Pope Francis - This is my Pope, and I am a Muslim

This is my Pope, and I am a Muslim.

URL-http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/11/pope-francis-this-is-my-pope-and-i-am.html

There was a paucity of moral leadership in the world, a leader who can confidently bring about a balance and not let the equilibrium of the society be run down. Thank God for this angel; Pope Francis.

I have studied him for over six months, and have written articles including two in Dallas Morning News. Now, I have chosen him to be my moral guide. I have come to believe that he has what it takes to lead the world and build that elusive kingdom of heaven where no human has to live in fear of the other.  That is the end goal of all religions.

As a Muslim, I significantly differ with the Christian theology and rituals, but I would like to believe that the Pope and I understand that they are merely means to achieving spirituality, piety or Taqwa as it is called in Islam. Taqwa becomes your moral compass in doing things ethically. It is becoming God-conscious, or becoming Brahma as Hinduism calls it. It is a state of mind where you become a fully integrated part of what God is all about; just, kind, loving and caring with zero discrimination towards any.

When you achieve piety, you will not look down on any individual, they become an equal part of God, as you are, then arrogance fades, insecurities start disappearing and humility sets in connecting you with the universe. You and the Universe would be in union, or yoga and that is the state of mind that Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Mahavira, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Nanak, the Bab, and several spiritual masters in the native traditions had achieved. You feel the universe and you are one and the same with no apprehension that is indeed the true freedom.

My other living mentors include HH Aga Khan, Barack Obama, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi and Bishop Tutu and few others in the making. I am learning about others, but these men and women (soon) respect the God given life and the life hereafter as a guide to living a moral, but fuller life.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had once said that he wished his people had a book of guidance like Jews and Christians, and today, I wish that we the Muslims have a guide like Pope Francis, that the Catholics have. These words came to me after reading this statement from the pope. This is exactly what Muslims need, and I am pleased to take him as my moral guide.

To paraphrase Pope Francis, as a Muslim I would say, ““We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the Islam is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Quran.  The Muslim Clergy have locked themselves up in small things, in small-minded rules.  The most important thing is the core value of Quran "Mercy" followed by Justice, equality, humility and truthfulness.  And the Imams must be Imams of mercy above all.”

This is what Pope Francis said, “We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.  The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules.  The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you.  And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all.”

I am proud to have written 8 articles about the pope from the minute he was ordained to now. Insha Allah, I will make a pilgrimage to visit him to pay my respects and offer to be his ambassador. As a Muslim and a Pluralist, I will make myself available to jump at his call for creating peace in the world, where no human has to live in fear of the others, let the world be the new kingdom of heaven where we all feel safe and secure with each other. Amen!
  
I wrote the following pieces:

• Mar 14, 2013 - Muslims welcome Pope Francis, Thursday, March 14, 2013 http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/03/muslims-welcome-pope-francis.html
• Mar 19, 2013 - Texas Faith: What piece of advice would you give the new pope? Dallas Morning News -  http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/03/texas-faith-what-piece-of-advice-would.html

• Mar 28, 2013 - Christian Muslim Conflict mitigation,  http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/03/christian-muslim-conflict-mitigation.html

• Mar 31, 2013 - What made me go to the Catholic Church today for Easter?  http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/03/what-made-me-go-to-catholic-church.html

• Apr 09, 2013 - Why Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu Leaders Have High Hopes for Pope Francis, http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-jewish-muslim-and-hindu-leaders.html

• Aug 02, 2013 - Pope Francis the merciful http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/pope-francis-merciful.html

• Aug 02, 2013 - Pope Francis wishes Ramadan Mubarak to Muslims http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/pope-francis-wishes-ramadan-mubarak.html
  

• Aug 07, 2013 - Texas faith: What relevance does Pope Francis have beyond the Catholic Church?  Dallas Morning News - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/08/texas-faith-what-relevance-does-pope.html

• Aug 22, 2013 - A video Message to pastor Jones with comments on the Pope http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsQq-tbJ89k&feature=youtu.be
  

• Sep 24, 2013 - Texas Faith: Pope Francis criticizes narrow focus on abortion, gay rights and conception. Dallas Morning News - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/09/texas-faith-pope-francis-criticizes.html
• Nov 06, 2013 - Michami Dukadam - Starting life over with a clear slate,  Mere Mention http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/11/michami-dukadam-starting-life-over-with.html 

• Nov 14, 2013 - Pope Francis - This is my Pope, and I am a Muslim. http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/11/pope-francis-this-is-my-pope-and-i-am.html

 
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a 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 all his work through many links.

