HOLOCAUST COMMEMORATION: SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2007
Dallas, Texas.
December 23, 2006
The Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress are organizing the 2nd Annual Holocaust remembrance on Sunday, January 28th, 2007.
On this Holocaust remembrance day residents of the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex come together as humans of all affiliations to learn to understand the suffering of The Holocaust; to develop an open mind and an open heart towards each other in the process of healing and repairing the world.
What: 2nd Annual Holocaust Remembrance
When: Sunday, January 28th, 2007 – 4 to 7 PM
Where: Hotel Crowne Plaza , 14315 Midway Road, Addison, TX75001
Who: Americans of all faiths, races and ethnicities
Refreshments : Provided prior to and after the event
Admission: Complimentary to all attendees
RSVP: Please write “Holocaust” in subject line and send an email to: confirmattendance@gmail.com
Peace is caused by each one of us, just as atrocities are also initiated by individuals. It is our duty to cause peace, to initiate peace and to work for peace. Each one of us is responsible to create a better world for ourselves and for human kind. We have to work toward the belief that saving one life is like saving the whole of humanity.
In 2006 the United Nations proclaimed January 27th as a Holocaust remembrance day to commemorate the greatest atrocity the world had ever witnessed. In support of that, the Foundation for Pluralism organized an event on Thursday, January 26, 2006 to accommodate the Jewish Sabbath as January 27 fell on a Friday in 2006. Information on last year’s event can be found at http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Images_HolocaustDay/HMD2006_ProgramReport.asp
We should honor our divine instructions to mourn and honor the suffering of others. The focus of the program is Holocaust, while reflecting upon other atrocities and genocides that humans have inflicted upon other humans. It will be a day for all of us to reflect upon and promise ourselves "never again" and hope each one of us makes a personal commitment to oneself to speak out against these.
God is infinite compassionate and merciful, and has blessed each human spirit with a measure of that infinite mercy and compassion. Although God is immense and humans are minuscule, yet we are taught that God partakes in our very human and personal grief, at the misery we inflict on one another. Does God want us to embrace and honor those blessings, or to attack and revile one another for "wrongly" interpreting them?
God has created two dimensions of the world: Physical and Spiritual. He has taken care of the physical part by putting planets, stars, sun, moon, mountains, oceans on a certain trajectory and they are following it obediently for Millions of years. On the spiritual dimension, God gave us the responsibility to maintain that balance. A balanced World is where every human is on its own trajectory, in its own space safe and secure as each star is, yet operating in harmony.
God has given us the heart and mind to use it to create that balance within oneself and with others surrounding us. However, the safe path for humans is to follow*1, surrender*2, submit*3 (and other similar words in different traditions) and obey his instructions for a balanced life. 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 balance emerges.
A Good deed is creating peace, security and balance for all his creation, Mohammad defines it as something you do that benefits others. Going to Mosque, church, synagogue, temple...is half of the equation that prepares us to finish off the rest - that is doing good things to others to keep that balance in the universe. This is essence of all religions.
The healing and recovery God wants for Humanity can only occur when we each examine our own hearts, our own cultures and our own faith traditions to discern where seeds of prejudice, cruelty and even genocide remain hidden.
A new tradition is taking roots in Dallas. We are inviting Americans of all faiths, races and ethnicities to join together to reflect upon the persecutions and tragedies humans have endured, and bring about a change, however little we can. The least we can do is to join the people who are making a difference.
Sponsorship is invited.
Contact:
Mike Ghouse
http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/
1 – Words of Jesus, 2* – Words of Krishna and 3* words of Allah
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