Pluralism News Service (05.06.17)

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PLURALISM NEWS
PERIODIC NEWS LETTER
Saturday, May 6, 2017
LINK: https://centerforpluralism.com/pluralism-news-service/

  • CFP – General Bulletin
  • CFP – Muslim Bulletin
  • CFP – Jewish Bulletin
  • CFP – Christian Bulletin
  • CFP – Hindu Bulletin
  • CFP – Sikh Bulletin
  • CFP – LGBT Bulletin
  • CFP – Politics Bulletin
  • CFP – Others as we gather the staff.

This weekly bulletin comes to you from the Center for Pluralism, an organization committed to building a cohesive America, where no American has to feel alienated or afraid of the other. How do we build such an America, where we can retire without tensions and our children and grandchildren can feel secure about their future?   Please visit: https://centerforpluralism.com
CFP is an all inclusive organization for every American, if you like to be a part of the Pluralism News bulletin, please send an email to : [email protected]


CFP – GENERAL BULLETIN

Over the last twenty four years, our writings have sought to capture the essence of each major religious festival and the contributions of spiritual masters in making the world a better place. Wishing you the very best on these festivities and celebrations.  We will make an effort to do a short write up on each one of these spiritual masters and their contributions to making the world a better place for all of us to live in.
LIVE INTERFAITH SHOW ON SATURDAY
Please tune into the Interfaith Live Show on Facebook on Saturday at 12:00 EST – Renowned Islamic Scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Timothy Paul, Yaqoob Ali Shah and Mike Ghouse will be on the show live – from India, Pakistan, Canada and the USA.  Go to: https://www.facebook.com/TheInterfaithShow/
Festivals of May  | www.Centerforpluralism.com/festivals/
Do you remember the April Festivals? There were over a dozen festivals in April, the month of May has the lowest amount of Festivals. We will provide the links to these events in the next news letter. More at:
05/02/17 – Bahai Faith – Ridavan Festival
05/11/17 – Islam – Shab-e-Baraat,
05/23/17 – Bahai – Declaration of Bab- founding of the Bahai Faith
05/26/17 – Islam – The month of Ramadan begins
05/29/17 – Bahai – Ascension of Bahaullah
Wisdom Series  | https://centerforpluralism.com/wisdom-series/
A write up on major religious, political or civic leaders contributions to the common good of humanity will be shared.
05/10/17 – Buddha’s Birthday
Workshops | https://centerforpluralism.com/workshops/
05/00/17 Understanding the Essence of Jainism
This month our workshop is in Jainism.
Program Outline:  https://centerforpluralism.com/understanding-the-essence-of-islam/
13 Religions | 13 Workshops: https://centerforpluralism.com/workshops/
Conferences | https://centerforpluralism.com/conferences/
1. Do American Muslims Want Sharia?
2. Does Quran promote violence?
Get a complete picture of what we do

  1. Pluralism News:  Go to the Tab Pluralism News  or click  www.PluralismNews.com 
  2. Our Calendar : https://centerforpluralism.com/calendar/
  3. Festivals: https://centerforpluralism.com/festivals/
  4. Workshops: https://centerforpluralism.com/workshops
  5. Conferences: https://centerforpluralism.com/conferences/
  6. Seminars: https://centerforpluralism.com/seminars/
  7. Wisdom Series:  https://centerforpluralism.com/wisdom-series/

