Ramadan Mubarak - the essence of Ramadan may be traceable in your faith

Interfaith Science of Ramadan:  Can Hindus, Christians and Jews connect?
http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2015/07/ramadan-mubarak-essence-of-ramadan-may.html

WThis article tracks the general purpose of religion and how each religion can appeal to people of different faiths.  Religions and festivities came into being to bring people together and not divide them. Here we explore Ramadan, two of the major festivals of Muslims.

 

Whether you are an Atheist, Baha�i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Native American, Pagan, Shinto, Sikh, Wicca, and Zoroastrian or from any other tradition, you may feel a sense of connection with the spirit of Ramadan.

 God is a word for the cause that creates, sustains and recycles this universe, and belongs to all that exists and is not the exclusive dominion of anyone.  No matter how and what name you call upon him � he (she or it) cannot be a different causer for each one of us.  

The physical aspect of human journey from the sperm and an egg stage through the death is programmed precisely. The formula is same for all of humanity;    and there is no such thing as a Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or other gene.

Regardless of what is being said about origins in terms of evolution, creation or the big bang, the undeniable fact is our existence, and we have to figure out how to live with each other.

When the universe came into being, two main products of the process were Matter and Life.

While the matter is programmed to be in self-balance and functions precisely for which it is designed, like the Sun, Jupiter, Earth or the Moon playing its part, the (human) life on the other hand was not programmed; we were given complete freedom, guidance and intelligence to create our own balance for survival.

A balanced society is where every one of us functions cohesively in small parcels of this big World Wide Web.  It is sustained by respecting the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. If we mess with the web, we mess with ourselves ultimately.  If we mess with the environmental balance we will pay for it, just as we bear the loss of health if we mess with what we eat, drink and smoke. There is a consequence for imbalance.

Birth of Religion

We lose the balance if we don�t trust and lie to each other, rob the other, and not keep the promises we make to fellow beings.   This is when religion appears; it is the love of the creator for his creation, just as a mother loves her children �someone among us will rise and restore that balance.  Didn�t Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and other masters restore the righteousness and balance in the society?  I hope you can relate with this thought in your own scriptures and legends.

An identical spiritual wisdom emerges in different parts of the world simultaneously; the greatest example would be how a mother figures out what to do with her crying baby in the jungles of Amazon or the high society in London. 

Indeed, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and as a corollary I would say, faith is in the heart of the believer, and every religion is dear to its believer.  

Religion is about love for fellow beings, a majority of us in every religion get that right but for a few, who keep messing up the cohesiveness of the society. Those few are not an identifiable group, but the infraction in each one of us when we become biased towards the others.  Religion is never the problem; it is the individuals who don�t get their religion right are the problem.

Ramadan and you.

From the moment we are born to the last rites of our life, and every moment in between is laden with rituals, even though some of us may deny it. Whether we go to the gym, eat, sleep, wear clothes, drive or talk on the phone, we follow rituals.

Rituals signify the milestones of our daily life. Every significant moment of the day is a ritual. It is an unwritten way of measuring our progression, a memory pattern to bring discipline to our actions.

Discipline is necessary to do things on time, manage personal relationships, drive to a destination or keep within budget. The result of disciplined behavior is worthwhile for most people. When we are joyous, whether we are a theist or not, we have to express that sentiment, otherwise a sense of incompleteness lingers in our hearts.

The spiritual masters have captured the human gravity towards rituals and have molded it with the art and science of self-discipline in their respective religions. The noble purpose of each one of them was to bring a balance in our lives and a balance with our environment.

Every faith is composed of a set of unique rituals to bring discipline and peace to human life. Fasting is one of the five key rituals that Muslims around the world observe.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is generally observed with a ritual precision; it is an annual training or a refresher. It requires one to abstain from food, drink, intimacy, ill-will, ill-talk, ill-actions and other temptations from dawn to dusk, every day for a month. One has to rise above his or her baser desires. Islam gifts this month to its followers to inculcate discipline to bring moderation to their daily lives. Twenty five hundred years ago, Buddha, the enlightened one taught that human suffering is caused by unrestrained desire to possess and had recommended a middle path, and the same recommendation was made by Prophet Muhammad fourteen hundred years ago.

Although Ramadan is popularly known in the west for its culinary delicacies and fancy iftars (ceremonial breaking of fast at sun down), the spirit and intent of Ramadan lies in a human transformation in a month-long inner spiritual journey of finding oneself in tune with spirituality.

