Sunni Muslim, is that who I am?

Farrukh wrote, �This is a warning to all Muslims in this forum that Mike Ghouse�s religion is not Islam, he is Ismaili, and he is misguided person. If anyone needs more info about his religion, please let me know.�  

Really?

There are a few out there who do not even have the inclination to verify any information but pass it on as their authoritative information.   I wish he had written, �Mike Ghouse is a Muslim, and I am not sure which denomination he belongs to as I have not verified it,  but it appears that he fits in with everyone from Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Ahmadiyya, Ismaili, Alawite or what not.� And, �If anyone wants/need more information about his religion, visit the following sites.

 www.MuslimSpeaker.com, www.WorldMuslimCongress.com ,www.QuraanToday.com,www.QuraanConference.com ,www.RamadanExclusive.com , www.ShariaLaws.com, and a whole lot more sites including www.TheGhousediary.com and the following video at Youtube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZQ-FT8GfiQ

First of all, Prophet Muhammad knew only one group of people; Muslims! Prefixes like Sunni, Shia, Ahmadiyya, Bohra, Ismaili, WD Muhammad, Alawite, Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadith, Ahl-e-bait etc., were not in his vocabulary nor can anyone ascribe these words to him � he did not use them.  

Secondly,  

All the Madhabs or denominations are natural outcomes of the society. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) understood human nature and rightfully predicted the singular faith he taught will split, re-split and will continue to split and he chose the metaphorical number 72 do denote an infinite number.

He planted that seed, so we can learn to live with each other with our differences, we have to race in doing good things but not claim to be self righteousness and denigrate others, as that amounts to arrogance and God does not like those who are arrogant.  Only God knows who would be rank #1, #2, and #3,  and who would score A, B, C or D grades. Even if you are a sinner,  God may forgive you if you do one simple act of kindness towards other living beings like giving water to a thirsty cat, but most certainly fellow humans. Only God knows the full impact of our actions to his creation to bestow his grace.

My understanding is, you have to be a good human being who cares for his fellow beings and environment (that God has created). Wont� you be happy and sing songs of your guests in your home if they meticulously take care of your property?  Or your employees who make sure your business is intact and taken care of?  Do you worry if the employee is Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Christian or whoever, as long as he or she cares for your business? God does not worry how you worship him or what your religion is,  he appreciates it if you contribute towards preserving his creation,  and it comes through justness, fairness and kindness.

God does not discriminate one from the other, his criteria or question to us is, �Are you good to your fellow beings (humans and animals) and environment?�

[2:136] Say, �We believe in GOD, and in what was sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs; and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and all the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are submitters.�

[4:152] As for those who believe in GOD and His messengers, and make no distinction among them, He will grant them their recompense. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

God loves us all, after all we are his creation, and because he cares about us, he offers guidance, and he sends a peace maker (call a messenger, prophet or any other word) to each community and each group to show them how to live in peace and harmony. Bhagvad Gita phrases it in another fashion, every time there is chaos in the society, someone from among you will emerge to restore righteousness. It could be a Shaman in the remote jungles of Amazon or a Prophet like Abraham, make no distinction, they serve God by preserving harmony, peace and justice in the community they live in.

Islam has always emphasized on serving fellow beings, God assures every one, yes every one, not to worry about the future, as long as you take care of his creation comprising life and and matter, he will take care of you.

[2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

[22:17] Those who believe, those who are Jewish, the converts, the Christians, the Zoroastrians, and the idol worshipers, GOD is the One who will judge among them on the Day of Resurrection. GOD witnesses all things.

[43:17] He also said, he made us into many tribes, races, nations and by extension religions and communities and the best ones among us are those who learn about each other, and when we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

The division

Quran remains the word of God; however, what God meant has been understood differently by different people. No one, including the great Imams of the time can ever claim that his understanding is the right one.  Remember, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not assign any one to be the sole interpreter of Quran, he said, I am leaving this book to you, for you to understand. Please note, the Shia tradition differs on this issue, and we have to respect their understanding. If God is kind, just, merciful and fair, and Prophet is a mercy to mankind, then everything we will see in Quran would be nothing but common sense for common goodness, it is non-stop universalism. You are welcome to differ, Islam is too big of a religion (aalameen) to exclude any one of us.  

In the beginning, there was one singular interpretation for Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and other faiths for many years.

In the 16th century,  Christianity split into Protestant and its many variations, each faith has followed the same natural path of amoeba, divide itself and keep multiplying.

In case of Islam, Prophet Muhammad knew only one thing; what he preached; One Islam. He did not even know that there was a Sunni Islam. I would say the same about all other prophets.

Then we reluctantly accepted the split of Shia and Sunni traditions, then came the 6 six schools of thoughts, we accepted that diversity as well, and now Islam has many traditions within, and we have accepted them with humility. Pluralism is an attitude of respecting the otherness of others. 

