Holocaust and Genocides event - Sunday in Dallas

II ANNUAL REFLECTIONS ON HOLOCAUST & GENOCIDES

Our Mission is to create awareness of the inhumanity in all of us, and discover and create solutions for peaceful co-existence. We need to remind ourselves frequently to do our share to make the world a better place to live, vow to say “never again” to human atrocities, and at this annual occasion dare to practice the power of forgiveness.

II ANNUAL REFLECTIONS ON HOLOCAUST & GENOCIDES
Day: Sunday, January 25, 2009
Time: 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Place: UNITY CHURCH OF DALLAS, 6525 Forest Lane • Dallas, TX 75230
Contact: Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916
email: MikeGhouse@aol.com
Website: www.HolocaustandGenocides.org

RSVP: ConfirmAttendance@Gmail.com

Dallas Morning News:
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/reflections-on-holocaust-and-g.html

Details - Press release:
http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Holocaust-and-Genocides-Press-Release-011709.asp


Mike Ghouse,
Event Chair (214) 325-1916
www.FoundationforPluralism.com
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

PR- II Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides

II Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
Sunday, January 25, 2009 5:00 PM - 7:15 PM
Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance
211 N. Record St. Suite 100,
Dallas, TX 75202-3361
Website: www.HolocaustandGenocides.org

Admission is free - Your are invitedLimited Seating -
Please RSVP to: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com

You may become a part of the history as this event is a stepping stone towards Peace in the Middle east. Continued: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Holocaust-and-Genocides-Press-Release-011709.asp

Christmas - Kwanza - Zartosht Diso - Muharram - Yalda

DECEMBER FESTIVALS -2008
Christmas - Kwanza - Zartosht Diso - Muharram - Yalda
Summary of other Festivals of December in the link at the bottom of this page
"If your festival is missing, please share it with me and my world of friends"

Let's learn a little bit about our friends, neighbors and co-workers, and how they commemorate or celebrate their lives. Friendship is an amazing thing, it takes time to know, but when you do, a lot of myths about others disappear - and you find an amazing peace within you for knowing some one from some group, whom you thought otherwise..oh well, you got it. I have compiled, borrowed and added a few notes to learn and share about the following festivals and commemorations. It is not perfect but selected for a lay person to grasp it. For example the write up about Zartosht no-deso is very elementary to Zoroastrians but meaningful to others.

Please join us to reflect upon the Holocaust and Genocides. Let's make room in our hearts for the precious feelings for human helplessness. Kindly mark your calendars for 7:00 - 9:15 PM on Saturday, January 24th, 2009. Details at: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com or try .org

Click here to read the details of the festivals listed above:

http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/December-Festivals-Christmas-Kwanza-ZortoshtDiso-Muharram-Z.asp

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer on Pluralism, interfaith, terrorism, peace, interfaith, Islam, Multiculturism and India. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing interfaith, political and civic issues. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com

The Essence of Eid-al-Adha - A Muslim Festival on Monday

The Essence of Eid-al-Adha - A Muslim Festival on Monday

Eid-al-Adha is also known as Hajj or Bakrid (variations listed below) if you wish to greet Muslims on this day you may say Happy Eid or Eid Mubarak. Eid is festivity. At the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, known as Hajj, Muslims throughout the world celebrate the holiday of Eid-al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice). This year, Eid-al-Adha will be celebrated on Monday, December 8, 2008. It is about remembering and commemorating the trials and triumphs of Prophet Abraham.

A parent would risk his or her life to protect the child. People in love have the passion to value their beloved's life and are willing to get the bullet and save the life, they are willing to rescue her or him from the freezing lake risking their own life, even strangers do that. It is the willingness to put the life of the loved one’ above one’s own life. Every day our Police officers risk their own lives to protect ours, the firemen and women risk their lives to save a child, a pet or an aged person from a fire; and every day our soldiers put their lives at risk to save fellow soldiers and to save our freedom. Eid-al-Adha is a tradition started by Prophet Abraham.

