Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Interfaith Christmas: Boundless God

No matter what faith you profess, the interfaith Christmas can offer everything you had always wanted; to live in peace and harmony with fellow beings without apprehension or fear of the other.  I hope this essay shines a light on the larger idea of humanity, and gives you a sense of connection with fellow beings without being a Christian.  
Full article - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/interfaith-christmas-making-god-boundless_b_2347856.html


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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

Muslim Leap of Faith: Offering Interfaith Prayers at Newtown

Would Mahatma Gandhi go to heaven? Even though each member of the faith will thoughtfully acknowledge that he would, but the ones who live in cocoons, would say, not until he calls on Jesus as his savior, or recites the Shahadah (Muslim pledge). A Muslim took an incredible leap of faith on the national TV on the eve of interfaith prayers in Newton Connecticut, in presence of the president, watch the video.


  
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

God belongs in our hearts and not school

The need to keep God in our hearts is important, he remains a loving God, but when we project him in public square or schools, it has a chance to hurt one child or the other, who does not see God the same way as others. Should we not respect that individual?

Would God like any one of his children be hurt invoking his, her or its name?

There 'may' be a way out, if we all can agree that God is a convenient name to the energy that caused, sustains and terminates life, and each one of us can respect each others' belief that it could to be a male/ female or genderless, one, none and many, nameless/ multiple names, existent or non-existent being, specific or generic... isn't that causer universal? Shouldn't we?

Isn't better to keep God in our hearts than dump him in school and hurt him? Have we not created him in our own image, as others have in their own image?
 


 
I see a lot of sense in keeping God to ourselves, and within our hearts. We can always pray anytime and anywhere, one the bus, in the shower or in a quiet moment. Until such time when all of us can accept to school prayers, not the majority, but the unanimity across the board, we need to respect this particular law. Our model is something other nations can emulate some day, a model where every human is valued for who he is, what he eats, drinks, wears or believes. As long as one’s actions do not affect public safety, he or she should have the freedom to do anything. My freedom hinges on freedom of others that surround me.
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Prayer Vigil for Victims of Connecticut Shooting in Dallas

PRESS RELEASE

We have to work on developing a society, where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. We pray for peace and kindness to prevail, please join us for the interfaith prayers to honor the ones who have lost their lives.




Dec. 15, 2012 - We stand with the families, who have lost their loved ones at the Connecticut shooting today, and we pray for the safety and security of the ones shaken by the incident, and pray that confidence is stored to the children and families who are scared.

As Americans we have to come together to mourn and reflect on this tragedy, and find sustainable solutions. We have to assure our children, or those children who have no one to assure, that what happened is bad, and we all have to work to prevent it.

We have to remember that no matter how hurting it is, we cannot blame an ideology or guns; it is the reckless attitudes of the deranged individuals that caused the killing. They need help, if we spot such individuals, we need to report them to find help for them, it is our silence that is bad, and we need to let our children know that if they see any one behave unusually, they need to tell the parents or their teachers in school. We have had four incidents this year in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Illinois and now in Connecticut and we cannot have our children live in fear.

We pray for peace and kindness to prevail, and seek the divine guidance to bless us with guidance to prevent these tragedies. At this time, we have to come together to express our support to the victims and their families.

We have to work on developing a society, where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. We are all in this together.
 
Interfaith Prayers and Vigil
Time: 3:00 PM
Day: Saturday, December 15, 2012
Venue: Fun Asia grounds, 1210 E Beltline Road, Richardson, TX 75081

All are invited to participate in the interfaith prayers.

Contact
John Hammond-(972) 904-5904 - John@Funasia.net
Taiyab Kundawala-(469)-733-0859 - Tkundawala@hotmail.com
Mike Ghouse-(214)-325-1916 - MikeGhouse@aol.com
 
If you wish to send an official statement from your organization to be published at various sites, please send the email to us.

It’s shocking to hear the news about the shooting in Connecticut killing of 27 people including 20 children. It has gripped the nation beyond belief. Millions of Americans are expressing their shock. As the president said, our hearts are broken and we need to hug our children tightly to comfort them and pray for those parents, who cannot. Our hearts are indeed broken.

