NOTE: A few links are not working as we failed to transfer the information from our old site foundation for pluralism to the new Center for Pluralism. We are working on it and hope to restore the links to pictures and videos soon.
102 years ago today, General Dyer of the British Government opened fire on peaceful protestors in Jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar, India.
381 Indians lost their lives. Many women jumped into wells. 376 were identified, of whom 220 were Hindus, 90 Sikhs, and 66 Muslims.
It is one of the few massacres along with the Holocaust that has affected me deeply. When I watched the movie Gandhi, it further affected me, and I cried.
Queen Elizabeth and PM Theresa May have apologized and regretted the Massacre on behalf of the British people in 2019. Thanks to them for bringing closure to the 100 years old wound.
None of us are responsible for the massacres in the past, and none of us should be held accountable for the acts that we did not commit.
I urge the current Governments around the world to apologize and regret the Genocides and massacres of their people in our lifetime. Germany has apologized for the Holocaust. Many more nations should clean their records. If we cannot do that, what kind of humans are we? The list is very long, but it will bring closure.
In our annual event called Holocaust and Genocides, we started addressing the many Genocides, Massacres, ethnic cleansing, and other atrocities on fellow humans by their fellow humans. Thus far, we have covered 33 such events and hope to cover all of them in the next few years.
If we cannot feel the pain of fellow humans, then we are short-changed in our spirituality; there is something less about us, and we need to work on it to be a whole human being.
I invite you to attend our 17th Annual event on Sunday, January 23, 2022. You will walk out with less burden of hatred towards others but with a commitment to say never again.
Dr.
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, author, community consultant, pluralist,
activist, newsmaker, and an interfaith wedding officiant. Mike is deeply
committed to Free speech, Human Rights, and Pluralism in Religion, Politics,
Societies, and the workplace. He is the founder and president of the Center for
Pluralism and a writer at the World Muslim Congress, a Think Tank. He is the
author of the book American Muslim Agenda, building a cohesive America. He has
dedicated his life to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic
solutions to the media and the policymakers on issues of the day. Everything
about him is at www.TheGhousediary.com
16th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides Sunday, January 24, 2021 – 12-2:00 PM EST Restoring harmony in the world is our sacred duty. We invite everyone from Atheists to Zoroastrians to attend this event and feel a part of humanity.
Washington, DC, United States, January 11, 2021. The Center
for Pluralism is organizing its 16th Annual Reflections on the
Holocaust and Genocides and you are invited to be a part of the event via zoom link.
The purpose of this event is education, information, and
activism. We hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal
commitment to say, "Never Again."
We hope you
will walk out of the event with a genuine feeling of becoming a contributor
towards building a cohesive world where no human has to live in apprehension or
fear of the other.
At the Center for Pluralism, we are committed to spreading knowledge of the
Holocaust and Genocide through interfaith and public events, including the
Annual reflections since 2006.
Please note that in the last 15 years, we have covered many genocides, massacres, and grim ethnic cleansing events, and we intend to cover all in the coming years.
In this program, we do not debate, but express the plight of the people and offer solutions to create a cohesive environment for every human to function with relative comfort. For instance, in political pluralism, China blocks Taiwan- instead of both speaking their concerns in a public forum.
We have received calls to block the speakers or topics, or refusal to join because others are speaking. It is a headache for the organizers who sincerely want to present the issues as they are. It is a free nation and we should express freely whatever is happening. "If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, conflicts fade and solutions emerge." Mike Ghouse
This year we will be addressing the following events; A few speakers are to be confirmed.
1. Holocaust Reflections: Kate English
2. Forced Cremation in Sri Lanka: Soraya Deen
3. The Plight of Kashmiri Pundits: Dr. Pundit Sharma
4. Kashmir under Siege: Dr. Nyla Ali Khan 5. Uyghur’s update: Rushan Abbas 6. Rohingya Update: Dr. Wakar Uddin 7. India’s egregious violations of Human Rights Dr. Gregory Stanton
Keynote address by MaryAnn Thompson-Frenk
When we acknowledge each other's grief and participate in each other's
commemoration, we connect with the humanness within ourselves and seed the
relationship of understanding and caring for each other.
