Showing posts with label Bahai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bahai. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Ridiculous Rabbis, Imams and clergy from your tradition

I come across ridiculous opinions (Fatwas) of Rabbis and Imams, like an Imam declaring Tomato to be a Christian. Don't laugh, your tradition in no exception whether it is Buddhist, Hindu, Baha’i or Christian, all  have their share of ridiculousness.

URL: http://pluralismcenter.blogspot.com/2012/06/ridiculous-rabbis-imams-and-clergy-from.html 



Hold your breath, these men (rarely women) are a few and far between. A “few” Muslims make it a business to highlight the “perceived weaknesses” of Jews, and the “few” Jews and a "few Hindus" make it their business to malign the “perceived weaknesses” of Islam. Same goes with a “few” Bahai, Sikhs, Wicca,  Buddhists, Christians and others.

My point; don’t laugh at any one before laughing at yourselves. It is human to err, and not Muslim, Jew or Christian to err, no one can thump his chest and say, “we don’t do it in our religion” - baloney it is!

As time permits, I will put through all the idiosyncrasies… over a period of time. The idea is let’s highlight 99.99% goodness of others rather than get bogged down with the few.

Rabbis in Israel are pressurizing the government and issuing fatwas to have separation of men and women in the places of worship. They even spat on a girl for not covering the hair.

In Kerala, one of the big female movie stars walked into a Hindu temple and the whole priesthood gave a fatwa that the temple has to be washed completely three times, because a woman cannot enter that temple.

The Baha’is refused to perform a wedding, because the girl could not get permission from his mother, who had disowned her… hold it, someone in your faith has done it too. You integrity demands you to laugh at your own first.

Disgusting statements are coming out of the mouths of a "few" men and women; Hitler thought Jews don't deserve a life and went on about the Holocaust, and shame on you, if you justify Hitler. The rulers of Japan, China, Bosnia, Israel, Palestine, Burma, Rwanda and other nations have all called the others "as roaches or rats" that need to be exterminated. Jesus was absolutely right when said, " no one can cast the first stone".  Next time when you hear some one put down one or the other, ask them to Google.
A “few” clergy men desperately want to prove that they have special privileges with God, and direct line - and declare that Tsunamis, 9/11, Katrina and other disasters are God’s punishment.  Check it out; your clergy has said the ridiculous things as well, if not find it out.

What can you do about it?

If an Imam, Rabbi, Pundit, Pastor, Shaman, Gyani or a Clergy makes a statement that causes you to think negatively about another group of people*, have the balls to tell him to look at himself first (loaded with malice), before he or she has the gall to tell others not to have what he has. You will find these in the internet forums as well - guys hatefully telling others not to hate,  It just won't cut it.  


The role of right 
Imams, Rabbis, Pundits, Pastors, Shamans, Gyanis or Clergy is to work to mitigate conflicts and ill-will and nurture goodwill, so all of God's creation can live with least fear and most secure. That is what each one of their masters did. You have a right to stop them from spewing the non-sense. If not, let me know, I will be happy to come and do that for the sake of humanity.

The fringe element among Muslims have made some really humorous declarations - among them; is it was wrong for a woman to cut cucumber, or peel a banana, that a woman's independence amounts to her becoming lesbian...the gangsters in Somalia had banned Samosa (triangular egg roll) as it appears like a cross… now the tomato thing below.

I would appreciate if you could share some of the idiotic things from your traditions, your clergy man... so we all can laugh at ourselves.


Salafist group warns tomatoes are “Christian”
Posted by: Angie Nassar    share
Tuesday, June 12. 2012



(Photo via Facebook.com)

This makes perfect sense... because it makes no sense.

A Salafist group called the Popular Egyptian Islamic Association has come under fire after sending out a warning on Facebook urging its followers not to eat tomatoes because the vegetable (or fruit) is a Christian food.
The group posted a photo on its page of a tomato - which appears to reveal the shape of a cross after being cut in half – along with the message: “Eating tomatoes is forbidden because they are Christian. [The tomato] praises the cross instead of Allah and says that Allah is three (a reference to the Trinity).

[God help us]. I implore you to spread this photo because there is a sister from Palestine who saw the prophet of Allah [Mohammad] in a vision and he was crying, warning his nation against eating them [tomatoes]. If you don’t spread this [message], know that it is the devil who stopped you.”

Yeah... no.
Predictably, Facebook users expressed outrage over the post, which prompted the group to clarify its stance on the controversy with the update, “We didn’t say you can’t eat tomatoes. We said don’t cut it in [such a way that reveals] the cross shape.”
I see what you did there. Crazy religious nutjobs are still crazy.
I wonder if the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, Mohammad Morsi, is happy about getting an endorsement from this group?


*(individuals are fine, it is personal specific bad experience, but cannot blame the group - if you legitimize that, then what others say about you would be equally true)
----MikeGhouse 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 affairsIslamIndiaIsrael, peace and justice. Mike 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 and regularly atHuffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily. 

Monday, March 19, 2012

Happy Nowruz


I have not attended the Nowruz festivity in a while, but it is fresh on my mind. My Zoroastrian friends had a gathering and it was a pleasure to be a part of the festivity… fruits and veggies, sort of Jewish Purim festival.

Way back in 1996,  I had a weekly radio show on Saturdays called "Festivals of the world", where in we shared the essence of every festival occurred during that week. When we announced about it for the first time on the radio, assuming it was a Zoroastrian Festival; our Baha'i, Ismaili and Iranian friends called in and said, it was theirs too. Well Happy Nowruz to all!

Zoroastrian faith has been in my domain since I was about ten, my mothers close friend was a Parsee lady (Zoroastrian) Mrs. Bahramjee, we affectionately called Parsee Amma ( In Bangalore, we have a habit of tagging Amma to every senior lady) she came to visit my mother on Tuesdays and they talked for several hours…God only knows what. My first encounter with Baha'i was with Ben and Simi Moghaddas in 1993, they were on my Radio Show to talk about Bahai faith and my first Iranian contact was when I was in college- they came to Bangalore Medical College and Bangalore Agriculture College from Iran.
I could not find my piece on the festivity…but I found my CD I bought from the stall at Nowruz… it's in Persian, I can read it, and understand a few words… but the songs and music is fabulous. Somewhere I have a CD in Avesta language as well... the gentleman is in Californian and he and I have the same  voice. Even I was taken back listening to him, it is a rare voice.


Here is the story:

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in Iranian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday and having significance amongst the Zoroastrian ancestors of modern Iranians, the same time is celebrated in parts of the South Asian sub-continent as the new year. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and Iranian families gather together to observe the rituals.

Originally being a Zoroastrian festival, and the holiest of them all, Nowruz is believed to have been invented by Zoroaster himself, although there is no clear date of origin Since the Achaemenid era the official year has begun with the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox.

The Jewish festival of Purim is probably adopted from the Persian New Year. It is also a holy day for Sufis, Ismailis, Alawites, Alevis, and adherents of the Bahá'í Faith.

The term Nowruz in writing, first appeared in Persian records in the 2nd century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids c. 548-330 BC), where kings from different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the Emperor, also called King of Kings (Shahanshah), of Persia on Nowruz. The significance of Nowruz in the Achaemenid empire was such that the great Persian king Cambyses II's appointment as the king of Babylon was legitimized only after his participation in the New Year festival (Nowruz).

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MikeGhouse 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 onpluralism, politics, civic affairsIslamIndiaIsrael, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he writes weekly at Dallas Morning News and regularly atHuffington post, The Smirking Chimp and several other periodicals. His daily blog iswww.TheGhousediary.com