Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Ramadan day 10 Masjid Yaseen, Garland


Title - Ramadan day 10 Masjid Yaseen,
Date - Sunday, July 29, 2012 | Ramadan10, 1433
Mosque - Masjid Yaseen
Address - Campbell Road, Garland, Tx 75044
Website - www.MasjidYaseen.org
This article is at: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan-day-10-masjid-yaseen-garland.html
29 Mosques - 29 days of Ramadan at: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com
Today’s Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157630815553888/show/
Iftaar Time today: 8:32 PM CST
Recommended reading listed below the note


Masjid Yaseen is perhaps one of the first Mosques in the area that is built 10 years ahead of its time; ample parking and spacious sanctuary space to grow into. The paneling on the Mehrab is full two stories high and looks beautiful with full height windows. This mosque also has great PA system that gives out clear crispy voice of the Imam during the prayer.




Again, the dome of this mosque is first of its kind that is symmetrical, and raised above the roof top to be seen from outside. The builder in me spots things that are unusual; the dome on this mosque is raised high enough to be visible from the parking space and on either east or west, it is the south side that the dome is not visible, as the building itself is about 5 fee above street level. A few other mosques sunk the dome behind jagged edged walls on the outside, no idea why they cannot focus on street scape. However, that is a different design element altogether, the dome of this Mosque is just very pleasant and so is its color.


I was looking at the name of the organization, “Islamic Association of Arabi” unlike most other Mosques that list the name of the city. But when I browsed through the website I found what Arabi meant; it is a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana where this tradition of Mosque took root. Their website reads, “The Islamic Association of Arabi began as a small Masjid (Masjid Yaseen) and in only five years, the first boarding Islamic institute in the United States was established. From 1990 to 2005, fifty-five American Muslim children completed memorization of the Holy Quran and another thirteen went on to become Scholars of Islam. Today, Alhamdulillah, it is a sense of great pride that these products of The Islamic Association of Arabi are serving various Masjids and communities all over our nation.”
Brother Mir Yusufuddin, one of the earliest Muslims in Dallas
I was early in the mosque, and searched for the Hilali Khan** translation of Quraan, thank God; I did not see it, as it is one of the most dangerous translations of Quraan that fuels Islamophobia. There was a translation in Urdu, and read through the first chapter and it was fine. I am very conscious of the wrong translation and the havoc they play in the society. Sean Hannity at Fox News had mentioned that to me, and I presented him with Muhammad Asad's translation, which is by far the best, but not perfect.

IFTAAR - Breaking the fast;

It was great to see Brother Mir Yusufuddin in the Mosque. He is one of the earliest Indian Muslims pioneers to have come to the United States. Most of the migration started in mid-sixties, right after the passage of the Civil rights acts. But Dallas was blessed with about 10 families who came in early sixties - among them were Brother Sabu, Dr. Bukhari, Dr. Amanullah Khan, Dr. Afzal and others. I believe Yusufuddin bhai came in around that time. He was on my Radio show in 1996 where we did a talk show series and he shared the story of Dallas then - there was no Halal meat nor any Indian grocery was available at that time. We talked about the history of Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and others, then Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others. By the way, the oldest Indian in town is a Jewish man by the name Simon Saragon, who migrated with his mother in 1932! The second one was Ike Sekhon, a prominent Indian Sikh, who came to Dallas in 1956. He passed away a few years ago.
Prayers
The Audible Aameen chorus after Sura Fateha was toned down in this mosque, and at the Noori Masjid, it did not exist, in other Mosques it is vigorous.
After the prayers, it was time for Hadeeth reading. The gentleman, a Medical doctor was reading the Hadiths from Sahih Bukhari - In one Hadith, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says to his associates that if you can find a way to remove ill-will towards every one, keep it that way, that is the right thing to do. I was rather pleased to hear that Hadith. He shared a few other Hadiths, and repeated each one three times; I was attentive to see if the narrator of the Hadith was different, it was the same narrator. Later he told me that, it was prophet’s practice to emphasize it by repeating three times.

I wish he had clarified the depth of the words “ill-will towards none” as I have heard a few among us, who understand it be “ill-will towards no Muslim”. It should mean towards any human being. Not sure, if there is a feedback system in place to ensure the kids understood it the same way or the other way.