Allahu Akbar! (Check out Huffington Post � http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/allahu-akbar-abused_b_860221.html ) it means humility, we are small, hence all of us small ones are on par.  A few among us are arrogant about our traditions and denigrate others.  What a shame, they assign themselves to play the role of a deputy of God or decider for him and pass judgments about others. That is shirk (diluting the dominion of God)  and it creates problem hence declared as the ugliest of all sins. That is we cannot judge other�s faith.

I have chosen to remain denomination less, but if you want to know what I pray like and sound like, it is reflective of Sunni tradition, only because I was raised with those values and it don�t mean superior or inferior, it is just my tuning.  If my parents had programmed me to be a Shia or an Ahmadiyya, I would have followed that path. We need to learn to respect each path, each one means dearly to the believer, as they say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, faith is in the heart of the believer.  My mother is dear to me as your mother is dear to you and Quran says, to you is your faith and to me is my faith (109.6 � that is not a radio station, but the Verse from the Quran) .

Heavens, I am comfortable with every which tradition a Muslim prays and I have been to every Mosque of almost all denominations including the three most revered ones in Mecca, Madinah and Jerusalem. (Check out http://www.RamadanExclusive.com)  Ironically, it would have been abidda, an invention if someone had called himself or herself a Shia or a Sunni during the life of the Prophet.  So, why should I call myself a Sunni?  I fully respect other people�s choices to belong to sub-groups and all are welcome. I am a Muslim, period! I have no walls between me and another Muslim, and no wall between me and another human. 

Indeed, the World Muslim congress was formed with that express purpose to create space for every Muslim, and the www.FoundationforPluralism.com was created for all humanity.  In the search box, you can plug in the name of any denomination, and you will find the articles, you can plug in the name of any commemoration or festival, you will find the information. It took me a lot of time and effort to make that happen, and that is my commitment to create a world where all humanity can get along by knowing each other. 

The role of Muslims is to contribute towards the well being of humanity, and to be the conflict mitigaters and goodwill nurturers. Our goal is to build a secure world for every human, our Jewish friends can understand that, as they believe in Tikkun Olam. Please read the mission statement�http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/01/mission-of-world-muslim-congress.html
This group is about Muslims and their civic responsibilities in creating a dignified religious, social and civic space for themselves in the community of faiths. We do not distinguish between a Sunni, Shia, Ahmadiyya, WD Muhammad, Ismaili, Bohra or the subsets of each group, all believe in God, the Prophet and the accountability of their actions and whoever calls himself or herself a Muslim is a Muslim to us. Currently we are blessed to have our Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Baha�i, Sikh and Buddhist friends among us to learn and share their perspective. This is our world and our God collectively.
The  WorldMuslimCongress@yahoogroups.com with  1700 members from around the world, and it is denomination-less, it is for all Muslims with full and equal respect to all denominations.Our focus is not the tiny differences, but the larger commonality.

World Muslim Congress is a think tank, all are welcome to participate in the discussions, and our scope is limited and defined in our mission statement. Currently, we have 1700 Members worldwide with no membership fee.

To join the group that has been around since 2004, and prior to that it was called the Muslim Agenda from 2002 onwards, send an email to: WorldMuslimCongress-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker,Interfaith Wedding officiant, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam,politics, terrorism,human rights, India, Israel-Palestine, motivation, and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him (63 links) atwww.MikeGhouse.net andwww.TheGhousediary.com for his exclusive writings.

Pakistani religious cleric go regressive on Women's right and abuse Sharia.

First of all, congratulations to the Government of Punjab, Pakistan for passing the laws protecting women from abuses of the men, this is a good step in the right direction and it complies with the teachings of Quran and the Prophet.  

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the first influential man in the universe to declare that women have the same rights as men, which were;  to initiate or divorce a marriage, own her own properties, own her own business, and she can walk out of the relationship if her husband pushes her to do things against her faith/will, such was the freedom restored to women by the prophet.  These freedoms were usurped by men all around the world including the United States until 200 years ago where women were considered Chattels. 

Do all Muslims follow this guidance? Hell no. Are all men Misogynistic? Hell no. Are all Christians or others Misogynistic? Hell no.  A majority of people get their faith right and are good honorable individuals, a few don't. We need to avoid painting all for the acts of a few who don't get their religion right. 

Add to that, the powerful accountability factor. The prophet said, on the Day of Judgment, no one is responsible for other's actions, you are responsible for own your deeds, the good and bad you do with fellow beings. That puts women and men on par and individually responsible. No man is responsible for his wife's action or vice versa. 

