CHICAGO: Racistdemagogue and dangerous fundamentalist to some, heroic crusader for blackrights to others, incendiary religious leader Louis Farrakhan is finding theaudience for his message increasingly hard to reach. The head of the Nation ofIslam - barred for years from Britain and blocked from mainstream TV - has beendeclared an undesirable by Facebook for his long record as an unrepentantmerchant of anti-Semitism and homophobia.
Farrakhan's blackadvocacy and mantra of self-reliance has lent him a measure of legitimacy overthe years, bolstered by his role a quarter century ago in organizing theMillion Man March that drew hundreds of thousands of African Americans toWashington. And while his continuing influence is undeniable, critics of the86-year-old son of a Massachusetts seamstress point out that he has comparedJews to "termites," called Hitler a "great man" and claimedthat the white race was created by an evil wizard.
True to form, oneof the most divisive political figures in modern American history reacted tohis May 2 ouster from Facebook by casting himself as a victim silenced bypowerful forces. "What have I done that you would hate me like that?"Farrakhan asked before an audience of more than 1,000 at Saint Sabina Church inChicago on Thursday. Cheered on by the rapt congregation - many of whom weremembers of the Nation of Islam - he denied misogyny, homophobia and racism,telling the crowd: "I do not hate Jewish people. No one who is with me hasever committed a crime against the Jewish people."
Farrakhan'ssupporters say his words have been twisted. "If they actually heard whathe had to say and not listen to a soundbite it would be very helpful,"said Enoch Muhammad, 40, a member of the Nation of Islam and founder of thecommunity group Hip Hop Detoxx.
'Most popularanti-Semite'
What hasn't beentaken out of context is Farrakhan's claim that Jews played a key role in theslave trade and have systematically oppressed black people in the US. OnThursday night, he once again uttered the kind of statements that have gottenhim in trouble, criticizing the influence of Jewish scriptural thinking on theCatholic Church. "It's this that they fear," he said, pointing to hismouth. "I don't have no army. I just know the truth. And I'm here toseparate the good Jews from the Satanic Jews."
In recentdecades, his star has faded, but the current era of increasingly high-profilehate crimes may have finally caught up with Farrakhan. Last month, a teenagegunman who wrote a hate-filled manifesto online opened fire at a synagogue inPoway, California, killing a worshiper. Six months earlier, another manspouting anti-Semitic and white nationalist vitriol shot dead 11 people at a synagoguein Pittsburgh. "Farrakhan may be the most popular anti-Semite in theUnited States," said Oren Segal of the Anti-Defamation League, describinghis group as Farrakhan's "biggest foil". "He often gets a passfor his vitriol, because of the way he's tried to present his standing withinthe community," Segal said.
'Bold voice'
Born in 1930s NewYork as Louis Eugene Walcott, and brought up in Boston's fundamentalistChristian tradition, Farrakhan has been credited for bringing hope to AfricanAmerican communities. His followers have stood guard in neighborhoods againstgang violence and ministered to convicts in prison who are disproportionatelyAfrican American. And while former president Bill Clinton may have beencriticized for sitting alongside Farrakhan at the televised funeral of ArethaFranklin last year, many younger Americans have no qualms about beingassociated with the preacher.
As recently asApril, he commanded a crowd while giving a speech in Los Angeles on the spotwhere popular rapper Nipsey Hussle was shot dead. "The enemy wants to keepthis killing of one another going," he told the rapt crowd. "Becauseas long as we keep killing one another, he can maintain power in what we callthe tyranny of white supremacy," he said.
MisbahudeenAhmed-Rufai, a Chicago-based history and African American studies professor atMalcolm X College, said Farrakhan's group speaks to "the pain that a lotof African Americans feel". Prominent figures that have come toFarrakhan's defense include hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg, who posted an angryInstagram video following Facebook's action asking his 31 million followers topost clips of Farrakhan's sermons. "Show what he really be talking about -educating the truth. Can't ban all of us," Snoop Dogg said.
Among Farrakhan'sother supporters is Father Michael Pfleger - the politically-active Chicagopriest who invited Farrakhan to speak at his Saint Sabina church Thursdaynight. The public show of support gave Farrakhan a boost and led to a publicrebuke of the priest from the Illinois Holocaust Museum. "MinisterFarrakhan has been a bold voice against injustice done against black people inthis country and his voice deserves and needs to be heard," Pfleger said.- AFP