Here is President Obama's message
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIA0W69U2_Y



INITIAL LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS
Exclusive media partner; FunAsia

  • America Together Foundation   
  • India Association of North Texas
  • World Muslim Congress
  • Indian American Friendship Council
  • Pakistan Association of Texas
  • Bangladesh Association of North Texas
  • Nepali community
  • DFW International
  • NASIM Foundation
  • World Muslim Congress
  • Foundation for Pluralism
  • DFW Gujarati Samaj
  • Gurdwara Sikh Sangat, Euless. 
  • Dallas Indian Lions Club
  • Makkah Masjid Garland
  • Anjuman E Najmi 
  • Masjid Bait-ul-Ikram



Mike Ghouse, Speaker
America Together Foundation
World Muslim Congress

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Muslims wish a Happy Hanukkah

HAPPY HANUKKAH | HAPPY CHANUKAH
Foundation for Pluralism | Pluralism Center

Festival are a collective celebration of an achievement in a given community. The Festival of Hanukkah celebrates the recovery and re-dedication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E. Hanukkah, (also Chanukah) is celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev and each year the date differs due to the Lunar calendar. This year the festivities began with the lighting of Menorah on Saturday, December 8th and the celebrations will continue thru the 15th.


 Continued at - http://pluralismcenter.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-hanukkah.html


The right winger in you

It is not you, nor is there a group called right wingers. It is each one of us once a while, occasionally or frequently a right winger.  There is a right winger in each one of us be it politically, ethnically or religiously at least once in a life time.  Check the following seven things out;

  1. No tolerance for criticism of the president, as long as president is from their own party. For example, a right wing Republican would not tolerate any criticism of Bush, it amounts to disloyalty to the nation and without blinking an eye, you are unpatriotic, and they will accuse you and blame your religion, race, ethnicity or immigrant status or whatever they can find that is different in you.  
    They usually attack the person instead of the issue, the far left Democrats have the same germ in them. The attacks on Obama by these right wing possessed individuals is pathetic, they lost the election, and instead of gracefully accepting the will of the people, they attack the person of Obama, some of those assess, even attack Michelle Obama. This is not good for the nation.  For every accusation you hurl on Obama, the same can be hurled on his predecessor - Obama went to Vegas when Sandy hit the shores, what did Bush do when Katrina hit Louisiana?
  2. If you are Chinese, Nigerian, Brazilian, German, Arab or African, simply substitute the words India or Pakistan with the name of your nation, the following experience would be the same. The Indian and Pakistani right wingers are no different. Criticism of what goes on there amounts to India or Pakistan bashing to them, they find it easy on their intellect to go ahead and make a judgment on you, instead of dealing with facts. Of course,  facts don’t matter to them. They hunger to create passionate supporters by painting the other guy their enemy. I see this every day among these two groups as well as the Bangladeshis’, switch it to Nigerian or Libyan and see if it works.
  3. Religiously, the right wing Muslims, Christians, Jews or Hindus behave the same. By the way, there are right wingers among Buddhists, Sikhs, and even Bahai’s.  I have experienced all of these; it will be in my book, something you already know. No matter what is suggested, their minds quickly decide that others are attacking them, and that the others are their enemies. They ruin the joy of their life by living in constant anxiety.
  4. By the way, conservatives are not right wingers, although right wingers can be conservatives. The right wingers are calling themselves conservatives, they are not. Conservatives want to stick with what is proven, what is known and what is working, and resist experimentation. They are not risk takers. You and I are conservatives in some areas and in the same areas occasionally, frequently or never. 
  5. What makes one a right winger? You can observe the following; facts don’t matter to them, they insist their version is the final truth, and how dare you not accept their view as a fact? They are usually blunt and tell you that you are wrong, facts don't matter to them.  If you disagree with them, they become a passionate enemy of you; they will make the time to tell all the bad they they imagine about you, and tell others. They are risk takers, and are not embarrassed if they make the sense or not, if they don’t, they get louder and chase you to the end of the world. They usually bond on the basis of hate for others, which are temporary associations.  
  6. Relax, you are not a right winger, if you are reading these words. Right wingers moved on out after item # 1 and have already responded in their minds, or passed it on to their friends… They rarely read things… remember facts don’t matter to them. They may be engaged in item # 5 right after # 1.
  7. We need to be compassionate, I wrote this as an example, some of my closest friends are right wingers in religion, politics, culture and cuisine and I have found a way with some of them in my workshops, talks and dealings - to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us. Pluralism is an attitude of respecting who you are, without having to agree with you. I have found that their attitudes are molded by lack of knowledge about you, of inexplicable phobias....if you take the time, and when they see that you care, the fears vanish for them. They can become great friends with the same intensity for friendship. 
God bless us all with peace, may our anxieties recede, and may we give each other full value as we give to ourselves. Amen! We may all learn to respect the intentional diversity of God's creation, it amounts to genuine worship of God.



