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The Secular Islam SummitAssalaamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
The Secular Islam Summit By Mike Ghouse, March 6, 2007 http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/03/secular-islam-summit- update.html It is time for Muslims to speak up and I sincerely hope the Media will give voice to the un-heard. For over 5 years, Muslim have been accused of so many things, one among them is that they do not speak up. The truth is they do, but seldom have they got the print and the air space. The Secular Islam Summit concluded on Monday, March 5 th in St. Petersburg , Florida. With the exception of two panelists, every one was a paid Islam basher. This was just another attempt by extremists; in this case, the neo-cons on the other end of the spectrum attempting to turn Islam upside down. It is the Fox telling the hen to change her behavior to survive. The intent of the conference was bad to start with. Due to this fact, not one of the mainstream Muslims, including the progressive ones, chose to participate in the conference. Radwan Masmoudi of Islam For Democracy, Kamal Nawash of Free Muslims and I had serious discussions about the outcome of the summit and decided not to participate in it, as did other Muslim key players. No one wanted to become tools in hands of the neo-con extremists. The need to be represented in the summit became less important than standing by the right thing. "The need for a new, progressive, and modern interpretation of Islam for the 21st century is real and undeniable, as is the need for real reforms and democratization in Muslim societies. However, for that reinterpretation and reform to occur, the effort must be led by Muslims who are proud of their heritage, religion, and culture and who are credible within their community. The people who attended the "Secular Islam Conference" are neither, and that is why this conference was a complete waste of time and money, except perhaps to provide some anti-Islamic voices a podium from which to speak" – Radwan Masmoudi, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. The speakers present were all Islam haters with the exception of two token Muslims like Irshad Manji and Hasan Mahmud. By God, the summit was to be about Islam, yet there was not a Muslim Presenter? If the intent was honest, at least half of the speakers should have been Muslims. The integrity of the organizers and the intent of the Summit are questionable, indeed, it is downright dishonest. Here is my take on the hour-long report Glen Beck presented on CNN Monday night. At the beginning, as well as towards the end of show, he highlighted the tangible danger for the delegates that came to the summit; he alluded that they have risked their lives to come to this conference. Glen passed on this claim to the viewers as a matter of fact without even asking the organizers if there was any basis to such claim. It is misleading the American Public with mis-information and erroneously building support for these extremists. He ought to feel guilty for not grilling them to prove it. Raquel Saraswati claimed she was a practicing Muslim, and expressed her fears towards being listed as the 4 th ranked person to be ashamed of being a Muslim because she did modeling once. Each one of us bears the responsibility for not advising and guiding those Muslims who have condemned her. Every practicing Muslim recites the following verse at least 50 times a day and I wish they imbibe it. Qur'aan: al-Fatihah 001:004-5 .You alone are the Master of the Day of Judgment, you alone we worship and you alone we ask for help. Wafa Sultan comes out and says: 'You cannot be American and Muslim at the Same Time' . She is filled with rage and tremendous hate for Muslims and Islam. Glen did ask her if it was a cultural issue or an Islamic one which she claimed Islamic. She could certainly hate the individuals who have messed up her life and not blame the religion for it. She is froth with hate and nothing good has come out of her mouth yet. There was another guy interviewed, who did say that the problem is not with the Qur'aan, it was the interpretation. Ahmed Bedier of CAIR Florida stood out as a lone voice of reason and spoke out. He used the words bashing and cashing while questioning Tawfique Ahmed. Even though he was put on defensive twice, Bedier was in tune with most Muslims. I am thankful to Glen for putting him on and pleased that he attended the summit. Manda Zand Ervin - When she said that the Sharia laws treat women and men differently in inheritance rights, she was disingenuous and dishonest with the American Public, as she did not complete the other part about the wisdom of that ruling. She unilaterally declared that in case of a divorce, the boy child goes back to father when he is two years old and said without blinking an eye "that the boy will grow up as an abusive man". She talked about how Caliphate is what Muslims want and then when they have it, they will throw Christians and Jews out in the sea. It was her extremism and the desire to throw Muslims out in the sea that was talking. She failed to tell the public that such view is held by a few extremists like her on the other side. Glen let it ride without asking a few more questions to find the truth. I must praise Glen Beck for his concluding remarks. He talked about understanding the word Jihad, how it is the inner struggle one goes through in figuring the wrong and the right, he is on virtual Jihad. He talked about the need for all of us to fall the defenses we have built against each other. We need to have an open dialogue. Hypocrisy has no place in the civilized world. Amen. Glen, your words were uplifting and hope giving. Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer. He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio, discussing interfaith, political and civic issues. He founded the World Muslim Congress with a simple theme "good for Muslims and good for the world." Mike believes that if people can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. His articles can be found at http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/ , www.MikeGhouse.net and http://mikeghouse.blogspot.com/ and he can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com |
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