Last year, I was the speaker at Diwali Celebrations, and told the story of Rama and Krishna to the nearly all white non-Hindu audience, and when the time for feedback came, almost everyone understood the way it was explained to them. Everyone knew Sita and her relationship with Rama. I was surprised at the attentiveness and listening habits, and the president of Hindu Temple was rather pleased to see good feedback, so did Nishi Bhatia, a teacher and an organizer of the event.
Dinner
The Haleem was extraordinary, unlike the dark colored ones, this one was light , and maybe it was chicken Haleem, if there is a thing like that. Haleem is grinding the meat with lentil and cooking it together, creating a thick pasty pulpy food. It had the Hyderabadi touch to it - bits of cashew added to it made it delicious. I am waiting Ramadan to be over, so I can eat, Bisi Bele Baath, a south Indian vegetarian dish with Lentil, Veggies and Rice cooked together..
Taraweeh

I was stunned with the pace of Quraan recitation in this mosque. One gathering prays in the main sanctuary and the other on the second floor - the second floor guys are doing the Khatam-Khwani; i.e., completing the entire Quraan recitation in Taraweeh Prayers in 10 days! The main floor guys will finish in normal time - 27 to 28 days and these guys will do it three times. You know what time they go home? 12:30 AM! And what time do they get up? 4:30 AM!. That is dedication to Ramadan!
I hope you see the uniqueness of each mosque and will have no ill-will towards others for practicing their own version of Islamic rituals, and some times, very differently. By the time, I will finish writing about Ramadan in28 to 29 days, we all should have a pretty good idea about the uniqueness of each Masjid.
If reading this is offering you an understanding of different traditions within Islam, and is opening your heart and mind to respect other traditions, please feel free to share your comments.
One of the purposes for my visits to different Mosques each day, during the month of Ramadan is to understand various traditions and have the cushion to absorb them all and give full value to each one. I hope, some day, more and more Muslims make these rounds. It is humbling and yet powerful to have the ability to understand the differences and respect them.

Please mark your calendar for the Unity Day USA, a positive event that brings all Americans Together to rededicate our pledge for a peaceful, prosperous and secure America. We are a part of America and we need to feel and live it. If you liked some of the article, you will like the description of Unity Day USA at www.UnityDayUSA.com


A few other Articles to read if you have the time:

MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.comis updated daily.

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Ramadan day 9 Noori Masjid, Plano

Allama Iqbal said it well, “Tujhe kya milega namaaz may” what do you get out of fasting and prayer, if it does not make you a humble person. Humility is the other name for Taqwa or spirituality, it broadly means treating, feeling and acting equal with your employee, spouse, kids or others; Muslim or not. How do we measure up?

REFERENCES



Title - Ramadan day 9- Noori Masjid, Plano
Date - Saturday, July 28, 2012 | Ramadan 9, 1433
Mosque - Noori Masjid (972) 423-5786
Address - 1251 Shiloh Road, Plano, Tx 75074
Website - www.IslamicAcademy.org
This article: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan-day-9-noori-masjid-plano.html
29 Mosques - 29 days of Ramadan at: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157630798321704/show/
Iftaar Time today: 8:34 PM CST
Recommended reading listed below the note


EXPERIENCE RAMADAN AT NOORI MASJID


Artists rendering of Noori Masjid, click to enlarge the image
It is a euphoric feeling to feel at home again, I am home* at this Masjid as well, and I was thankful to God for removing every barrier in my life between me and another human being. I believe this is what God meant, to know each other, and when we do, we are home, no matter where we are, and blissfully, I am. The purpose to mention these feeling are to encourage you to have it, by merely respecting the otherness of other.
Allama Iqbal said it well, “Tujhe kya milega namaaz may” what do you get out of fasting and prayer, if it does not make you a humble person. Humility is the other name for Taqwa or spirituality, it broadly means treating, feeling and acting equal with your employee, spouse, kids or others; Muslim or not. How do we measure up?
The welcome was nice, as I was seated with a Khajoor (date) and a napkin, I was smiling to have an actual napkin in my hand.

