II Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
Sunday, January 25, 2009 5:00 PM - 7:15 PM
Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance
211 N. Record St. Suite 100,
Dallas, TX 75202-3361
Website: www.HolocaustandGenocides.org
Admission is free - Your are invitedLimited Seating - Please RSVP to: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com
You may become a part of the history as this event is a stepping stone towards Peace in the Middle east. Continued: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Holocaust-and-Genocides-Press-Release-011709.asp
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
HR 34 : Are we pleasing the lobbyists or the people?
Pluralism in Governance
HR 34 : Are we pleasing the lobbyists or the people?
HR 34 : Are we pleasing the lobbyists or the people?The question is about the House Resolution 34 which “barely mentions the human suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.”We are the most powerful nation on the earth and Israel is the most powerful nation in the Middle East, both of us can decide whatever we want. Who will question us?
Continued: http://www.mikeghouse.net/Articles/House-Resolution-34-Congressman-Ellison.asp
HR 34 : Are we pleasing the lobbyists or the people?
HR 34 : Are we pleasing the lobbyists or the people?The question is about the House Resolution 34 which “barely mentions the human suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.”We are the most powerful nation on the earth and Israel is the most powerful nation in the Middle East, both of us can decide whatever we want. Who will question us?
Continued: http://www.mikeghouse.net/Articles/House-Resolution-34-Congressman-Ellison.asp
Friday, January 9, 2009
A Vaccine Against Terrorism - Inter-Faith Harmony
Mike Ghouse: Rajaque, I applaud you for writing this piece. I have always maintained it is not the religion, it is the individual that is wrong. Your statement goes very well with it " It's a tragedy that religion, which has been the source of superior virtues such as honesty, love, compassion, justice and peace, is being used as a motivation to spread terror and kill innocents" http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/WorldMuslimCongress/Articles/Mission-Statement.asp
The tail end of your article is fully supported in Qur'aan . We are driven by the Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."
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.
Keep it up... by the way, I am a great fan of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, here is a picture with him or several pictures with him.
# # #
-------------------------------------------------------------
A Vaccine Against Terrorism - Inter-Faith Harmony
By M. Rajaque Rahman
One thing for which the world would like to forget 2008 is the rise of fanaticism and religious terrorism. Though the world has lived with terror for years, it became more pronounced in 2008 with acts of terror linked to religion or belief system. The perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage targeted Jews for their faith.
It's a tragedy that religion, which has been the source of superior virtues such as honesty, love, compassion, justice and peace, is being used as a motivation to spread terror and kill innocents. Though motives and reasons vary from attack to attack, religious terrorism runs on the fuel derived from a misplaced belief that 'my way is the only way' and it's God's ordained duty to take up arms against those who have gone astray.
What can prevent fanaticism and religious terrorism in the New Year? Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel as religious leaders are coming out against terrorism and pushing for inter-faith harmony.
In November, over 6,000 Muslim clerics gathered in Hyderabad to denounce religious terrorism and tell the world that there is no place for extremism in Islam. Earlier, the orthodox Islamic seminary Darul Uloom at Deoband issued a fatwa against terrorism. More importantly, leaders from other religions were roped in for the Hyderabad meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. A positive signal to unitedly fight terrorism is being sent to the larger community.
Taking the call for inter-faith harmony a step further, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of Art of Living, who was chief guest at the gathering of the most influential body of Muslim clerics in India, offered to work with them to isolate fanatical elements abetting terrorism.
A month later, over 500 imams and rabbis gathered in far away Paris for the 3rd World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace where they searched for ways to resolve differences between Islam and Judaism, the main cause of violence and conflict in the Middle East.
These events may not immediately make religious fanatics desist from doing what they are doing in the name of religion. Yet they represent a serious attempt to find an alternative solution to religious terrorism.
While religion seeks to bring uniformity in a multi-faceted world, the goal of spirituality is to celebrate the diversity. To save the world from this pitfall of religion, the time has come to spiritualise religion.
One of the most notable aspects of contemporary spirituality has been its accent on educating people to a proper understanding of religion.
This is vital as the wrong understanding of the verses of scripture has caused upheaval and is used to justify narrow-mindedness. Religious terror arises when someone reduces his or her identity to a single affiliation based on a religion and a sense of victimisation.
The events of the last few years have shown that stringent laws and rules of society can go only so far in containing fanaticism in a society that loses spiritual values. The approach of offering spirituality as the only sensible response to terrorism addresses the problem at its roots.
Terrorism stems from wrong ideas and the struggle against it should be fought on the level of ideas. It's essential that people's consciences against terror are enlisted as a vital arsenal in the fight against it. For this, a mass spiritual awakening is imperative.
Spirituality nourishes the human values of compassion, love, caring, sharing and acceptance and honours the values found in all religions. This explains why spiritually-evolved people have never been at odds.
The time has come for people of all faiths to unite against terror and educate people against misinterpretation and misuse of religion. This can happen only when people are made to realise that God loves variety and diversity and that many different schools of thought exist in this world. This can happen only when people remember that truth is multi-dimensional.
(9.1.2009-The author is a volunteer at the Art of Living Foundation and can be reached at rajaque@gmail.com)
IANS January 9, 2009
The tail end of your article is fully supported in Qur'aan . We are driven by the Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Allah Knows and is Aware."
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.
Keep it up... by the way, I am a great fan of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, here is a picture with him or several pictures with him.
# # #
-------------------------------------------------------------
A Vaccine Against Terrorism - Inter-Faith Harmony
By M. Rajaque Rahman
One thing for which the world would like to forget 2008 is the rise of fanaticism and religious terrorism. Though the world has lived with terror for years, it became more pronounced in 2008 with acts of terror linked to religion or belief system. The perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage targeted Jews for their faith.
