4th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides

You are cordially invited to the 4^th Annual Reflections on

Holocaust and Genocides

The 4th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is set for Thursday, January 27, 2011.

This particular date was adopted by the sixtieth session of the United Nations on November 21, 2005, “Resolves that the United Nations will designate 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.”

In the past, the events were scheduled on Sundays to accommodate Jewish community’s presence, however this year the date falls on Thursday, a non-Sabbath day and hence the event on Thursday evening.

We are deeply committed to education and relentlessly pursuing to build cohesive societies and we hope to create a model for the world to emulate.

There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away from facing or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or somehow it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. We cannot justify massacres arrogantly believing that the victims deserved it or asked for it.

We have to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and have to commit to ourselves to resist the temptations to be prejudiced and stereotype others. We cannot demand peace unless we are peaceful ourselves.

Our safety hinges on the safety of others around us, and it behooves us to work for the safety and security of others on this little planet. We have to be continuously aware of the Holocaust and Genocides and prepare us to avert such tragedies.

SUMMARY
What: Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
Where: Unity Church of Dallas
Meet & Greet: 6:00 - 6:30 - Refreshement
Program: 6:30 - 8:30 PM,
When: Thursday, January 27, 2010
Address: 2625 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX. 75230
RSVP email: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com
Detail of Past events at: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com


We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:

1. When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;

2. We can value others’ suffering without lessening our own;

3. We can respect other people’s suffering as legitimate as our own;

4. The desire to highlight our suffering blinds us from other’s suffering;

5. We can see ourselves as Victims without seeing the perpetrator in us;

6. A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened;

7. Ultimately co-existence and every one's safety and peace should be the driving thought, peace and safety are always a two way street.

It is an initiative of American Muslims striving to build responsible civic societies, where justice and co-existence are our values.

To all those, who have endured holocaust, genocides, massacres, bombs, annihilation, land mines, hunger, rape, torture, occupation and inhuman brutality, we say you are not alone.

The least we can do in the process of healing is to acknowledge every one's pain in one voice. We have begun the process of coming together as one people, to stand with you, we are indeed one world and a single humanity, and caring for each other brings safety and peace to all of us. I cannot be safe if the people around me are not, and I will not have peace if people around me don't. It is in my interest to seek a peaceful world for one and all.

We are working on initiating a course on tolerance education, so one day; we all can learn to have a heart that opens to the pain of every human, yes, we can do that.

Every organization that is willing to subscribe to the idea of co-existence is invited to participate, sponsor, and volunteer. We invite you to submit a 250 word note on the issue that agonize you and offer your solutions with co-existence in mind.

Please send an email to: HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com

OUR PROGRAMS

1. Unityday USA - 7th Annual Event

2. Thanksgiving Celebrations - 14th Annual Event

3. Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides - 4th Annual Event

4. Qur'aan Conference - 1st Year

5. Conference on Homosexuality issues in 2011

6. Conference on Anti-Semitism -- 2011

7. Conference on Stereotyping -- 2011

8. Conference on Peace and Justice - -- 2011

9. Similar programs in Louisville, Atlanta & Houston are being lined up.

Mike Ghouse for a cohesive America
Chair, America Together
(214) 325-1916
Conference on Holocaust and Genocides and
IV Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides.
http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/

Conference on Holocaust and Genocides

A comprehensive conference on

Holocaust and GenocidesWednesday, January 24, 2010

A full day conference is planned for Wednesday, January 26, 2011 to include and discuss every human tragedy. Perhaps, this would be a 2nd public comprehensive event where all human failings, massacres, genocides and Holocaust will be addressed in one fashion or the other, the first such event was the III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides.


Education is the purpose; we have to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other, and to we have to understand that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us.


There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or some how it amounts to infidelity to our own cause. Shame on us that we justifying massacres by believing and propagating that the victims deserved it or asked for it.


We sincerely hope the attendees will walk out with the following understanding:


1. Other people’s suffering is as legitimate as mine;
2. It is easy to see ourselves as Victims, but we must also see the perpetrator in us;
3. When we strip the politics out of a conflict, we see hope;
4. We can value others suffering without lessening our own;
5. The overriding desire to highlight our own blinds us from other’s suffering.
6. A sense of responsibility for creating a better world is awakened

7. Ultimately co-existence and every one's safety and peace should be the driving thought.


We invite sponsors, facilitaors, speakers, writers from individuasl and organizations to make this happen. It is an initiative of American Muslims striving to build responsible civic societies, where justice and co-existence are our values.


To all those, who have endured holocaust, genocides, massacres, bombs, annihilation, land mines, hunger, rape, torture, occupation and inhuman brutality, we say you are not alone. The least we can do in the process of healing is to acknowledge every one's pain in one voice. We have begun the process of coming together as one people, to stand with you, we are indeed one world and a single humanity, and caring for each other brings safety and peace to all of us. I cannot be safe if the people around me are not, and I will not have peace if people around me don't. It is in my interest to seek a peaceful world for one and all.


We are working on initiating a course on tolerance education, so one day; we all can learn to have a heart that opens to the pain of every human, yes, we can do that.


Every organization that is willing to subscribe to the idea of co-existence is invited to participate, sponsor, and volunteer. We invite you to submit a 500 word abstract on the issue that agonize you, please offer your solutions with co-existence in mind in another 100 words. No one will be excluded.


Please send an email to: HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com


Mike Ghouse, Chairperson
Conference on Holocaust and Genocides and
IV Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides.
http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/

~ ~~

SMU Program to explore Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission

SMU Program to explore Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission

Dallas Morning News 4:05 PM Thu, Feb 18, 2010
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/02/program-at-smu-to-explore-texa.html
Details below the update

UPDATE ON THE EVENT AT SMU
Mike Ghouse

The panel at the program last night included Hon. Senator Shapiro, Hon. Peter Berkowitz, Dr. Amy Fisher-Smith, Dr. Elliott Dlin and a few other good hearted people.

I want to laud the effort of Senators Rodney Ellis and Florence Shapiro for getting the legislation to pass the Texas Holocaust and Genocides commission and thank every one involved to make this happen.

The panel at the program last night included Hon. Senator Shapiro, Hon. Peter Berkowitz, Dr. Amy Fisher-Smith, Dr. Elliott Dlin and a few other leaders of the community.

Senator Florence Shapiro is a rare politician who took the question of Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk head on; when asked about the investors and corporations who have a vested interest in the continuance of the conflicts; she responded by the divestment measures taken and that can be taken on the investment of public funds.

Peter Berkowitz addressed my question of Stereotyping squarely, and I admire him for that. When I mentioned to him that preventing Genocides and Holocaust is the responsibility of whole humanity and Muslims have not only taken part in human rights issues but are seriously involved in educating Dallas Public, across the board in general and Muslims in particular for years by reflecting on Holocaust and Genocides. They are in the forefront in criticizing Holocaust deniers and including every human tragedy in their presentations. As a commissioner, Mr. Berkowitz fulfilled his responsibility when he said, the Houston Holocaust Board is all inclusive and has members from many communities, and mentioned about the area in the Museum that displays how Muslims have gone out of their way in protecting Jews during the Holocaust. He said, removal of stereotyping is the way to go. Sir, I commend you for that and all the other good things you shared tonight. To me, a Pluralist who is committed to contributing his share towards inclusive societies, that one single statement of yours was powerful and I am thankful to the people who appointed you to be the commissioner. You have done justice to the job.

A school curriculum is in the making to be more inclusive and those who are concerned must be involved in the states education curriculum development. We are all humans and at times over look a different point of view. To have sustainable peace in societies, we must have inclusive education and you must be part of it. No stone should be left unturned.

I came out of the event with three things; as a human I can be a perpetrator, Victim, a bystander or a solution finder.

Since I have written about this month, a season of peace and non-violence, and have attended all the three events;

1) the III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides, Sunday, Jan 24, 2010
2) the Gay and Lesbian Holocaust March on Wednesday, Jan 27, 2010
3) the SMU/Holocaust Museum/ Memnosyne Foundation on Tuesday, Feb 23, 2010

I would just like to point out the wisdom in the inclusion; every one’s safety. As a Muslim my role is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill and I will do my 1/7th billionth (World Population) of my share towards a safer world.

As an individual or as a nation, we need to be aware that we cannot be safe unless the people around us are not safe, we cannot have peace unless people around us don’t have it.

A full day conference is planned for Wednesday, January 26, 2011 to include and discuss every human tragedy, please submit a thoroughly researched 500 word abstract about the event you'd like to discuss to - HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com.

Mike Ghouse, Chair
IV Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/

______________________________________________

On Tuesday evening (Feb. 23) at 7 p.m. at SMU's Hughes-Trigg Theater in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center, the Dallas Holocaust Museum Center for Education and Tolerance is hosting a special program exploring the role of the newly-established Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission. The program is free and open to the public, and complimentary valet parking is provided.