There were at least six or seven men in bottle green turbans, something I had seen on the great grandson (14th) of Imam Bukhari, and who and I were fellow Ambassadors for peace with UPF. He passed away three years ago and I had great memories of him. At the Parliament of world’s Religions in Melbourne at the Flag Ceremony, I asked people to pick up the flag of a nation that is not theirs or the one their nation is in conflict with, I handed a Palestinian Flag to an Israeli Rabbi and the Israeli Flag to Imam Bukhari, in the spirit of goodwill both complied and actually said, it was a great feeling to be in other’s shoes.

Breaking the fast

Time for silence, everyone was ready for breaking the fast, the Imam recited a short three verse prayer before breaking the fast, and then the traditional verses after we had the date and the water, some had milk ( I am allergic to lactose). He recited and we repeated. It is not a common tradition in other Mosques.
Prayers
An after reciting the Sura Fateha in Qiyam (standing position of the prayer - the picture on left panel of the site gives different postures), it was quite, unlike the “Aameen” said in Audible Chorus Mosque wide in other Mosques. This is how it was when I was growing up, no one said Ameen out loud.

When growing up, I was taught, that in the final sitting position, the toes of the right foot remain facing in the same direction as you are, making an "L" out of your foot. Personally, I cannot do it any more due to my ingrown tow nails, and I do not see that discipline in the last 8 days, as I witnessed today. Physically, this posture brings relief to the feet.

The full prayer was identical to most of the Sunni tradition. However, after the conclusion of the prayer with a Salaam to the right and the left, there was supplication lead by the Imam, and the congregants say Aameen at the end of each verse recited, there was an invocation for Darood (reciting special verses of peace to Prophet Muhammad) as well. This practice is not common any more.


A unique tradition is observed here, and that is, whenever, the name of Prophet (pbuh) is recited, every one out of reverence, kisses his or her fingers and let the fingers touch the closed eyes for a moment.

The Iftaar dinner was delicious, The Biryani was one of the best ones I have had in a while, hot but great and the Pakoras were great as well.

The current Masjid is in a portable building, a fairly large one. When I was with Grand Homes, before we built the Model Homes, we rented these huge portable buildings for about $1000/month. The Mosque management has done a great job in customizing it to make a Mehrab for the Imam's area.
The Mufti Saheb, someone who has received special education to be able to render opinions on religious matters. Indeed, my nephew is planning to be one in Bangalore. He led the prayers short and sweet. Again, during Ramadan, let the prayers be short and avoid reciting long Chapters or taking more time in Ruku (bent position) and Sajda (prostration).
The man sitting next to me in the Masjid said he moved from Connecticut for his son’s schooling, the Plano Schools and the Religious school here at the Islamic academy of this Masjid. Wow! So many Muslims have moved to Dallas for the Religions education, I am not sure about other cities, but I do know we have great many schools. I may have to go sit and listen. It is my town, and I want to do my share of work in building a cohesive America.
The freeway was blocked and I had to cut through the traffic and barely made for the Iftaar. The Masjid is under construction, it is going to be a big one with 10,406 Square feet ground for the school and the sanctuary. It looks like a beautiful Mosque.
Visit their website www.IslamicAcademy.org

The Boston Globe News paper is one paper that captures pictures of Ramadan from around the world, there are some 50 pictures in one group showing how Eid was celebrated in 2009, and how Iftaar began this season. These are really beautiful pictures listed on this site.
My best memory of an Imam in green turban goes back to my Childhood, when an Imam visited from Hyderabad every year and gave sermons on Friday that was 45 years ago! The one I cannot forget is on Sura Fateha, the first chapter of Quraan, I don’t remember the details, but it produced good feelings then. Indeed, Sura Fateha is a summary statement of Islam.
If reading this is offering you an understanding of different traditions within Islam, and opening your heart and mind to respect other traditions, please feel free to share your comments.
One of the purposes for my visits to different Mosques each day, during the month of Ramadan is to understand various traditions and have the cushion to absorb them all and give full value to each one. I hope, some day, more and more Muslims make these rounds. It is humbling and yet powerful to have the ability to understand the differences and respect them.

Please mark your calendar for the Unity Day USA, a positive event that brings all Americans Together to rededicate our pledge for a peaceful, prosperous and secure America. We are a part of America and we need to feel and live it. If you liked some of the articles, you will like the description of Unity Day USA at www.UnityDayUSA.com


A few other Articles to read if you have the time:

What does God really want?

http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/happy-ramadan-what-does-god-really-want.html

Are Muslims a part of the American society? http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/10/are-muslims-part-of-american-story.html

A call from God to know each other http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/01/mission-of-world-muslim-congress.html


Please visit http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/ for a record since 2010.

MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.comis updated daily
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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Ramadan day 8 Imam Barga-e-Hujjat - Shia Masjid


Ramadan day 8- Imam Barga-e-Hujjat
Friday, July 27, 2012 | Ramadan 8, 1433
1112 Milam Way, Carrollton, TX 75006
 website:

Tonight’s Iftaar was at the Shia Mosque, known as Imam Barga-e-Hujjat in Carrollton. I went in early to familiarize myself with the Mosque, as this is in a new location; the last one I went was on Belt Line Road for Yom-e-Ashura two Muharrams ago. There are several Mosques and the main one is Momin Center in Irving.
Imam Irataza Naqvi and Mike Ghouse
The Names of  successive Shia Imams
Names of the Imams
clay tablet

The Shia Muslims follow a different time schedule for Iftaar; there is always that definition of dusk and last ray of the evening.  I went in there at 8:10, but found out the Maghrib (evening) prayers were at 9:00 followed by Iftaar.

I went out and had my Iftaar with Gatorade at 8:34 and was back at the Mosque in-time to join the Jamaat (Congregation).

As I walked in, the volunteers gave me a Sajda-gah, a clay tablet, (Clay from Karbala City, where Imam Hussain was martyred, son of Imam Ali, the 4th rightly guided Caliph of Islam) which is placed on the floor, to rest your forehead during the prostrative posture of the prayers. This practice is exclusive to Shia tradition.

Similar practices exist in Jewish tradition. Every Synagogue you visit, they have Kippah (cap) in a basket at the front that is given to you to wear as you go into the sanctuary. The Madinah Masjid in Carrollton also has a basketful of caps that you can wear if you want to. In a few Mosques in India, they give the cap to wear. I wore a cap when I was growing up. But in the last forty years, less and less people wear caps, and I have not worn it either. In the Swami Narayan Hindu Temple they put the tilak (a dot on the forehead with color, usually Red orange powder).

The Adhan (prayer call) was a long one, same Adhan is recited in other mosques, but without the additional phrases to express the uniqueness of the Shia tradition.

I met Imam Irtaza Naqvi earlier on, as we are new to each other,  and I asked his permission to take the pictures, he said feel free to do so. Last year at the Momin Center the visiting Imam said the same thing, but two years ago, I was asked not to take the pictures of the sanctuary. 

The Shia Masajid’s are decorative; they have extensive items on the walls and the benches are displayed with frames of the names of 12 hereditary Imams following Imam Hazrat Ali.  The Mehrab (Niche, where the Imam leads the prayers from) is covered with Damascus Cloth with 5 names embroidered on it; Allah, Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussain. Most people in the subcontinent call it Panjatan-e-pak; the holy five.

 Invoking the Panjatan-e-Pak is a common practice among mainstream Shia and its denominations; Bohra and Ismaili traditions. Where as it is not a practice of Sunni and Ahmadiyya Muslims. However exceptions are always there, some of the Sunnis from South India do invoke Panjatan-e-Pak and I recall my father used to invoke in his supplications,  where as my maternal Grandfather did not and it is not my practice either. However, I do appreciate the devotion with which people turn to God in their own ways.

In one of the pictures, you see the Sajda-gah (clay tablet) is placed in front of everyone in the prayer, I had one too, and I rested my forehead twice on it during the Sajda (prostration with forehead on the floor) and I simply could not do it again. After the prayers, I looked around the other guys’ foreheads for the marks from the tablet, there wasn’t any, and I looked down on the floor, and I found the secret; they had the soft side of the clay tablet on the top and the printed side at the bottom and mine was upside down. No one said a word, but I knew the print on my forehead was visible to the guy next to me, as he glanced at it twice.
 Prayers are similar, 3 Rakats (units) for Maghrib (dusk) and 4 for Isha (nightly. They pray both Maghrib and Isha one after the other in a sequence. The Sunnis do that, if they are travelling and cannot come back two hours later.

