Who speaks for Islam?

Who can speak for Islam?
http://dallasmuslimcenter.blogspot.com/2008/07/who-speaks-for-islam.html
Mike Ghouse

Any one can speak for Islam, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in his last sermon said that, among other things, he is leaving the book of guidance, the Qur’aan for Muslims to follow. It is up to the individual to learn, read and understand one's responsibilities towards oneself and what surrounds; life and enviroment. The intention to assign the responsibility to individuals was to prevent a few from making a business out of it; the clergy business.

God could not have been clearer than that. On the day of reckoning, or in your personal reflective moments of solititude, your bear the responsibility for your words and actions towards others; and not the clergy or even your parents or kids. It is you who will suffer or feel the serenity in you for your actions. Islam is about freedom and individual responsibility and finding the truth is your own responsibility.

There are several translations of Qur'aan ranging from enlightening ones to flawed one’s; One has to sift through them to understand the truth. I recommend the translations by Mohammad Asad, Yusuf Ali and Pickthal. Please remember translations are human and not God’s words. God's words are for our peace and tranquility and cannot be flawed, the flaws are in translations and understanding of it.

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.

The World Muslim Congress is driven by the Qur’aan, 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."

We are developing a list of speakers who believe “My faith is dear to me, as other's faith is dear to them." We have to build bridges, mitigate conflicts and work for a world of co-existence. Honoring other traditions does not deplete divinity of one's own faith. If you are a Muslim and wanted to be listed as a speaker, I have the responsibility to ask you to read Sura Kafirun presented at this link: http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2008/07/sura-kafirun-un-believers.html

For National speakers bureau, we are working on developing the list and it will be listed at http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/. For Dallas /Fort Worth area, please visit http://www.dallasmuslimcenter.com/

Our Mission

Our Mission is to work for a world of co-existence through inclusiveness and participation. As a member of diverse family of faiths, our efforts will be directed towards justice and equity to attain peace for the humankind with a firm grounding in commonly held values. We cannot have advantages at the cost of others. Such benefits are temporary and deleterious to lasting peace. We believe what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world, and vice versa, to sustain it.

Indeed we aspire to promote goodwill amongst people of different affiliations, regardless of their faith, gender, race, nationality, culture or any other uniqueness blessed by the creator.
Here is a beautiful Chapter (Sura) from Qur’aan that addresses the believers in other systems in the most dignified way, putting every one on par and without putting others down.

God wants justice, fairness, balance and peace for his creation and communicates that through Qur’aan. Indeed, the Qur’aan begins addressing God, as God of the cosmos to include every one and concludes with the chapter addressing the humankind in general. There are lots of distortions and propaganda out there to fill one with hate towards the other and take out one's own peace of mind and peace of others. God is not about that and certainly Islam is not about that. It is your responsibilty to find the truth and if you do, you will find the peace.
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109:1 SAY: "O you who deny the truth!
Topics discussed in this Verse: [Unbelievers]
Qul ya ayyuha alkafiroona
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ (109:1)
Baset - Hussari - Minshawi
Writer’s understanding: Addressing those individuals who denied the truth spoken by the Prophet
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109:2 "I do not worship that which you worship,
Topics discussed in this Verse: [Unbelievers]
La aAAbudu ma taAAbudoona
لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ (109:2) Baset - Hussari - Minshawi
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109:3 and neither do you worship that which I worship! [1]
وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ (109:3) Baset - Hussari - Minshawi
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109:4 "And I will not worship ~hat which you have [ever] worshipped,
Topics discussed in this Verse: [Unbelievers]
Wala ana AAabidun ma AAabadtum
وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ (109:4) Baset - Hussari - Minshawi
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109:5 and neither will you [ever] worship that which I worship. [2]
Topics discussed in this Verse: [Unbelievers]
Wala antum AAabidoona ma aAAbudu
وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ (109:5) Baset - Hussari - Minshawi
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109:6 Unto you, your moral law, and unto me, mine !" [3]
Topics discussed in this Verse: [Islam] [Muhammad:faith of] [Unbelievers]
Lakum deenukum waliya deeni
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ (109:6) Baset - Hussari - Minshawi
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Thank you.