Hindus can see that transformation in nine days of fasting during Navaratri, the Jains in 8-10 days of fasting during Paryushana, Christians during 40 days of lent, Jews for 7 days around Yom Kippur�.likewise you find fasting is a way of life in most traditions.

God has no need for the hunger or thirst of someone who hurts others, violates their dignity or usurps their rights, said Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The fasting of the stomach must be matched by the fasting of the limbs. The eyes, ears, tongue, hands and feet all have their respective fasts to undergo. The tongue's temptations, for example -- lies, backbiting, slander, vulgarity and senseless argumentation -- must be challenged and curbed to maintain the integrity of the fast.

Consciousness of behavior and vigilance over action are the most profound dimensions of fasting: the fasting of the heart focuses on the attachment to the divine. That is when Ramadan really becomes a source of peace and solace, just as Christmas or Dussera goes beyond the rituals to bring forth kindness, charity and caring.

True fasting is self-purification; and from this comes a rich inner life that bring about values such as justice, generosity, patience, kindness, forgiveness, mercy and empathy -- values that are indispensable for the success of the community.

Knowing about hunger is different from knowing hunger. Empathy is not an intellectual equation; it is a human experience. Our hardness of heart often springs from our distance from the human condition of others. The poor, sick, disenfranchised, oppressed -- we rarely walk a mile in their shoes, not even a few steps. "Rest assured," cautioned one teacher, "if you do not taste what it feels like to be hungry, you will not care for those who are."

Ramadan will come and go with such stealth that we cannot but be reminded of our mortality. What is it that we value and why? Habits, customs, even obsessive behavior like smoking can be curtailed with relative ease in the face of a higher calling.

For fasting to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims and must extend to forging a common humanity with others. Fasting is meant to impart a sense of what it means to be truly human, and its universality is reflected by its observance in Baha�i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other faiths. More about Ramadan at www.Ramadanexclusive.com

What can you do?

Unless we connect with fellow humans, and unless they can relate with us,  our faith, philosophy and traditions, we will remain disconnected with the society. 

This article is about understanding and developing a sense of shared destiny of humanity to create cohesive societies where no human has to feel alienated from others. It is based on Quran's wisdom in 49:13.

You may disagree with a few premises, and I invite you to counter them, so together we can develop better understanding to live and let others live. 

I hope you'd would like this, and if you do,  please share it with your Non-Muslim and Muslim friends. We at America Together Foundation are committed to finding solutions through patience, kindness and education. Our goal is to learn about each other and work on mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill. 

I hope you want the good message to reach out to a maximum number of people, particularly non-Muslims, that's who we focus on. 

The article is published in several news papers:

1. Op-Ed News - Ramadan for Christians, Jews, Hindus and others http://www.opednews.com/articles/Ramadan-for-Christians-Je-by-Mike-Ghouse-ATHEIST_Bahai_Buddhist_Christian-Universalism-150716-714.html
   
2. Counter Currents - Interfaith Ramadan,  The Essence...  http://www.countercurrents.org/ghouse160715.htm
   
3. Saddahaq - Interfaith science of Ramadan traceable in your faith  https://www.saddahaq.com/interfaith-science-of-ramadan-the-essence-may-be-traceable-in-your-faith

God willing, it will be published in Huffington Post, Arab Daily News and several other sites across the world.  Alhamdu Lillah, the media has been good to us and we will continue to populate the article on the internet.

We need to continue this work and need your support.  We need to raise $60k thru December, all supporters will be listed on the website www. AmericansTogether.org

Please donate generously for this non-profit 501 (c) Organization: 
http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/ 

Let the spirit of Ramadan develop an understanding and respect for each one of God�s creation � that is all of us. Ramadan Mubarak!

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.   Info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings atTheGhouseDiary.com 

Ramadan�s pluralism message for Muslims - Saudi Gazette

Ramadan�s pluralism message for Muslims
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140702210187

Tariq A. Al-Maeena 


Mike Ghouse is from the World Muslim Congress, a think tank committed to nurturing the pluralistic values of Islam. This group is about Muslims and their civic responsibilities; it is not about religious practices but simply about learning and creating a religious, social and civic space for Muslims in the community of faiths.

For this Ramadan, Mike would like to get the following message out: �By the end of 2020, there will not be a major city in America, and perhaps in the world, where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working, eating, praying, playing, marrying, and doing things together. This is bound to create conflicts, and thus we need to prepare ourselves to deal with such eventualities.