Thank Goodness the awareness of Holocaust and Genocides is increasing; from one event in 2007 to three events this year;

1) the III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides, Sunday, Jan 24, 2010
2) the Gay and Lesbian Holocaust March on Wednesday, Jan 27, 2010
3) the SMU/Holocaust Museum/ Memnosyne Foundation on Tuesday, Feb 23, 2010

Please note that Yom Ha-Shoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, occurs on the 27th of Nissan of Jewish Calendar and has been commemorated by the Jewish community for nearly fifty years the world over.

However the first program on Holocaust and Genocides for the general public took place in 2007, an initiative of American Muslims, striving to build responsible civic societies. The event was prompted by the UN Declaration to commemorate the day.

We hope, more of us would attend these events and learn to reflect upon the terrible things we humans have inflicted upon each other, to bring about a positive change. No community should bear the suffering alone; we all have to stand up, and be there for each other.

A full day conference is planned for Wednesday, January 26, 2011 to include and discuss every human tragedy, please submit a thoroughly researched 500 word abstract about the event you'd like to discuss to - HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com.

Mike Ghouse
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

PRESS RELEASE AT DALLAS MORNING NEWS
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/02/program-at-smu-to-explore-texa.html

Program at SMU to explore Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission
4:05 PM Thu, Feb 18, 2010 Permalink Yahoo! Buzz
Sam Hodges/Reporter Bio E-mail News tips

The release below gives details on a fast-approaching program at Southern Methodist University:

On Tuesday evening (Feb. 23) at 7 p.m. at SMU's Hughes-Trigg Theater in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center (http://smu.edu/maps/flash/) , the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance (www.dallasholocaustmuseum.org) is hosting a special program exploring the role of the newly-established Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission.

The program is free and open to the public, and complimentary valet parking is provided.

The Commission was established during the last session of the Legislature and signed into law last summer. State Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) and State Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) co-sponsored the bill creating the commission, which was passed unanimously.

Texas is the nation's 13th state to establish a commission or council devoted to Holocaust and genocide education. By law, the commission--considered the most important development in Holocaust education in Texas in years--is to help preserve information and experiences of the Holocaust and other genocide events. The commission will also work with organizations, agencies, museums, survivors and liberators to provide information and experiences and to coordinate memorial events in the state.

The SMU program will explore the commission's purpose in a Q&A format moderated by Texas Tribune Editor Evan Smith, formerly president and editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly. The panelists include Senator Shapiro; Peter Berkowitz, a Houston business executive who chairs the commission; Amy Fisher-Smith, an associate professor of psychology at University of Dallas, and a Holocaust educator; and Elliott Dlin, Museum Director of the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance.

Texas is home to several hundred Holocaust survivors, and a few are expected to attend the event, co-sponsored by the Memnosyne Foundation (http://memnosynefoundation.org/) and the SMU Human Rights Program (http://smu.edu/humanrights/)

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COMMENTS, COURTESY OF DALLAS NEWS

Posted by Mike Ghouse @ 2:57 PM Sun, Feb 21, 2010
I am glad to see our state passed the bill to recognize Holocaust and Genocides. I hope Dallasites will take the time to attend the program and learn and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other.

The Jewish community has borne the suffering of the Holocaust for over sixty years; it is time for us to share it. No community should bear the suffering alone; we all have to stand up, and be there for each other.

Thank God the awareness is increasing; from one event in 2006 by the American Muslims, it has grown to three events this year; the III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides on 24th, the Gay and Lesbian commeration on 27th and now this event by the Holocaust Museusm in collobration with the Memnosyne Foundation.
Holocaust was a major human tragedy and a failure of humanity.

And perhaps the first time in our history that we acknowledged the genocides of the indigenous Americans and Native peoples of Americas in a public forum along with other tragedies.

I want to applaud the people of Dallas for attending the event. They were Atheists, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Wicca, Zoroastrians and from sevral ethnicities and nationalities.

It was an educational program, where 7 speakers reflected on 7 topics for 7 minutes each. Then 7 commentators made comments about 7 different situations. The topics ranged from the Holocaust to Genocides, massacres and tragedies.

Among Genocides, Massacres and other tragedies we reflected upon the Indigenous American people such as the Mayans, the Toltecs and the massacres of the Native people right here in Dallas, we touched upon Darfur, Polpot, Congo, Armenia, Rwanda, Falun Dafa, Burma, Tibet, Bosnia, India, Gaza and the transatlantic slave trade. Through these representative events, our goal was to reflect upon every human tragedy. The words do not describe the sufferings of people in full, we have to work with the limited choice of words, but have a big heart to feel the pain and suffering of every human being, not just my people or my tribe, but every one. Let there be one negative energy of suffering that we are part of, together we can work on getting out of it.

There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or some times refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or some how it amounts to infidelity to our own cause, and shame on us for justifying massacres that the victims deserved it or they asked for it.

We learned a few simple things that we can do to prevent such tragedies. It was a purposeful event to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other. We also learned that our safety hinges on the safety of all others around us.

We learned to see each other with dignity, and honor the otherness of other. Gatherings such as this offer hope and opportunity for a secure and a safer world.

Of the several acknowledgements, a few notable ones are;

1. other peoples suffering is as legitimate as ours;
2. some one related to us through faith, ethnicity, land mass or race has been a butcher too,
3. it takes courage to see ourselves as perpetrators, while it is easy to ourselves as victims;
4. we can see the light at the end of the tunnel when politics is stripped;
5. we can value others suffering without lessening our own;
6. the overriding desire to highlight my own gets softened, when we value others pain;
7. the sense of responsibility for creating a better world was present in us.

It is an initiative of American Muslims striving to build responsible civic societies. The event was organized by the Foundation for Pluralism, where co-existence is our value. We appreciate the sponsorship by the Center for Spiritual Living, all the three are Dallas based Organizations.

And to every community that has endured holocaust, genocides, massacres, bombs, annihilation, land mines, hunger, rape, torture, occupation and inhuman brutality, the least we can do in the process of healing is to acknowledge every one's pain in one room, as one people. We have to teach tolerance and acceptance.

We have begun the process of coming together as one people, to stand with you, we are indeed one world and one humanity, and caring for each other brings safety and peace to all of us. I cannot be safe if the people around me are not, and I will not have peace if people around me don't. It is in my interest to seek a peaceful world for one and all.

A full day conference is planned for Wednesday, January 26, 2011 to discuss every human tragedy, please submit a thoroughly researched 500 word abstract about the event you'd like to discuss to -HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com

Mike Ghouse, Chair
Holocaust and Genocides
www.holocaustandGenocides.com

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Posted by Matthew Cappiello @ 5:01 PM Sun, Feb 21, 2010
Good to hear about this fantastic initiative!

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Posted by Len Ellis @ 7:57 PM Sun, Feb 21, 2010
Indeed, more education and information about these tragedies is of utmost importance. Without such, the possibility that these horrific events can occur again is real. I hope that along with the history, a great deal of attention is placed on what allowed these events to occur, mainly, that people watched and did nothing. When we see people being persecuted, when we see people denied basic human rights, we must raise our voices and say "no!" The mantra associated with The Holocaust is "Never Again", yet to be true to the to the call, requires first that we even know about what happened, and second, that each of us take responsibility for our role.
I applaud these educational and participatory events, I encourage all to attend, and to speak out and speak up, for these atrocities still occur in our world today.
Len Ellis
Dallas Peace Center

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Posted by Harbans Lal @ 12:22 AM Mon, Feb 22, 2010
Yes, we will attend. Sikhs are those who suffered because of religious and ethnic hatred. They like to join all to make it sure that the hatred is transformed into understanding of the human suffering all over the world. The idea of sharing the suffering of the world is a powerful one to move the world where such atrocities are never inflicted on any human being, and if and when it ever happens again, it may be shared by all.
Harbans Lal,
DFW Sikhs for Interfaith Understanding
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Posted by Surinder Kaul @ 8:47 AM Mon, Feb 22, 2010
As a Kashmiri Hindu, I applaud the mention of our plight at the reflection program on January 24, no one cares about our issue, it was a relief to see them mention it.
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Posted by Mike Ghouse @ 9:58 AM Tue, Feb 23, 2010
It is our duty, a moral obligation to acknolwedge the pain and suffering of all people. There is a shameless cruelty in us, either we shy away or some times refuse to acknowledge the sufferings of others, worrying that it will devalue our own or some how it amounts to infidelity to our own cause.

We all have to learn to see eye to eye, face to face, some one related to us via land mass, faith or race was a butcher, it does not mean, you and I are. We have to bring about a change by simply being human - feeling the pain of other no matter who it is, that is what makes us human.

We are looking forward to All day conference in January 2011 to acknowlege every human suffering, whether they are technically genocide or not. LIfe is precious and must be valued.

