What am I doing in Washington

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A short note
to my friends

I am requesting your generous feedback. 
Here is an effort to write the shortest possible note, and yet say most
of it, please let me know if I did it.

Pursuing our dreams and realizing them in our life time is the biggest achievement
in one’s life. The dream comes in two parts and most of us have achieved the
first part; i.e., taking care of ourselves and our families to the best of our
abilities.   America has been a great catalyst in achieving
our dreams, thank you America!

The second part is what most of us are hunkering for, and at times it is not
clear where we should place our priorities or what legacy we want to leave
behind us. Bill Gates had the best advice – do it while you are alive and
relish the good, instead of letting it happen on its own when we are gone abruptly.  We all struggle to make our life purposeful
and that is good. You can join us in that direction.

My friend Ambassador Islam Siddiqui and I were walking from our office to the
congressional building for a meeting. On our left were Supreme Court and the
Library of Congress, and on the right was the Capitol Hill.  We were talking about the founding fathers
and their vision that has carried this nation this far, what a vision they had,
and how utterly unselfish were they!  We
are all the beneficiaries of the systems and structures they left behind.  You and I wouldn’t be here had it not been for
their immortal declaration of independence that all men are created equal.

That vision has been raining on me like blessings from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
 His wisdom could not be clearer; he said
a good deed is something you do for others. God repeatedly asserts (Quran) that
if you take care of his creation; i.e., your fellow beings, your rewards are
with him.  Thanks to the prophet for
elaborating on it, he explained, a good deed is like planting a tree knowing
full well that the beneficiaries of the shade and fruit from the ( future) tree
are not us.

Our
own internal reward is the “worthy feeling” we will earn by making the world a better
place for everyone. A sense of security and a sense of feeling home are
the greatest values we can give to fellow humans, that is one of the most
primal needs of humanity.  
On my part, as
you may have witnessed over the last 20 years, I have dedicated myself to that
purpose, and leave the results to the will of Allah. Now, several Muslims under
the leadership of Ambassador Islam Siddiqui have come together to bring about a
positive clearly defined and measurable changes.
I am tasked
with the responsibility to change the perceptions about Muslims, right now a
majority of Americans do not see Muslims favorably, and we hope to gradually
turn that around.  We are determined to
change perceptions about Muslims. In a few years Muslims will not be an open
season to politicians to heap insults, those who resort to it will meet the
same fate as they would if they hurl it on Jewish and African Americans. Our
goal is simply to be treated equally in all aspect of life. Period.

Our goal is to build a cohesive America where none of us have to live with
apprehension, tension, suspicion or fear of the other. It is the land of the
free and the brave. We hope to earn our dignified social, political and
religious space in the U.S and cherish it with fellow Americans.

A press
release follows with the announcement of the organization and an invitation
will be sent to you for the launch of the organization.  If you visit the following Blog and register your email address on the top right box, you will automatically
get the invitation. www.AmericanMuslimInstitution.com  

If this makes
sense to you, please join us in advancing the work.

My writings will continue at Huffington Post, Dallas Morning News and other Newspapers and will continue as a commentator on Fox and other TV networks – all of them will be at www.TheGhousediary.com.

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse
Executive Director,
American Muslim Institution
110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 508
Washington, DC. 20002


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