Hunting down Shias: What can we do about it?

What can we do about it?

Let's ask our imams to address this issue in our Friday Sermons, and let's go pray Juma prayers with the Shia Muslims, let's show  solidarity with them. That is the least we can do.  

Insha Allah, we will hold a meeting in April about this situation here in Dallas, please come up with simple practical day to day ideas that each one of us can do.

URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/03/hunting-down-shias-societys-deafening.html

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Maheen Usmani writes in Dawn,

•  "KARACHI: Hauled off buses, targeted in their clinics, on boulevards, in alleys, in shops, in offices, in processions and pilgrimages, is there any place left safe for Shias in Pakistan? At Ashura, they were chastised for taking out Moharram processions and giving terrorists an open field in which to attack.
• Till yesterday, they might have thought that the inner sanctum of their homes would provide them protection against the growing madness swirling around them. But now the killing fields are their own homes.

• They are hoping for a better tomorrow, but who can blame them for losing hope day by day?

• The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a Shia but today he is called a kafir by many venomous Pakistanis.

• Mr Jinnah’s prophetic words “United we Stand, Divided we Fall’’ have never seemed more tragically relevant to the country he founded with such high hopes and aspirations. "

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 If Israel bulldozes the house of a Palestinian, we raise bloody hell and demonstrate big time everywhere, and that is the right thing to do, but when it comes to people in our own backyard, we are totally screwed up. Either we are scared, or simply don't care beyond our own disgusting self. Imagine how the Shia, Ahmadiyya,Hindu and Christian Minorities feel in Pakistan now.

I thank Allah for making me a minority through out my life, so I can feel the anxieties and pain of the fellow beings.

The least we can do is to do the thu-thu (spitting; an act of condemnation in the culture) at the government of Zardari, they have failed to protect the Citizens.  The least we can do is to lend  support to Shia Muslims, so they can feel a bit secure that the ordinary Sunnis are with them.  I hear their cries, the lady in the picture breaks my heart.

Had it not been for the American majority, and the laws of the nations, many Pakistanis would have been harassed. If we want our lives to be not discriminated, we need to stand up for others whose lives are made hell.

Mike Ghouse committed to cohesive societies where no human, has to live in fear of the other. About Mike at www.MikeGhouse.net
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A few of the many pieces where Muslims have spoken against crimes towards Shia.

Hunting down Shias: Society’s deafening silence

KARACHI: Hauled off buses, targeted in their clinics, on boulevards, in alleys, in shops, in offices, in processions and pilgrimages, is there any place left safe for Shias in Pakistan? At Ashura, they were chastised for taking out Moharram processions and giving terrorists an open field in which to attack. http://dawn.com/2013/03/04/hunting-down-shias-societys-deafening-silence/ 

Muslims Condemn Zardari Government for not protecting the Shia ...
“We condemn the harassment and killings of Shia and Ahmadiyya Pakistanis by Sunni Pakistanis. The Jhangvi leaders are saying they will kill more Shias, and are walking around like the beasts on prowl. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/02/muslims-condemn-zardari-government-for.html
 
World Muslim Congress : Sunni-Shia strife - The Economist
Muslim scholars, 170 in number and representing nine schools of legal thought (including four main Sunni ones and two Shia), gathered in Amman and declared that, whatever their differences, they accepted the others' ... http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/07/sunni-shia-strife-economist.html

 
World Muslim Congress : Shias massacred in Pakistan
If we blame the religion, we have passed the buck to an innocent intangible, we need to get the individual bad guys and get them to pay for it. They are not Talibans, not Sunnis, not Shias not... lets develop a mind set to get the ... http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/03/shias-massacred-in-pakistan.html

Muslim Intra faith dialogue in Houston
SUNNI, SHIA, AHMADIYYA AND WD MUHAMMAD DENOMINATIONS. Describe the outline of the event at the Asia Society. Who will be involved? What is the schedule? What is the format? What is the expected outcome? http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/02/muslim-intra-faith-dialogue-in-houston.html
 
Intra-faith panel discusses peaceful Islamic futures
http://blog.chron.com/sacredduty/2013/02/intra-faith-panel-discusses-peaceful-islamic-futures/   

World Muslim Congress : Saudi Cleric -Shia infidels
THE BIGOTS AMONG US Saudi cleric issues religious edict declaring Shiites to be infidels. The article below is inciting and ridiculous. No Muslim will subscribe to this non-sense unless they are paid to do it. Whatever City ... http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/01/saudi-cleric-shia-infidels.html

Genocides, Jews, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs

There is a shameless cruelty in our societies when it comes to acknowledging other people's suffering. Either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own and/or it amounts to infidelity to our own cause.
 

   One of the immortal dialogue clips from a 1958 Bollywood movie "Yahudi" is included in the article, where the Jew challenges the roman emperor,  "Tumhara khoon, khoon, aur mera Khoon pani?"

    A Muslim shouts, "Why are you commemorating Holocaust of Jews?
    A Jewish speaker did not want to hear about Gaza massacre
    A Muslim initiative was asked to be removed from the publicity material
    A Hindu friend jumps for not including the Kashmiri pundit while it was
    A Pakistani says Bangladesh genocide talk equals defaming Pakistan
    A Sikh Genocide talk, amounts to shaming the mother land

I submit to you, that the human atrocities are pent up frustrations and unresolved issues that reach a boiling point and explode into massacres and genocides. As civilized societies, we need to bring a closure to the issues through forgiveness, apology and restoration of justice. The least we can do in the process of healing is to know and acknowledge every one's pain. 

Full article at Huffington post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/holocaust-remembrance-and-recognizing-all-genocides_b_2547164.html

.................Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. 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 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. 