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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

Call for Shia and Sunni Muslims to come together

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/12/majlis-e-aza-maulana-hayder-shirazi.html


I attended the Majlis-e Aza, a Shia Muslim gathering at my friend Aftab’s home, over 50 families attended to listen to the visiting Maulana Hayder Shirazi in the Majlis (gathering).
The experience was spiritually enriching and broadening my horizons of accepting the otherness of others. Indeed, it is time for us to get to know each other, we don’t have to agree or disagree with our madhabs (denominations) and rituals, but we can develop the capability to respect each other and find solutions to live in harmony. We need to include in our teaching, that disrespecting Allah's creation, fellow humans, amounts to disrespecting God. Indeed, God says in Quran, killing one person amounts to killing the whole humanity, and saving one life is like saving the whole humanity.


Two teenagers sang the Marsiya (melancholic songs) followed by a chorus, “Mere Abbas Jahan ho” it was powerful and moving. 
Abbas was the 32 year old brother of Imam Husain (as). He was Imam Husain (as) and Islam's flag bearer. He is known for his utmost loyalty to Imam Husain. He was brutally martyred by Yazid's (self proclaimed, evil king) army when he went to fetch water for the very young children within Imam Husain's family who had been thirsty for more than 3 days.

Ali Asghar  was a six month old son of Imam Hussain, who was prevented from getting water from the river for his sick child, while he was waiting and holding Asghar in his arms, Yazid’s men (evil king) shot an arrow at the baby and martyred him. This sad story is a reminder of what the evil is capable of doing, and the need for us, each one of us, to speak out against evil things happening in our daily lives.


The program began by praying for a Shia girl killed in Pakistan. I felt the surge of blood in my veins, what is happening to Pakistan?   During this Muharram (first month of Islamic Calendar and the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain on the 10th) an endless number of Shia Muslims were killed,  a few weeks ago a bus was stopped and all the people were asked to get out, and they killed each one of the 19 Shia in the bus, sparing the Sunni. This is simply not acceptable. Until we feel the suffering, and until we stand up for the rights of others be it Muslim or not, the humanness in us gets depleted. These Murderers are disrespectful to God.

Like all minorities around the world, the Shia, Ahmadiyya, Hindus and the Sikhs minorities in Pakistan are constantly harassed and hounded. As I reflect upon it, the issue is much bigger than Shia-Sunni, it is the majoritarian arrogance that wants to oppress the minorities.  It takes violent form in Pakistan, but takes different avatars in different places including our own United States, Israel and other nations. Even though we are a blessed country, we still have bigots running and saying things that don’t make sense. Thanks to the founding fathers for making this nation respect the rule of law, which ensures every citizen, a relative safety. 

The civility of a nation hinges on how it treats its weak, its women, its minorities and the ones in the ditches.  

While sitting in this particular Majlis, for a few brief moments, I asked myself, are we not all Muslims? We eat the same food, we look the same and we speak the same language, and most of us espouse the same faith. What causes the hatred and ill will that is going on in Pakistan? Why do we exclude others in our conversations?

Of course, the Maulana addressed the Shia more than once; after all it was a Shia gathering. The same thing happens at the Sunni, Bohra, Ismaili or Ahmadiyya gatherings; their talk does not include other Muslims at all.   

 Yet, I have heard the all-inclusive-prayer, even today, as in every Mosque I have been to, “Allahum maghfirli wali walidaiyya wali ustadhi wali jam'il mu'minina, wal mu'minat wal muslimina wal muslimat - Dear God! Forgive me and my parents, and my teachers, and all the believers, the Muslim men and women.” Do we mean it or we just recite it to get it over?    You cannot seek peace for just one, and not the other, as our peace hinges on peace to others. 

 Well, that is the case with every place of worship I have been, whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism or Buddhism.  That is contrary to the teachings of all religions, each one of them ….taught to get along and respect the other.  We have to learn to know each other, the more we know the other, the less conflicts we would have (Quraan 49:13).


