Participating Organizations

If you wish to list your organization as a participating organization in the event, please share the name of your organization and the web address by sending an email to ( no verbals or text messages please)  UnityDayUSA@gmail.com.

We request you to consider donating $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000 to defray the costs of the event simply click link and do the needful - http://americatogetherfoundation.com/donate/.

Please feel free to call (972) 243-7040 or call Mike Ghouse at (214) 325-1916

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PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS:
Please mail your information with the name and web address to UnityDayUSA@gmail.com

1. The InterFaith Council of The Thanks-Giving Foundation.
2. DFW Sikhs for Inter-religious Engagement
3. MCC for Human services
4. Dallas Peace Center
5. Peacemakers Incorporated
6. Universal Peace Federation of Dallas
7. Gurudwara Sahib of Houston
8. Interfaith Alliance
9. City of Desoto
10. City of Little Elm
11. Carrollton Police Department
12. Garland Fire Department
13. The Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth
14. Foundation for Pluralism
15. World Muslim Congress
16. Islamic Association of North Texas
17. Cathedral of Hope
18. Interfaith Peace Chapel
19. Silver Lining Ministry
20. Fun Asia
21. North Texans for 9/11 Truth

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ORGANIZATIONS PREVIOUSLY PARTICIPATED

1. Academy of Guru Granth Studies -  
2. Adat Chaverim Synagogue - http://www.adatchaverim.org/
3. Adat Chaverim Synagogue -  www.adatchaverim.org 
4. Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam -  www.alislam.org  
5. American Clergy leadership conference 
6. American Family Coalition
7. American Federation of Muslims from India
8. American Hindu Association - http://www.americanhindu.net
9. American Muslim Forum -  www.AmericanMuslimforum.org 
10. American Muslim Task Force 
11. Art of Living Foundation - www.artoflivingdfw.org
12. Art Spirit - Center for Spirituality - www.artspiritdallas.org 
13. Bahai Faith http://www.bahaisofdallas.org
14. BAPS Swami Narayan Temple of Dallas
15. Bohra Muslim Community http://www.malumat.org
16. Brahma Kumaris of Dallas - www.bkdallas.org   
17. Buddhist Community of Dallas
18. CAIR - Council on American Islamic Relations - http://www.cairdfw.org
19. Center for Global Diplomacy 
20. Center for Spiritual Living - http://www.csldallas.org 
21. Chinmaya Mission DFW - www.chinmayasaaket.org
22. Congregation Beth Torah - http://www.congregationbethtorah.org/
23. D/FW Hindu Temple Society - http://www.dfwhindutemple.org
24. Dallas Concilio - www.DallasConcilio.com 
25. Dallas County Republican Party
26. Dallas Masjid Al-Islam
27. Department of Justice, Community Relations - http://www.usdoj.gov/crs 
28. DFW Hindu Temple Society of North Texas - www.Dfwhindutemple.org 
29. Family federation for world peace 
30. Federal Bureau of Investigations -www.dallasfbi.gov
31. Federation of Jain Centers of North America - www.jaina.org. 
32. Foundation for Pluralism - www.Foundationforpluralism.com 
33. Free Muslim Coalition - http://www.freemuslims.org
34. Freedom and Justice (F&J) Foundations -www.FreeandJust.org
35. Hare Krishna Temple of DFW - http://www.radhakalachandji.com
36. Hazara  American Welfare Association, Inc. 
37. IANT - Free Medical Clinic
38. ILE Olokun Sanya Awopeju of Texas - http://www.ileolokun.org
39. India Association of North Texas - www.iant.org
40. Indian Cultural Heritage Foundation -  www.ichf-us.org 
41. Indian Muslim Council - http://www.imc-usa.org
42. Institute of Medieval and Post Medieval Studies
43. Interfaith center - Dallas, Texas
44. International Shinto Foundation- http://shinto.org 
45. Islamic Association of Carrollton - http://www.carrolltonmasjid.org
46. Islamic Association of collin county http://www.planomasjid.org 
47. Islamic Association of North Texas http://iant.com 
48. Islamic Association of tarrant County
49. Ismaili Muslim Community of North Texas
50. Jain Society of North Texas- http://www.dfwjains.org
51. Kurdish Human Rights Watch - www.khrw.org  
52. Lewisville Masjid- http://www.lewisvillemasjid.org
53. Madinah Masjid of Carrollton - http://www.madinahmasjid.com 
54. Masjid Warith Deen Mohammed 
55. Memnosyne Foundation – 
56. Muslim Alliance Southwest
57. Muslim Community Center 
58. Muslim Community Center for Human Services www.mcc-hs.org 
59. National American Muslim Association - www.namaw.com
60. National Muslim Events Calendar - www.muslim-calendar.com
61. North Texas Hindu Mandir - www.northtexashindumandir.org
62. North Texas Islamic Council 
63. Orbits of Influence - www.orbitsofinfluence.com
64. Orthodox Christian Church - www.stsavaplano.com 
65. Pakistan American Congress
66. Pakistan Community Service - www.pakservices.org 
67. Peace Makers of Dallas 
68. Plano Indian Lions Club
69. Sanctuary for Life - http://www.sanctuaryforlife.org
70. Shia Muslim Community ,Momin Center, Irving - http://www.momin.org
71. Sikh Study Circle DFW - http://www.Sikhstudy.com
72. Sikh Temple of North Texas - http://www.sikhtempledallas.org 
73. Somanatha Kshetram of North America (SKNA) - WWW.SRISM.ORG/
74. Southern Methodist University - SMA
75. Sri Shridi Sai Baba Temple of Plano - http://www.Shirdisaidallas.org
76. Texas Muslim Womens foundation - http://www.tmwf.org 
77. The Church of Living God, Oak Cliff
78. The Freedom and Justice foundation - www.freeandjust.org
79. The National Association Of  Muslim American Women
80. The Reformed Church of Plano
81. Towheed Foundation - http://www.towheed.org
82. Tunisian community Center - Mabrouk Badouga
83. United Nations Association - Dallas Chapter www.dallas-una.org
84. Unity Church of Arlington
85. Unity Church of Sachse - www.unityofsachse.org 
86. Unity walk - Washington DC - www.911unitywalk.org
87. UTD Students Government Association
88. West Plano Presbyterian Church- http://www.westplanopresbyterian.org
89. World Muslim Congress - www.WorldMuslimCongress.com 
90. Zoroastrian Association of North Texas - http://www.zant.org  

Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11?

TEXAS FAITH: Do Jews, Christians and Muslims better understand each other since 9/11?

Abstract: Jews need sincerity and not duplicity. Native Americans need an apology and there is a good amount of phobia embedded in Hindus about conversions. We believe in Jesus as a Prophet and not as a son of God. Unless we deal with tough issues about our differences, we will continue to fake being nice to each other and brood with ill-will within. There is indeed improved understanding among faiths since 9/11. But there also is deepening suspicion among them. One is spiritually motivated and the other is political. Please note, most of my writings are inclusive of all theist and atheists traditions, we all inhabit the earth and we need to figure how best to co-exist cohesively.

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Since September 11, 2001, many conversations have taken place among Muslims, Jews and Christians. There are official interfaith conversations occurring all over the globe, where participants dig into each other's texts. And numerous personal dialogues have been established over the last decade. Many of us have learned more about the three Abrahamic faiths since September 11, 2001 than perhaps we knew before that day.

But here's this week's question, which is simple in its wording but not necessarily simple to answer: Do followers of the three Abrahamic faiths really understand each other better since 9/11?

Eight Texas Faith Panelists including Mike Ghouse weighs in at: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/09/texas-faith-do-jews-christians.html

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

There is indeed improved understanding among faiths since 9/11. But there also is deepening suspicion among them. One is spiritually motivated and the other is political.