Mike Ghouse, Chair
Holocaust and Genocides
Dallas, Texas
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

----------------------------

Posted by CA Pramod Gupta @ 10:21 AM Tue, Feb 23, 2010

My heartiest wishes for the successful event ,of which I m assured when the mention of Mike Ghouse I see, as the chair,, and He is most update on the issues, and a crusader , and is persuasive in deliverance as I see him as a virtual friend,an epitome of unparalleled wisdom and heave in the betterment of humanity at large spiritedly .. GOd bless the event and the Mission , I m sure Hindus the world's most oppressed , would be able to raise their head with pride as they r the keeper of trait invaluable to the humanity ... "Tolerance" and the ancient believer and propounded "UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD" ,, with no riders.. but paying for it sadly .. the Order has to be reversed if humanity have to survive and espouse goodness.
report as abusive

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Posted by Barbara Thyab Ali @ 11:30 AM Tue, Feb 23, 2010
Dont forget how the Muslims were treated when the first fight for freedom was conducted... by Bahadur Shah!!! and his followers.... ever after that all Muslims where shun and doomed,,, not even given basic education or any signs of equality till date.... what a horrible fate they had ... even till today,.. many are being treated very badly.... all because some Muslims are "Terrorists" in todays world... yet all are looked upon and termed !!!!!!!! Yes !!! X or Y or Z.... for no crime or reason at all..... why should all the Muslims be branded as Terrorist today!!! Is there no one to stand up and question why??? Its high time we all jointly stop such form of persecution to the Indian Muslim of today...
report as abusive

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Posted by CA pramod Gupra @ 12:17 PM Tue, Feb 23, 2010
Barbara , U shirked to answer the empiric ,, evaporation of hindus almost total in other than India , and muslim exponential growth in India ,, is speaking loudly and the recent incidents of imposing jijiya and butchering beheading for refusing emabracing islam has caused the havoc .. and exposed why the evaporation occurred and thanx to Tasleema Nasreen for the expose in Banglaesh, sadly was dubbed criminally, coercively ..by progressibves, muslims, and pseudo secularist ( why there is no call whe tasleema exposed the mass raping and killing going on of hindus in Bangladesh ,a nd when M F husssin painted hindu goddesss, Mother India , in nude ,, and was dubbbed as objects of art , while cartoons make U cry and kill ppl indiscriminatey, the double standards , are exhorting Hindus to notice and rise, befittingly) .. and the leadership of ,Muslim had kept them alienated , and perpetuated their heinous designs, divisiveness on that foundation , while those who joined main stream has been able to decorate the highest offices at nation and apex courts beside others, a sign that only a predominantly hindu nation cud display with pride the mark f tolerance while the Muslim states , they purported to b secular played heinous in making hindus extinct, with terrorists attacking indian s , infiltrating and given local cover , by whom , U kbnow ! including the nationals of all muslim states wud put any muslim to shame, what to talk of seeing them elevated to the higher offices,a sham and shame exposed,, by all means .. a dark writing on the wall , the hindus r seeing as the recent paki- china - uS combine is also pushing the rot with vigor , against this tolerant clan ..
report as abusive

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Posted by Barbara Thyab Ali @ 3:12 AM Wed, Feb 24, 2010
Hello Dear,

I proudly declare that my entire family of Indian Muslims, are true followers of Islam, will never dare harm a single living creature of our creator.Many thousands of miles away from our Mother Land and yet getting rewards/ awards and certificates... decorated by the firms and companies they work at... best employee of the year, outstanding employee of the company, as asset to the firm, valuable employee of the company, best management head who has helped to keep the company afloat in this 100% recession, making heavy profits for the company...etc.,.. etc... all this in Australia today... Yes , I am a very proud mother of these four Indian Muslim Sons of mine, yet, they could not stay in India as there was nothing for them in India, being brought up in the Middle East , educated and earned their work experience outside India, 6 grand children -Indian Muslims too, and my three daughters in law are also doing so well in Australia in different fields of work, yet they too never wanted to remain in Inda all because of the differences shown to each one of them... all are highly educated too, like my family I wonder how many Indian Muslims have left our Mother land just because they too were being brushed with the same brush!!! that is still happening in India to all most 90% of decent, God Fearing Muslims....I am also getting ready to leave my mother land, with a heavy heart and much unwillingness, only because from Australia will I be able to meet each and every one who wishes to run down a Muslim in this world today... Australia has started to offer dual passports!!!!

Praying that all the Hindus will also re-unite and form one big united family soon... united we stand, divided we fall...

Bye

Barbara.
report as abusive

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Posted by Mike Ghouse @ 11:47 AM Wed, Feb 24, 2010
POST EVENT UPDATE

The panel at the program last night included Hon. Senator Shapiro, Hon. Peter Berkowitz, Dr. Amy Fisher-Smith, Dr. Elliott Dlin and a few other good hearted people.

I want to laud the effort of Senators Rodney Ellis and Florence Shapiro for getting the legislation to pass the Texas Holocaust and Genocides commission and thank every one involved to make this happen.

The panel at the program last night included Hon. Senator Shapiro, Hon. Peter Berkowitz, Dr. Amy Fisher-Smith, Dr. Elliott Dlin and a few other leaders of the community.

Senator Florence Shapiro is a rare politician who took the question of Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk head on; when asked about the investors and corporations who have a vested interest in the continuance of the conflicts; she responded by the divestment measures taken and that can be taken on the investment of public funds.

Peter Berkowitz addressed my question of Stereotyping squarely, and I admire him for that. When I mentioned to him that preventing Genocides and Holocaust is the responsibility of whole humanity and Muslims have not only taken part in human rights issues but are seriously involved in educating Dallas Public, across the board in general and Muslims in particular for years by reflecting on Holocaust and Genocides. They are in the forefront in criticizing Holocaust deniers and including every human tragedy in their presentations. As a commissioner, Mr. Berkowitz fulfilled his responsibility when he said, the Houston Holocaust Board is all inclusive and has members from many communities, and mentioned about the area in the Museum that displays how Muslims have gone out of their way in protecting Jews during the Holocaust. He said, removal of stereotyping is the way to go. Sir, I commend you for that and all the other good things you shared tonight. To me, a Pluralist who is committed to contributing his share towards inclusive societies, that one single statement of yours was powerful and I am thankful to the people who appointed you to be the commissioner. You have done justice to the job.

A school curriculum is in the making to be more inclusive and those who are concerned must be involved in the states education curriculum development. We are all humans and at times over look a different point of view. To have sustainable peace in societies, we must have inclusive education and you must be part of it. No stone should be left unturned.

I came out of the event with three things; as a human I can be a perpetrator, Victim, a bystander or a solution finder.

Since I have written about this month, a season of peace and non-violence, and have attended all the three events;

1) the III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides, Sunday, Jan 24, 2010
2) the Gay and Lesbian Holocaust March on Wednesday, Jan 27, 2010
3) the SMU/Holocaust Museum/ Memnosyne Foundation on Tuesday, Feb 23, 2010

I would just like to point out the wisdom in the inclusion; every one’s safety. As a Muslim my role is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill and I will do my 1/7th billionth (World Population) of my share towards a safer world.

As an individual or as a nation, we need to be aware that we cannot be safe unless the people around us are not safe, we cannot have peace unless people around us don’t have it.

A full day conference is planned for Wednesday, January 26, 2011 to include and discuss every human tragedy, please submit a thoroughly researched 500 word abstract about the event you'd like to discuss to - HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com.

Mike Ghouse, Chair
IV Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

Center for Spiritual Living hosts discussion of genocide and war

Center for Spiritual Living hosts discussion of genocide and war
By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH
The Dallas Morning News,kunmuth@dallasnews.com

People of many religious and ethnic backgrounds gathered Sunday to exchange stories of genocide and war. The event was held at the Center for Spiritual Living and sponsored by the Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress.

"We are obsessed with our own tragedies, and sometimes it's hard to acknowledge others' tragedies," said Mike Ghouse, chairman of the event.

Panelists discussed the Holocaust, the impact of colonization on North American and Toltec Indians and the war in Darfur.

The event also touched on the situation in the Gaza Strip, and Ghouse, who is Muslim, acknowledged that people had contacted him to say they were upset that he included Palestinians in the discussion.

The Rev. Petra Weldes, a minister at the center, told the audience that people often respond more quickly to tragedies such as the earthquake in Haiti. "If we can respond to a natural tragedy, then why can't we respond to a manmade tragedy?" she asked.

The presentations were not academic. Instead, they focused on people sharing their feelings about the events in order to raise awareness that there is much suffering in the world and to promote peaceful coexistence.

