PEACE IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE BEGINS WITH YOU AND ME

Thomas Friedman (New York Times) beat me to it; this is the solution for the endless conflict in the Middle-East. I urge the right wing Jewish, Muslim and Christian organizations not to hate him for writing this piece, it is something they wanted to begin with but went about in the wrong way, their passion and support is crucial to be applied in the right path, the path of peace in the holy land of Moses, Solomon, Jesus and Muhammad.  My prayers for Friedman for writing this piece and God willing I am writing one to supplement his efforts. 

Friedman challenges the Palestinians in New York times, “To the Palestinians I would say: You believe the Israelis are stiffing you because they think they have you in box. If you resort to violence, they will brand you terrorists. And if you don’t resort to violence, the Israelis will just pocket the peace and quiet and build more settlements. Your dilemma is how to move Israel in a way that won’t blow up in your face or require total surrender.”

He urges the Israelis, “Israel today still has enormous leverage. It is vastly superior militarily and economically to the Palestinians, and it has the U.S. on its side. If Netanyahu actually put a credible, specific two-state peace map on the table — not just the same old vague promises about “painful compromises” — he could get the Americans and Europeans to toss in anything Israel wanted, including the newest weapons, NATO membership, maybe even European Union membership. It could be a security windfall for Israel.”

The silent peace loving Jewish, Muslim and Christian majorities to the conflict want peace, they want Jews to feel secure, they want Palestinians to live with the basic necessity of life; hope and Christians to be free from the conflicts between extremist in all groups. All of them want that region of land to remain a holy land, where peace shines and radiates to the world.  Let peace and non-violence take root and win the support of every one of us in the world.

I'm thinking of going to Jerusalem and doing my share of the work in bringing together the people and taking a step forward. This has been my calling and perhaps yours too; would you consider joining the movement at least in terms of gathering momentum in the net world?

It's time for peace and time for us to come together, with justice for Palestinians (both Muslim and Christian) and security for Israelis, much of the world’s frustration will fade away.

Blessed are the peace makers. I feel that was on the Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus delivered that sermon; I feel the words and its power and, although a Muslim, I feel blessed with the baptism in the river Jordan where Jesus, my mentor and prophet, was baptized.  I went there [a few years ago] with the Middle East Peace Initiative (MEPI) of Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s ministry. Founded in 2003, the Middle East Peace

Initiative is based on Reverend Moon's vision that problems of the Middle East will ultimately be solved by religious leaders – the leaders of Christianity, Judaism and Islam working together, rather than political leadership alone. I urge Rev. Moon’s movement to give MEPI momentumnow.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, interfaith, cohesive societies offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He work is logged in at
http://www.mikeghouse.net/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/opinion/25friedman.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

Obama will deliver security to Israel and justice to Palestinians

http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2011/05/obama-will-deliver-security-to-israel.html

We read a whole lot of material from the right wingers, though they have an aggressive presence in the Mediascape, they do not represent the majority. The American Public does not subscribe to the view of Bush, Romney, Palin and their likes and neither the Israeli public subscribes to the views of Netanyahu or the AIPAC.

It’s in our interest to hear the Jewish public and intellectuals to shape or re-form our understanding on the issues. Attacks on Obama are disingenuous, his policy will get the Jews what they have been seeking for eternity; Security.

When Security for Israelis and justice for Palestinians is the goal, it will succeed and becomes sustainable. Obama’s vision is opposed by short term macho minds powered by a false sense of power.  Of all the People on the earth, Jews have been the victims of power, no one will annihilate them or any part of humanity by sheer military might, the Ferdinand’s could not do it, the Romans could not do it and the Arabs will not do it, and likewise, the Israeli military or lobbying power will not bulldoze the aspirations of the people of the Palestine.  

Every article David Horowitz, Robert Spencer or suckers like them write, invariably they ask for money. It is money making racket for them, frighten the Jews and cash it in on their fears. I wonder if they really care for Israel, as none of their suggestions bring peace but aggravate the situation, if we listen to them it will be another 60 years to find solutions.  Peace has no benefit for them.   While the suckers enrich themselves seeking funds the public at large suffers. We need to stop this or at least be aware of the views of the moderate majority of Jews who seek Justice.

This blog is to share another point of view that exists out there, we may disagree, but bulldozing one view is not only undemocratic but most importantly, it’s incomplete and is unable to sustain.