CFP – MUSLIM

  1. Where are the likes of Bibi Khadija, Muhammad (pbuh) and the righteous ones to lead us through difficult times? One of the many ways to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps is to look at our own history and revive on the model created by Bibi Khadija, Prophet Muhammad and the righteous leaders.  Unless we make an effort nothing will change.  There is hope and a plan about what we can do to bring the change.
    https://centerforpluralism.com/where-are-the-likes-of-bibi-khadija-muhammad-pbuh-and-the-righteous-ones/
  2. Sharia Conference – I am sure we are all sick of hearing the Anti-Sharia rants, and the Anti-Sharia bills have passed in over twenty two states and growing. We have a chance to put off the daily ‘Sharia’ attacks in the public square. These attacks have kept the knowledgeable Muslims in anxiety and tensions.  It is equally frightening to some Americans.  It is our God given responsiliby to allay the fears of fellow citizens, so they can relax and we can live tension free.  Updates will be at
    http://www.Sharialaws.com
  3. Muslim Women Ulema – Ani Zonnevald, President of Muslim Progressive values wrote, “ April proved to be one of the most inspiring moments of my life and it happened in a small village near the town of Cirebon in Indonesia, at the world’s first women ulama’s congress, the International Seminar on Women Ulama. This gathering culminated from the Indonesian initiative to build a network of religious boarding schools called pesantren over the past few decades. The purpose of the congress was to provide women ulama throughout the country with a space to make a statement, release a fatwa, and submit recommendations to the Indonesian government on the issues of sexual violence, child marriage and environmental destruction.”
  4. Muslims Advocates filed a law suit against Culpeper County, Virginia for denying a Sewer permit that would have allowed the Islamic center of Culpeper to build a Mosque – the county backed off and has settled now. The place of worship will be build for people to pray.  Washington Post Link
  5. Muslims who have become the role models
    1. Dr. Frank Islam – Pleased to share a video link to a beautiful documentary that captures the essence of one of the greatest educational institutions of India; The Aligarh Muslim University.  The American Muslim Philanthropist Frank Islam believed in Sir Syed Ahmed’s vision of bringing sustainable change thru education, and he donated a serious sum to the University and they rightfully honored him in building and dedicating a building to Debbie and Frank Islam Management School. Congratulations Frank
      https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7iJn1RjMj14TDBOclgzbDBra2M/view
    2. Next issue will share information about Rashid Chagani and Hasan Minhaj and the exemplary  Boy and Girl scouts of Adam’s Center.

 CFP – JEWISH

  • Anti-Semitic incidents spike 86% so far in 2017. There needs to be a serious reconciliation. This is a two thousand year old problem;   we cannot dump the problem on to our next generation. It is not fair to them. The Center for Pluralism will host a conference to understand and find solutions to this societal evil that is destroying our cohesiveness.  More at: https://www.adl.org/news/press-releases/us-anti-semitic-incidents-spike-86-percent-so-far-in-2017
  • What a shame, whether you live in China, Zulu Nation, US, UK, Saudi Arabia, India, Israel or Iran – a small percent of each population tends to be loaded with ill-will towards fellow beings. This is preventing people from living their lives as they should.  What does it take to change this? Just speak up against any prejudice towards any human. If you justify the crimes of one against the other, there is something seriously wrong with your understanding of the situation; this attitude may be the reason for the problem.  Let’s clean up ourselves first before we ask others. There is a joy in being free from prejudices, try it, you will love it.

CFP – CHRISTIAN

  • A Christian Church in Missouri was denied grants to bring the playground to safety standards.  One year, three months, and four days after the justices originally agreed to review it, the court will finally hear oral argument in a dispute that began as a battle over a playground – or, to be precise, the surfaces of the playground at the daycare and preschool operated by a Missouri church. The church argues that its exclusion from a state program that provides grants to help nonprofits buy rubber playground surfaces violates the Constitution, because it discriminates against religious institutions. The state counters that there is no constitutional violation, because the Church can still worship or run its daycare as it sees fit – the state just isn’t going to pay to resurface the playground. The two sides (and their supporters) do agree on one thing, however: The stakes in the case could be far bigger than playground surfaces. Full story http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/04/argument-preview-just-playground-dispute/  and the status of the case at Supreme Court – http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/trinity-lutheran-church-of-columbia-inc-v-pauley/
  • At the Center for Pluralism we support the states right to defend our constitution, however, in this case we believe the issues should not be religious one – it should be the safety of our children whether the play ground is in Church premises or elsewhere, it’s the safety of children and I hope Judge Gorsuch will decide in favor of the grants to the Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia.
  • About three years ago, the President of the Southern Baptist Convention and I , in behalf of CFP took a similar stand – the right of Catholic Church to not accept the birth control items of the Affordable Care Act.
  • Christians in Iraq, Syria, India, Pakistan, Egypt and other nations are continually harassed and prevented from worship. I propose that US business and economic ties be tied to adherence to human rights. All it takes for the leadership in the respective nations to say – we will not tolerate any one harassing a fellow citizen for his or her beliefs, the punishment would be severe.

CFP – HINDU

We are looking for a reliable Hindu volunteer to summarize the issues at large with the Hindu Community, each item will carry a solutionary note.

