To be a Muslim
is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts
and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to live
in peace and harmony with his creation; that
is indeed the purpose of religion, any religion. Please read our
Mission statement
-
Mike
Ghouse
FOR THE NEWEST ARTICLE
GO TO: www.WorldMuslimCongress.org
Are Muslims Part of the American Story?
We are not connected enough with the mainstream society
for vast majority of Americans to stand up for us,
empathize with us or even understand the truth about us
that we are no different than them in our endeavors and
aspirations. We must however express our gratitude to
the millions of Americans who have stood up for us,
compelled by their sense of justness and fair play.
Justice alone will not carry us further.
The Spirit, rituals and politics of Ramadan
The Spiritual masters have captured the human gravity
for rituals and have molded it with the art and science
of self-discipline in their respective religion. The
noble purpose of each one of them was to bring a balance
in our lives and a balance with things that surround us;
life and environment. Every faith is composed of a set
of unique rituals to bring discipline and peace to human
life. Fasting is one of the five key rituals that
Muslims around the world observe.
Women
Led Muslim Prayers
Oppression of people and suppression of Ideas knocks off the
balance in any given society and both go against the fiber of
Islam; freedom and justice. Now comes, Dr. Amina Wadud, a Muslim
woman has led the Friday congregational prayers for mixed genders,
it is indeed a radical idea for those of us who are entrenched in
thousands of years of traditions. Muslim Men are no different in
their insecurities than Jews, Christians, Americans, Arabs, Zulus,
Mongolians or the Mayans. If your strip the dirt from the
religion, it boils down to "a men thing" rather than a Religious
issue.
As a Muslim, I question the amendment in the constitution of
Maldives. If we don't question it, we would be giving a pass to
exclusive ideologies around the world. . The noblest among you
is the one who cares for the neighbors, Qur'aan says. Shame on
the fanatic few in the Government of Maldives to get a law like
this passed, it is against the spirit of Qur'aan and against the
spirit of Prophet Muhammad's Madinah pact that protected the
rights of every individual to practice his or her faith. In
fact, even conversion of the spouse was not a requirement in a
marriage. This amendment is contrary to the spirit of Islam.
Shaping the
Tomorrow - The center for Interfaith inquiry
What kind of world will we leave our children? Informed
by the past, how will we consciously create our future?
With a preponderance of behavior that only considers
today’s pleasures and the rollout of the latest toys,
how do we shift our focus to creating a healthy future
history in a multi-religious multi-cultural world?
When spirituality is being overshadowed by fear, fear
and intolerance of the other, how do we not
merely tolerate the other, but see them as interesting?
Who cares? When turf consciousness is the overwhelming
manner of conduct, how can we maintain our own
individuality, yet at the same time, create a future
coexistence that is both sustainable and nonviolent?
You still can't write about Muhammad(pbuh)
Asra Nomani jolts a
few, causes the majority of Muslims to think and
certainly agitates the extremists. I do know one thing
though; the masters know how to play the game, they know
how the extremists react and tease them to play; and the
extremists simply fall for it without realizing that
they were had. The Dutch cartoon Masters tested the
mettle of the extremists, and succeeded in getting them
to do the intended thing, so they can move their next
pawn; that Muslims are extremists. They have several
moves planned, as long as the dumb extremists play the
game, the Masters will give them the exercise.
Propaganda against Qur'aan Challenged.
It is time to get over the propaganda been dished out over the years.
There is no such verse "that ignites violence against 'Kafirs' in
Qur'aan". If you have the list produce me one. Not what is handed down
to you, but the one you can point to? Remember, finding the truth is
one's own responsibility. You have an open challenge here. Let’s clean
the slates and live in peace, one person at a time.
Birmingham council bans Atheist websites.
Today it is Atheism, tomorrow
it would be Hinduism, and day after tomorrow it would be Baptists
or Mormons or Muslims, then it is every one they disagree with.
Where is the end? How insecure is the council? Are they afraid
that by looking at Atheists sites, one would give up his or her
faith? As a Muslim I protest it.
Rabbi Rosen on Saudi Interfaith Dialogue
Without skepticism, cynicism,
understanding and support, no initiative will ever be
comprehensive and it will not take off the ground without a
combination of these elements that temper the progress. What is
the loss if we believe in this initiative?