�The guidance can be found in every religious tradition; all of them were committed to creating cohesive societies where no one had to live in apprehension or fear of the other.

�I am pleased to reiterate the Islamic tradition in this essay. The Holy Qur�an 49:13 says that God has created us into different tribes, communities and nations. It was indeed His choice to create each one of us to be unique with our own thumbprint, eye print, DNA, color and taste buds. Yet, the whole creation was put together in perfect balance and harmony (55:7).

�That brings us to pluralism which is defined as, �respecting the otherness of the others and accepting the (God-given) uniqueness of each one of us.� �You are who you are, and I am who I am.� Q109:6 (Yousef Ali). �To you be your way, and to me mine.�  Your faith is dear to you as mine is to me, together, we have to live and work on maintaining that harmony for our good and for the Creator�s joy. God�s religion is peace.

�Such diversity is bound to create conflict and mess up the delicate balance, so the Holy Qur�an encourages that the best among you are the ones who know each other. Indeed, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of the God-given uniqueness of each one of us, and with that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

�Pluralism is your choice to have good manners, and a good attitude toward fellow beings as guided by the Holy Qur�an, the Prophet (peace be upon him) and common sense. My focus of this essay is application of God�s recommendation �to know each other� within the fold of Islam and with members of the diverse family of faiths.

�A majority of us are saddened with the day-to-day events in the Muslim world, calling each other infidels and killing each other in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and elsewhere. The Holy Qur�an says killing one person is like killing the whole of humanity. You are not to kill a single soul unless it is in self-defense. We talk about unity, and spew so much hate for the other in the same breath; it needs to stop as God wants peace.

�I am appealing to those Muslims who have the integrity to match their words with their actions, and pray for the integrity of others who lack it.

�During this Ramadan, please make an effort to do your Iftar (breaking fast) in every mosque of varying denominations, or at least seek God�s guidance to remove hate and bias from our hearts for each other. Invite each other, not to discuss differences but to know each other to learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept each other, so that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

�Take some fruits and dates and just go there and let the imam or the volunteers know that you are from a different tradition and are making a sincere effort to be part of the larger community in every which way you can.

�Over the last four years, I have been to almost every mosque of every denomination in the United States. I have chronicled the uniqueness of each tradition with full respect at RamadanDaily.com.

�When you visit your friend�s house, you don�t criticize how they have arranged their furniture; in fact you may reluctantly praise it, but never put it down. You don�t dare criticize how their kids keep their rooms, eat or talk. For God�s sake go to other mosques with the same attitude, the attitude of pluralism.

�This year, we have four Fridays in Ramadan; make an effort to attend at least four major denominations on each Friday.

�Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was called Amin, the trustworthy, truthful and just and the person around whom people felt secure. We need to follow similar principles within our society. We need to have comfortable working relationships with everyone from all faiths including fellow Muslims of different denominations.

�The life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a bold example of living civility, with openness and confidence. The greater value he taught was to respect the otherness of others. Let�s follow him and build friendships with people of faiths and no faiths and become Amins of society.

�Together as Muslims, let�s make the world a safe and secure place for every one of God�s seven billion to live cohesively. Let�s not blame others, but do our share of good in our own mosques, neighborhoods, communities and towns on a smaller level. This is our home. M. Ghouse�

Just think what the world would be like if we did just a little bit of that?

� The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter@talmaeena

Thank God, I am alive today - its' a new Ramadan experience for me

THANK GOD, I AM ALIVE TODAY - ITS NEW LEASE ON MY LIFE 

On Tuesday morning, the Farmers Branch paramedics team responded to my 911 call, and within 30 minutes they had me on the ER table, and the good doctors unclogged the artery and placed a stent to keep the blood flowing. Doctor Siddiqi said another 30 minutes would have been too late, and I would have gone!

It was the severe chest pain coupled with sweating that got me alarmed. I didn't want to call any one that early, but texted my friend Adil,  he was driving out of town and thanks to him for suggesting to call 911, and after debating within, I reluctantly made the call,  it was the right thing to do. If you or your loved ones were in a similar situation, please don't hesitate to call 911. 

Father Daughter

God willing, I will be active in a few days, meanwhile I ask you to strengthen your existing relationships with your loved ones. Don't know who is going to go when. Let�s be good to fellow beings and live a regret free life, at least from here forwards. I request you to forgive my shortcomings and excesses.

Thank you for your friendship.

