Farrakhan: A 'new beginning' for Nation of Islam

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CHICAGO (AP) — Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan stressed unity among religions, while still preaching a message of black empowerment, at a rare public event Sunday deemed “a new beginning” for the Chicago-based movement.
In the nearly two-hour speech, Farrakhan covered topics including immigration, public schools, violence and morality. He vaguely referred to the presidential election but did not specifically mention any candidates.
“We are all in a journey to become complete human beings,” the 75-year-old Farrakhan told the crowd of thousands gathered inside Mosque Maryam and in white tents outside. “Look how we have become so divided, so hateful, while claiming the same creator.”
Farrakhan renewed a call for many to get back to the basic tenets of Islam, while still encouraging black pride.
“Black people must stop seeing themselves as inferior, and whites must stop seeing themselves as superior,” he said, adding that black Muslims “have to keep going our own way.”
Though other religious leaders and non-Muslims were invited to the public event, most of those in attendance were Nation of Islam followers.
Farrakhan did not lay out any specific plans for the “new beginning,” but he offered his opinion on many topics and made a plea for understanding with immigrants south of U.S. borders.
“Our brothers and sisters from South America are not trying to take your jobs. They are trying to survive,” Farrakhan said.
Noting the current economic turmoil, he said, “God is troubling America because America can do better.” He noted the theme of “change” in the presidential election and said change must also come through religious communities.
“The change that will feed our hearts is not necessarily a political change,” he said. “Our mission is to help bring in a government of peace.”
In February, Farrakhan appeared at an annual Saviours’ Day event in Chicago and called Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama the “hope of the entire world” that the U.S. will change for the better.
The Obama campaign quickly denounced Farrakhan’s support because he has made comments in the past widely viewed as being anti-Semitic. Nation of Islam officials said Farrakhan’s statements are often taken out of context.
Farrakhan ceded leadership of the Nation in 2006 as he recuperated from complications of prostate cancer, but not long afterward quietly retook full responsibility for the organization.
The Chicago event comes just weeks after the death of Imam W.D. Mohammed, the son of Nation founder Elijah Muhammad, who broke with the group and moved thousands of African-Americans toward mainstream Islam.
While the Nation has espoused black nationalism and self-reliance since it was founded in the 1930s, in recent years members have reached out to other groups. For instance, the Nation has a Latino liaison and has become involved in immigrant rights rallies and marches.
Farrakhan has haltingly tried to move the Nation toward traditional Islam, which considers the American movement heretical because of its view of Elijah Muhammad as a prophet, among other novel teachings. Orthodox Islam teaches that there has been no prophet after Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century.
He has also downplayed some of the group’s more controversial beliefs. The Nation of Islam has taught that whites are descended from the devil and that blacks are the chosen people of Allah.
Sunday’s event was a rededication to the historic 1948 building. The mosque, once a Greek Orthodox church, has undergone major renovations, including getting new marble floors, since it was bought by the Nation in 1972.
It also wrapped up a week of commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the Million Man March, a political gathering in Washington that encouraged the empowerment of blacks and that Farrakhan spearheaded in 1995.
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](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jccxRcck-20TAv83dUZJZyLDoIZAD93TTJRG4)
 
The Nation of Islam has taught that whites are descended from the devil and that blacks are the chosen people of Allah.
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:eek: excuse me but which Islamic nation is that!, because I’m in the heart of Islam and I haven’t heard anything like that!!!
 
Sam_777 said:
:eek: excuse me but which Islamic nation is that!, because I’m in the heart of Islam and I haven’t heard anything like that!!!
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They are considered a heretical group, Sam_777. Still, it does not stop Muslims from supporting Farrakhan’s ideologies.🤷
 
cathopologist said:
They are considered a heretical group, Sam_777. Still, it does not stop Muslims from supporting Farrakhan’s ideologies.🤷
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Huh?

I’m sorry friend but in this case you really don’t know what you’re talking about. Muslims don’t support Farrakhan at all.

The Nation of Islam is a sort of political movement, playing an important part in American history. But it is not, and never has been, part of Islam. It is some bizarre blend of Islamic and Christian teachings–practioners visit a temple to pray, not a mosque. They believe that a human being was God incarnate (not Jesus but someone else) and that there have been prophets also (beyond Muhammad), a most notable belief being that white people are the devil or something like that.

It really has nothing to do with Islam, except in the following way.

Malcolm X, a leader in the Nation, decided to make the hajj as in orthodox Islam. The man is incredibly intelligent and articulate, and he realized while on the Hajj that the racism inherent in America (the demonization of non-white groups by white people) was not universal. He also embraced true Islam while there and came back as a Muslim. You might have heard of this man. He was later assassinated.