The Saudi Dialogue by Rabbi Michael Lerner
Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor
of
Tikkun magazine, chair of the
Network of Spiritual Progressives. He files an objective report
about the Saudi dialogue, his skepticism and good omen included.
For the
Sake of Biblical Prophecies
The
majority of each group does not subscribe to God’s plan to destroy his
own creation deliberately and for what? All brands are fashioned by
God, he would not favor one over the other as it amounts to injustice,
and God is about Justice
Jihadists; Facts and Fiction
Throughout the history of mankind, insecure men
have found their false security in rattling up others, they have
been wrong and will continue to err. You cannot have security when
others around you are not; neither can you have peace when others
can’t.
Interfaith Dialogue begins in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative religious
societies and I am pleased to see it opening up to people of other
faiths. The process began in 2005 when Saudi Emissaries started
branching out all over the world to explore interfaith. In Dallas per
the request of a Saudi minister, I had arranged for a 20 member
meeting from Jewish, Islamic and Christian groups as an initial step
towards including all faiths in the near future. Since then the Saudi
Kingdom has taken series of steps in this direction culminating in
interfaith dialogue series. First it was the same three groups;
Judaism, Christianity and Islam and now, I am pleased it has included
Hinduism and Buddhism.
A tribute
to Najma Ghouse
Sunday, June 29, 2008 | 4:00 PM to 6:00
PM
Location information upon receipt
of your
email
The world is a better
place today because of the spirit of volunteerism in each one of
us. Every one is endowed with the gift of helping others and a
majority of us do receive boundless joy from caring about
others.
Picking things up for
some one who cannot, taking time to help a stranger and simply
doing good to others makes our heart smile, and we can do this
every day. Every thing we are enjoying today is due to the
spirit of volunteerism in others. When we receive a benefit, we
have to give it back as well to keep a running balance and a
living a happier life. It is as simple as that, that is the
secret to living a peaceful and happier life per the spiritual
masters.
Please join us and unleash the spirit of volunteerism in you.
You may be pleased to
hear the Hymns in Chorus from several faiths and enjoy the
moments of affection, romance and pure goodness.
Najma was stoic, she had
prepared herself for this journey, she had jettisoned the
anxieties and the desires of worldly living. She was content
with the purposeful life she lived, and grateful to the creator
for enriching her with a full spectrum of life experiences from
serene bliss to utter sadness, loneliness to being loved. 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
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.
Is Dawah (Proselytising) Obligatory?
Dawah, an invitation to be a good human
being ought to be practiced by every one, and it
should not be a condition to one’s spirituality. God
reserves the right to shower his grace on whomever he
chooses, but he has guaranteed paradise to every good
human being regardless of their race, religion or any
other uniqueness.
Me without my Hijab
Here is an account of an Iraqi woman
removing her head covering and how she saw herself
without it. I am certain, most women, particularly
those who wore Hijab once may find in tune with this
article. I have written a few articles on the subject,
whose links are provided below the article.
Islamic State or State of Islam
In the book review below, Aisha Sherazi
has rightly pointed out the issues we have not dealt
with, Insha Allah; I will make an attempt to responds
to a few issues; She writes “Which brings me to my
initial point. If interpretation is everything in
faith, how do we know we are on the right track and
not being led astray?”
Prophecy and the fundamentalists Quest
I have admired the articles and work of
Farzana Hassan, president of the Muslim Canadian
Congress who has taken a firm stand on moderation in
approach that the Prophet taught, I hope and pray more
and more Muslims join her in her Jihad to keep Islam
pristine, simple, all embracing and peaceful
Makkah, interfaith dialogue
Praise the lord, Alhamdu Lillah, I am
pleased to read this realization of King Abdullah
“King Abdullah has realized that we Muslims have to
play a part in reducing tensions across the world. It
is a courageous decision.” For the last few years, we
have been making attempts to define the role of
Muslims in the world based in Qur'aan, and here is the
sentence that makes part of the logo of this blogsite.
"To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who
constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures
goodwill for the peaceful co-existence, God wants to
live in peace and harmony with his creation."
Aga Khan - democracy and Pluralism
Where Hope Takes Root, a collection of
talks given over the past sixyears, the Aga Khan sets
out the principles that inform his vision of peaceful,
productive societies. He returns again and again to
the three cornerstones upon which his many years of
work in the developing world are based: democracy,
pluralism and civil society.