PERSONAL SIDE

Continued: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/07/thank-god-i-am-alive-today-new.html

Thanks to Yasmeen for her persistent push for me to lose weight, indeed, I owe her a big thank you for getting me down from 215# to 190#, at one time I had gone down to 179#, today I'm 189. She has set a goal of 175# for me, and I will listen to her dutifully now, and enjoy the dieted delicious foods she will be fixing for me.

One of the best things that has happened to me is the time I am getting to spend with my grown up daughter, son, daughter in law and my 15 day old grand baby Jayden. Mina, my daughter is with me for the last four days, and will be with me for another week. I did not realize she is so caring, loving and responsible to keep me on tract from medicine to food to driving me around. I am looking forward to two weeks of heaven with my kids; this is one of the biggest joys of my life. Then I will be heading to Yasmeen and spend another week or two with her before I get back to normal working, speaking and writing. 

Thanks to Dr. Amer Shakil for treating me some five years ago, and then Dr. Asifa Ijaz. I wish I had listened to them, and continued with the medication they had prescribed. If you are like me, don't act like me, please listen to your doctor.  

On Tuesday morning on July 9, cold sweat flipped me upside down.  I got up earlier than I had planned on getting up for my first suhoor (early meal to commence fasting) of Ramadan due to massive chest pain, it was early in the morning and did not want to call anyone, and I thought it would go away from aspirin... It did not. So, I reluctantly called 911.

While waiting for the ambulance, an old scene returned to my mind, way back in mid sixties, I had fallen from a tree and had recited a few verses from Qur�an (Ayatul Kursi, Fatiha, and Ikhlas) thrice in less than thirty seconds while I was unconscious (my friends told me that).  Even though I consider myself a rationalist, I still cannot figure out how I was able to recite all that in such a short period of time. Once again, on Tuesday morning, I repeated that recitation while waiting for the paramedics. 

At 11:13 PM on Monday night, I "started" the 1st day of Ramadan note and posted at www.ramadandaily.com, this would have been the 4th year of writing about Ramadan, everything you wanted to know about Ramadan.  Thank God, I have been able to visit every mosque of every denomination during Ramadan with a determined purpose of learning and sharing the uniqueness of each tradition with the other without prejudice. The more we know about the other, the lesser biased we would be, and subsequently free ourselves from the evil of prejudice. 

I urge every religious person of every faith, particularly the ones who are biased towards others, or the ones hung up with others to make an effort to enjoy true freedom and liberation from hate and ill will by learning about the other, until you find good positive information. 

My first Iftaar (breaking of fast) was going to be with Dr. Imam Yusuf Zia Kavakci at the Richardson Mosque. Dr Kavakci is a man I greatly respect and have consistently mentioned and written about him for the great qualities of a Muslim he is blessed with. The last time we met was about two weeks ago at Zahra Khan's funeral (my friend Adil's 19 year old angel, who is considered Shaheed, God's favorite person as she died with cancer) a week ago, Dr. Kavakci gave me a special hug, a very affectionate one like my father, and said a lot of nice things in public prior to the prayer, it meant a lot to me.  

This is my first RAMADAN in four years; I won't be able to do anything. However,  if you have an interest in learning about the spirituality, traditions and politics of Ramadan, please visit www.RamadanDaily.com. Even though I won't be fasting and visiting mosques this season, I'll still continue to write about different aspects of Ramadan. 

Thru the grace of God, I am alive today with a renewed mission to follow the teachings of my mentors; Prophet Muhammad, Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. 

I am committed to do the following to the best of my ability;

1. To be the Amin - the truthful, trustworthy and an instrument of safeness to fellow Americans. 

2. To be a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer 

3. To be �just" in every aspect of life 

4. To live with an open heart and an open mind towards fellow beings, 

5. To Stand up for others.

6. To work on fixing the ill practices of individuals within my religion; Islam

7. To work on fixing the ill practices of individuals within my Party; GOP

May Allah guide me to remain on the path and I appreciate your support in moving forward. Thank God, I have no religious, political or national walls between me and another individual, and it's good to be free.

The Spiritual freedom is indeed the greatest achievement in one�s life and it sticks to you. Those of us, who can free ourselves from ill-will, malice, hate, tension, pain, anxiety, apprehension, hostility, stress, strain and conflicts, are showered with blessings of peace and joy.  It is good to be free. 

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Mike Ghouse

www.mikeghouse.net 

Mike

(214) 325-1916

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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 and 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 and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show and the O'Reilly Factor 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. 