In Shia tradition, during the standing position of the prayers, individuals drop their hands on side, like in the attention position,  where as in other traditions, the individuals place their hands on their stomach at various levels, from navel all the way up onto the chest.  
Before the 2nd Ruku (bent posture with hands on knee caps), Shias and their two branches do their supplication and conclude the prayers with reciting the words, where as Sunnis call on peace and turn their heads to the right and then on the left to conclude the prayers.
The Imam actually recites the phrases audibly during the bent and prostrate positions, unlike the Sunnis and Ahmadiyya.
There is no tradition of Taraweeh Prayers in the Shia, Taraweeh are late night prayers, either 20 or 22 Units to recite a chapter a night from Quraan to complete the Quraan recitation in the month of Ramadan.

The dinner was amazing, I realized that for 8 days, I had not had the Indian (ok, Pakistani to the Pakistanis, and Bengali to the Bengalis- either one) curry; I have been on a variety of foods. The curry was incredibly delicious; they must have used the Coconut milk in it, like the Thai curry or the Bangalore Curries. ( oops, no napkins again, it does not seem to be in our culture, and  I wiped my fingers in my pant pockets again - I will have to carry a few Napkins from tomorrow) 
Fida Hussain, one of my friends and I had a short conversation and his words were amazing, as a photographer/ Videographer he has been to most places of worship, he said, the more places you visit the bigger your horizon becomes. Indeed, I just wrote those words on my 7th day of Ramadan. He was the videographer of the Unity Day USA program in 2005 and I hope he finds the video of using clip on 9/11/2012 program.  
One of the purposes for my visits to different Mosques each day, during the month of Ramadan is to understand various traditions and have the cushion to absorb them all and give full value to each one. I hope, some day, more and more Muslims make these rounds. It is humbling and yet powerful to have the ability to understand differences and respect them.

It is a challenge to write different things each day, so far, I have found it easy to do, got another 22 days, and have to be more attentive to absorb it all to write later. By the way, it was a struggle to align and place the pictures in the right place.. 
# # #

A DIFFERENT MOSQUE EACH FRIDAY

Went to Madinah Masjid for Juma prayers, that is the only place I knew, where I can get a parking space and I did.

We have been hearing the same traditional, pre-written, class taught Khutbas for ages. It is time to improve on it. Last night I wrote the ideas for Jumma Khutba (Friday Sermon) and hope our Imams incorporate a few thoughts from it.

By the way, after the first part of the Friday sermon, there was a break for people to do optional prayers followed by Adhan and second part of Friday Sermon. I am still trying to figure it out, if I had experienced that in this very mosque before, but certainly not a tradition in other Sunni mosques thus far, I have a lot more mosques to visit to put it all together.
Madinah Masjid, Carrollton
Imam Seraj Misbahi had excellent lines about learning not to react to provocation, instead learn to restrain yourselves and not aggravate the conflict. That was really a good call.

The Imam delivered his sermon in Urdu sprinkled with English.  I was pondering about certain standard sentences, most writers and Imams still use them. For example, “During the month of Ramadan, abstain from sex with your spouse”… If this was videotaped and posted on the Mosque websites,  and non-Muslim watch it, or even Muslims who are born in the United Sates watch it,  it sounds like Muslims have sex all day long and they had to give it up during the fasting, poor thing! What a sacrifice! I don’t know anyone who is that engaged! May the teens are. The wordings may have to be culturally Americanized to give the right understanding. For example, this is the month of self discipline, we abstain from anything that we desire; water, coke, coffee, tea, food, intimacy and the likes…to bring a discipline, by learning to manage our desires and not impulsively act on it.


The bait sentences like “the prayers during Ramadan have 10 times more powerful with greater blessings or certain rewards are 700 times more. Looks like Allah has a big sale during the month of Ramadan do one prayer and get 70! What does it really mean and how should it be expressed. I urge my fellow Muslims to write about it.

Fasting is for the sake of Allah - what does it mean? How does it benefit the mankind? I encourage you to write about it as well. 
   

Please mark your calendar for the Unity Day USA, a positive event that brings all Americans Together to rededicate our pledge for a peaceful, prosperous and secure America. We are a part of America and we need to feel and live it.  If you liked some of the article, you will like the description of Unity Day USA at www.UnityDayUSA.com



A few other Articles to read if you have the time:

What does God really want?

 http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/happy-ramadan-what-does-god-really-want.html

Are Muslims a part of the American society? http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/10/are-muslims-part-of-american-story.html

A call from God to know each other http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/01/mission-of-world-muslim-congress.html


Please visit http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/ for a record since 2010.

MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.comis updated daily. 

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Ramadan day7 Reflections on Stereotyping Muslims

Ramadan day 7- Reflections for Juma Qutba


Thursday, July 26, 2012 | Ramadan 7, 1433
2665 Villa Creek, Suite 206, Dallas, TX 75234
Today is the 7th Iftaar, and after the Salat and dinner, I decided to catch up with reflecting on Ramadan.
I received the following email from my African American Muslim friend who reads my writings, “Mike; I keep sending you such information because someday likely you will meet our Brother and I want to start to introduce you now and before any actually meeting because I am very aware of the opinion of many immigrant Muslim of us and generally it is not good and some have told me to my fact "You All are not Real Muslims" ......not realizing that it was us that paved the way for them to have some peace here.”


Although I have addressed the above in bits and pieces, I wanted to focus on it and hope our Imams can address it in their Juma Khutbas (Sermon).

Stereotyping is a common pit that most of the humanity keeps falling into over and over again. It is judging the whole community, ethnicity or a nationality from the experience with one. As Muslims we get frustrated when we hear dumb statements like Muslims are terrorists, Arabs are rude, xxxx are not trust worthy…. and stuff like that, and yet shamelessly we indulge in it ourselves.

A few Arabs think that the Pakistanis are not Muslim enough, and the Pakistanis don’t see Indian Muslims to be Muslim enough, and Indian Muslims don’t think the Bangladeshis are Muslim enough and I guess they don’t think the Rohingi Muslims are not Muslim enough and there is no end to this baseless thinking and is contrary to the teachings of Islam in this case.

Most Muslims enthusiastically quote Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh)  last sermon that no one is superior to the other… the question is, do we really mean it? Does it reflect in our words and actions?

Much of the wisdom and guidance in Quraan boils down to the things we need to do to keep a balance in the society, where no one has to be afraid of the other. Islam in one word: Justness.

Don’t we realize that Islam was a solution to generate peaceful (Islam) societies by knocking the arrogance out of individuals and communities? Arrogance is the root cause of most conflicts and troubles. God's wisdom is crystal clear;  whom he likes the most and the least, the forgivers and arrogant people respectively.  Just as you want your home to be in order, Allah wants his creation to be in order, and that order is harmony among people and things.

The note from my African American friend is a common thing with most of the humanity, but as Muslims we have specific instructions and guidance to avoid judging others. The word Taqwa has become a technical term and seems to have lost its essence.

You can argue all you want to argue about African Americans, Arabs, Pakistanis, Indian, Bangladeshis, Rohingis, Somalis or any one… but the fact is you will be buried with the same respect as others whether you are a Sunni, Shia, Ahmadiyya or from any religion, and your body will decompose at the same speed as others. You are not superior to the other when you are in that grave, your grave will get exact same sunshine, rain or winds as others.

Look at the practices in Islam - the Salat and fasting for instance, what do they do to you, and what is the cumulative effect of it? Allama Iqbal said it well, “Tujhe kya milega namaaz may” what do you get out of fasting and prayer, if it does not make you a humble person. Humility broadly means treating, feeling and acting equal with your employee, spouse, kids or others; Muslim or not. How do we measure up?

Pathetic material came up in the Economist yesterday, how Shia and Sunni are denigrating each other and calling each other infidels?  Do they throw the Prophets’ last sermon out of window? Do they follow the Sunnah? I hope our Imams are urging their congregants not to denigrate others, absolutely not, for their own good in the long haul - so they can live in a safer society.

Religion, ethnicity, nationality and race should never be slapped with false labels for the acts of a few.  Statistically, if you meet “one” Muslim, Hindu, Christian or a Jew and he or she turns out to be a bad person; you can claim that 100% of Muslims, Hindus, Christians or Jews are bad. 

And if you meet two of each and only one of them turns out to be a bad dude, your statistic is halved; only 50% of Muslims, Hindus or others are bad.
But when you meet 1000 of them in each group, most likely the following statistics will emerge.