Dialogues - Jews, Christians and Muslims
First came an "Open Letter From Muslims
to Jews," signed by dozens of leading Muslim scholars
and intellectuals in the West, calling for "Peace,
Dialogue and Understanding Between Muslims and Jews."
Violence has no place in Islam
We can debate and argue with people who
are open to seeing another point of you in the least,
but truth in the most. Just about everything
circulating on the Media is propaganda and we simply
cannot fight it. We have to keep doing good and the
World will see it one day.
Is Tolerance Accepted in Islam
“The idea is that as Muslims we
should have no difficulty in developing an attitude of
tolerance towards some persons or some families, who
are not entirely like us. The paramount need is to
learn to co-exist.”
Hindu Muslim Dialogue
Muslims subtly condition themselves to
relate with Hindus based on their reference to God, as
one God. Although God is formless in both scriptures,
subconsciously most humans give a form and insist on
identifying with that One God, as though it is a
physical being. Given that, the efforts of Syed
Abdullah Tariq must be appreciated.
Critiquing Islamism and Maududi
I am glad to see Muslims unhesitatingly
critiquing the revered Muslims scholars of the past,
we need to sort out the truth from the bunk and there
is plenty of it, that is being unraveled now and Insha
Allah, in the next decade we must be able to take out
the additives by reverend Maududi, Qutub, Hilali and
their likes who sought political gains through
religion. Political Islam is a human endeavor to
dominate, influence and control others, possibly out
of fear of being run over or to cash in on the fear.
It is the same story with Zionism, Hindutva and
Neocons, agents of fear and war mongering.
God's Grace for Najma Ghouse
In the foot steps of Prophet Muhammad,
as a Muslim, 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. ..... The
Qur'aan says that God’s favorite person is the one,
who forgives and seeks forgiveness. It is also an idea
central to the teachings of Jesus Christ. I want to
thank every one who has participated and will
participate in this heart and mind purifying process
with Najma and I.
Islamic Etiquette
Besides the laws revealed by GOD that
were designed to govern our lives, the Quran has also
indicated a list of 'Etiquette' which we are advised
to maintain in our dealings with each other on this
planet.
The Rise and Fall of Islamic Empires
The slogans of political Islam remain
highly resonant, whether as a programme for peaceful
governance or an inspiration to wage war. Two new
books explain why
Islam's Muslim Women Scholars
One indicator of the development of a
society is its female literacy rate and, related to
this, the number of its female scholars. On both these
fronts, India's Muslims are among the lowest of all
the communities in the country.
MUSLIM MEDICAL CLINICS
The following article has touched upon the steps
in the growth of a community, starting out from
building the places of worship, and the other basic to
give the necessary education to retain the youth in
the faith and culture one was raised to the third
frontier; serving the community at large. One in 15
Americans cannot afford health insurance, the very
basic need for a healthy family. The entry of Muslim
community to take the responsibility to participate in
serving the community is a great welcome in building a
healthy nation by individual initiatives.
AHMADIYYA MUSLIMS, WHAT IS NEXT?
The real issue is not about who is a Muslim, but it is
about how the majorities treat their minorities.
Should the bad decisions of a few in the name of
Islam, reflect on the Muslim community at large? Now,
Indonesia is planning to ban the "heretical" Muslim
sect, should that reflect on Islam? The least we can
do is to speak up against the tyranny of one group of
people against the other. The easy option is to do
nothing and let the world believe that it is Islam,
and if we did that, we would lose our right to
complain that it is not us, well it is us. The actions
are not the work of a Looney brigade or some fringe
groups; it is the government of Indonesia succumbing
to please the few among them.
50 YEARS OF IMAMAT BY HH AGA KHAN
His Highness, Prince Karim Aga Khan completes 50 years
as the Imam of Shia Ismaili Muslim community.
Congratulations for leading the community to create a
better world through interaction with all of God’s
creation. During the 50 Golden years of Imamat, his
highness has dutifully followed Qur’aan, Prophet
Muhammad and Hazrat Ali.