"Genocide is still going on," said Rick Halperin, director of the human rights education program at Southern Methodist University. "For many people, it happened 'back there.' "

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Courtesy of Dallas Morning News http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-worldpeace_25met.ART.State.Edition1.4bca07e.html#slcgm_comments_anchor

Comments (7)
Posted by Rev. Petra 23 hours ago

It was such a powerful evening, I was greatly moved as part of this event, and pleased for our Community to sponsor it.

What became noticeable clear to me as the evening progressed is that as we continue to remember and reflect on these unspeakable tragedies, it does not further healing to approach them with anger, hate or the need for vengeance. We have learned that violence only begets more violence. the silence must be broken, truth and hope spoken, and a new understanding that we must respond swiftly and positively to the slaughter of humans by humans. Realizing that no one group is always responsible and no one group is always the victim helps us stop the "us vs them" perspective, and begins to move us into the "we must work together".

It is truly astounding that our media continues to spend its time showing the extreme sides and positions all over the world, rather than focusing on the moderate, reconciliatory voices that seek peace, justice and understanding. Thank you, Ms Unmuth and the Dallas Morning News, for being willing to cover this event and this story!

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Posted by Kamran Cheikh

Katherine, I would like to thank you very much for covering this event. There were alot of insightful speeches by the speakers at the event and each one of them brought their own unique perspective to these very dire tragedies that have occured throughout history. To solve these issues we as human beings must continue to come together to witness the signs of these tragedies and find solutions to prevent them from occuring. I thank all of the guest speakers,volunteers and attendants for their support and participation in this event. We are looking forward to next years event as we hope to have a full day conference with discussion about many different genocides, holocausts and tragedies that have been occuring throughout human history. Please also give support to the next upcoming initiative of the World Muslim Congress, Project Soam, which should be occuring in the next few months,some information about the project can be found at www.holocaustandgenocides.com

Kamran Cheikh is a Board Member for the World Muslim Congress and the Foudation for Pluralism. He is also on the steering board for the organization Muslims for Peace, Justice and Progress(MPJP). Additionaly, he is a researcher for the think tank organization the Deen Research center(DRC).

Kamran Cheikh, Assistant Chairperson
III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
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Posted by RElghonimi

Katherine, thank you for this article. We are grateful for your presence with us and in conveying its significance. We truly appreciate Mike Ghouse's dedication to human dignity and the Center for Spiritual Living's hosting of the event.

You noted that it was not an academic program yet I just wanted to mention we did have an academic talk during the program. I am a graduate student at UTD in history, and I presented a historical analysis of Jerusalem. It is interesting you chose not to mention it in your article as many audience members were powerfully impacted by it. I am grateful to Mike Ghouse for letting me know of the neglect of this area in the article. Many attendees thanked me in reminding all of us that Jerusalem was notable for 1219 years of coexistence and openness to travel and pilgrimage under Islamic rule. They expressed amazement that they had never before heard this type of academic proof that inspired such faith, hope, and love. Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together, coming and going. It is a precedent of hope and optimism that should be emphasized and appreciated rather than covered up - and of course, instead of the ad nauseum ideas of inevitable conflict or cultural clashes that usually surface.

Reem Elghonimi
Steering Board Member,
Muslims for Peace, Justice, and Progress (MPJP)
www.mpjp.org

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Posted by LeonardEllis

Indeed, a very sincere, informative and heartbreaking event, as we were awakened to the atrocities committed by our fellow human beings on our brothers and sisters. A sense of oneness was present, and one of sadness as I learned about horrific events until now unbeknownst to me.
Asking why and how of these past events will perhaps awaken our humanity, preventing future tragedies. Perhaps, but each and every one of us must hold the vision of a just and peaceful world. Each of us must do our part, to speak up when we see injustice, to truly be our brother's keeper. Yes, we can hold the vision, and we can be proactive about it, because a vision without action is just a hallucination.
Len Ellis
Dallas Peace Center

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Posted by MikeGhouse

Thanks for the report, indeed, we were able to acknowledge the tough issues and face them squarely, we also learned that we can find the way out of the quagmires without compromising the truth. I cannot thank enough the contribution each speaker and participant made towards the success of tonight’s program.

Humility was flowing in every one’s veins tonight, there was no acknowledgment of all the great things each speaker and commentator has made, and instead they were simply introduced by their first names. It did not bother them at all, they did not even pay attention to it, because it was not important to them, it was their message that was important to them. They listened to others, without ever lessening others. I am proud to be a part of this group for your humility and being good communicators and listeners. They had long crossed the threshold of "me, me and me alone person", to "we, we and us", and I salute them all for the same.

Of the several accomplishments tonight, a few are as follows;

1. that other peoples suffering is as legitimate as ours,

2. that some one related to us through faith, ethnicity or race has been a butcher too,

3. that it takes courage to see ourselves as perpetrators and accomplices as well,

4. that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel when politics is stripped,

5. that we can value others suffering without lessening our own or theirs,

6. that the overriding desire to highlight my own gets softened, easing our own pain

7. the sense of responsibility for creating a better world was present in us.

We could have done a full hour session with the theme and presentation of each speaker, and God willing we will have a full day conference on the subject.

I hope to gather every one’s speech and include in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Pluralism. I will be compiling a full report and publish on the websites and Blogs

Mike Ghouse is a Dallas based Speaker, Writer, Thinker and a Moderator. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and television networks offering pluralistic perspectives on issues of the day including Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, Peace, India and Civic issues.

Mike Ghouse, Chairperson
III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/

~~~~

You are invited

7 Minutes, 7 Topics and 7 Reflections

When: Sunday, January 24th at 5:00 PM
Where: Center for Spiritual Living,
Address: 4801 Spring Valley Road, Dallas, TX 75244
Website - http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/
Email – HolocuastandGenocides@gmail.com
(214) 325-1916

This is an educational program, where 7 speakers will reflect on 7 topics for 7 minutes each along with contributing a few simple things that you and I can do to prevent such tragedies. The topics range from the Holocaust to Genocides, massacres and tragedies. It is a purposeful event to learn, acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things that we humans have inflicted upon each other.

The Holocaust was a major human tragedy and a failure of humanity. Among Genocides, Massacres and other tragedies we will reflect upon the Indigenous American people, the Mayans, the Toltecs, Darfur, Polpot, Congo, Armenia, Rwanda, Falun Dafa, Burma, Tibet, Bosnia, India, Gaza and the transatlantic slave trade. Through these representative events, our goal is to reflect upon every human tragedy. We plan to have a full day conference to remember every tragedy and we hope you will attend the full day next year.

Sponsored by the Center for Spiritual living and organized by the Foundation for Pluralism, where co-existence is our value. An initiative of American Muslims; striving to contribute towards building civil societies.

Holocaust and Genocides Event

INVITATION

You are invited to the III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides, a purposeful event to create awareness of the inhumanity in us, and discover solutions for peaceful co-existence.

Individuals and leaders from different faiths, races, ethnicities and backgrounds will gather to express their commitment to co-existence and well being of every human being. It is a tribute to those who stood up, spoke up and risked their lives to save the life of others.

Please join us with your friends from work, place of worship, social networks and ask them to confirm at: i.will.attend.holocaust.event@gmail.com

You can forward this posting to your friends by clicking the evelope symbol at the bottom and writing your friends email address.

WHEN :: 5:00 PM, Sunday, January 24, 2010
WHERE :: Center for Spiritual Living, 4801 Spring Valley, Dallas Texas 75244
COST :: The event is free

PDF POSTER: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Images_HolocaustDay/Holocaust-and-Genocides-Poster_122809-.pdf

JPG POSTER: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Images_HolocaustDay/Holocaust-and-Genocides-Poster-122809.jpg

We are looking for volunteers and sponsors.

• Pictures from I Annual event: http://picasaweb.google.com/FoundationforPluralism/HolocaustCommemorationByMuslims#5278725720284191074
• Pictures from II Annual event: http://picasaweb.google.com/HolocaustandGenocides/IIAnnualReflectionOnHolocaustAndGenocides#5300647098115563810
• Report from the first Event: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Images_HolocaustDay/HMD2006_ProgramReport.asp
• Public Comments: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Holocaustday_Comments.asp
• Media coverage: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Holocaustday_Media.asp

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/
~~~

Volunteers wanted

If you wish to volunteer, please send the email to: HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com - in the subject line, please write "Volunteer for Holocaust & Genocides event" - Thanks

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

First, download the flier at this site, first item on the top left or and then you can forward the link, or simply copy the jpg file and paste it in the email and forward it.

1. Invite your friends
2. Please reach out and invite people from every race, faith and ethnicity.
3. Invite Faith based organizations to participate - No money is required
4. Invite leaders from religion and education services
5. Invite Civic & Corporate leaders
6. Be a Volunteer to do different Chores
7. Donation from your friends or you in multiples of $100.00 is welcome
8. Sponsorship in multiples of $500.00 is welcome
9. Compile a list of Genocides with a 500 word write up on each

Our Mission is to encourage individuals to develop an open mind and an open heart toward their follow beings. If we can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. We believe that knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different point of view.