Of course, men are men; they did not obey the religion, while most of the men did the right thing in following the teachings, a few remained misogynists, which is a men thing and not a religious thing. As you'll find those misogynist brutes are in  every religion and are from every ethnic and racial backgrounds. 

Secondly, this scholar "Muhammad Khan Sherani" says the laws passed by the Punjab Government are wrong and he cites from the Koran and calls the new ruling "un-Islamic". Is he out of his mind?

This takes me back to my old song, that is, shamefully, Muslims have never questioned the books written by "scholars of the past" many of whom were bigots and misogynists, it is not just Islam, scholars in all societies were the same.

We have erred severely by subconsciously giving the same value to their books as Quran. The scholars such as Taymiyyah, Kathir, Maududi, Banna and even Hadiths and Sharia were all compiled by "Men". Even though a whole lot of their material is full of wisdom, they were human and have made serious errors, even though they are a few. It takes one drop of poison to ruin the large body of clean water. We hate admitting that those mighty scholars can err, yes they have and we are paying a price for it by having Two Islams. 

When the body of the Sharia Laws was created by humans to serve justice, their intent was good, they wanted a just society, but being human, they made the mistakes and such mistakes need fixing. No one dares fix it, however, the process of questioning has begun now. 

What does it take? Good men and women to speak up, more of them to speak up to created discussion and dialogue and do the right thing.

Mike Ghouse
www.MuslimSpeaker.com 

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Pakistani Council Declares Law Protecting Women �Un-Islamic�
Courtesy - The Daily Caller News 

A top Pakistani religious council responsible for advising the government to ensure that laws conform with Islam has ruled a new law criminalizing violence against women �un-Islamic.�

Punjab, the largest province in Pakistan, passed the Women�s Protection Act last week. The law is the first of its kind and is intended to protect women from domestic, psychological and sexual abuse. The legislation will also create women�s shelters and a hotline for women to call in order to report crimes. That is, of course, if of course if the law gets by the Council of Islamic Ideology.

�The whole law is wrong,� said Muhammad Khan Sherani, head of the council, during a news conference. Sherani cited verses from the Koran to back up his claim that the law is �un-Islamic.�

According to its website, �the Council of Islamic Ideology is a constitutional body that advises the legislature whether or not a certain law is repugnant to Islam, namely to the Koran and Sunna.� The Sunna is the verbal record of the practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

 

The council has a history of highly controversial decisions. It defended child marriages in 2014, claiming that girls as young as nine years-old are eligible for marriage. Sherani claimed that any laws in Pakistan defining the age when a girl should be allowed to marry should be repealed. The council also rejected the use of DNA testing in 2013 as a primary source of evidence in cases of rape.

Life for women in Pakistan can often be harsh and even deadly. It has been reported that as many as nine women are killed in the country each day in what are referred to as �honor crimes.� Cases of rape often go unreported due to the difficulty involved in securing successful prosecution of an offender.

In one particularly brutal case, a woman from a village in Punjab was sexually assaulted by as many as 14 men in 2002. Though she survived, her attempts to seek justice and prosecute her attackers took nine years. All but one were acquitted. The case drew international attention, however, she was not allowed to leave Pakistan out of concerns she would flee to the west and attempt to profit from her assault.

�Every year some 2,900 women are raped in Pakistan, almost eight a day,� said Ayesha Hassan, a journalist who covers the issue, to Deutsche Welle.

References: 

1. Council of Islamic Ideology Government of Pakistan http://cii.gov.pk/ 
2. Profile of Maulana Muhammad Sheerani - http://cii.gov.pk/aboutcii/Chairmansprofile.aspx
3. The Sunnah - http://islam.uga.edu/shariah.html#Sunnah

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Muhammad (pbuh), the builder of cohesive societies

MUHAMMAD (PBUH) FOR COHESIVE SOCIETIES | WORLD MUSLIM CONGRESS

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/05/muhammad-pbuh-builder-of-cohesive.html

 Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the ultimate peacemaker; indeed he was known as �Rahmatul Aalameen, a mercy to mankind�. 

 He was blessed with an aptitude for �Conflict mitigation and goodwill nurturence, �and applied it successfully in every conflict that he encountered.    

He believed that every human should feel, believe and act as an equal with every human for the society to function well, and he instituted practices to inculcate those values. He further communicated God�s words that God loves those who are humble, as humility builds bridges.  He sternly discouraged arrogance as it kills relationships and is a source of all conflicts.  He lived by his words, and went on to say that all prophets should be treated equally (2:285),   and that all men and women get equal pay for equal acts (3:195, 4:124, 16:97, 33:35, 40:40, 49:13).

Towards the goal of creating heaven on earth, he established the "Amin Model," indicating a peace-building citizen.  This was a person who cared about fellow beings, was just, trustworthy, and truthful, around whom other people felt secure. This is the first Sunnah (tradition) of the prophet, providing a solid foundation for Islam.