Some time later, Warith Deen Muhammad is the one who has helped move some Muslims who were a part of the Nation in to “mainstream Islam.” But he died just a month ago or so.

But let me be explicitly clear–the “Nation of Islam” is not part of Islam. It’s something else entirely, and doesn’t claim to even believe in Islam as Muslims do. Muslims certainly do NOT support Farrakhan or the Nation of Islam.

So as much as you two might love a chance to attack Islam, this isn’t it. And you should brush up on your American history to learn about the Nation.
 
Many of the Muslims worldwide who support this group do so with little or no understanding of them. They see Islam in the name and go along with it. A large number of “Muslims” in the group have seen how not “Muslim” it is and moved from it to a more moderate position.

Honestly, if this were a Muslim Nation, it would be Nation of Christianity. They are called that for shock and to invoke an image that they themselves do not support.
 
Sister_Amy said:
So as much as you two might love a chance to attack Islam, this isn’t it. And you should brush up on your American history to learn about the Nation.
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Sister Amy, i may not be an American, but you just displayed the typical American mentality - non-Americans know nothing about America’s history or ‘culture’.

I know what the Nation of Islam is, and its history. However, my assertion does not dismiss the fact Muslims do relate to them because they see Islam in the name, as ralphinal pointed out. There is no denying Muslims from orthodox branches of Islam have supported some of Farrakhan’s ideologies in the past, especially its antisemitic stance and racialism.
 
I see Black Muslims as being a black response to Mormonism, almost a parody, as Mormonism is a parody of other religions. :rolleyes: They are quite similar in some respects.

True Islam is not racist, according to what I understand.
 
The “Nation of Islam” has its origins in the early 20th Century American Negro/Colored/Black/African-American culture where there were numerous competing political and religious movements, factions, and outright cults–essentially no different from the larger “white” culture, but perhaps exacerbated by the history of slavery and discrimination Black americans had to exist under. One extreme reaction was the Nation of Islam.

When the NoI in the 1980’s filed under the Freedom of Information Act regarding what information the Federal government had on the Nation, they (NoI) got more than they bargained for. This is in short was contained in US Navy Counter Intelligence findings:

In the 1930’s Japanese Imperial Military Intelligence agents sought out numerous disatisfied and disaffected groups within the United States, one being the Nation of Islam, with the purpose of establishing “fifth column” groups in the eventuality of war with America. In following Japanese agents around, the US Navy investigated the background of these groups. In regards to the Nation, it was reveled their founder, “Mr. Fard”, supposedly a light skinned African immigrant, was actually a British subject from Northern India (today, Pakistan), and of probable Indian-British mixed ethnicity–ie, not of “African Negro” heritage. It is Mr. Fard who is responsible for providing this group with its unique, heretical to Islam doctrines, including a very corrupt English version (not a translation) of the Qu’ran. Mr Fard, held by the Nation to be an incarnation of Allah, dissapered under mysterious circumstances, leaving control to Elijah Muhammed until his death in the early 1970s
 
cathopologist said:
I think anyone pure in their hearts, (whatever faith they may practice) would not condone racial supremacy.
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It sure is difficult to find meaning in the Book of Mormon that is not racist. The only chapter I found in my study was Moroni 9, at the end of the book. :rolleyes: Yes, those who read it with purity of heart do not condone racial supremacy, but how many would be willing to read through the rubbish to the point of being able to understand Moroni 9?

Still it seems that Nation of Islam is a parody of Mormonism, and once they begin moderating with the help of true Christians and moderate Muslims, they might have something positive to contribute.

Just did some research— yes, it is just as wacky!!!
 
Just because a Muslim is a Black American doesn’t mean he or she is at all involved with Nation of Islam–and this is an unfortunate misconception people have.

Nation of Islam is something else entirely.

And catho, I think I was right in my ‘American mentality’ that you don’t understand this aspect of American history–it was clear from your post and from Sam’s that you don’t understand it.

And that means many Muslims around the world don’t understand it either.

But Nation of Islam has nothing to do with Islam. Not in doctrine, not in worship, nor in ideals.

Islam is neither anti-Semitic nor is it racist of any flavor at all. Black American Muslims (who are just as Muslim as Arabs or Pakistanis might be) have contributed to Islam in the United States so marvelously for centuries now, they make up about a third of American Muslims, and many can trace their ancestry into slavery, as sad as that is.

Nation of Islam, however, is something else entirely. And if any Muslim identifies with them, he most likely does so out of ignorance. So maybe you should save yourself from similar ignorance, and understand me when I say that nation of Islam has nothing at all to do with Islam.
 
Sister_Amy said:
And catho, I think I was right in my ‘American mentality’ that you don’t understand this aspect of American history–it was clear from your post and from Sam’s that you don’t understand it.
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There you go again with your “I’m American and i know about other Americans and my history better than you” stuff.