Ramadan day 24 - Valley Ranch Masjid

BASIC DATA

www.RamadanDaily.com

Title - Ramadan day 24 - Valley Ranch Masjid

Date - Sunday, August 12, 2012 | Ramadan 24, 1433

Iftaar Time: 8:16 PM CST

Place -Valley Ranch Masjid (214) 469-9000
Address - 9940 West Valley Ranch Pkwy, Irving, TX 75063

Imam - Shaikh Yaser Birjas Issa 

Website -  www.valleyranchmasjid.org

Today�s Pictures:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157631044156796/show/ 
Experience different traditions daily at:  www.RamadanDaily.com

Link to this piece:  http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/08/ramadan-day-24-valley-ranch-masjid.html

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TODAY'S EXPERIENCE

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE- 17 MORE IMAGES IN FLICK LINK

Alhamdu Lillah, today is the 24^th Iftaar, and I wondered at the beginning, if I would be able to write different things each day, thank God for making each day, a uniquely different experience.

Which Masjid did you connect with?  That was the first question Imam Birjas asked me,   I knew right then, that he and I were going to have a great dialogue. The sign of a good leader (Imam) is that he or she asks questions and patiently listens. He has both those qualities.

He is a great believer in feedback, indeed, without it you will never know if the intended teaching was received by the congregation. Apparently he had a survey on the https://www.facebook.com/valleyranchmasjidand asked his members, what they would like to hear in Friday Sermons, and then would incorporate the thoughts in his Qutbas (Sermons).

We discussed the relevancy of Friday sermons, and honestly, the youth will get on their smart phones instead of listening to something they don�t connect with.  While we were discussing this, the young fellow sitting next to Imam was participating in the conversation.

As someone who listens to sermons of different faiths, it was a delight to hear that Imam Birjas also listens to Joel Osteen, whose sermons can be easily converted to Friday sermons using the similar quotes from Bible that are in Quran. He summed it up pretty well; his sermons are more motivational than religious!

Which Masjid did I connect with? Each one of them!  If we broaden our horizons, i.e., if we give up pettiness and embrace the Aalameen like Allah, Quraan and the Prophet, every place is home to us. The blockade is from within, looking down at other�s practices or calling them weird or not connecting with others will not lift us up. I experienced that yesterday; I was reluctant to go to Colleyville Mosque as I did not know any one there, but found out I knew many. The idea is we have to learn to make home every place we visit; making home means feeling at ease. Today, I walked into Valley Ranch Masjid, I knew no one, but felt right at home. Thanks to Imam Birjas for making that happen. Again, there were a few who had mentioned seeing me on Hannity show.

Qutba relevancy?

Imam Birjas shared a powerful thought on the topic of relevancy in terms of racism. Racism in the broadest terms is looking down on others for the way they look, talk or act.  What did Satan do? He refused to accept the leadership of the newly created Adam, he thought the man was inferior to him and he ain�t going to bow to that thing. 

He sees racism of race, religion, and ethnicity has origins in the original disobedience.

There is a need to include the topic of stereotyping in Juma Sermons, as I have found, a few Muslims make outlandish statements like, �that Mosque is Wahabbi funded, they follow Saudi Arabia, they are Arab dominated, Pakistani dominated and statements like that,  and we are better than them, the hell we are better than them! Some of us put out a lot of rubbish without any proof.

The late Dick Sartin, a real right winger whom I dealt with in the early 2000, was boycotted by both Jews and Muslims for his false statements. He trapped a few Muslims to talk with him in a negative way about other Muslims, which boomeranged in 2003, causing a lot of investigations into Richardson Mosque and the Imam. We need to cut that crap about denigrating other Muslims without any damned proof. Those few handfuls of men should be ashamed of quoting from their other mouths about the last sermon of the Prophet (pbuh) which says no one is superior to the other.

 The Iftaar dinner was healthy and I liked it. Good amount of Salad well cut baby cucumbers and carrots in the midst of lettuce, corn salad, and Hummus to go with Pita bread and of course Rice. Ha, they forgot any sauce, curry or liquidy thing to mix with Rice, or maybe I did not see it.   The iftaar breaking had a lot of fruits, good fruits! 

The Imam being Palestinian, Kuwaiti, Jordanian and an American had a special brand of black coffee that I can drink frequently. You don�t drink the whole cup; you pour a few spoonfuls and sip.  I cannot take coffee in black, but this was exceptional. The Imam has patents to this, so we cannot make it on our own. No, I am just kidding.  He will share the formula with you.