Continued: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Eid-al-Adha-2008.asp

Scream Bloody Murder, reflections on Holocaust and Genocides

Scream Bloody Murder, reflections on Holocaust and Genocides

You feel angry knowing that the world stood by silently when the Jews were put on the train to the gas chambers; you feel anger when the Bosnian Muslims children were given chocolates and told not to worry and go right behind and open gunfire and massacre them; you feel anger when the Canadian general sends faxes upon faxes to the United Nations to send help, while the UN and USA did not want to get involved and 800,000 Rwandans were massacred, they were even announcing on their radio how to torture pregnant women to pull out the babies… It was a difficult documentary to watch, but you must watch and face the world; you have to do your share to clean your own slate of conscience.

Continued: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Scream-bloody-Murder-reflection-on-holocaust-genocides.asp

Jewish Muslim Dialogue; a necessity

Jewish Muslim Dialogue; a necessity
INSPIRED BY THE DOCUMENTARY "THE MONSTER AMONG US"
Mike Ghouse, Dallas, Texas

The Jewish Community Center in Dallas recently screened a documentary called “The Monster among us”, produced and directed by Dallas filmmakers Allen and Cynthia Mondell.

I have captured the highlights of the film, and will pen a few here;

First of all, let me acknowledge, that it is a well made documentary and I commend the integrity of the producer for presenting his particular perspective which he twice clarified to me was a strictly "Jewish" perspective with no attempt made to present any other side of the story. That is fair.....until we have all points of view on the table, the dialogue to find solutions would be inadequate and thus will not be sustainable.I did not find the movie to be offensive; however there were three major flaws in the movie that needed to be re-edited or tagged with comments to rectify them. Our allegiance ought to be to the truth. Continue

http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Jewish-Muslim-dialogue-a-necessity.asp

Interfaith dialogue in Saudi Arabia

The following letter was sent to the arab news, in reference to their article listed at; Articles at: http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2008/07/interfaith-in-saudi-arabia.html

Bismillah, this is a good beginning.

Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative societies is opening up to people of other faiths. The process began in 2005 when Saudi Emissaries started branching out all over the world to explore interfaith. In Dallas per the request of a Saudi minister, I had arranged for a 20 member meeting from Jewish, Islamic and Christian groups as an initial step towards including all faiths in the near future. Since then the Saudi Kingdom has taken series of steps in this direction culminating in interfaith dialogue series. First it was the same three groups; Judaism, Christianity and Islam and now, I am pleased it has included Hinduism and Buddhism.

I am further pleased to read the following statements “Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of the MWL, said, “The aim of the conference is for us to get to know each other and look for ways to cooperate.” And their focus is on “humanitarian issues and challenges facing the world”. He further adds “that the conference would look at social and ethnic conflicts, environmental issues, the breakdown of the family and militant violence around the world.” He added the conferences would initially not focus on theological issues.

Years ago, I had a daily radio show called “Wisdom of Religion, all the beautiful religions” which ran for full two years. Our focus was on the message of each one of the religions and how the common man on the street could relate with the essence of each faith.

God willing, the World Muslim Congress, the Memnosyne Foundation and the Foundation for pluralism from Dallas will work towards creating a better world of co-existence.

Jazak Allah Khair

Mike Ghouse
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/
http://www.memnosynefoundation.com/
http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/

Speakers on Pluralism & Interfaith

What Qualifies one to speak on Interfaith and Pluralism*

Interfaith is about relationship between faiths, where as
Pluralism is about co-existence be it theists, atheists, governance or politics.

We have carefully selected the speakers, and I believe, none of them have bias or prejudice towards people of other faiths, race, ethniciy or any other uniqueness.

http://dallasinterfaithcenter.blogspot.com/2008/07/speakers-on-pluralism-interfaith.html

We are developing a list of speakers who believe “My faith is dear to me, as other's faith is dear to them." and, "I believe in my faith, it works for me and I give the same value to others who believe in their faith without taking away any divinity in them."