We were better off when we knew very little about each other. But as we faced the hostage crisis in 1979, the evangelical foray into politics, the Baptist convention on harvesting poor souls and finally 9/11, religion moved on to center stage. It will get better when we know more about each other.

On September 11, 2001, I was on the radio in Dallas attempting to make sense out of the chaos of the day and pave the way for relevant actions. Interfaith-faith prayers, blood donation and fundraising for the men and women in uniform were all in place by evening. The fog was clearing up. Osama bin Laden was the bad guy and Muslim-Americans had nothing to do with his actions, nor did they authorize him to terrorize any one. Indeed, he placed a wedge between Americans that still needs to be undone.

Atheists, Baha'i, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Jews, Native Americans, Pagans, Sikhs, Wicca and Zoroastrians along with area city mayors, FBI, police and fire chiefs and community leaders graced the first interfaith event in Frisco. Out of which a new tradition evolved called Unity Day. It continues year after year.

But while we are trying to know more about each other, more needs to be done. Here are a few examples;

* Mosques in Dallas/ Fort Worth area opened their doors right after the 9/11 incident. As Christians walked in, they were naively welcomed by yet-to-be trained volunteers who said, "We believe in Jesus as a Prophet and not as a son of God." However, the volunteers were trained to welcome without conflict the very next week.

Of course, back in the 8th Century, a Syrian bishop had declared that Islam was a false religion. That declaration has remained in the psyche of a few Christians forever.

Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas reiterated the statement and added, "Quran is a false book written by a false prophet." He was asked to prove it but failed.

There are several verses in Quraan that are mistranslated for political gains. Steve Blow in Dallas Morning News quoted me, "In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders. Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews."

One such difficult passage is "Kill the infidels wherever you find them." Ten such propaganda verses were read to separate the myths from reality. They were not read by Muslim clergy, but by Baptist, Mormon, Protestant, Catholic, Unitarian, Methodist, New Age, Unificationists, Sikhs, Hindu and others at the Quraan Conference

*Shamelessly, anti-Semitism continues to operate under the radar. The anti-circumcision bills in San Francisco and Santa Monica were irksome to some, but frightening to others. Indeed, there are still a few Christians out there who cannot shake off what Fred Phelps was demonstrating with reckless posters such as "Christ Killers."

The Judeo-Christian phrase was thrown around in the 40's to build relationships between Jews and Christians. A whole industry of opportunists was born from it. The support for Jews by Billy Graham, Richard Nixon, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Glenn Beck and other chest thumpers have ulterior motives. They want to cash in on the name of Israel and perhaps convert them. Jews need sincerity and not duplicity to feel genuinely secure.

*Native Americans need an apology for the destruction of their religion and there is a good amount of phobia embedded in Hindus about conversions. Some of them feel that Governors Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal made it in politics because they converted to Christianity.

*The spiritual balance in the community needs to be restored through observing and following the Golden Rule, which is treat others as you would like others to treat you. Although we have failed in the past, such as when the city of Plano rejected a permit to build a Hindu temple in the early 80's and Richardson did not permit a Muslim school to open there in the mid-1990s, we still have come a long way. Thank God, those are now history and the public in the metroplex welcomes diversity.

* Interfaith meetings are still social gatherings. Leaders from smaller groups are invited as tokens rather than to genuinely get to know each other. Unless we deal with tough issues about differences, we will continue to fake being nice to each other and brood with ill-will within. There is plenty of room for honesty to grow and mature.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of other people and accept the God-given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. One of these days we will get there. Meanwhile, I am pleased to invite you to the 7th Annual 9/11 Memorial, the Unity Day USA on Sunday September 11 at 5:00 PM at the Unity Church of Dallas on Forest Lane. Details are at www.UnitydayUSA.com

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References:
Steve Blow – Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece

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List of difficult passages: http://quraan-today.blogspot.com/2010/12/difficult-passages-in-quraan.html

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Quraan Conference program sequence: http://quraanconference.blogspot.com/2010/12/quraan-conference-program-sequence.html

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam. Mike's work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ and you can find all of his current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com