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 amounts to
infidelity to our pain and every community and nation has suffered through
this.
To all those who have endured the
Holocaust, Genocides, Massacres, Ethnic Cleansing, Land Mines, Hunger, Rape,
Torture, Occupation, Expulsion, and inhuman brutality, we must say, you are not
alone. The least we can do in the process of healing is to acknowledge everyone's
pain in one voice.
The Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is a Muslim initiative to
assure fellow humans who have endured Holocaust, Genocide, ethnic cleansing,
massacres, rapes, injustice, and other atrocities that we are all in this
together to create a better world. Tikkun Olam is, indeed, our sacred duty.
The 15th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides were held on 1/26/2020 at the Arlington Central Library in Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC. The purpose of this event was education, information, and activism. We hope to learn and acknowledge our failings and make a personal commitment to say, “Never Again.”
Tikkun Olam is our sacred duty; in the broader context, it means restoring the harmony between humans and what surrounds them, life, and environment. We hope the attendees walked out of the program with a genuine feeling of empathy with those who have endured the Holocaust, genocide, ethnic cleansing, massacres, rapes, lynching, harassment, injustice, and other atrocities. We are all in this together to create a better world.
Holocaust and Genocides is a Muslim initiative to assure fellow humans who have endured the Holocaust, Genocide, ethnic cleansing, massacres, rapes, injustice, and other atrocities that we are all in this together to create a better world. Tikkun Olam indeed is our sacred duty.
We hope you share this video with your friends and groups, the more of us learn about the signs of genocides and what we can do to prevent them – in effect saying “Never Again.” Over the last 14 years, we have covered many genocides, massacres, ethnic cleansing, religious persecution, lynching, rapes, harassment, and other acts that do not respect the dignity of fellow humans.
One of the most important lessons we need to learn is to get rid of the selfishness in us, meaning our misery is more important than other’s pain. We are all in this together. No single community is more privileged than the other.
We thank Dr. Frank Islam for being the primary sponsor of the event, and Dr. Rani Khan, Dr. Arif Mehmood, and Dr. Maqsood Chaudhry for sponsoring the event. Nausheen and Ehsan Baig for providing refreshments and volunteering. We also thank Charles Stevenson and Dr. Zafar Iqbal for volunteering. We thank our master of ceremony, speakers, and attendees, for, without them, the program would not have happened.
Dr. Rani Khan and Dr. Mike Ghouse chaired the event15th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Sunday, January 26, 2020 Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street Arlington, VA 22201
Speakers & Topics
Robert F. Teitel – Enduring Holocaust
Dr. Gregory Stanton – Ten Signs of Genocides Gary Sampliner, Ibrahim Anli, and Walter Ruby – Announcements
Dr. Wakar Uddin - Rohingya Genocide in Making
Omer Kanat - Uyghur Genocide in Making
Muneer Baig - Indian Government choking freedom in Kashmir
Dr. TO Shanavas – Update on India’s violation of freedoms
Dr. Mike Ghouse – What can you do?
Dr. Rani Khan - Peace Pledge
Rabia Baig – MC
Ten Stages of Genocide, Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, President, Genocide Watch
Genocide is a predictable process. It develops in Ten Stages that are not linear, but which allow us to logically understand the warning signs of genocide. They are Classification (us vs. them); Symbolization (identity cards); Discrimination (laws or customs denying rights); Dehumanization (calling groups “aliens,” “terrorists”, “vermin” “insects”); Organization (hate groups, armies, militias, death squads); Polarization (exclusionary propaganda); Preparation (planning); Persecution (arrests, torture, ghettos, deportation); Extermination (killing, starvation, mass rape); and Denial (lies, legalisms, blaming victims, euphemisms.)