You must be SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER. Oh wow.

Nobody in their right minds would want to associate with a heretical group. Apparently, you do not know how to distinguish criticism from facts.
 
“I’m American and i know about other Americans and my history better than you”

I am, and I do,
 
Sister_Amy said:
It is some bizarre blend of Islamic and Christian teachings–practioners visit a temple to pray, not a mosque. They believe that a human being was God incarnate (not Jesus but someone else) and that there have been prophets also (beyond Muhammad), a most notable belief being that white people are the devil or something like that.
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hahah i could argue that all of islam is one bizzare blend of various religions lol. I read that the nation of islam believes that white people were created by an evil scientists or something while god created the blacks. hahah i dont know if thats true but thats what i read at least.

I have also read that the nation of islam thinks that all the prophets, including mohammed were black, which is just stupid, hahahah. All the muslim exegetes clerly state that mohammed had white skin.

Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 3, Number 63:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
While we were sitting with the Prophet in the mosque, a man came riding on a camel. He made his camel kneel down in the mosque, tied its foreleg and then said: “Who amongst you is Muhammad?” At that time the Prophet was sitting amongst us (his companions) leaning on his arm. We replied, “This white man reclining on his arm.” The an then addressed him, “O Son of 'Abdul Muttalib.”

Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 744:
Narrated Isma’il bin Abi Khalid:
I heard Abii Juhaifa saying, “I saw the Prophet, and Al-Hasan bin 'Ali resembled him.” I said to Abu- Juhaifa, “Describe him for me.” He said, “He was **white **and his beard was black with some white hair. He promised to give us 13 young she-camels, but he expired before we could get them.”

Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 367:
Narrated 'Abdul 'Aziz:
Anas said, 'When Allah’s Apostle invaded Khaibar, we offered the Fajr prayer there yearly in the morning) when it was still dark. The Prophet rode and Abu Talha rode too and I was riding behind Abu Talha. The Prophet passed through the lane of Khaibar quickly and my knee was touching the thigh of the Prophet . He uncovered his thigh and I saw the whiteness of the thigh of the Prophet.

And the nation of islam always goes on about restoring their identity through islam by getting rid of their slave names but what they dont seem to realise is thatm ohammed had black slaves.

Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 91, Number 368:
Narrated 'Umar:
I came and behold, Allah’s Apostle was staying on a Mashroba (attic room) and a **black slave of Allah’s Apostle **was at the top if its stairs. I said to him, “(Tell the Prophet) that here is 'Umar bin Al-Khattab (asking for permission to enter).” Then he admitted me

Book 010, Number 3901:
Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) reported: There came a slave and pledg- ed allegiance to Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) on migration; he (the Holy Prophet) did not know that he was a slave. Then there came his master and demanded him back, whereupon Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: Sell him to me. And he bought him for two black slaves, and he did not afterwards take allegiance from anyone until he had asked him whether he was a slave (or a free man)

On top of this mohammed thought that blacks looked strange and made several slightly racist statements.

Ishaq:243
“I heard the Apostle say: ‘Whoever wants to see Satan should look at Nabtal!’ He was a black man with long flowing hair, inflamed eyes, and dark ruddy cheeks… Allah sent down concerning him: 'To those who annoy the Prophet there is a painful doom.” [9:61] "Gabriel came to Muhammad and said, ‘If a black man comes to you his heart is more gross than a donkey’s.’"

Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 11, Number 662:
Narrated Anas:
The Prophet said, “Listen and obey (your chief) even if an Ethiopian whose head is like a raisin were made your chief.”

Bukhari:V4B52N137 “The Prophet said, ‘Let the negro slave of Dinar perish. And if he is pierced with a thorn, let him not find anyone to take it out for him… If he [the black slave] asks for anything it shall not be granted, and if he needs intercession [to get into paradise], his intercession will be denied.’”

Here are some other interesting ahadith concerning blacks

Ishaq:450 “It is your folly to fight the Apostle, for Allah’s army is bound to disgrace you. We brought them to the pit. Hell was their meeting place. We collected them there, black slaves, men of no descent.”

Ishaq:374 “The black troops and slaves of the Meccans cried out and the Muslims replied, ‘Allah destroy your sight, you impious rascals.’”

as you can see The Nation of Islam is so ignorant of the truth, though im sure if they were challenged about this like all muslism they would say " theya re just corrupted ahadith" as muslims always do to anything that makes them look bad
 
Thank you for finding those. 😉

Yes, it seems like Mormonism and its polar opposite, Nation of Islam, are more alike than any other two religions.
 
Based on a very superficial study, I think it is simply a morph (although a radical one) of Mormonism. :rolleyes: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

I can understand why Muslims refuse to claim it. 👍
 
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