God created an integrated and interconnected world in harmony and balance, and wants us to preserve and maintain that balance (55: 1-13).

If we follow the Prophet and his first and foremost Sunnah, and strive to be the Amins of the society, we will become peacemakers and show mercy to fellow human beings.  It would require building relationships and being inclusive in the tradition of Quran.

We need to reiterate the value embedded in innumerable verses where God calls on humanity to care for fellow human beings -- and assures Jews, Christians and others, that if they take care of fellow beings (good deeds) their rewards will be with Him. (2:62, 5:69) and they need not fear nor grieve. 
 

To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. Just about every activity of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was powered by this dual element.

We at World Muslim Congress believe in our obligation to create a better world for all of God�s creation; life matter and environment. We are pleased to commit to do our share of work in serving God�s creation.

With this intent, we have come together, with members of fellow community of faiths to organize  a think tank to create a better world for every one of the 7 billion of us. Thanks to the vision of Prophet Muhammad, and God bless us all.

IDEAL SOCIETIES 

My message is for general public, and usually includes a pluralistic message of Islam. My passion is pluralism, and highlighting the message of pluralism in Islam to create inclusive societies for the common good of humanity. Here is how we connect with fellow humans.

Dallas Morning News -  Pope Francis  speaks the truth http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2015/05/texas-faith-profiting-from-war.html

Huffington Post/ Mother's Day - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/mothers-day-interfaith-ce_b_7233900.html

Americans Together � Baghdadi Challenged http://americatogetherfoundation.blogspot.com/2015/05/press-release-muslims-challenge-al.html

World Muslim Congress � Pamela Geller http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/05/pamela-geller-and-garland-shooting.html

Arab Daily News - Charlie Hebdo
http://thearabdailynews.com/2015/01/11/muslim-solutions-terrorism-paris/

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) � Was he a prejudiced man? http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/05/was-prophet-muhammad-pbuh-prejudiced-man.html

 

A MUSLIM'S REFLECTIONS ON MEMORIAL DAY

Please do not wish a "Happy Memorial Day" on this day; it is not a celebration to be happy about, it is rather an observance to commemorate and ponder. We observe the Memorial Day on the last Monday of May every year; remembering and honoring the men and women who remembering and honoring the men and women who sacrificed their life while protecting and serving our country.

I am pleased to share my thoughts, hoping you would find it to be a meaningful day for you. What will I do and what can you do is as follows.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Muslim-s-Reflections-on-by-Mike-Ghouse-Memorial-Day_Mike-Ghouse_Motivation_Muslim-Guy-150524-285.html
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Mike Ghouse is a Muslim speaker, thinker and a writer advocating Pluralism. His information is in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net 

Was Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) a prejudiced man?

Prophet Muhammad Prejudiced | World Muslim Congress 

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/05/was-prophet-muhammad-pbuh-prejudiced-man.html


Please refer to the comment section and write yours.

Absolutely not, God himself called him Rahmatul Aalameen- a Mercy to the Universe (Life and Environment). He did not have a bone of prejudice in him. There is no way, absolutely no way he could be prejudiced towards Jews, Christians, Pagans and others.

Even though a handful of big name Muslim Scholars from the past have painted him as biased towards fellow beings, he was not!  Prophet was an example of love and mercy. We have to be free from prejudice and be a Rahmat to fellow beings.

As Muslims we have to become Aminsof the world, and learn about each other (49:13), we have an opportunity to shape a better world. For the last 20 years, we have been writing a series of articles called "Festivals of the World" where we write the essence of each major religious festival without bias or prejudice. Many a Muslims believe and have great relationships with fellow humans from Atheist to Zoroastrians and every one in between.  The more we know about each other, the lesser the conflicts we will have and a secure world for everyone will evolve. 

As a follower of the Prophet, when I kiss the Torah and show reverence to God's words like he did, I don't become a Jew, when I stand up for the funeral of a Hindu, I don't become a Hindu... Quran is one of the greatest books of guidance for humanity and that is why the message is consistently universal... think about it! Quran is not for Muslims!

Well, if you wish to learn about festivals of the world, I will be happy to share - and it comes with every one's festival or commemoration, from within and with everyone. You can always place the name of the festival with my name- and you will get the info from Google - example - Janmashtami Mike Ghouse, from now on it will be the name of the festival and Pluralism with it as we are building team of all religious people to learn and share. 

Here is info about Shavuot by Rabbi David Mark,  if you like it, please share it. If we want a better world, we have to be a part of it, Prophet has shown the way, let's not forget that.  If you don't like to learn about other people and their festivals and commemorations, please let me, I will take you off the list. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PluralismCenter/
Blog: http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com/2015/05/happy-shavuote-jewish-festival-by-rabbi.html