Ibrahim Anil, Rumi Forum
The event was a powerful reminder of the bitter fact that genocides: that humanity suffered in the past, those actually taking place and those, unfortunately, are likely to come, stand as a litmus test of what human progress lacks. History does not record another era with a similar level of wealth and technological advances like our times. Yet humanity seems to have failed to make equally impressive progress in containing the inherent arrogance it harbors against the other. A conflict is a form of behavior. If it is learned, it can also be unlearned. It is this gap that such efforts like CFP try to address.
Kashmir: A Paradise on Earth. Muneer Baig
Kashmir has many names that reflect its beauty, hospitality, and secular nature. One such name is the Valley of Saints (Pira Waer), a name earned as a result of religious diversity and tolerance.
People engaging in violence have root causes, but governments engaging in violence do not have root causes but an objective to achieve end results, in the case of Kashmir it was to wipe our Kashmiri Muslims. Governor, Jagmohan Sharma (Demolition Man) of BJP, unleashed a draconian force armed with the Special Powers Act to “Kill at Will” without accountability. Almost 3 decades later the soil of Kashmir continues to soak in the blood of innocent Kashmiri men, women, and children. The cries of women echo the Himalayas asking for help and justice against perpetrators. Three decades later families of those massacred in Gawkadal,Handwara, Hawal, Sopore, etc. are still waiting for justice.
Charles Stevenson
"A vivid, eye- and heart-opening examen into some of the major genocides of our times, this program is an appeal to knowledge, compassion, responsibility, and action brought to us personally by some who have themselves experienced genocide, personally."
Walter Ruby
I was honored to participate in the15th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides at Arlington Central Library on January 26 sponsored by my dear friend Dr. Mike Ghouse and his Center for Pluralism. I spoke about the life and times of Holocaust survivor Michael Edelstein whose memoirs I wrote together with my brother Dan Ruby entitled "Live Another Day: How I Survived the Holocaust and Realized the American Dream." (see website www.liveanotherdaybook.com). Speakers at the Holocaust Remembrance Day event included including Dr. Wakar Uddin, President, Rohingya Association, Mike Ghouse, President of Center for Pluralism, Ibrahim Anli, and Gary Sampliner, Executive Directors of JAMAAT, an expert on genocide Dr. Gregory Stanton, Omer Kanat, president of the Uyghur Association and Holocaust survivor Robert Teitel. We heard horrifying reports on brutal repression, violence, and dehumanization being instituted against the Uyghurs in China, the Rohingya in Burma and the Kashmiris and other Muslims in India with chilling parallels to the Holocaust. Kudos to Mike Ghouse for organizing this an important event on Holocaust Remembrance Day and reminding all of us that if “Never Again” is to have any meaning or relevance, we must stand together and fight back against murder, violence, and genocide, no matter who is the victim.
We appreciate the following Organizations for their support.
15th Annual Reflections
on the Holocaust and Genocides
The purpose of this
event is education, information, and activism. We hope to learn and acknowledge
our failings and make a personal commitment to our share of saying, "Never
Again."
15th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Sunday, January 26, 2020
Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street
Arlington, VA 22201
Tickets are complimentary, but donations are accepted
We hope you will walk
out of the event with a genuine feeling of being a contributor towards building
a cohesive world where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the
other.
The Jewish community has
been commemorating the Holocaust event since 1953, known as Yom HaShoah in
Synagogues around the world. The general public learns it by visiting the
Holocaust Museums and educational institutions.
At the Center for
Pluralism, we are committed to spreading knowledge of the Holocaust and
Genocide through interfaith and public events, including the Annual
reflections.
Speakers: Robert F. Teitel - Holocaust Story Dr. Gregory Stanton - Signs of Genocides Rushan Abbas & Omer Kanat - Uyghur Updates Dr. Wakar Uddin - Rohingya Update Muneer Baig - Kashmir Update Dr. TO Shanavas - India Update Dr. Rani Khan - Peace Pledge Dr. Mike Ghouse - Genesis of this event Rabia Baig - MC
Volunteers: Nausheen Baig Rabbi Alana Suskin Jafer Imam Dr. Zafar Iqbal Charles Stevenson
Sponsors: Would you like to be a sponsor? Our budget is $2000, full or any part Co-Chairs:
Dr. Rani Khan Dr. Mike Ghouse Organized by: Center for Pluralism
Special Note for Indians: In the last 14 years, we have covered nearly 30 genocides and difficult events such as the Sikh Genocide, Plight of Kashmiri Pundits, Gujarat Massacre, Bangladesh Genocide among other events in the world. These are not against anyone but highlighting the human suffering inflicted by fellow humans.
Our format consists of four parts; Interfaith prayers, Holocaust, Genocides, Massacred and the Pledge of Peace. Silently, we will acknowledge all suffering, but physically we are limited to a few Genocides each year.
This year, a
Holocaust survivor will share his story, followed by updated Uyghur, Rohingya,
and the signs of making of Genocide in India. I urge everyone to watch the
Schindler's list and Civil War movies to grasp the signs.
I believe, when we
acknowledge each other's grief and participate in each other's commemoration,
we connect with the humanness within ourselves and seed the relationship of
understanding and caring for each other.
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 amounts to infidelity to our
pain, and every community and nation has suffered through this. To all those
who have endured the Holocaust, Genocides, Massacres, Ethnic Cleansing, Land
Mines, Hunger, Rape, Torture, Occupation, Expulsion, and inhuman brutality, we
must 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.
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.
This is a Muslim initiative to assure fellow humans who have endured the Holocaust, Genocide, ethnic cleansing, massacres, rapes, injustice and other atrocities that we are all in this together to create a better world. Tikkun Olam is our sacred duty.
Preparation for genocide underway in India: Dr. Gregory Stanton
An internationally acclaimed expert raises concerns about the possible mass extermination of Muslims while briefing US Congress on the situation in Kashmir and Assam.
Dr. Gregory Stanton, the founder of Genocide Watch, addressed an audience of Congressional and Government officials at a briefing titled Ground Reports on Kashmir and NRC in Washington D.C on December 12 where he said, “Preparation for a genocide is definitely under way in India.” He said that persecution of Muslims in Assam and Kashmir “is the stage just before genocide,” adding, “The next stage is extermination — that’s what we call a genocide.”
Dr. Stanton created the world-famous “Ten Stages of Genocide” as a presentation to the U.S. Department of State when he worked there in 1996. According to Dr. Stanton, the ten stages of genocide are as follows:
The first stage was “classification” of “us versus them”.
The second stage, “symbolization”, named the victims as “foreigner”.
The third stage, “discrimination”, “classified [the victims] out of the group accepted for citizenship” so that they had no “human rights or civil rights of citizens” and were “discriminated against legally”.
The fourth stage, dehumanization, “is when the genocidal spiral begins to go downwards. You classify the others as somehow worse than you. You give them names like ‘terrorists’, or even names of animals, start referring to them as a cancer in the body politic, you talk about them as a disease that must be somehow dealt with.”
The fifth stage was creating an “organization” to commit the genocide: the role played by the “Indian army in Kashmir and the census takers in Assam”.
The sixth stage was “polarization”, which is achieved by propaganda.
The seventh stage was “preparation”
The eighth “persecution”, where Assam and Kashmir currently were.
The ninth stage is “extermination” and;
The tenth stage is “denial”.
Dr. Stanton also drafted UN Security Council resolutions that created the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda and the Burundi Commission of Inquiry, two places where genocides had occurred. A former President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, his research on genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda, and of the Rohingyas, is recognized worldwide.