Foundation for Pluralism,
Studies in Religious Pluralism & Pluralistic Societies
Workshops Seminars Education News Letters
2665 Villa Creek Dr, Suite 206,
Dallas, TX 75234 (214) 325-1916

Please send the information to HolocaustandGenocides@gmail.com

I am looking for a few good volunteers to invite every possible organization to the event.

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916

# # #

Holocaust Industry

I wrote about the Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides this morning and am bombarded with reckless comments about Holocaust and phrases like the “Holocaust industry” . It hurts me; indeed it should hurt every one.

If you feel what Jews feel, you probably would understand their anxieties. After nearly 2000 years of “wandering” they found a home in Germany, they became a part of the story [1] of Germany and contributed to her growth and prosperity and when they got comfortable, guess how they got rewarded? Inhuman brutal shameless gas chambers for 6 million of them!

Jews assimilated in Germany and felt secure, you think it is a thing of the past? Hell no, it goes on, a few years ago, right here in my home town Dallas, one city council man referred to another as “you people” because that “you” was a Jew. I was outraged and every one in America should. How dare one question another American? I wrote to Dallas Morning News expressing my disgust and thank God they printed it.

You may not keep up with it, but as a peace volunteer I do, their fear is real. Some idiot or the other is painting a swastika on someone's house or a synagogue, it happened in Carrollton some ten years ago, the ignorant imbeciles thought that the lady was Jewish, and marked her house. The holocaust Museum in DC was attacked recently [2]. Some one walked into a Synagogue in Seattle and opened fire. Are you aware of these? If you are what is wrong when they guard themselves with remembrance of Holocaust?

Holocaust industry is a misnomer... you cannot feel their pain, anguish and discomfort. Of course there are always people who take advantage of the situation, but talking and remembering about holocaust must go on, their grief should be every one’s grief and we should all shoulder their burden and help them feel secure. A just society brings peace and security to every one and each one of us must work for it. Ultimately every one feels safe and secure.

No matter how insignificant you and I are, we must speak out when there is injustice. The hopelessness of Palestinians and the insecurity of Israelis is the doing of their Neocon leadership which ignores the voices of moderate Palestinians and Jews, they need to listen to them and be just to the Palestinians and not do unto them what they want not done to them. Justice is the key to peace and security for every one, [3] we must speak up and find security for them and justice for the Palestinians.

Taking a stand for justness pisses people off on both sides; the extreme ideologues among the Jewish and the Palestinian communities will not like you or I to speak about justness, each one wants you to take their side. That is the precise reason there is no security for Jews in Israel and Justice for the Palestinians. Sixty years have gone by and the policies have not worked for the common Israelis and the Palestinians, it is time to change. Should we sit pretty and not rattle? Or should we speak up for the good of one and all? The choice is yours.

President Obama will do the right thing; he will bring security to Jews and Justice to the Palestinians, these items are not mutually exclusive.

It is being "American" to stand up for the underdog, and I am pleased to be an American and want my fellow American Jews to know that I am with them when injustice is done to them, I will stand up for them in my own little ways. My faith teaches me to do my share of repairing the world and I am grateful to Jews, Muslims and persons from every faith in Dallas for joining me in commemorating the Holocaust and Genocides [4] twice in the last few years and again, God willing we will do it in 2010.

The world is shrinking, exclusive conclaves would become obsolete and people will be living together more harmoniously than ever before as the new society would define it as a necessity. Religion will continue to be an important aspect of people’s life, but it will be the religion of justice that Moses taught, religion of love and forgiveness that Jesus taught, religion of humility and equality that Mohammad taught, religion of taking responsibility for one's good and bad that Zarthustra taught, religion for caring for others that so many earth based and indigenous traditions taught, religion of respect for every being that Krishna and Mahavir taught, religion of caring (even) for the enemies that Nanak taught and the idea of one humanity that Bahaullah taught… and all the goodness that every peace maker in the world has contributed to. Despite the issues of the world, we will be living in a better tomorrow.

Don't expect or demand others to be just and peaceful, if you as an individual are not. Let’s stand up for a just world, and the least we can do is to speak up.

[1] http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2009/04/are-muslims-part-of-american-story.html
[2] http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2009/06/muslims-condemn-display-of-hate-at.html
[3] http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2009/09/solutions-for-israel-and-palestine.html
[4] http://holocaustandgenocides.blogspot.com/2009/09/iii-annual-reflections-on-holocaust-and.html

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/

Confronting Genocide

Confronting Genocide: Judaism, Christianity, Islam.

There is a new book published by Rowman and Littlefield "Confronting Genocide: Judaism, Christianity, Islam." The book is edited by genocide scholar Dr. Steven Leonard Jacobs with contributions by other genocide scholars.

http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=%5EDB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0739135880&thepassedurl=%5Bthepassedurl%5D

"Confronting Genocide is an essential exploration of this complex dimension of the conceptual foundations of genocide. Steven Jacobs has done superb work in bringing together a broad and rich range of scholarly perspectives. A necessary contribution to genocide studies."—Peter Balakian, author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response

"It is the first collection of essays by recognized scholars primarily in the field of religious studies to address this timely topic. In addition to theoretical thinking about both religion and genocide and the relationship between the two, these authors look at the tragedies of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, Rwanda, Bosnia, and the Sudan from their own unique vantage point. In so doing, they supply a much needed additional contribution to the ongoing conversations proffered by historians, political scientists, sociologists, psychologists, and legal scholars regarding prevention, intervention, and punishment."

List of Contributors

Paul R. Bartrop; Donald J. Dietrich; Mohammad Omar Farooq; Zev Garber; Leonard B. Glick; Stephen R. Haynes; Henry F. Knight; Leo Kuper; Paul Mojzes; James Frazier Moore; Chris Mato Nunpa; David Patterson; John T. Pawlikowski; Gary A. Phillips; Carol Rittner; John K. Roth; Richard L. Rubenstein

About the Editor

Steven Leonard Jacobs is associate professor of religious studies and holds the Aaron Aronov Endowed Chair of Judaic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.

Reviews:

"Confronting Genocide is an essential exploration of this complex dimension of the conceptual foundations of genocide. Steven Jacobs has done superb work in bringing together a broad and rich range of scholarly perspectives. A necessary contribution to genocide studies."—Peter Balakian, author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response

"Religion has too often been a cause of genocide. The essays in this collection examine why, and then propose how religious texts and traditions could be re-interpreted so that religions could become forces against genocide."—Gregory Stanton, President, The International Association of Genocide Scholars

"My God! This book about what our Gods really instruct us—is it 'Do Not Kill,' or is it 'Yes, Kill in My Name' (or alternately both notwithstanding the contradiction)—deserves our deep thoughtfulness along with considerable appreciation to the editor for addressing soundly a largely neglected and censored topic. Steven Jacobs leads us to important encounters with 'exclusivity, superiority, privileged access to God'; 'chosen people'-ness and 'promised land-ness'; 'nationalist-racist ideology undergirded by religious thought'; and how religion often 'divides humanity into believers and infidels, into the saved and the damned.' Highly recommended."—Israel W. Charny, author of Fascism and Democracy in the Human Mind and and editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Genocide

Contributed by: Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq

By the way, I also maintain a website on Genocide 1971, which you are welcome to visit at http://www.globalwebpost.com/genocide1971. I contributed a chapter to this book "Islam and Genocide: The Case of Bangladesh in 1971", pp. 139-150.

Holocaust observance in Israel.

Holocaust observance in Israel.

http://maoz.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=maoz_holocaust_video

It is one of the most beautiful and moving videos, showing how people honor the holocaust, Insha Allah, I will observe that from next year and would remind every one to do the same.

Indeed, in Madinah, a funeral procession was passing by, the prophet asked his companions who it was, and they identified the person from a certain Jewish tribe. The prophet stood up in silence and respect until the procession passed and said we have to honor every person who leaves this world. From God we come and to God we go.

As peace makers we have to mitigate the conflicts and nurture goodwill, we need to focus on evoking the kindness and bringing people together on such a somber occasion. I wish the maker of the video deleted Ahmedinejad from the video, during that feeling of kindness and love, his picture negated that feeling. I have argued with Muslims and others about the purpose of such inclusions on other occasions and now, I would recommend that it be removed. Let people feel the sorrow and not hate.

Many Muslims in Dallas including me have condemned Ahmedinejad's statement, it is not reflective of the people of Iran or Muslims either, the subscribers to Ahmedinejad idiocy are as few as the subscribers to hate mongering in Israel, yet it feeds the base emotion by highlighting such events, as though the whole population is behind it, it is not, and we need to remind ourselves to be truthful in our understandings, as truth relieves the pain.