Maulana Hayder Shirazi has that calmness on his face that generates tremendous respect for him, a humble man, as most of the Imams I have known in Dallas.  He is visiting from London and studied in Qom, Iran for 14 years! I was glad to hear that they also teach about other denominations of Islam, as an optional subject.  The teachers are Shia who teach the Sunni version of Islam, I am sure it will be honest, as I have known the Sunni Imams who respectfully talk the Shia version, as Shia understand it.

Maulana talked about loyalty and obedience to the principles, and elaborated Ateeullaha o Ateeur rasool very well. If you are not loyal to your wife, and vice-versa, more than likely you will not be loyal to the creator, if you don’t listen to parents, more than likely…. I was watching the youth listening to him attentively. He communicates well with his message.

He also talked about Tasweef; that is procrastination. He shared the story of two brothers from Baghdad who went to India, and one of them could not go to Hajj while the other did. The point he was making was, if you postpone Hajj, you can justify it to perform next year, or when you get older, or if it is about repenting, we cannot wait till the last breath, as we may not get the chance to repent it. His advice; do it now.

He was talking about the Ghayab Imam, or the Imam who would appear one day, and he will, if we do our part, be righteous. 

The Haram and Halal conflicts ends with life on the earth, he said one would be free from such conflicts in heaven. God can do anything kun fa ekoon, he just thinks and it happens. 

He was telling the story of Karbala  and when he narrated the part, where Yazid wanted Zainab be killed and brought to him in disgrace. Thanks to Munawar-Ali Abbas for sharing the following, "Zainab was the sister of Imam Husain (as). She accompanied Imam Husain (as) to Karbala. After the brutal Martyrdom of Imam Husain (as) by the army of "evil king," Yazeed (la), the women and children of Imam Husain (as) were made captive by the army of Yazeed (la). They were all taken in great disgrace and were tortured from Karbala to Kufa, and from Kufa to Syrai (Shaam)."

She would not compromise her principles but willing to die for it instead. The adults started crying out loud, and for a few minutes, I was the only one who did not. As the story progressed, listening to the humiliation of Zainab endured against Yazid’s unabashed harassment, I could not hold myself from crying. I just could not believe I did that. It felt good to intensely feel the suffering, humility and pain. You always salute those who stand up for the righteous principles.

At the end of the program, everyone got up and followed the unique Shia ritual, of beating the chests with both hands; it was loud and in unison and went on for about 15 minutes. The chanting was “kat gaye aale Muhammad ke gharanay walay” - martyred are the prophet’s family members. 

Everyone was deeply involved in the chanting and the chest beating, and momentarily I felt odd…and out of place, but was admiring the bonding it was facilitating. There was a temptation not to be an odd ball and do what others were doing… but I was severely fighting within myself, then I chose not to, as it would be something other Sunni or other Muslims cannot replicate, but we need to know each other.  My comfort increased when I invoked Pluralism ideals in me that we all have to learn to respect the otherness of others, and we do not have to agree with each other, but be respectful of each other. Indeed, that model was provided by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as expressed in the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsbuwRSnvNY

And that is what knowing each other means in Sura 49:13 is expressed in the following video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDwxcz65XY

The food was good, it was lentil-meat with Naan and Halwa!

Insha Allah, I will be writing the essence of Hanukkah, Christmas and other festivals in December, so we can now about each other. Please make an effort to participate in Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Ahamdiyya, Ismaili, Deen Mohammad and other Muslim events. To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill.



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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

Building Bridges on Turkish TV with Mike Ghouse

God wants us to live in peace, and harmony with each other.  If we follow the Sunnah (practice) of Prophet Muhammad and follow the Guidance of Quraan, we can seldom go wrong.   What does it take to build that momentum… to bring about a change in a society,   I am glad to see Muslims taking the initiatives to build a cohesive world. The Role of Muslims in building cohesive societies was broadly the topic, and Pluralism, co-existence, Islam, Israel and peace were part of the conversation.  Continued http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/11/building-bridges-on-turkish-tv-with.html


VIDEO http://www.harunyahya.com/en/works/154210/

 

Thanks to the Turkish Television A9 for their program building bridges with guests from around the world. If you get the time, check out some of the fascinating interviews.