A collection of a few articles in May 2011 at http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/

• JTA 1967 lines with swaps and should serve as a basis for negotiations
• The Obama administration's final betrayal of Israel
• Netanyahu's Bizarre Response to Obama's Palestinians...
• THE FURY OVER THE 1967 BORDERS IS DISINGENUOUS
• No, Mr. Netanyahu!
• Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel
• Text of Obama’s Speech on the Middle East
• Recognizing a Palestinian State -
  J Street
• Hamas must be a party to peace talks

Coming up: The wisdom in recognizing Israel, an appeal to Arab Nations.

Mike Ghouse committed to find pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a speaker, writer, thinker and an activist and his work is indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Muslim Speaker Mike Ghouse

NURTURING PLURALISTIC VALUES EMBEDDED IN ISLAM 

A Muslim Speaker, thinker, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice versa to sustain peace, harmony and prosperity.

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter. Over 1000 articles have been published on a range of topics in Islam and Pluralism. Insha Allah, a book outlining the Muslim vision is on the horizon.

In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece  
Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

If that has been you, Mike Ghouse ought to be your hero.

It is hard to imagine that anyone has worked harder than the Carrollton resident to demonstrate the peaceful and moderate side of Islam.

And that effort includes personally visiting Dallas' First Baptist Church last Sunday just to put a friendly face on the "evil, evil religion" that the Rev. Robert Jeffress denounced a few weeks before.

"It was wonderful," Ghouse said of the visit. "We were so warmly received."
He hopes a quick chat with Jeffress will be the start of deeper discussion about Islam and the importance of respect between religions.

"I want to have a dialogue with him, not to say he is wrong but to share another point of view," Ghouse said.

The 57-year-old Muslim was born in India and has lived in the United States for 30 years. He owns a small property management firm. But most of his day is devoted to building bridges between people of different faiths.

"It is my passion," he said in his distinctive raspy voice.

He has been a guest a dozen times on Sean Hannity's TV and radio talk shows. "I don't like the way Sean cuts me off, but I have to honor him for giving the American public a semblance of another point of view."

Ghouse said he can understand fear and criticism of Islam because he went through a time of similar feelings. As a teen, he was troubled by passages of the Quran. He called himself an atheist for a while.

But he said deeper study led him to realize the Quran had been purposely mistranslated down through history.

In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders.

Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews.

"It was all for politics," he said.
Ghouse said he hopes to present Jeffress with a modern, faithful translation and challenge him to find evil verses.

"If he can, I will convert. I will join his church," Ghouse said. "If he can't, I will call on him to retract his statements and become a peacemaker."

Ghouse acknowledges that deep problems persist within Islam. "Three steps forward, two steps back," he said with a sigh.

And he agrees that mainstream Muslims have not done enough to counter violent images of their faith.

"That is very true," he said. "But part of it is that many Muslims have given up hope that we will ever be heard."

He said repeated denunciations of terrorism seem to fall on deaf ears.

And some efforts have backfired - like the proposed Islamic information center in New York. He said it should be hailed for furthering the moderate Muslim cause.
Instead, it has deepened hostility toward Muslims.

I have been astounded by the amount of anti-Islam propaganda that circulates via e-mail. Tons of it has come my way in the last few weeks.

One theme is that people like Mike Ghouse can't be trusted, that Islam encourages deception.

But Ghouse says actions speak louder than words. And he points to elections in Muslim nations.

More than half of Muslims live in countries with some degree of democracy. And time and time again, Islamist parties are overwhelmingly rejected in favor of secular, mainstream parties.

"The religious parties don't get more than 3 percent of the vote," Ghouse said.
Polls show deep mistrust of Muslims. "But the most important question in those surveys is: 'Do you know anything about Islam?' " Ghouse said. "Most people say no."
What keeps him going is faith in Americans, he said.

"The majority of Americans, if they know the truth, they will change their minds."
 

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer, thinker, futurist and an activist of Pluralism, Islam, India and Civil Societies passionately offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

He is a commentator at Fox News on the Hannity show, nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR.  He has spoken at international forums including the Parliament of Worlds Religions in Melbourne, Middle East Peace initiative in Jerusalem, International Leadership conference in Hawaii, Washington and elsewhere.

Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other.  We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7^th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.  

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15^th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5^th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies.  Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

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Full Profile at:  http://www.mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp   

Mike is working on two books scheduled to be released this year; The American Muslim Agenda and My Journey to Pluralism.

Mike has written over 1000 Articles on Pluralism, Islam, India, Peace & Justice and civil societies published in a wide spectrum of Newspapers and Magazines around the world.

Locally, he is a panelist at Dallas Morning News's and writes weekly on a range of issues facing the nation. Washington Post, Huffington Post and other news papers and sites regularly publish his work.  

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your place of worship, school, work place, seminars, workshops or conferences. His work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/