ISLAMISTS V. ANTI-ISLAMISTS
If some one claims righteousness of his belief, he or
she must be willing to withstand the onslaught of
questions and bring wisdom, rather than the circular
logic to the debate. It is true that the
establishment, be it Muslim or otherwise is usually
short-sighted or perhaps overloaded with the issues
and is inclined to ignore the unproven, un-established
mavericks; Zuhdi is beyond that now. ISNA offers the
platform to express one’s ideas in their legendary
three day annual conferences. You have to be one of
the many to be a presenter.
MUSLIM MODERATION IN SHORT SUPPLY
Tavleen Singh states that Moderation is in short
supply among Muslims? In fact that is the only thing
in abundance with Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs
or any one for that matter. Most are moderate people
and they go on about their daily responsibilities of
earning a living and taking care of their families.
They do not wear their religion on their sleeves; one
may know some one is Muslim or a Hindu, but they don’t
wear a neon sign.
WHO SPEAKS FOR ISLAM
Who really speaks for Islam? Based on the largest and
most in-depth study of its kind, Who Speaks for Islam?
What a Billion Muslims Really Think presents the
remarkable findings of the Gallup Organization's
six-year poll of the Muslim world-the first ever
data-based analysis of the points of view of more than
90% of the global Muslim community, spanning nearly 40
countries and representing 1.3 Billion Muslims.
PROTECTING PAKISTANI HINDUS
Let me begin with the oft quoted statement “all it
takes for the evil to triumph is for good people to do
nothing". I believe the majority of either a religion
or a nation is good people. What is missing is action
on the part of these good people. They do nothing
until crises reaches to a point of destruction.
INDIAN MUSLIMS AGAINST TERRORISM
The image of Muslims is carved out by the media; TV,
Radio, Blogs, Webs and the Newspapers. Shamefully
their livelihood is dependent on creating a good guy
and a bad guy duel, in the US they have successfully
casted the Jews, the African Americans as the bad guys
and now they got Muslims staged for a few more years
until they find someone else, may be Mexicans or
Chinese. It is time that the Media resorts to being
truthful and more importantly, the Muslims need to
change that image as did the Jews and African
Americans.
33 TIPS TO PERSONAL JIHAD
This piece
is everything I have been wanting to write. What makes
one a
Muslim! Thanks to Ahumanb for sharing this article. I
have expressed similar sentiments over the years on
the World Muslim Congress forum. Subhan Allah, I ask
you, the reader to recognize articles like this and
rate them. Highest rating would be Alhamdu Lillah.
Please look at these two symbols and write to me which
one should be adopted - I will go by the votes for
each symbol, the one on the left is Calligraphic, and
the other is Geometric, both represent the phrase
"Alhamdu Lillah" Praise the Lord. - Send the email to
wmcArchives@gmail.com
Over the years I have been working on the definition
of a Muslim as " To be a Muslim is to be a peace
maker, one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts
and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence, God
wants us to live in peace and harmony with his
creation; life and matter. That is the purpose of
religion".
Divorce, Sharia and Qur'aan.
Qur’aan talks about a
refined language that occurs in a civil dialogue. The
pitiful language used by the interlocutors “Divorce is
given only when husband gets angry with his wife due
to some act of hers lack civility.” This is a bad
language where the woman is treated less than the man.
Alhamdu Lillah, Qur’aan has expressly added the
language that Women can initiate a divorce for the
very same purpose – to believe in the equal rights of
men and women. The language of the Ulema should be
“Divorce is an outcome of misunderstanding between the
spouses” which is a language of the equals, which is
an expression of Justice.
The Islamic State and Khilafat
The mainstream Muslims do not aspire or have any thing
to do with "Is the Ideological Desire to Establish an
Islamic State a Clear and Present Danger to the U.S.?"
They have come to America to be free and not have
another lawless society in the name of any religion, be
it their own.
The main stream Muslim knows deeply in his hearts that,
democracy is the right form of governance. No doubt,
there are a few out there, who dream Islamic form of
government, which is about justice, but by no stretch of
imagination they are main stream.
Fitna documentary, Geert Wilders, Muslims and the Qur'aan.
Those 14 verses have not only been misquoted for
millennia, but were mis-translated with the intent of maligning
Islam in the middle ages to protect the European kings and their
kingdoms. I have placed the correct translations for him to take a
look and seriously think about becoming a peace maker and not a
provocateur.
Is Pope Benedict a peace maker or a Provocateur
Did Pope's conversion event on Easter, mitigate or
aggravate the conflict? With all due respect to his holiness, his
words have not been that of a peace maker. There have been three
incidents where his non-action or silence would have been better.