To be religious is to be spiritual and to be in tune with the creation, where one feels a sense of oneness with the universe, everything belongs to one and one belongs to all. A true state of liberation and the state of conflictlessness prevails in one's heart and mind. Each one of us can aspire for that ideal and achieve a relative sense of oneness with our own failings and flaws with relative humility.

Spirituality and Arrogance are inversely proportional to each other, ideally, they are mutually exclusive elements. A true religious person appreciates the religiosity and divinity of the other as he or she accords oneself with no arrogance.

We have to build bridges, mitigate conflicts and work for a world of co-existence. Honoring other traditions does not diminish divinity of one's own faith. To be religious is to see the creator in all and be peace makers and justice workers.

These speakers will will have a respectful disposition towards fellow beings regardless of other's theistic, atheistic, agnostic, poly or monotheistic traditions. They will promote appreciation of diversity as a divine design. The cause of all life has origins in the same source, it is the same creator and sustainer. Rabbi Gordis says it well " We have to honor the otherness of other without missionizing thoughts" a certain source of irreligiousness.

Each one of the speaker believes in his or her faith but does not allow the arrogance to creep in to claim that his/her's is the only way and others are inferior. Please share the names of the persons who share these ideals, but are not perfect. No one is.

If we can learn to accept and respect every which way one worships the divine, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge; co-existence in harmony with life and matter.

National interfaith Speakers will be listed at http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/ and the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex Speakers are listed at: http://www.dallasinterfaithcenter.com/

Here is the list of speakers:
Please note that if the speakers are biased towards others, we will not list their names.

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
email: Mike@FoundationforPluralism.com
Topics: Pluralism, Terrorism, Essence of Religions, Interfaith, Multi-culturism &\; Islam Profile: http://www.mikeghouse.net/ProfileMikeGhouse.asp
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Dr. Harbans Lal,
817-446-8757, Mob. 817-846-8630
email: japji08@yahoo.com
Topics: Interfaith and Sikh Tradition

Rev. Marylou Bishop-GhystPhone: 214-324-1125
e-mail: unityland@aol.com
Topics: Christianity's path, religious prejudice

Rev. Petra Weldes
email: therock@csldallas.org
Profile: Scroll down please

PROFILES OF SPEAKERS
_____________________________________________

Marylou Ghyst

Topics:
1) Christianity's Three Paths
2) Mysticism and Recognizing Guidance
3) Jesus' Concept of God and of Heaven on Earth
4) The Keys to Jesus' Healing Power; Self-Healing
5) Adam & Eve (the second creation story -- not literal -- but deeply spiritual).
6) 15 Areas of Prejudice in this country

Profile: Marylou is a native of Denver, Colorado. At age 4, she became aware of her mission in life -- to be a doctor. Ten years later at 14, although under age, she persuaded Mercy Hospital to hire her as a nurse's aide. At 16, she graduated from a vocational nursing school. About the same time, she observed a TV minister who was "doctoring" to the emotional needs of people. Instantly she recognized that was the kind of doctor she wanted to be. She left nursing behind, and worked for attorneys for the next 20 years which she describes as one of her most profound learning experiences. She then studied art for 5 years, learning to paint in water color and oil. At this time, in mid-life, she received her "calling." Most Christian ministers are aware of the exact moment when God calls them to ministry, and she said "yes" to the call.

She graduated from Unity School of Christianity in Missouri as a Licensed Teacher, and was ordained a minister at Unity Temple in New Orleans. She co-founded Unity Church in Garland, now Unity Church of Sachse, from which she retired in 2006. She's now committed to interfaith. and is in the process of writing her fifth book, The Teachings of Jesus in Plain English. She is married and has no children.

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