We talked about the Quraan translations, and I literally jumped when we agreed that the translations of Hilali Taqiuddin Khan caused much of the Islamophobia, and the legitimate fear it generated among the right wing Christians and Jews. Indeed, I walked away from Islam some 46 years ago, because of such hateful translations towards Christians and Jews and walked back in some 15 years ago after studying different translations and finding the truth. More about it at: http://quraanconference.blogspot.com/ 

He said, being an Arab, he rarely reads the English translations, but when he does, it offends him to see mistranslation by Hilali Khan. I am glad he has a good library of translations of Quraan; indeed, I have a good number of translations. I have promised to present him two translations; Reformers Quraan by Edip Yuskel and Translation by Maulana Wahiduddin. No translation is a final answer; you have to check several to get the essence of it. Finding the truth is your own responsibility, as on the Day of Judgment, no one but you is accountable for your actions.

I have not worn Perfume in 40 some years, on the 2^ndday of Iftaar, at Richardson Mosque, a ubiquitous volunteer, who wears a red tall Turkish cap, came and put a tiny drop of perfume on my hand� and tonight, Imam Birjas placed tiny drop on my right hand� I still smell it, it is soft.

The breaking of fast to the Maghrib prayers were similar to the Masajids in Irving, Richardson, Allen and Plano.

 Apparently someone is going to take the oath, the Shahadah to become a Muslim tonight; I did not stay for the whole sets of Taraweeh prayers.

QUESTION ON IMAM COSTUMES

America is a great equalizer, something Islam is built around as well. Of course we have learned now that wearing Arabic customary clothes does not make one holy.  One of our great Imams is from Turkey and does not wear the Muslim �garb� (Lol- Juan Williams). Do we (non-Arabs) automatically assume that an Imam wearing the Muslim garb is seriously qualified to be Imam over a guy like me or you, who wear regular clothes? Do we have the prejudice? If the Hafiz tonight was wearing Jeans and T-shirt would you value him the same as the Imam tonight who wore the full Arab Regalia?  Is our religiosity measured by externalities?  

Take it easy, you will find that the Rabbis, Pundits, Pastors, Shamans and clergy of other religions also make a point to wear clothes that separates them. Should they?

Here is your invitation

Each mosque and each tradition is uniquely different.  Insha Allah, I will do my best to keep that uniqueness intact, however, it is not easy to write different things each day for the whole month, and we have just about 5 or 6 days left!  I hope this has been a meaningful journey for you. I urge you to jump in and experience it yourselves.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America with participation from every community. Please visit www.AmericaTogetherfoundation.com

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• Please visit the site http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/
• Americans Together, a film by Mike Ghouse. No American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. There are solutions, and here is a trailer of the movie in making:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8&feature=youtu.be
• 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
• In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece
• Prayer postures http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/muslim-prayers-format-salat-or-namaz.html
• Interfaith Quraan Conferencehttp://quraanconference.blogspot.com/2012/07/pastor-robert-jeffress-ingnites-quraan.html

 

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. 

Ramadan day 23 - Colleyville Masjid

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Title - Ramadan day 23 - Colleyville Masjid

Date - Saturday, August 11, 2012 | Ramadan 23, 1433

Iftaar Time: 8:16 PM CST

Place - Colleyville Masjid (817)788-8820
Imam - Yahya J. Aekoma

Address - 500 Cheek-Sparger Rd, Colleyville, Tx 76034

Website -   http://www.ColleyvilleMasjid.org

Today�s Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157631026310338/show/   
Experience different traditions daily at:  www.RamadanDaily.com

Link to this piece:  http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/08/ramadan-day-23-colleyville-masjid.html

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Click on picture to enlarge - 20 other pictures are in the link

It is one of the most beautiful Mosques in Dallas area; it�s architecturally pleasing, symmetrical and well placed. It offers great street scape and has a pleasant courtyard. Landscaping can be improved with a few bougainvillea and crepe myrtles.  The only comparison is at the Ismaili Jamat Khana in Plano that incorporates similar elements.

I urge the management of this mosque to invite the Chamber of Commerce and the City (Planning) officials, and ask them to consider placing this mosque as one of the landmarks of the city. Which means this Mosque will be on the list of places to see for a visitor to Colleyville.  A good spot to take some extraordinary pictures would be of sunset around 8:16 PM from the intersection of Brown Trail and Cheek-Sparger, camera pointing North-west. With additional landscaping this mosque needs to be showcased.