CFP – SIKH

  • Breathe and push: Sikh-American civil rights advocate Valarie Kaur‘s plea to her country in the times of Donald J. Trump – One of the most powerful speeches on human rights. It will be saved at www.Standingupforothers.com – a website of CFP – Video: https://www.facebook.com/scroll.in/videos/1307124816037062/
  • US Census Bureau and Sikhs On April 30, 2017, UNITED SIKHS responded to the Census Bureau’s request for comments on its recent proposed rule amendments and stated that there should be a distinct “Sikh” category represented. Stereotypes fueled by the media, discriminatory policies and corrupted public attitudes toward immigrants, especially since September 11, 2001, exacerbate feelings of bigotry that result in backlash against the Sikh community like never before. To address this backlash the U.S. government must allow Sikhs to self- identify in future Censuses. Press release http://unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-04-05-2017_01.html
  • We stand opposed to identifying individuals with their religions, as an Individual say it aloud who you are, but the government surveys should not identify your religion, what for? India’s unity between Hindus and Muslims was destroyed by the British by bringing out the first census in 1871. I have written quite extensively on this if someone wants to know, will be happy to share.

CFP – LGBT

  • We thank Rabbi Jack Moline of Interfaith Alliance for taking this up. “We are hearing reports that President Trump will sign an executive order tomorrow targeting the LGBT community. You need to let the president know that you won’t stand idly by as he works to undermine the rights of LGBT Americans. It’s possible that this order could have consequences far beyond the LGBT community and could allow government or business to discriminate against anyone that does not share their religious values. A similar order was floated earlier this year and the overwhelmingly negative response helped squash it. *We need you to make your voice heard by the administration now.*
    [ http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5339/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=24769 ]
  • MLK had said, injustice to one will be injustice to all.  At CFP we stand by the rights of every individual American and LGBT Community. Please remember Martin Neimoeller’s poem, first they came for…

CFP – POLITICS

  • Obama health care – Shame on Democrats for not fighting for the Affordable Care Act, and they will pay a price for that. There are hundreds of Americans whose lives have been saved because of the coverage of the pre-existing condition and affordability – all the Democrats had to do was get them to speak and let Americans hear every day, ten times a day. Did anyone do that during the last 100 days?  They still have a chance until the Senate gets to vote. If they don’t get their act together, they will lose more seats in the house and Senate.
  • Climate Protests – The last week witnessed huge protests against Trump Admin’s roll back on climate change, Paris Agreement and reducing the EPA funding. What’s wrong with our lawmakers? If you recall the Eighties, Los Angeles, Dallas, NY, Washington D.C.  were a hell holes to be with smog, smoke and dust. Thanks to Nixon and the successive presidents for pushing regulations on cutting down carbon emissions. Today you can stand on the street in the same cities and breathe and sneeze back without the black stuff coming out of your nose.  Do you remember burning eyes?

Shame on us for not standing up against the bullies in the administration.  Our grand children will pay for that, what a legacy we are leaving for them. We need to target those congressmen and give them hell in 2018. We need to elect responsible individuals who are not sell outs for a few bucks.

Can we focus on these instead?

  1. Building relationships with fellow humans – the more we understand others, the fewer problems we would have, and the solutions are offered at https://centerforpluralism.com/program/
  2. The issues that affect all Americans should be a part of our focus in addition to our own. We should not react to issues that affect Muslims only – that is too selfish and short-sighted. If everyone becomes selfish, our lives would not be easy to live.
  3. Focus on Creating an American world around us, and not a Muslim World. That is, let’s do things that benefit all of God’s creation, not just Muslims.

PLEASE DONATE

Meanwhile, please make a generous donation – your name will be listed for supporting our efforts in building a cohesive America. You can donate at. https://www.paypal.me/AmericansTogether
This fortnightly bulletin comes to you from the Center for Pluralism. The Center for Pluralism is about building a cohesive America, where no American has to live in anxiety, discomfort or fear of another American.  By learning to respect the “otherness” of others and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of us, we pave the way to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill. Then we all can live our lives and not worry about another’s religion, race, sexual orientation or ethnicity. We are all Americans.
Dr. Mike Ghouse is President and Executive Director of the Center for Pluralism committed to building a cohesive America where no American has to live in tension, apprehension or fear of the other. He is a pluralist, thinker, writer, activist, motivational speaker and a news maker. He offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him in sixty-five links at www.MikeGhouse.net