I was called to talk about Role of Muslim in the world, and Pluralism, co-existence, Islam, Israel and peace. What can we do to bring about a change in a society, what does it take... I am glad to see Muslims taking the initiatives to build a cohesive world.

On my part, I have a lot more work to do, one of them is to get Jews, Christians and Muslim to start including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Baha’i, Wicca, Earth based and native traditions as a part of their casual conversation.

My message at the end was, God has intentionally created us to different races, religions, ethnicities and cultures, let’s honor gods wish for us to live cohesively.

God willing and media willing, I will be on a few more TV talk shows in 2013, but my dream is to be on Jon Stewart and Rachel Maddow Shows, I will make the effort to communicate pluralism with humor.


Thank you.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace making, foreign policy, Islam, Israel, India, Pakistan, interfaith, and cohesion at work place or social settings. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a strong presence on national local TV, Radio and Print Media, and is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

United Methodist Church Panel on Politics and Religion

UMC PANEL
Politics and Religion:
A Discussion on the Role Religion Played in the Recent Presidential Election

November 29, 2012 12:00-1:30 PM
Panelists: Sam Hodges, Jeff Weiss, Derek Jeter and Mike Ghouse
URL: http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f39de1c5273648e9a4297c0e1&id=a99ed23aa9&e=5ea40fdbce
….

Note: due to time limitations; I am pleased to record just a few random notes from event, If I get the time, I will elaborate on each panelists take. 



A few highlights:

Jeff Weiss shared how the candidates Santorum, Bachman and Gingrich had defined themselves in sectarian terms, while Sam Hodges shared the movement of the society towards secularization, and Derek talked about the bubble Republicans lived in. My take was the trend towards pluralism, and that this election has firmly established the separation of church and state. 

Jeter spoke about the position of the evangelicals and we all discussed about the fears and phobias of each group, the fear of evangelicals to see the world move towards sinful societies, a violation of God’s covenant. He and I carried the discussion further about how the conservatives in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and others want to hang on the covenant. I can see the safety and clarity of that position. He was open to seeing it from a pluralistic point of view as well, meaning the same scripture is viewed differently by the liberals. 

It was a great honor for me to sit between Jeff and Sam, both of whom I have come to admire for years. Jeff was a recipient of the Pluralist Award for his equal opportunity criticism of faiths while Sam is also a recipient of the award in 2011 for this drive to present another point of view. The awards are bestowed at the annual Unity Day event. www.UnitydayUSA.com
 
My talking points (not sequences or written in sentence format) written earlier, but not shared as written, most of the conversation was in response to each other’s comments.

We think you should plan to have a short opening statement about who you are (2-3 minutes only please   and then be ready to answer questions from the group.

I was born and raised in India and chose to be an American some two decades ago. The most attractive thing about America is freedom, the personal, social, business, religious and cultural freedom. It’s near absolute freedom except where the public safety is concerned. Freedom is the most cherished value for me, it means questioning everything, including my own belief, and why I do or don’t do things.

I was raised in a Muslim family like millions of other Muslims, and when I was a teen, I chose to be ir-religious, however, there was not a religious place I did not visit or participate, and people’s faith amazes me. I remained an Atheist for nearly thirty years and about 15 years ago I chose Islam to be my religion, let me be clear, it could have been any religion, all of them provided the same value; to find peace within and peace with what surrounds.

 I have made some outrageous statements to the orthodox folks - that my religion is not superior or inferior to any. If it is superior, it amounts to arrogance and arrogance is the mother of all evil and conflicts. Religion is about humility.

My mission is pluralism - that learning to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given or genetic uniqueness of each one of us, if we do that, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Much of my work is linked to some 5 sites, and 30 blogs on each topic at
www.MikeGhouse.net  Thanks to Dallas Morning News, Huff post, Washington post, Hannity and sanity… for giving me the opportunity to express my thoughts.

I am committed to building cohesive societies, where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. My book will be out by Christmas and movie will be done next Christmas.
  

Where do we draw that fine line between church and state in the election process….for instance, if a church paid for billboards with political messages, or endorsing a specific candidate, should they lose their non-profit status?

Church is about faith, governance is about living with each other
First amendment
Non profits political orgs.. Where you don't even disclose the giver
Are we assuming all members of the church vote the same way?
Why should a pastor coerce an individual to hide his political identity to majority?
Big donors to sway? Isn't that a loss of freedom and democracy?