May God bless every soul that lost his and her life during the Holocaust and Genocides; May God bring justice to such a huge injustice and restore the balance in the world. Amen

Mike Ghouse
#

Texas Holocaust and Genocides Bill Signed

.
Texas Holocaust and Genocides Bill Signed
Susan, Mary Lee, Cynthia and Elly share this good news:

We are happy to report that on June 19, 2009, Governor Perry signed SB 482, which creates the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission. The legislation takes effect on September 1, 2009; information about the legislation can be found at
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Actions.aspx?LegSess=81R&Bill=SB482.

Thanks to each of you who wrote to your legislator, testified at the hearings, and contacted other individuals and groups to raise awareness about the need for this commission. Together, we have ensured that future generations learn about the Holocaust and other genocides. We especially wish to express our deep appreciation to the bill’s sponsors in the Texas legislature who guided us through the process and showed their commitment to the education and commemoration of these events.

With warm regards,
Susan, Mary Lee and Cynthia
Cynthia Capers, Associate Director of Education, Holocaust Museum Houston
Elliott Dlin– Executive Director, Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education & Tolerance
# # #

III ANNUAL REFLECTIONS ON HOLOCAUST & GENOCIDES
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2010 - 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM

From Mike Ghouse,

Signing of the Senate Bill 482 is indeed a good step in the right direction.

I will be calling on a meeting in mid to late July to plan on the 3rd Annual reflections on Holocaust and Genocides to be held on Sunday, January 24, 2010. We would certainly want to invite the Governor and the Senators who have made this possible. I will prepare a letter of appreciation and together we can sign and send to the Governor and the Senators.

As individuals and organizations, we want to invite every one to do their share in preventing the atrocities against other humans.

Pictures from the last two events are at: http://www.holocaustandgenocides.com/
An initiative of World Muslim Congress and the foundation for Pluralism.

Silent no more, speak up.

Feel free to send an email to: holocaustandgenocides@gmail.com

Mike Ghouse
Event Chair
III Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

.

II Annual Reflections on Holocaut & Genocides

II ANNUAL REFLECTIONS ON HOLOCAUST & GENOCIDES
Sunday, January 25, 2009 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Unity Church, Dallas

A Muslim initiative
Program Outline & Draft Script

On the stage;
Master of Ceremonies : Imam Zia Shaikh

Mike Ghouse - Opening
Bernie Mayoff - Introduce Imam Zia Shaikh
Imam Zia Shaikh - Acknowledgements
Mike Ghouse - Purpose statement
Mike Ghouse - Silent Prayers
Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk - Signs of Genocides
Mike Ghouse - Abridged 14 minutes documentary Scream Bloody Murder
Bryan Rigg - Key Note Speaker - Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
Mike Ghouse - Recognitions; Bernie Mayoff and Elliott Dlin
Nancy Rebal - Station II, assimilation of voices of forgiveness
Todd Collier - Benediction
Maryam Ruhullah - Refreshment Announcement

Opening by Mike Ghouse

I am pleased to welcome ya’ll to the Unity Church here in Dallas.
Organizing this event was not easy. I sincerely hope those few men and women who were anxious about the event, may find it comforting that the event is purely a humanitarian event. It is to acknowledge human suffering. God willing, we have carefully crafted this event to be a bridge building event. This event is one small step towards opening our hearts and minds towards fellow beings.

Let me quote Ruth Fishel “if we cannot stop the battles in our own minds, how can we expect to stop the battles in the world? We need to begin with ourselves and understand first our own personal conflict. Each time we are willing to look at our own issue, we come to a greater understanding of the conflicts others have.

Let me start with the Greetings; when people greet each other, there are three essential components to that – i) acknowledgment of the other ii) A desire to connect and iii) Build friendship with peace of mind.

You will be pleased with the wisdom embedded in the greetings; in a Hindu Greeting “ I would invoke the good in you to interact with the good in me” . You will find similar meaning in all greetings. In the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions the word “Peace is used” – when you greet them, you are actually invoking the best of that person, the peacefulness of that person to interact your peacefulness. I wish, we all understood the power of the greetings. Wow! I am setting up the other to be showered in peace and meet with me. That is powerful.

Please feel free to repeat after me;

Bahai Buddhist Christian Hindu Islam
Jain Jewish Sikh Wicca Zoroastrian

May you be showered in peace, may your words and actions emanate peace. Amen

Bernie May off – intro by Mike Ghouse

Bernie Mayoff is active in a wide variety of volunteer activities in Richardson and across the Metroplex. He is a volunteer with United Way, a past president of the J. J. Pearce Homeowners Association, a member of the Richardson Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association and a graduate of the Richardson Citizen Fire Academy.

He has been a wish granter for Make-a-Wish. He has been Treasurer of Congregation Beth Torah in Richardson. Bernie co-chaired the Long Range Planning Committee of Network of Community Ministries and is a Lifeline volunteer with Jewish Family Service repairing emergency call buttons and phones for seniors and other subscribers to Lifeline services. He worked with displaced victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita following those storms. He has been a Facilitator at Dallas Dinner table and is a member of the planning team of Metroplex Breakfast Dialogues.

Bernie was a candidate for Richardson City Council in 2005 and served on the Zoning Board of Adjustment. He is a graduate of Leadership Richardson. Bernie is a member of the local Selective Service Board (the draft board) and a past president of North Texas Mensa.

Bernie retired early from IBM

Bernie is a member of Congregation Beth Torah in Richardson and Temple Shalom in Dallas. Bernie is involved in a number of interfaith and multicultural activities promoting mutual understanding and tolerance. Together with Rabbi Haas, Bernie helped Mike Ghouse with the first Dallas observance of the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005.

He is an amateur photographer and a SCUBA diver. He has had an amateur radio license since he was a teenager. He likes to read, swim and travel. Bernie and his wife Denise have been Richardson residents since 1980 and his four children attended Richardson schools. They have three grandchildren and that will become four in June.

Please welcome Bernie Mayoff.

Introduction of Imam Zia Shaikh – by Bernie Mayoff

And I am pleased to introduce, our Master of Ceremonies, Imam Zia Shaikh.
He is a founding member and Board Member of the North Texas Islamic Council, an umbrella organization representing Islamic Organizations in the North Texas Area. He is also one of the Board Members of Irving Faiths together, a group of various religious organizations, dedicated to Peace and Harmony between faiths.

He is a Hafiz –a- Qur’aan that is the title for the one who has memorized the Qur’aan. He has studied various aspect of theology including Arabic Syntax, Etymology and Grammar, Logic, Qur’anic Exegesis, Hadith Exegesis, Comparative Religions, Islamic Jurisprudence of the four main schools of thought, Foundations of Jurisprudence, Qur’an and Hadith, and other subjects. He has a Masters degree in Islamic Theology and continues to interact with scholars to further his understanding of Islam.

He is one of the instructors at Suffa Academy in the Islamic Association of North Texas, teaching subjects such as Life of the Prophet, research and Hadith studies.

He also conducts regular study circles at the Islamic Center of Irving, and is often invited to speak at colleges, universities, conferences and seminars.

He is actively involved in interfaith work, indeed he was a speaker at the first UN Holocaust memorial event in Dallas two years ago.

He has served as an Imam in the USA since 1996, and he is fluent in Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati and English.

He is also a soccer Imam, weight lifting Imam and an Imam who is fit emotionally, physically and spiritually.

He has co-authored a rebuttal article to Geert Wilders, the Dutch parliamentarian who had misquoted Qur’aan and made a movie based on misquote. He has developed power point presentations to understand the misunderstandings about Qur’aan.
Please welcome Imam Zia Shaikh.

Welcome and Acknowledgement by Imam Zia Shaikh

I am pleased that we are here together this afternoon, just 2 days before the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Death Camp that took place on January 27, 1945.

January 27th was declared by the United Nations as the International Day of Commemoration of the Holocaust and for the prevention of Genocides. It is a day for us to stand together in order to promote tolerance.

Acknowledgements

•I am please to acknowledge our supporters for this event, as I call the name of each organization, would your please stand up and wave.
Memnosyne Foundation
Dallas Peace Center
Today Marks the beginning
Universal Peace Federation
Unity Church
Cathedral of Hope

We appreciate the support and encouragement we have received from these organization.

• Volunteers: Todd Collier, Nancy Rebal, Maryam Ruhullah, John Shore
• Thanks to Anthony Chisolm for the Flower arrangements
• Thanks to Alan Keith for security arrangements
• Thanks to Constance Hargis, Reem Al-Ghonim and Rita Clarke – register
• Thanks to Maryam Ruhullah for arranging the refreshments after the program. Refreshments after the program is a courtesy of Cindy's delicatessan
• Aftab Lakhani and his crew for the Video and the photography

Nothing good ever happens in life, unless we strive for it. The world is going through difficult times now, and it is our duty to do our share and consciously create a better world. I am glad to see the Muslims taking this initiative to build bridges between the communities.
Qur'an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of God, is the best in conduct. God Knows and is Aware of everything you do."


