http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2009/09/mike-ghouse-dedicates-this-day-911-to.htmlIt was Tuesday, 9/11/2001 at about 10AM in Dallas, whence two radio stations 1150 AM and 950 AM called me to man the radio. I was on the air till 5:00 PM, talking with the Public, area Mayors, community, religious and other civic leaders of Dallas.
I was determined to make sense out of the non-sense, and bring some sanity to the situation. I made a declaration that we should get the ugliest guy on the earth and screamed names at Bin Laden.
We the Americans were shaken that morning, I wanted us to reaffirm that we are one people and one nation and the petty thieves cannot shake us;
• My first goal was to bring a sense of clarity and direction to the public. Then pave the way for a sense of purpose, a sense of what needs to be done. I repeated the same thing on its anniversary.
• By the end of the day a clear sense of direction was developed followed by: I) Multi-faith prayers ii) donate blood ii) donate money. The Blood centers had to close down due to the people’s overwhelming response.
• The fog was clearing up – I) Osama bin Laden was the bad guy ii) Muslims had nothing to do with Osama iii) Declaration of war against Osama.
My late wife Najma monitored the Blood centers and kept up with the on goings, the Wadley Blood Center called in and asked us to hold off the blood drive as the people had lined up without an end in the sight.
The interfaith prayers vigils took off; The Richardson Mosque, Synagogues, the Hindu Temple in Irving held prayer vigils. Joel Brooks of AJC and I went to every possible place. I was equipped with the Hindu, Zoroastrian, Bahai, Jewish, Jain and Muslim prayers as there were enough people to represent other faiths. I remember reading Jewish, Muslim and Zoroastrian Prayers at the BSS Swaminarayan Temple, then reading the Muslim and Jewish prayers at a prayer vigil held by the Zoroastrians at DFW Hindu Temple…. I was committed to represent the missing ones. At the Richardson Mosque we were able to put together prayers representing all faiths.
From the Desi community, Tayyab Kundawala was the President at India Association; Mohammad Suleman was the President at the Islamic Association of North Texas and Vinoda Kumar, I believe was the president at the DFW Hindu Temple… every one pushed the envelope to hold fund raising.
I made a commitment to dedicate this day very year to 9/11 and work on learning and sharing its impact on the world from moral, religious, economic and social points of view.
• September 11, 2005 - Creation of Unity Day USA - 14 faith representation, 650+ individuals, 6 Mayors, FBI and DOJ attended the event. The civic Officials proclaimed it as UnityDayUSA
• September 11, 2004 - 4 Hours of Radio Talk Show - I do plan to bring the experts to share the impact of this event on elections, world relations and much more.
• September 11, 2003 - 4 Hours of Radio Talk Show - Bring out the experts in to share the impact of the event on Politics, history, world relations, multi-faith relations and the economy.
• September 11, 2002 - 8 Hours of Radio Talk Show - Bring the experts from all over the United States to talk about the impact the event had in every sphere of life.
• September 11, 2001 - 8 Hours on the Radio AM 1150 and AM 950 simulcasted at times to bring sense to the senselessness.
I was thankful to community for allowing me to play a key role in Dallas on the day of September 1. 2001
Today, I stand with hopes that my congressmen Pete Sessions, Ralph Hall, Sam Johnson, Kenny Marchant, and Eddie Bernice Johnson would sponsor the bill in the house to proclaim a National Unity day called the Unity Day USA. -
http://www.unitydayusa.com/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-911memorial_05met.ART.State.Edition1.4ba03fc.htmlOrganizer wants to mark 9/11 with Unity Day
11:49 AM CDT on Saturday, September 5, 2009
By DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News
dsolis@dallasnews.comCARROLLTON – For Mike Ghouse, 9/11 remains a very personal event. The radio talk show host took to the North Texas airwaves within hours after the killer planes hit the towers in New York, unleashing destruction and years of phobias.
"I was determined that day was my day to bring some sanity to the insanity that happened," said Ghouse. He then switched tenses, retelling what he said that day: "We are hurt. We have been terrorized, and there is someone above us that will keep the balance."
For the last five years, Ghouse has organized a 9/11 memorial, an ecumenical event to promote understanding that brings together hundreds of people of many different faiths.
Rather than dwelling on anger, Ghouse wants it to be "a day to positively unite Americans." He plans to ask 30 attendees to switch faiths for a short period during the event and read a passage from each other's traditions.
"When I don't see a barrier between Jews and Muslims, I am an American," he said.
Ghouse, an India-born U.S. citizen who is Muslim, learned quickly that day that the attackers were also Muslim.
"I didn't look at it as a Muslim thing, but I looked at it as someone had hurt my nation, and anyone who hurt my nation hurts me," said Ghouse, a homebuilder and property manager who created the Foundation for Pluralism 15 years ago.
The pledge of allegiance at Sunday's event will be led by Imam Zia Sheikh, a newly naturalized U.S. citizen who took the oath of allegiance Thursday. Born in Pakistan and reared in England, he heads one of the largest North Texas mosques, the Islamic Center of Irving.
"I have always participated in interfaith events because it is really important to understand each other," the imam said. "Ignorance leads to misunderstandings about each other."
Local vocalist Iman Rashada will sing the national anthem. She hopes the event eases conflict. "God did not make us of different tribes so that we would despise each but so that we would get to know each other," she said, paraphrasing the Qur’aan.
~~~~~~.
Mike Ghouse is a thinker, writer speaker and an activist of pluralism, interfaith, co-existence, peace, Islam and India. He is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His websites and Blogs are listed on
http://www.mikeghouse.net/