Khushali Greetings to HH Aga Khan and the Ismaili Muslims

Khushali Greetings to Ismaili Muslims and HH Aga Khan
URL - http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/12/khushali-greetings-to-hh-aga-khan-and.html

HH Karim Aga Khan is the 49^th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He is a direct descendent of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) through Prophet’s daughter Hazrat Fatima (ra) and her husband Hazrat Ali (ra), who was the first cousin of Prophet Muhammad, and the first Imam in Shia tradition.

Indeed, Hazrat Ali was the first male to become a Muslim when the prophet shared his message of oneness of God, accountability of one’s actions and creating cohesive societies through justice.

Karim Aga Khan was born on December 13, 1936. At the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan and became the 49^th hereditary Imam of the community.  He is the final interpreter of Qur’an and provides authoritative guidance on matters of faith to the Ismaili Muslims.

Khushali is a week long birthday celebration of HH Aga Khan. The entire Ismaili Muslim community meets in the Jamaat Khana (community center) for the whole week, extolling his work and his service to their community and humanity. 

He is one of the rare gems of Islamic scholarship and a Harvard Graduate. He has understood the essence of Islam and articulates it very well. Islam to him is serving and caring for people around you, regardless of their affiliation. A vision put forth by the Prophet, when he said a good deed is like planting a seed, knowing full well, that you may not be the beneficiary of the fruit and shade of the eventual tree in years to come, the prophet said, that is a good deed, it is leaving a good legacy for the next generation, as we have bequeathed from the previous one.

One of the unique qualities of Aga Khan is his ability to seamlessly blend the spiritual and the material worlds. Prophet Muhammad and Hazrat Ali, both preached moderation, and creating a balance between ascetic living and living for material comforts. 

I drop things to read and listen to his speeches, it’s all about pluralism.  I urge fellow humans to consider listening to him. His talks encompass the idea embedded in God being the God of the universes, not for the 47% but for the full 100% of his creation.  Prophet Muhammad is the mercy to mankind, not just Muslims but the entire 100% of humanity, what he preached was to create cohesive societies, where no human had to live in fear of the other. The only fear he advocated was fear of God for doing wrong to fellow beings. 

Aga Khan lives by example to his 15 Million plus followers around the world. The best way to learn about him is his work, the development work to uplift the ones in the ditches, his institution teaches them how to catch the fish and be self supporting. Visit www.akdn.org/ 

May he live a long life and serve his community, the Muslim community and every one of the 7 billion of humans.

A few of the many articles published at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com, a site committed to nurturing pluralist values of Islam.

1. The book, where hope takes root by Aga Khan http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/06/aga-khan-democracy-pluralism.html
   
    
2. Aga Khan - Indeed building bridges is part of the Muslim heritage, as Muslims, our role is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill. The Aga Khan is doing just that http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/04/aga-khan-building-bridges.htm
3. Aga Khan, fifty years of Imamat http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/04/aga-khan-50-years-of-imamat.html
4. Aga Khan Speech about balance http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/04/speech-by-his-highness-aga-khan-at.html
   
5. Global Religious leaders http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/04/global-religious-leaders.html

6. Architect of universal good http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2008/04/architect-of-universal-good.html

7. Shia Imami Muslims
   http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/08/shia-imami-ismaili-muslims.html

8. Criticism of Islam, Prophet and Quran
   http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/11/criticism-of-islam-prophet-muhammad.html

9. Respecting Muslim Caliphs (Khalifa), Imams and decidersThe most persecuted communities among Muslims today are the Ahmadiyya Muslims followed by Shia Muslims by Sunni Muslims.  We know it is not Islamic to be unjust, oppressive and harassive towards others, Muslims or otherwise, but yet it is going on in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and even in India.  As a Muslim, it is my duty to speak up, and if all of us do our share of speaking up, at least we have fulfilled the responsibility to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil.   http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/12/respecting-muslim-caliphs-khalifa-imams.html 

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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 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.