07-19-08 :: Domestic Violence Fund raiser

MCC - Fundraising Event for Domestic Violence"
Muslim Community Center for Human Services
Saturday, July 19th 2008 at 6:30pm

Cordially invites you to our
Annual Fundraising Dinner

Marriott Hotel Solana
5 villages Circle
Westlake, TX 76262
817-430-3848


Saturday July 19th, 2008 6:30 pm Donation $25
(Entertainment by MCC Senior Citizen Group)

Please make checks payable to MCC for Human Services
For information call 817 589 9165 or 817 501 5554

Volunteer opportunities

VOLUNTEER SIGN UP SHEET

We go through day-to-day without realizing how much we owe to many nameless faceless people, collectively called volunteers. They help and touch our lives unbeknownst to us and without a charge. We can never repay them individually, but we can honor them by extending their services by volunteering ourselves. The gift of time is more personal than the gift of money. To begin with please commit two hours a week to serve others, especially the people we don't know. It will enrich our lives with a personal satisfaction deeper than pleasures of material things.

The purity of service and the un-adulterated joy becomes a reality when we serve humanity for the sake of humanity, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity or culture that erect artificial barriers amongst us. Selfless volunteering makes us worthy of God given blessings of joy and peace.If you wish to volunteer for the following organizations, please check the box.

[ ] Senior Adult Services For 30 years Senior Adult Services has assisted seniors and their caregivers with information, meals, transportation, home repairs and medical equipment—practical solutions to many of the common challenges of aging. Last year 395 volunteers gave 16,752 hours to help seniors live better. Volunteers may choose a regular schedule or do specials projects, but either way they both enrich the lives of seniors and enjoy experiences that are challenging and fulfilling. Gayle at 972-242-4464 or go to www.senioradultservices.org for more information.

[ ] www.metrocrestsocialservices.org. You are invited to volunteer in Metrocrest Social Services' Thanksgiving food distribution program on Sunday, Nov. 23. Volunteers 16 years old and older are needed either 1-2:30 p.m. or 2:30-4 p.m.; to sign up, please contact Dana Wilson at 972-446-2100, ext.19 or dwilson@metrocrestsocialservices.org. Other volunteer opportunities are available on Metrocrest's website. This is to honor Najma for her volunteerism.

[ ] Dallas Peace Center The mission of the Dallas Peace Center is based on a vision of reconciliation: to promote education, dialogue and action for peace and justice. Those interested in volunteering may contact Daniel at office@dallaspeacecenter.org or call 214-823-7793.

[ ] Keep Carrollton Beautiful is a catalyst and community liaison making Carrollton a cleaner and more beautiful place. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit, dedicated to empower Carrollton to enhance our community environment.Since 2004, we have held 48 public events utilizing 5,150 volunteers. Our programs funnel energy and money into community improvement in partnership with Carrollton’s public, private and civic groups. Our leadership is a volunteer Board who work in all aspects of the community.

[ ] Jobs with Justice is a coalition of union, church, civil rights, student, and community activists. We meet at 7 PM each 2nd Wednesday in the basement of Oak Cliff Methodist Church, 547 E. Jefferson in Dallas. Our web page is www.labordallas.org, where one can find recent and upcoming activities.

[ ] Al-Shifa Medical Clinic/Domestic Violence Program: The clinic provides free medical services to uninsured residents of Dallas-Ft Worth. It is located on 7600 Glenview Dr, Richland Hills, TX 76180. The clinic is open on weekends between 9 am to 12:30 pm. We provide services irrespective of color, creed, religion, or ethnicity. The clinic needs volunteers during the weekdays to set up appointments, and on Sunday, to assist in office work. We also need help in our domestic violence program assisting the Program Director on various tasks. Talaun Thompson, - MCC for Human Services at 817-589-9165

[ ] Foundation for Pluralism Our mission is to encourage individuals to develop an open mind and an open heart toward their follow beings. If we can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. We believe that knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different point of view. Through workshops, seminars and conferences we hope to create a culture of acceptance of others.

Mike Ghouse – Mike@FoundationforPluralism.com

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