Introducing Mike Ghouse – By Imam Zia Shaikh

I am pleased to introduce Mike Ghouse; who will share the purpose and effort made for this event. Indeed, he is the initiator of this event, the first one was initiated two years ago and now this event at the Unity Church, here in Dallas

He co-chairs the center for interfaith inquiry at the Memnosyne Foundation, and presides the Foundation for Pluralism. He presides the World Muslim Congress a think tank with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world and vice-Versa. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and 20+ Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town.

Mike's is a Neighborhood Commissioner at the City of Carrollton, and a Board Member of Dallas Peace Center and has initiated the annual events like Thanksgiving, Unity Day USA, Holocaust and Genocides and other events. He was Past President of Indian Creek HOA and North Texas Cricket Association and has been a member of several Boards.

If I have met a true pluralist – a person who has an open mind, I would have to say that it is Mike Ghouse. Mike has been written up in major news papers and has been interviewed on every Television network.

His life revolves around the mission to promote goodwill amongst peoples of different affiliations, be it religious, nationalistic, racial, and linguistic or any other uniqueness. He believes in the divinity of all religions, and certainly emphasizes that it is the individuals that are the problem in the world and NOT their religion.

He has got a tough road ahead of him, when he boldly promotes the idea that all of us are created by the same divinity, and all the goodness, all the holy scriptures are God’s words and accepting and respecting that divinity in every faith is the greatest form of worship to him.

Please welcome my friend, a fellow Muslim, Mike Ghouse

Purpose statement – Mike Ghouse

Our Mission for this event is to create an awareness of the inhumanity in all of us and discover solutions for peaceful co-existence. We need to remind ourselves frequently to do our share to make the world a better place to live. Indeed, this event would firm up a commitment within all of us to say “never again” to atrocities against other humans.

If I were to say one main purpose of this event, I would say this is it.” Learn to speak up and say never again. We encourage each one of you to practice the power of forgiveness. If we want a better world, we have to do our share.

To be a Religious is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; that is indeed the purpose of religion, every religion. In every faith, the message is similar; how to live in peace with oneself and what surrounds; life and the environment. Most people get that message and a few don’t and resort to do the opposite of peace making. Every prescribed act in any faith is programmed to build co-existence in it, most of us get it and a few don’t.

I believe the world is driven to the wall by a few individuals, as Edmund Burke had said, all it takes for the evil to persist is for good men to do nothing. A majority of the people, no matter how you slice them; by race, religion, ethnicity or any other uniqueness are good human beings who care for their families and live their own life. Individuals create chaos and individuals can also work on creating peace.

The most critical value in societies is Justice. If an individual robs, steals, or kills someone, he should be the one to be incarcerated and not his family, community, ethnicity, or his religion. Justice is served when the individual is punished and NOT others. You cannot punish one’s religion, it is an intangible. However, if we can focus on holding an individual’s responsible and punish, then Peace is guaranteed. I believe this is the solution for terrorism, isolating individuals responsible and punishing them and sparing the religion.

Our Mission at the World Muslim Congress is to work for a world of co-existence through inclusiveness and participation. As a member of diverse family of faiths, our efforts will be directed towards justice and equity to attain peace for the humankind with a firm grounding in commonly held values. We cannot have advantages at the cost of others. Such benefits are temporary and deleterious to lasting peace. We believe what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world, and vice versa, to sustain it.

The mission of the Foundation for Pluralism is to encourage individuals to accept the otherness of other, and develop an open mind and an open heart toward their fellow beings. “If we can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the seven billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.”

As Muslims, Jews, Christian, Hindus and people of faith we have to pray for the well being of every life. Both the Torah and Qur’aan say “saving a life is like saving the whole humanity” and I wish the Jews, Muslims and every one of us follows the principles of our faith. If we do, we will find peace and security.

Peace and security will come to us, when we value other’s life as we would value our own, peace and security will come to us when we create an environment around us that is conducive to peace and security. We owe it to our retirement, our children and generations to come to keep them miles away from revenge, hate and malice. No one should cherish the death of other person, as that act would amount to validation of the other persons’ revelation in our death.
May God help us bring peace (refer to the quote in peace book).

Now Let’s observe a minutes silence.

Elly and I carefully chose to observe silent prayers to accommodate and acknowledge every pain, genocide and atrocity. In your silence, I would like you to reflect upon every known genocide and massacre, and detach yourselves from the emotions, and find solutions with compassion and co-existence in mind.
Let’s begin reflecting….

Thank you.


Imam Zia introduces Mary Ann:

"Described by Chicago’s Woman Made Gallery, where she serves on the
Advisory Board, as “a prolific artist, writer and social
activist!"

Mary Ann, public speaker and award winning artist, has
also received several awards for her philanthropic and activist
efforts including being recognized by Philanthropy World Magazine
as a 2006 Honoree and The Foundation For Pluralism 2007 Award.

She was also selected out of the state of Texas to receive the 2008
Brilliantly You Award for Excellence in Philanthropy. She has
served on over 14 different boards that range from local to
international in their scope, including as a current member of the
Board of Trustees for The Interfaith Center of New York, Board of
Advisors for The Indigenous Institute of The Americas, as
President/Co-Founder of The Memnosyne Foundation and of The John
Philp Thompson Foundation for Brain Cancer Research.

Together with her husband, Joshua Frenk, Mary Ann has sponsored various human rights, arts and environmental programs both individually and via the Memnosyne Foundation."

She has given a tremendous support for this event, and given the cross roads we are at, she believes events like this are timely and will be a good step forward towards consciously creating a better world for us.

She is an inspirer and an effective speakers,
please welcome Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk.

Ten Signs of Genocide – Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk

The points of my speech will be based on the 10 stages of genocide
I first encountered in the Kagali Memorial Museum in Rwanda. Eight
of them are based on the work of Gregory H Stanton:

1. Classification - defining "us and them"
2. Symbolization - forcing groups to wear symbols
3. Dehumanization - one group denies the humanity of the other group.
4. Organization - genocide is usually an organized effort by the society that has bought into the dehumanization of a select group.
5. Polarization - moderates are eliminated to prevent protests within the ruling class.
6. Preparation - victims are separated from the rest of society
7. Extermination - mass killing
8. Denial - perpetrators attempt to hide evidence of genocide or/and blame the victims.
The additional indications the Kigali Memorial Museum identified are:
9. Hate-Propaganda - (Stanton includes this as part of #3 & 5,
Rwandans list it after #3 as its own warning sign.)
10. Unquestioning Loyalty - to ruling government (Stanton includes
this as part of #4 & 5, Rwandans list it after #4 as its own
warning sign.)

SCREAM BLOODY MURDER - ABRIDGED DOCUMENTARY
OF CHRISTIANA AMANPOUR - 14 MINUTES

Introducing the Key Note speaker – Imam Zia

Bryan Mark Rigg worked in the Private Banking Division of Credit Suisse as a Private Wealth Manager from 2006 to the end of 2008. Recently, he has set up his own firm called RIGG Wealth Management.

Before entering the financial world, he was a professor at Southern Methodist University and American Military University from 2000 to 2006.

He has published three books on the Holocaust, the Third Reich and World War II history. He earned a BA from Yale University and both an MA and PhD from Cambridge University.
He served two years as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He lives in Dallas with his wife of 12 years and their three young children.

Please welcome Bryan Rigg

Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides - Bryan Mark Rigg


Recognitions:

There are two individuals I would like to recognize at this time and request them to join me here:

Elliott Dlin

for his commitment to promoting peace through education and tolerance in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex. His heart knows no prejudice and is an all inclusive, caring human being. He believes in accepting and respecting the God given uniqueness in each one of the seven billion of us.

We hereby confer the title of “Pluralist” to Elliott Dlin, on this Sunday, January 25, 2009 on the eve of the “II Annual reflections on Holocaust and Genocides”.

Bernie Mayoff

for his encouragement and support in organizing the first Holocaust Commemoration event, and his commitment to promote peace through participation and the communities of Dallas Fort Worth.

We hereby confer the title of “Pluralist” to Bernie Mayoff, on this Sunday, January 25, 2009 on the eve of the “II Annual reflections on Holocaust and Genocides”.

Vision – Mike Ghouse
From this day forward,

Let’s pledge to ourselves that no individual or a community should bear the pain alone, your suffering is mine and my suffering is yours.

Shame on me if I do not feel the pain because that dying person is Jewish, Muslim, Christian or another human… Shame on me if I let a Child die of hunger because she believes differently.

Let’s pledge that when there is a human atrocity, the least we will do is to speak up, regardless of whom it is directed at.

When we talk about One God, it is more than the number one. It is rather oneness of God, oneness of Humanity. Oneness of God is a state of conflictless-ness and accepting the intentional creation of diversity. Trillions of stars are out there in the Galaxy, each one has its own trajectory, its own space and it is a model for us to follow – that 7 billion of us can live our own life.