The revival of comments made by the Emperor Constantine he
delivered in Germany irritated his counterparts in Muslim world,
then revising the prayer that was not kosher and now this. What
was the need to make the conversion on Easter? Provoke?
First church opens in Qatar
DOHA (AFP) — Christians in Qatar opened their first church on
Friday, joining fellow believers in most other Gulf Arab states
who have long been able to worship in churches rather than homes
and other venues.
Islam and Free Speech
The only way to put the devil out of circulation is putting
goodness in circulation. I hope we can make a better movie to
offset the bad one...
Prince Karim Aga
Khan opens Ismaili Centre in Dubai March 26, 2008. Member of the
Shiite Muslim Ismaili sect welcome their spiritual leader, the
Agha Khan (C), during the opening ceremony of the Dubai Park. The
Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world’s Shiite Ismaili Muslims,
on Wednesday inaugurated an Ismaili cultural centre in the Gulf
emirate of Dubai, the first of its kind in the Middle East.
Saudi, no respect for others?
The Shoura council of Saudi Arabia is utterly selfish group of
people, they do not care about Islam or Muslims. They want to live
in an Island where no one but them live. Let them call it a Saudi
Law and not paint Islam on their canvas. Respecting other
religions does not mean that you worship, accepting other faiths
simply means that you acknowledge their God given life.
Pope Baptizes a Muslim on Easter- March 23, 2008
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. Muslims have several choices
and need to evaluate the consequence of each choice.
A Catholic Church is Saudi Arabia- March 19. 2008
I 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.
Harvard University and Muslim Students - March
21, 2008
Most of the conflicts stem from a fear of loss,
or the fear that some one is taking advantage of the situation.
In this case, a few at Harvard University feel that Muslims
students are having privileges like the exclusive time given to
Muslim women at gym, or the Adhan, a prayer call. If these other
students ask for similar privileges and are denied, they have
every right to complaint, otherwise, the fear is baseless.
Terrorism is anti-Islamic, declares Islamic conference
of 10,000 Clerics
I am pleased to see this
statement aka Fatwa by one of the World's largest
Islamic learning centers. It is good to see the
establishment take action. I welcome this
wholeheartedly. Bush's war on terrorism is a dismal
failure because it does not target the individual
criminals who can be reached, accessed and punished.
Instead he blames the religion, which is intangible,
meaning cannot punish the religion, as it is not a
target, or gives birth to terrorists.
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.
Islam and competing in doing Good -
As Muslims we
may have never confronted this issue of Pluralism
before, but we are going to be facing this every day
from here forward. We don't live in exclusive
enclaves; we do not live on Islands. Every street will
have people of different faiths; every work place will
have interaction between every faith, race, ethnicity
and other uniqueness. For Muslims, Qur’aan has all the
answers, like Bible for the Christians, Torah for the
Jews and Vedas for the Hindus.
Barack Obama, the Shepherd of our Nation -
This
is the first time in our nation's history; some one is speaking the
needs, wants and voices of a majority of the people. He is neither a
right winger extremist, nor a leftist but a moderate right down the
middle embracing and bringing every American together to participate
and contribute towards the success, safety and security of America.
(information about Rally on Sunday, March 4, 2008 between 4 and 7 Pm
is included)
Petition to Save Fawza Falih in Saudi Arabia -
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 Sada as an US 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. When
Barak takes over the office, Sada certainly can change the false
perception that the same President had manufactured ”they hate us"
without any substantiation and no Journalist ever asking him to prove.
Islam & Pluralism
-
Prophet Muhammad signed the
Madinah pact with Jews, Christians and others. He did not agree with
how others worshipped God, but as a head of the Government, he
initiated and signed the treaty with them all that they are free to
worship their faith, indeed, he offered the Christians to do their
prayers in his own mosque. He got up and kissed the Torah during a
Jewish procession. It is this attitude of the Prophet that is called
Pluralism.
Will John McCain have the decency to apologize
(2/8/08)
-
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.
Qur'aan, Hadith and women (2/1/08)
-
The more I learn about Qur’aan, the more
confidence I derive knowing that God is Just,
Equitable, Kind and Merciful. In this essay Dr.
Asghar Ali Engineer brings to the fore