to 7:00 PM on Sunday, September 10, 2006  

  • WHERE - Doubletree Hotel, 4099 Valley View Dr, Dallas, TX 75244 - LBJ/Midway 

  • RECEPTION - Reception followed by refreshments.

  • FREE - Event is Free and public is invited

  • WHO - Mayors, Religious Leaders, FBI, Police and Fire Chiefs - 56 Organizations and people from all races, ethnicities and religions. 

Mike Ghouse, the president of the Foundation for Pluralism is committed to making this day a national holiday  " God willing this day will become the day for national unity, where every American of different affiliations will come together on this day to re-affirm his or her commitment to making America a peaceful, secure and a prosperous nation, that is my dream"

On September 11, 2007, we are planning hosting the UNITY DAY USA in ten (10) Cities all across America.  "No American will be left behind, we will reaching out and touching people from different faiths (theists and atheists), races, cultures and ethnicities, and on this one day, every year, with our God given uniqueness, we will rededicate our pledge; one nation under god with liberty and justice for all and commit to the Safety, peace and prosperity for every American."

Our religious leaders will seek guidance through prayer from scriptures of their respective faiths.  And our Civil, business and community leaders will echo the same sentiment and suggest ways in which we as individuals can work towards a cohesive and thriving community.

More details  www.UnityDayUSA.Org

Mike Ghouse
 
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