Condemning the silence of Muslim Majority in Pakistan

Condemning the silence of Muslim Majority in Pakistan

.......... On the other hand, if you ever feel that the “other minority” community deserves to be persecuted, or “they asked for it” then you have a problem! You need help, please ask God to drain the solid waste from your system, it is dangerous for you, and you are your own enemy with that load of crap in you. Continued: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/01/condemning-silence-of-muslims-in.html

The majoritarian attitudes are the root cause of much of the evil in the world; Pakistan is no exception, indeed, the problem is exemplified with the silence by the government of Pakistan, I cannot believe a Government cannot reign in on extremists and bring law and order to the nation.

First they came for Ahmadiyya,
I remained silent because I am not an Ahmadi;

then they came after Hindu women,
it did not matter to me, I am neither a Hindu nor a woman;

They did not spare the Christians,
they lied and framed the blasphemy charges,

they turned towards the Shia,
singling out and murdering them in the public;

the evil men are coming after me, a mini-Sunni*
where the hell are my fellow Muslims?

The only way things will change is if all of us, each one of us, speaks up against injustice and killing of fellow beings, no matter who it is.


The least you can do is condemn all such acts in your daily conversations, nothing more. Where ever you get a chance express yourselves, there is an energy that builds from there….

On the other hand, if you feel that the “other” community deserves to be persecuted, or “they asked for it” then you have a problem! You need help, please ask God to drain the sewer from your heart, it is dangerous for you, and you are your own enemy with that load of crap in you.


As a Sunni Muslim, I am embarrassed at these evil men, not only for harming fellow beings but also for maligning a religion that we consider to be a Rahmat (mercy) to mankind, these men are making liars out of us. I condemn the silence of the Majority in Pakistan. I hope every one of you feels the energy to condemn this in your daily conversations and pray for peace and sanity, in the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Thank you.

Muslims Together dreaming of building a cohesive world.

Mike Ghouse
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

* Mini-Sunni to denote the factions within Sunni who declare each other in less than kind words. Shame on all of them!

Seedling Pluralism in Pakistan

Pakistan like India has a common pluralistic heritage, but it has lost its tracks since Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and we the Americans countered their encroachment with funding Madrasas to produce Jihadists to go get the soviets, kill or get killed mind set, and they ran the Soviets off, and we abandoned them as well, rendering them jobless and purposeless drifters. Pakistan’s pluralistic heritage completely capsized two decades ago. Today, I am meeting a delegation from Pakistan on a trip to get an understanding of Pluralism and Interfaith.

URL: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/10/seedling-pluralism-in-pakistan.html

Seedling Pluralism in Pakistan

Today, I am meeting a delegation from Pakistan on a trip to get an understanding of Pluralism and Interfaith. There are not many organizations involved in research and studies in religious pluralism and pluralistic governance; we are one of the few doing this work for the last twenty years.

Seedling Pluralism in Pakistan

I am particularly excited about this meeting, because, Pakistan like India has a common pluralistic heritage, but it has lost its tracks since Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and we the Americans countered their encroachment with funding Madrasas to produce Jihadists to go get the soviets, kill or get killed mind set, and they ran the Soviets off, and we abandoned them as well, rendering them jobless and purposeless drifters. We, the individuals have to do our share of work in fixing the problem. After all who does not want a safe and secure world?  Restoring plurality is good for Pakistan and good for her neighbors and the world.

Pakistan’s pluralistic heritage completely capsized two decades ago, where harassment of Christian, Hindu, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Sikhs and other minorities had gone unchecked, and the eerie silence of the majority. I am amazed at the positive response to the documentary on building a cohesive America; a few Pakistanis want me to make a documentary about building a cohesive Pakistan. They said it was safer for an outsider to make than the one from among them. I am not sure if that is just a talk or they are serious, if they fund it, I will make it; there is so much goodness out there that needs to be released.

For the last seven years, almost every religious and political delegation that visits Dallas, I am asked to give an orientation on Pluralism and share about the religious landscape in America and how to build pluralistic societies. The Saudi’s had met with me in 2003 that led to the interfaith meeting the King held in Saudi Arabia… I am hoping to show the trailer of the documentary Americans Together located at www.AmericaTogetherFoundation.com . 

Simply put, it is respecting the otherness of the other and accepting the uniqueness of each one of us.  In cultural terms, it is recognizing your culture as a beautiful expression of life to you, as my own culture is to me. When it comes to food, it is recognizing that you will almost always you’re your mothers food, you might enjoy a well done steak while, I am relish the medium rare I delight, or vice-versa. Religiously, it is learning to honor the way your worship or bow to the creator in gratitude, your faith is divine to you as my faith is divine to me.  As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, faith is in the heart of the believer.

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, playing, marrying, and doing things together.

We need to prepare ourselves for those eventualities to prevent possible conflicts, and lay a good foundation for nurturing goodwill and effective functioning of the societies. Exclusive communities will become a thing of the past.  If you live amidst others, you must also respect the otherness of others, as you expect them to do the same for you.

This was the work of every spiritual Master from Zoroaster, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Confucius, Rama, Jesus, Muhammad, Nanak, Baha'ullah  Native American Shamans - all of them wanted us to get along with each other, for the ultimate common good of living without fear and living a fairly secure life.

Pluralism is not a religion or a system, it is not a mish-mash of religion either, it is simply an attitude of respecting the otherness of others and minding our own goddamn business, but together creating a cohesive society where all of us can function effectively and comfortably.

I will be happy to present an hour or three hours course on Pluralism basics, if it is in Dallas, it’s my service, outside Dallas pay for the travel and hotel and the honorarium.

Pluralism is our future.

Mike Ghouse 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 onSean 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 blogwww.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.