Where's the freedom?
Shouldn't that be an individual decision!

The purpose of nonprofit status was to give a break to smaller churches so they can attract donations… I kind of liken it to the Sherman anti-trust act which It prohibits certain business activities that reduce competition in the marketplace

How does the rise in social media change the dynamics of religion and politics? How should churches react to political messages posted on their Facebook pages by church members?

Social media had taken over religion...
Posting should be with disclosure... That it was a pr firm, no way to monitor...
I have personally crossed my own lines a few times... I was the only one, at times, and felt it was unfair to Romney...even though I was not voting for him..

How successful were religious groups during this election cycle (nationally and/or locally) …. are there any measurable statistics?

Very successful, all were driven by fear
-83% Jews, 95 Muslims, African 96, Latino 73%

The glbt was not an issue at all... The ones opposing are ones giving votes
There is a Trend towards pluralism... Separation of church and state in practice

What can we (as church communicators) do in the next four years to prepare for 2016? Will religion be more of an issue or less?

Keep state out of church
Same sex marriage, contraceptives, Sharia, question the politicians if they know the stuff to oppose or support an issue

Religion will not be an issue in 2016, the ones who bring, stand to lose, 2010 was an Anomaly...
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We have a great panel that will discuss the role religion played in this latest political cycle.
How did the various groups use religion as a positive marketing piece for a candidate? Or was it used as a negative weapon against a candidate? Did religion really play a role or was it just used to deflect attention?

Bring your questions about politics and religion and challenge our panel of experts in this arena!

Event Details
When: Thursday, November 29
Time: 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Christ United Methodist Church, 2801 Valwood Parkway, Farmers Branch
Cost: $15 and includes lunch.
RSVP: Email or call Deb Christian, dchristian@umr.org,  214.630.6495  x147

About our Panel:

 Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, initiator, organizer and mediator committed to building cohesive societies, and offering pluralistic solutions on current issues. Mike is a frequent guest on Fox News, “The Hannity Show”, and on nationally syndicated Radio shows including Dallas TV, print and radio networks, and occasional interviews on NPR. Mike is a member of the Texas Faith Panel at The Dallas Morning News and writes about issues facing the nation every week. He writes for The Huffington Post regularly, and occasionally for Washington Post and other daily newspapers and magazines around the world. Mike has published over 1000 articles on a variety of subjects.

Derrick Jeter has dedicated his professional life to challenging honest skeptics and seekers to wrestle with the most pressing questions regarding the life of faith and the preservation of liberty. After his undergraduate work at UT and receiving a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, Derrick began a public speaking consultancy, working with business professionals and politicians. Derrick is also the author of two books published by The Jeter Press: A 911 for 9/11: Finding Answers to the Evil of September 11, 2001 and O America! A Manifesto on Liberty.

Sam Hodges, a managing editor at the United Methodist Reporter, has had a long career in newspapers, including reporting on religion for the Dallas Morning News. While at the Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register, he won a George Polk Award for a series on scarcity of dental care for poor children. He has won several other awards, and was a journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. He’s the author of a published novel and co-editor of a published book of his great-great-grandfather’s Civil War letters.

Jeffrey Weiss is a weekly columnist for Real Clear Religion, and a longtime reporter and blogger for The Dallas Morning News. He was previously general assignment reporter, and social services reporter for The Dallas Morning News, and a regular contributor to the late Politics Daily. He has also reported for The Miami Herald. Weiss was awarded second place in the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year award, and Schachern Award for Best Religion Section by The Religion Newswriters Association, as well as a contributor to the piece that won the Wilbur Award for Best Religion Section by The Religion Communicators Council, in addition to many other nominations and honorable mentions.

We are extremely thankful to Christ UM
C in Farmers Branch for being such a gracious host to our organization, but we would love the opportunity to visit other organizations throughout the DFW area. If your organization would be interested in hosting RCC for a luncheon in 2013, please contact Andra Dunn at programs@dfw-rcc.org for more details.

Our goal for the upcoming year is to grow our organization and inspire religious communicators in the metroplex in their ministry of telling the story of their organization, engaging their audience, and shining their light even brighter in a world that is hungry for positive and uplifting messages.
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Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net