As a home builder, I appreciate the thoughtfulness in building this mosque. Personally I don�t like to see shoes and sandals when I walk into a mosque or a home, and I sure don�t like to walk through the smell either. In the homes we built, we created a large built in shoe cabinet in the niche with doors to keep the footwear out of sight.  Two Mosques have paid attention to this; the Colleyville Mosque and the Fort Worth Mosque on Diaz Avenue.   

The Masjid space shaped in a �T�, with the sanctuary at the top of the T and a flex hall on the vertical; on either side of the T are the class rooms. A great traditional lay out that keeps everything in sight, and offers safety for women and children being in sight.

When I left the office for Iftaar, there was an unusual hesitancy in me, never felt that before, and I did not like the feeling either.  I did not know anyone at this Mosque. My inner voice cajoled me, �Your personal commitment to develop the mechanism for intra-faith is a good reason to go, and for God�s sake it is Allah�s house, just go.� So, I did, and thank God for the Hidayat, it was a good experience.

Thanks to Dr. Ateeq Ahmed, Mo Peracha and a few others whom I knew, I felt home instantly.  Three others (apologize for not remembering the names) mentioned reading the Ramadan daily and one gentleman was amused with the Bohra Masjid story from yesterday and another one was connected from my Cricket days.

One of the conversations was a piggy back on what a friend of mine had mentioned; if we can see learn to see how little it takes to live, and then contentment develops.  The man on my left had quite a few things to add, everyone around mentioned not losing a pound, indeed, I did not lose a pound either.

I was struck with the thought of freedom Ramadan offers; the whole day, almost sixteen hours of abstainament from the desire to have a cup of coffee, the desire to have food or water, and be on a constant vigil to be righteous is incredible. Can�t have ill-thoughts about others, cant� even allow hate to take root, consciously holding on to temptations and anger, avoiding tattle tailing ... Indeed, we can live with very little with much freedom. The word �Mukti� is very descriptive of this state of mind; a genuine freedom from slavery to desire!   

The Khajoors (dates) were neatly placed on a napkins along with a cup of Rooh Afza (refreshing drink) at the entrance table. That was a very efficient way to distribute the Iftaar material.

At the call of Adhan (prayer call), normally every one breaks the fast with a bite of a date, but here today, there were some who waited for the call to finish!  Each Masjid has a different practice; of leading to the moment on his or her own or follow the tradition, as is done at Madinah Masjid in Carrollton, every second of the last few minutes are guided by the Imam there with supplications.

The sanctuary has clean white walls and I liked that. It is a place of worship and let it remain clean. By the way, one of the cleanest Mosques and its courtyard is the Masjid-Al-Aqsa. It was incredibly clean.

We may consider the long term relations with the communities we mosque in, we may consider to place our Masajid�s on weekly tours for the citizens in an open house, so people can come and see the sanctuary. It is about God and nothing but God; nothing is hidden, no secret deity or no nothing. It is simply a place of worship with an intention to pray, and there is nothing but you and God, the abstract God who is formless.  "He is the One God, God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being; He begets not, and neither is He begotten; and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.�

Good simple food! Salad, Lentil (Daal), Palau (rice with fragrance) and Chicken Curry (Not sure what it was, there was sign which said Halim, but that was not Halim).

Mr. Peracha introduced me to the young Imam Yahya J. Aekoma, his Qir�at (style of recitation) reminded me of the ones I used to hear early in the mornings in Saudi Arabia. It was good to meet with him; he is apparently trained from the Bayyanah institute of Islamic learning with Ustad Nouman, a good speaker with a vision to improve the learning systems. I hope to connect with him one of these days.

There was a small commotion after the prayer; apparently those who came late to the prayers started their own Jamaat (group prayer led by an individual) instead of joining the current prayer in the middle and completing it out after the group finished its prayers. A gentleman was unhappy about the group by telling them so� that was discourteous to others who were observing the Sunna prayers. He was technically right, but certainly not polite about it. He could have waited after the prayers and explained his point of view. I am sure he feels regretful, and I am glad Mr. Peracha and others did not say a word that was the right thing to do to let the conflict die down on its own. 

Although it is disappearing now, the women in their thirties can recall belligerent men, yelling at them to cover the head, and or pull the scarf over the hair. One should mind his own manners and not resort to telling others how to pray or behave on the spot, if we do; we need to do it quietly and politely. Thank God the kids tell me when I meet them about what they feel good about being in a Mosque. 