95% of people in every religious group get their religion right
02% of people in every religious group are enforcers, tyrants
02% of people in every religious group are easy goers
01% of people in every religious group are intolerant ones

The statisticians can tell what a reliable sample is, which will yield similar results no matter where and when you test. This has been my observation of several groups that I have been a part of for nearly 20 years, and a part of my e-lists that I mail to Atheists, Baha'i, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims, Native Americans, Sikhs, Wicca, Zoroastrians and others.
I hope the Imams can pull verses from Quran and emphasize the ills of prejudice and stereotyping, instead of frightening with hell fire, which means nothing to many. God loves us all and wants us to live in peace and that is the summary of God’s will. 

Not sure how many Muslims and others can shed their arrogance and prejudice towards others, I  want to assure every Muslim, yes, every Muslim that he or she can count on receiving full dignity and respect from God for them and their belief and their tradition, whether they are a denomination of a Islam or of any religion. We are all God's creation (Children is not a descriptor in Islam).

As a fellow human, you can count on me to treat you with full respect for who you are,  and as a symbolic gesture, I will visit your sacred place without hesitation, simply to honor your uniqueness that God has endowed you.  I will not agree with you, and you may not agree with me, but we can respect each other; both of us are God's will.

Thank God for his guidance, I have made the time to visit every denomination among Muslims and have been with Aztecs to Zoroastrians and every one in between. I am confident of my faith Islam,  that I follow and give respect to every one who is confident about his or her faith. When you do not have a strong faith, you shy away from knowing others and run from others,  God wants us to know each other (49:13),  so together we can create cohesive societies that are good for you and I and every one around us.

This is what God wants, to get along and keep the social, economic, spiritual and emotional world in balance and harmony with oneself and with others, and I believe that is God's will.

About My Israel-Palestine trip in Ramadan. 

The pictures in the link above are of Ifaar and Suhoor at Masjid-al-Aqsa and Bait-al-Muqaddas and a street in Jerusalem before Iftaar. If you wish to see 250 pictures of entire Israeli and Palestinian lands, let me know, I will send you the link. I have traveled from Jerusalem to Golan Heights in the north and from Haifa down to Tel Aviv and in between been to Jericho, Nablus, Nazareth and other cities.

The bus tour guide was giving mis-information about Islam, she said Islam has six pillars, the first one is Jihad and she explained it means killing the infidels. It was not easy, but I am not going to let falsities go unquestioned, finally the tour operators agreed to change to five and also the right meaning of the word Jihad. Jihad is like nuclear power, in the right hands it is beneficent to the whole humanity and in the wrong ones, it is hell.  Jihad in itself is a word, neither bad nor good, it is the struggle to fight our own conscience and win over the humanist ills like anger, hate, malice, jealousy etc. It is the user of Nuclear power that is good or bad, and not the word. Less than 1/10th of 1% abuse nuclear power, Jihad, Religion, presidency, chairmanships of corporations etc. They are dangerous, and we need to round them up and not what they are affiliated with; family, religion, nation, pastor or their holy book. 

 I must give credit to the Israelis on that thing. I am not sure, if I would have been thrown out of the bus in Islamic nations if I had stood up and wanted to correct mis-information. However, I have also seen the disgraceful walls of apartheid which weakens and gurantees insecurity to the Israeli society for years to come. As Mother Teresa says, they need to dialogue.   Insha Allah, I will be in Jerusalem again in December and hope to work for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Two Dutch Imams and I was on the bus, we did our Iftaar with the dates and we gave the Adhan as well in the bus. If you have an interest in seeing my individual share of work, please visit http://www.israelPalestinedialogue.com  .# # #

Please mark your calendar for the Unity Day USA, a positive event that brings all Americans Together to rededicate our pledge for a peaceful, prosperous and secure America. We are a part of America and we need to feel and live it. If you liked some of the article, you will like the description of Unity Day USA at www.UnityDayUSA.com

A few other Articles to read if you have the time:
What does God really want?
http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/happy-ramadan-what-does-god-really-want.html

Are Muslims a part of the American society?
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/10/are-muslims-part-of-american-story.html

A call from God to know each other http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/01/mission-of-world-muslim-congress.html


Please visit http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/ for a record since 2010.

MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.comis updated daily.

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