CJP secretary and Human Rights Defender Teesta Setalvad also addressed the audience via video conferencing and said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was “being used to subvert human rights in Assam. There are laid down guidelines and standard operating procedures to carry out this exercise but none of it is being followed. We have to ask if this exercise is being carried out within the ambit of the constitution.”
Setalvad also criticised the Citizenship Amendment Act saying it would “bring untold suffering to people across the country. It will damage, fundamentally and irreparably, the nature of the Indian republic. This is why they, and all citizens of conscience, demand that the government not betray the constitution.”
Also participating in the Briefing via video link, Dr. Angana Chatterji, a scholar with UC Berkeley, slammed the crackdown in Kashmir since the Indian government revoked the Constitutionally mandated special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5. She shared that reports have documented the “inhumane treatment and torture of children, the elderly, and women; illegal detentions, including mass detentions; the denial of the basic needs of life, the curtailment of freedom of speech and movement, the falsification of social facts and their amplification by the state, and the closure of sacred places,” she said. “Cries of pain” of a torture victim were broadcast via a mosque’s speaker system. “State forces have raided homes, destroyed property and mixed food with kerosene,” said Dr. Chatterji.
Raqib Hameed Naik, a journalist from Jammu and Kashmir said the ongoing lock-down in Kashmir was “one of the worst sieges in the last decade… Officially there are no restrictions, but unofficially the government has imposed an undeclared emergency.” Naik also disputed the Indian government’s claim that Indian troops had not killed any Kashmiris since August 5 when the state’s special status was withdrawn.
“Let me put it on record that, so far, we have been able to document five killings by security forces. The number could be higher, but due to communication blockade and severe restrictions on the movement of the press, we have not been able to get exact figures from the different parts of the valley.” Naik said he had met with “many minors” who were imprisoned “without charges”.
The Congressional briefing was organized by three U.S.-based civil society organizations, namely, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Emgage Action, and Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR).
14th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
Approx. 3:30 PM Sunday, January 27, 2019, | First Event at 2:00 PM Jewish Muslim Perspectives on Mysticism at Islamic Society of the Washington Area 2701 Briggs Chaney Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20905
The Center for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress are deeply committed to education and regularly bring Americans together to learn about each other’s joys and suffering. It is an initiative to build responsible civic societies, where justice and co-existence are our values.
The 14th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event is an effort to stand with all the men, women and children who have endured the apprehension of 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 everyone's pain in one voice. We have begun the process of coming together as one people and stand with each other, we are indeed one world and only humanity, and caring for each other bring 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.
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 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.
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.” Our events are scheduled on Sundays to accommodate the Jewish community’s presence.
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.
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.
Bringing people to understand the suffering of people has been my drive, I must say that through this program, many non-Jewish people have come to know about the Holocaust for the first time. You can see pictures people from Atheist to Zoroastrians and everyone in between has been a part of this event. Moreover, everyone has shared a prayer in the past commemorations. We have to create the awareness to get people to become activists and speak up and Never say again.
________________________________________________
FIRST EVENT AT 2:00 PM Program: Getting Closer to God: Jewish and Muslim Perspectives on Mysticism
Gabrial Abasi will speak on Selfless service and commitment to mysticism Herb Levy is a teacher of Kabbalah Andra Baylus will speak on the Sufi-inspired spiritual leader Meher Baba
Organized by: Jewish Islamic Dialogue Society ________________________________________________
SECOND EVENT AT - Approx 3:30 PM Program: 14th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
Holocaust Syrian Refugee Crisis Rohingya Ethnic Cleansing - Bob Marro, Uyghur Chinese Muslims - Omer Kanat Crimean Tartars - Walter Ruby
The Center for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress are deeply committed to education and relentlessly pursue building cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension and fear of the other.
Dr. Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, author, interfaith wedding officiant, executive director of the Center for Pluralism in Washington, DC. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeghouse/