This evening I overheard a teen justifying the behavior -�if they come to the prayers on time, this would not have happened.� Wow! That decisive kid will yell at others when he grows up.  We all need to be trained with the �adaabs� of the mosque. May be our Imams can add a simple item or two in every Friday Sermon.

It was just beautiful outside the Mosque, everyone was hanging out in the front courtyard, there were a few benches and the mercury flood light was adding pleasantness. It was time to have a cup of tea or carry a conversation.  No one was in a hurry to go!

In the beginning of Ramadan, I wrote and wished that we incorporate in our spaces, a mechanism to promote fellowship - meaning people hanging out and getting to know each other, instead of dashing home. That is what builds a sense of community.

The three friends sitting on the bench in one of pictures were from Jordan, Pakistan and Somalia - our conversation started on Sura Hujurat 49:13 and they said they were just talking about it. It was good to see this kind of fellow ship.

I hope we can consider designing our facilities to encourage fellowship and making this place to be a community place, as the prophet intended with Masjid-e-Nabawi.

Apparently a new Mosque is being considered in South Lake, and I beg Muslims to consider following the first two models of the prophet before building a Mosque; that of Amin and a conflict mitigater. I was in the middle of the controversy with Ground Zero Mosque. I stood my ground with Pamela Geller, Brigitte Gabriel, David Horowitz and Frank Gaffney in the span of a week. I felt like I was fighting it alone with hawks all around me.

Here is one with Brigitte Gabriel and Sean Hannity on Fox News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQF0ips81jA

I believe Imam Feisal Rauf made the mistake by avoiding TV interviews, had he done that at the beginning, much of the controversy would have been averted, I was called in after the controversy began, and it was too late to extinguish the flames.

click to enlarge picture- 20 other pictures in the flickr link above

We have to build relationships, we live in the community and we need to be friends, it is the right thing to do. In a time when Churches are being closed down for lack of funds, a Mosque going up creates resentment. We can win the wars legally, but we lose in the long haul - living in apprehension and constant concerns is not a healthy way of living.

We have to be the contributors towards creating peaceful cohesive societies. It is our responsibility.  A genuine friendship is essential, without the mal-intention of converting the other when you befriend them, but a genuine interest in the wellbeing of people brings lasting relationships to live in peace with others.  Go back to the example of how Prophet treated that old lady who was unkind to him, when he walked by her house.  We need to prioritize our Sunna - to create goodness or run with a hidden agenda of conversion. Islam is about openness and truthfulness and that is the kind of Sunnah we need to pursue. 


We have to hire a community relations manager before we buy the land. That is my advice observing the mistakes we have made in Murfreesboro, Houston, California and other places. Take a look at this blog to understand the difficulties.  http://groundzeromosque.blogspot.com/

By the way, Rabbi Charlie Citreon- Walker who was in Colleyville Masjid yesterday is being recognized by the Foundation for pluralism and America Together foundation on the Unity Day USA for his interfaith relations work.   Details are on the website www.UnitydayUSA.com

Three of the pastors who were recipients of this annual award, had stood up with Muslims for the Ground Zero Mosque and wrote in Dallas Morning news about it during the controversy. One of them is Bob Roberts of the Baptist Church in your neighborhood.  We need to stand up for others and we must encourage those who stand up for others including us.  People like Rabbi Walker and others awardees will be standing up for each other. 

We really need your presence. Please confirm at the email at the website. That is another Sunnah we Muslims need to follow, to learn to rsvp.  

Here is your invitation

We are pleased to invite you to the 8th Annual Unity Day USA.

on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 11:30 am

at Unity of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230

Each mosque and each tradition is uniquely different.  Insha Allah, I will do my best to keep that uniqueness intact, however, it is not easy to write different things each day for the whole month, and we have just about 5 or 6 days left!  I hope this has been a meaningful journey for you. I urge you to jump in and experience it yourselves.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America with participation from every community. Please visit www.AmericaTogetherfoundation.com

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Please mark your calendar for the Unity Day USA, onTuesday, September 11, 2012 at 11:30 am at Unity of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230. It is a positive event that brings 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.  Please visit www.UnityDayUSA.com

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• Please visit the site http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/ No American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.
• There are solutions; here is a trailer of the movie in making:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8&feature=youtu.be
• 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
•  In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece
• Prayer postures http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2012/07/muslim-prayers-format-salat-or-namaz.html
• Interfaith Quraan Conference http://quraanconference.blogspot.com/2012/07/pastor-robert-jeffress-ingnites-quraan.html

Please visit www.RamadanDaily.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.