It's a tragedy that religion, which has been the source of superior virtues such as honesty, love, compassion, justice and peace, is being used as a motivation to spread terror and kill innocents. Though motives and reasons vary from attack to attack, religious terrorism runs on the fuel derived from a misplaced belief that 'my way is the only way' and it's God's ordained duty to take up arms against those who have gone astray.
What can prevent fanaticism and religious terrorism in the New Year? Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel as religious leaders are coming out against terrorism and pushing for inter-faith harmony.
In November, over 6,000 Muslim clerics gathered in Hyderabad to denounce religious terrorism and tell the world that there is no place for extremism in Islam. Earlier, the orthodox Islamic seminary Darul Uloom at Deoband issued a fatwa against terrorism. More importantly, leaders from other religions were roped in for the Hyderabad meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. A positive signal to unitedly fight terrorism is being sent to the larger community.
Taking the call for inter-faith harmony a step further, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of Art of Living, who was chief guest at the gathering of the most influential body of Muslim clerics in India, offered to work with them to isolate fanatical elements abetting terrorism.
A month later, over 500 imams and rabbis gathered in far away Paris for the 3rd World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace where they searched for ways to resolve differences between Islam and Judaism, the main cause of violence and conflict in the Middle East.
These events may not immediately make religious fanatics desist from doing what they are doing in the name of religion. Yet they represent a serious attempt to find an alternative solution to religious terrorism.
While religion seeks to bring uniformity in a multi-faceted world, the goal of spirituality is to celebrate the diversity. To save the world from this pitfall of religion, the time has come to spiritualise religion.
One of the most notable aspects of contemporary spirituality has been its accent on educating people to a proper understanding of religion.
This is vital as the wrong understanding of the verses of scripture has caused upheaval and is used to justify narrow-mindedness. Religious terror arises when someone reduces his or her identity to a single affiliation based on a religion and a sense of victimisation.
The events of the last few years have shown that stringent laws and rules of society can go only so far in containing fanaticism in a society that loses spiritual values. The approach of offering spirituality as the only sensible response to terrorism addresses the problem at its roots.
Terrorism stems from wrong ideas and the struggle against it should be fought on the level of ideas. It's essential that people's consciences against terror are enlisted as a vital arsenal in the fight against it. For this, a mass spiritual awakening is imperative.
Spirituality nourishes the human values of compassion, love, caring, sharing and acceptance and honours the values found in all religions. This explains why spiritually-evolved people have never been at odds.
The time has come for people of all faiths to unite against terror and educate people against misinterpretation and misuse of religion. This can happen only when people are made to realise that God loves variety and diversity and that many different schools of thought exist in this world. This can happen only when people remember that truth is multi-dimensional.
(9.1.2009-The author is a volunteer at the Art of Living Foundation and can be reached at rajaque@gmail.com)
IANS January 9, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Gaza Petitions to stop Killing
Gaza Petitions to stop Killing
Mike Ghouse
The leadership on both sides seems to rejoice death and destruction. In reality, these criminals don't give rat's xss about the Jews or the Palestinians, manufacturing and then destroying the enemies makes heroes out of these criminal leaders. These individuals have made shameful statements about each other.
They can be still heroes working for peace and dialoguing instead of killing and blaming each other. Shame on us if we revel death and destruction of any human being and shame on us if we keep electing these opportunists. When we elect the leaders, the critical requirement should be their peace making plans despite the hurdles and road blocks. It is time the majority of Israeli and Palestinians speak up, the few on both sides are determining the fates of all people.
Saving a life is like saving the whole humanity, says Torah and Qur'aan, it is time the individual criminal leaders follow their books and not stain their faiths, both of them are violating their own religion.
They are not Israelis, Jews, Palestinians or Muslims, they are simply criminals. It is time that we single out the individuals leaders on both sides and bring them to justice, neither public wants war and destruction and the bullies are not giving a crap and running propaganda's to justify their criminal activity of killing each other. To be true to ourselves, we need to hear both sides of the story to bring an end to the killing spree.
We need to question our prejudice and integrity as humans, if we are bent on blaming each other instead of saving the lives. Saving life should be our priority at this moment. Please sign the petitions and leave your comments at the bottom of this page.
http://www.mikeghouse.net/Articles/Save-Gaza-Petition.asp
Mike Ghouse
Mike Ghouse
The leadership on both sides seems to rejoice death and destruction. In reality, these criminals don't give rat's xss about the Jews or the Palestinians, manufacturing and then destroying the enemies makes heroes out of these criminal leaders. These individuals have made shameful statements about each other.
They can be still heroes working for peace and dialoguing instead of killing and blaming each other. Shame on us if we revel death and destruction of any human being and shame on us if we keep electing these opportunists. When we elect the leaders, the critical requirement should be their peace making plans despite the hurdles and road blocks. It is time the majority of Israeli and Palestinians speak up, the few on both sides are determining the fates of all people.
Saving a life is like saving the whole humanity, says Torah and Qur'aan, it is time the individual criminal leaders follow their books and not stain their faiths, both of them are violating their own religion.
They are not Israelis, Jews, Palestinians or Muslims, they are simply criminals. It is time that we single out the individuals leaders on both sides and bring them to justice, neither public wants war and destruction and the bullies are not giving a crap and running propaganda's to justify their criminal activity of killing each other. To be true to ourselves, we need to hear both sides of the story to bring an end to the killing spree.
We need to question our prejudice and integrity as humans, if we are bent on blaming each other instead of saving the lives. Saving life should be our priority at this moment. Please sign the petitions and leave your comments at the bottom of this page.
http://www.mikeghouse.net/Articles/Save-Gaza-Petition.asp
Mike Ghouse
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