On that tragic day, September 11, 2001, I was on the
Radio addressing the public in Dallas and making
sense out of the chaotic incoherence of the day. I
was called in to handle the emergency situation, and
I went on air from 10Am through 5:00 PM on AM Radio
1150 and 950.
My first goal was to bring a sense of clarity and
direction to the public. Then pave the way for a
sense of purpose and a sense of what needs to be
done.
By the end of the day a clear sense of direction was
developed, followed by:
·
An initiation of Multi-faith prayers in Dallas
·
Blood donation
·
Donation of funds
The Blood centers had to close down due to the
people’s overwhelming response to my calls. My late
wife Najma was driving around and reporting from the
Blood centers and she called in to tell us the lines
were too long and that they cannot handle it any
more for the day.
The fog was clearing up; Osama bin Laden was the bad
guy and we have to go get him to serve justice;
Muslims had nothing to do with Osama, nor did they
authorize that terrorist; and a declaration of war
against Osama.
The Spiritual leaders from all faiths and traditions
were called in to pray and share their wisdom for
this moment. They were from the traditions of
Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam, Jain,
Jewish, Sikh and Zoroastrian. Area City Mayors,
community and business leaders joined in an effort
to bring a sense of direction.
The sense of Unity that emerged on the Radio, the
multi-faith prayers that were arranged instantly was
a relief in that chaotic disharmony. I made a
commitment to dedicate this day and unite people on
the day every year.
For the First four years I did the radio show
talking about the effect of 9/11 on society, economy
and refreshing and galvanizing the interfaith
movement.
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September 11, 2001 - 8 Hours of Radio Played leadership role in Dallas on the day of September 1. 2001
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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.
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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.
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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, 2005 – Birth of the Unity Day USA - 14
faiths were represented at the event with 650+
individuals in attendance, 8 Mayors, FBI Chiefs and
DOJ attended the event and the Fire and Police
Chiefs were honored. The civic Officials proclaimed
it as UnityDay USA. It was well covered by the
media.
It was my love for my country to make this day a
national day, and the Muslims wanted to do this and
hence it is an initiative of Muslims, I want my
fellow Americans to know that Muslims are committed
for the well being, peace, prosperity and unity of
America.
To make our homeland a safe, secure, peaceful and a
prosperous place we have to relentlessly pursue it.
The work has to be done by you and I, and not look
for some one else to do this for us; the American
way. One of the many things we can do is to have a
face to face with people of different faiths,
ethnicities, races and other uniqueness', let’s
build a threshold of acceptance for others and start
dropping our phobias.
We gathered here to express that each one of the 301
Million of us Americans are united together to stand
up for the safety, security, peace and cohesiveness
of America
We are a part of the mosaic and each one of us needs
to remain connected with the other to make us one
people and one nation under God’s protection. It is
an initiative of American Muslims to add their
positive contribution to America in uniting the
people on the day of disharmony.
We the people of the United States of America of
every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background
are here today, to express our desire to co-exist
in peace, and pray for the unity, safety and well
being of our nation.
The Civic Leaders included Mayors from ten cities,
and the FBI, police and Fire Chiefs.
Faith Leadership - Each faith tradition shared a
line of wisdom from their tradition. Unity Day USA
is about re-affirming our faith in the goodness in
humans, and the longing for harmony and
co-existence. Faiths included Baha’i, Buddhist,
Christian, Earth Based Tradition, Hindu, Muslim,
Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Wicca and Zoroastrian faiths.
The purpose of Unity day was and continues to bring
together Americans of all hues and rededicated our
pledge for the peace, prosperity and unity of our
nation.
PLEDGE OF PEACE
- I will speak up when there is injustice.
- I will speak up when truth is not spoken.
- I will do my best to make my words and my actions to mitigate conflicts.
- I will do my best to do my share in nurturing goodwill for the benefit of all.
- I will do my share of peace work, without looking for others to do their share.
- I will do my best to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each individual.
- I will do my best to live and let others live their way.
Thank you.
I am committed to Unity day USA.
Mike Ghouse
SUGGESTED LINKS:
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A few selected comments from the fist event.
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Civic Leaders and Mayors who attended
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Organizations (90) who have been a part of the event
PICTURE ALBUMS:
2009,
2008,
2006,
2005
Participating Organizations
Thank you.
Mike Ghouse
Unity Day USA
(214) 325-1916 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (214) 325-1916 end_of_the_skype_highlighting 