The real conflicts are i) Your space, spiritual, physical and emotional ii) the food that sustains you and iii) the loved ones that nurture you spiritually. All other conflicts are to be handled through a dialogue as they are not real conflicts.

My vision is for us to learn to accept the otherness of other, and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. I believe knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of another point of view.

From this day forward, let’s pray that the religious folks and the secular non-religious folks come together for the common good of humanity.

Let’s pledge to save and protect each life. It was a Jew who took the lead in stopping the genocide in Bosnia , it is the Jews who have taken up the Darfur case, and we all need to join for the common good of humankind. Let the goodness in each one of us prevail over the revenge.

We have to bring justice and hope to the Palestinians, and security to the Israelis. Thank God, quite a lot of people including many Jewish organizations are working on it. May God bless them all and encourage them to do more. Yasher Koach.

Nancy Rebal – Imam Zia to introduce
I am pleased to invite Nancy Rebal to speak about her and her vision.

Station 2 – Nancy Rebal

I am an artist. The life of my dreams finds me alone at home painting all day, every day. But after a while, I need food, I get lonely and...I need something to paint about. I need other people. The values I was raised with name me a citizen, not just a consumer, and citizenship comes not only with rights but with personal responsibility.

I am finally grown up...which, to me, means saying YES when asked to do something I am able to do that needs to be done...no matter how much I would rather be home alone painting.

Lately I have been saying YES to a path I never expected, and it keeps leading me to more YESES and more YESES. I never know a moment ahead where this path is going, but I know it is asking me to follow. And I answer YES. In 3 weeks it is leading me to Africa. I will be taking STATIONS TWO, an interactive public artwork, from Dallas to Rwanda, to appear at the International Gathering of Forgiveness in Kigali to mark the 15th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. This trip will be the first leg of STATION TWO's pilgrimage around the globe, creating the collective voice of human forgiveness, a sound never before heard.

Here's the story. I volunteered here in Dallas at the Women's World Peace Conference in the summer of 2007, for the nonprofit Truth in Translation, a nonprofit making peace through art . Diane Hosey president of TmtB asked me to create an artwork to travel with the South African play Truth in Translation. The play is the story of the translators at the post-Apartheid Hearings in South Africa. They translated stories between the victims and perpetrators. As human conduits, they themselves were traumatized, needing outlet. The play's audience too left the theatre carrying the pain. They needed catharsis. I said YES. Art could play that role.

I gathered a team of artists. Artists are people who say: “How can I look at the world in a different way” and “what can I make out of what I have here and now?” A writer, a sculptor and sound designer and I created STATIONS ONE to gather the collective INTENTION to FORGIVE. I will explain how in a moment. We were stunned at how eagerly people participated when it debuted at SMU. People wanted this. Within a week, we found ourselves in NYC presenting STATIONS ONE to Desmond Tutu. He and many many others have added their voices and written words of forgiveness to the STATION. STATIONS ONE has now traveled across the US and to Belfast Ireland and back. In sight and sound it is an amazing, candid evidence of the willingness of the human hearts to open.

A year later, late this August, I was asked to meet with Rev. Lyndon Harris and Carly Ritter in NYC. Rev. Harris is the rector of St. Paul's Chapel, the old old church that became the staging ground for rescuers of 9/11. They were feeling discouraged. In a survey Americans were asked if they wanted a Garden of Forgiveness at Ground Zero. They were very disheartened: only 2% said yes. They had seen the wonderful reception of STATIONS ONE at the Tutu Center the year before. Could the STATIONS project work with their project of creating Gardens of Forgiveness around the world.

I said YES. We have identified the issue, let's do something about it. I committed STATIONS to travel with them in February 2009 to Rwanda for the International Gathering of Forgiveness where the next Garden of Forgiveness would break ground (the first is in Beirut, Lebanon). We had work to do.

So, STATIONS TWO was conceived. STATIONS TWO has picked up the task of collecting the voice of forgiveness that STATIONS ONE had given birth to.

Here's how it works. STATIONS TWO is a cube with a small grill on each side, inside of the cube simple electronic equipment records the voices of those speaking into the grills. The voices can be heard to echo a few times, then sink, becoming a part of a large whole of recorded sound. The day's voices are transferred to a flashdrive, and labeled as the voice of that time and place. When the sampling seems complete, they will all be combined as humanity's single voice, a sound never before heard. It will be released back into the air, at a significant time and place.

This is an artistic experiment, we offer a blank slate and an idea. It is not unlike the Vietnam Wall. It simply states “Vietnam”. People are given a place to act. STATIONS states FORGIVENESS. People will react as they choose, address the issue as they are able, or not able, to do. This is an artistic experiment. People are invited to write forgiveness on the cube as well. We will gather what they offer in voice and writing. The manner of the art created will become clear as it comes into being. The possibilities are wide open.

The STATIONS TWO that is enroute to Rwanda as we speak is a 6 foot cube made of recycled milk jugs that we use as blackboards to be written on with chalk. It is not intended to be pretty or easy to approach. Real forgiveness can be hard. But when we dare to get close, we see inside: there is light. And it is only a light bulb at that. It shines above the laptop computer that is accepting our voices, our intention. Nothing more, nothing less.

The computer that is creating the voice of the intention to forgive is here tonight in the four foot wood version of STATIONS TWO. We will take voices collected tonight to Rwanda with us to join the growing voice of intention to forgive. Please join us with the spoken and written words that can only come from each of you. It is the right time to say YES. There is no better place than Dallas Texas for this sound to begin. There is no better time than now. Thank you.


Rev. Todd Collier – Imam Zia introduces

Todd currently serves as Director, Center for Interfaith Inquiry for the Memnosyne Foundation in Dallas, Texas. The Center is committed to life-preserving and life-enhancing values. It welcomes all spiritual paths that foster mutual trust, understanding and cooperation in order to work together for the common good.

Todd has a Doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA, a Master's from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ, and degrees from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, OK, and New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, NM. After a brief career in business, Todd was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1994. Todd served churches at Canyon Creek in Dallas; Memorial Drive in Houston; First Presbyterian, Bay City, Texas; Skidaway Island in Savannah, Georgia; and Bentwood Trail Presbyterian Church in N Dallas.

Todd’s compassion and inclusiveness are reflected in his ecumenical vision of God’s concern for all people. This is evidenced by his crowning achievement as founder of Faith in Practice, one of the largest volunteer healthcare providers in Guatemala. Based in Houston, Todd’s interfaith vision and his compassion for the poor gained the trust of skilled medical professionals who now venture forth from several U.S. cities. In a collaborative venture from the start, Faith in Practice involves over 1000 people a year who volunteer their surgical, medical, dental and needed support skills to meet the medical needs of the poor. Todd has three children and lives in Plano, Texas.

Benediction – Rev. Todd Collier

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Maryam Ruhullah – Imam Zia introduces

I am pleased to introduce Madeline Elaine States; she also goes by the name of Maryam Ruhullah. She is an accountant and an author. Her career was in the defense industry at McDonnell Douglas, which is now Boeing located in St. Louis, Missouri.

She believes that it is the commitment of individuals with social awareness; social conscience and most importantly social involvement that will help secure the values needed for world peace and inclusive freedom.

As an author, Maryam was the recipient of a Fellowship offered by the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of Taos, New Mexico. She is an officer at the Peacemakers Incorporated, a Dallas,

Writing and volunteerism is her way of contributing towards the issues that will help create a more humane and better managed world.

Please welcome Maryam Ruhullah.

# # #

Refreshment Announcement – Maryam Ruhullah

Thanks - Imam Zia & Mike

OLIVE BRANCHES

Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk came up with a great idea of passing on the real olive branches to each one of the attendees and then asking them to exchange with each other.

The pictures can be viewed at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/HolocaustandGenocides/IIAnnualReflectionOnHolocaustAndGenocides#slideshow
http://flickr.com/photos/mikeghouse/sets/72157613500804689/show/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CREDITS

1. Sponsorship: Memnosyne Foundation
2. Flowers: Anthony Chisolhm Interioris
3. Photography: Bombay Photogrpahy
4. Refreshements by: Cindy's Delicatessen
5. Reception: Maryam Ruhullah
6. Olive Branches: Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk
7. Security - Alan Keith
8. Registration: Constance Hargis & Reem AlGhonim
9. Station II - Nancy Rebal
10. Key Note Speaker - Bryan Mark RiggSigns of Genocides -
11. Benedictions - Todd Collie
12. Reception - Maryam Ruhullah
13. Station II - Nancy Rebal
14. Purpose, vision and Mission - Mike Ghouse
15. Master of Ceremonies - Imam Zia Shaikh, Imam of the Largest Mosque in Texas
    

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse