Minister Farrakhan's Message to Zimbabwe

By the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan | Last updated: Jul 14, 2008 - 3:39:00 PM

A Message To Zimbabwe’s Business and Religious Leaders

[Editor’s note: During his travels to Africa and the Middle East in his 2002 Peace Mission Tour, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and his delegation were well received by President Robert Mugabe in the African nation of Zimbabwe. The following article contains excerpts from a speech Minister Farrakhan delivered during a luncheon at the Sheraton Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe hosted by some of the country’s business and religious leaders on July 15, 2002. Click here to order full CD/DVD of this message.]

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

As-Salaam Alaikum. I thank you so very much for the honor of being here in Zimbabwe and the honor that you have paid to us by inviting us to share a luncheon with such esteemed members of the Zimbabwean business and spiritual community.

I thank God for the “Bushes” and “Tony Blairs” of the world, because sometimes if it’s not for these “ill winds,” people who need the warmth of each other would never come together. Because of a Tony Blair, and a George Bush; and all the wicked men that are in this world, you have common cause now to unite in spite of differences for the good of Zimbabwe, and for the good of Africa.

I’m honored to be among business people, in particular, the farmers, because I believe it is farmers who represent the engine of life itself. The farmers in Zimbabwe, and indeed, in Africa and throughout the world, should be an honored community because those who work with the land, and work with seasons and depend on rain, they know how to cope with the natural enemies of that which they are trying to grow and develop. We ought to use that same natural knowledge that comes from working with agriculture to know that there are natural enemies to everything that God creates.

'It is a shame that you say that you are the owners of the land, but a Black real estate businessman can’t sell a house in a White neighborhood. How are you free? Why would you accept this as your reality? You have bowed down to the enemy! And every time you bow down to them, they crush you even more.'

The White man is a natural enemy to the Black man. And if you don’t see that now, I don’t know when you will ever see it. I am not a racist; I hate racism, and I would never attempt to exalt one race over another, but I want to give you a perfect example of why I say the White man is the natural enemy to you. The only way you can put a natural enemy under check is that you must be strong in the nature in which God created you. Then you can check the weakness of your enemy’s nature to exploit you, supplant you and take advantage of you because of ignorance.

The Bible says, “My people are destroyed”—not because they’re Black, but they are destroyed—“for the lack of knowledge.” And it is a certain kind of knowledge that you need in order to fight, and fight successfully.

***

When President Robert Mugabe graciously received us, he spent over two hours giving us the history of Zimbabwe. Although I and the delegation wanted to meet with the Minister of Information; the Minister of Land; the Minister of Mines; and the Minister of Education, we met them all in Pres. Mugabe, where he gave us a well-rounded view of the country.

When Pres. Mugabe was alongside Joshua Nkomo, and the other great warriors—men, women and children—who were fighting for the liberation of this land, the Bushes of the world; the Tony Blairs of the world; the White people of the world referred to Pres. Mugabe in the language of terrorist. When I went to visit the National Heroes Acre burial grounds, and looked at what was written on the wall by the Whites who were running Southern Rhodesia at that time, I was surprised that they called those who struggle for liberation terrorists.

After the events of September 11th, I said that the United Nations has to come up with a definition of what a terrorist is, and what a freedom fighter is. The standard must be raised so that you have a definition that we can look at, which is universally accepted. A man who is a terrorist can be defined as that—but no freedom fighter can be charged with being a terrorist when he’s fighting to liberate his land from the occupiers.

Did you notice how quickly the enemy came to talk when Pres. Mugabe became the victor over the Whites, and it looked like he was about to take the capital? It is similar to the way the enemy “talked” with Charles Taylor when he was about to take Monrovia. The enemy wanted to make a deal with Charles Taylor and tell him, “Let’s get elections;” however, they never thought that Charles Taylor would win the election. And after he won the election, America didn’t like him; didn’t support him, and fueled a civil war against him.

Today, you have the so-called terrorist Mugabe, in Lancaster House with his comrades, arguing over the land question. When he accepted in the Constitution that for 10 years Blacks would ask Whites to give up the land, and would buy it back—that’s a hell of a compromise. Somebody stole your land and then wants you to buy back what they stole? That compromise, from the beginning, is what put Zimbabwe in the trouble that the country is in. Because when you are at war with your enemy, you’ve got to take your enemy out so that your land is yours from day one! If we had done that 20-years-ago, we would not have to do this today.

It is better to be a “terrorist” over your house, than to be a “good man” in the eyes of your enemy and not in control of your own house.

***

It is a shame that you say that you are the owners of the land, but a Black real estate businessman can’t sell a house in a White neighborhood. How are you free? Why would you accept this as your reality? You have bowed down to the enemy! And every time you bow down to them, they crush you even more. But when you stand up, now you become an enemy? That shows you that they are your enemy! Excuse me for being passionate, but I’m passionate because I love you; I love this land, and I hate to see what the enemy has done, and what he continues to do.

When you think about the former British Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia, Ian Smith; and when you look at all those bodies, those skulls, and those graves—after you won the election, you don’t even bring your chief enemy to justice? You don’t try him? You allow him to live here and own land? See, that’s the goodness of your heart, because you don’t know your enemy, and you really don’t know yourself. But if you knew yourself and you knew your enemy, you would deal with your enemy like an enemy.

God has to deal with this today, and that’s why the Bible says, “Blood will be up to the horse’s bridle.” If the White man doesn’t back up, you’re going to be right back to war again. A curtain of blood is going to rise from South Africa all the way to the North, because the White man is not going to give up without a fight.

I’m hurting because I see, and I’m hurting because I know. I’m not asleep. I’m a wide-awake man! And that’s why they hate me in America, because I will not stop telling the truth. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” What truth? It is the Knowledge of God, the knowledge of yourself, the knowledge of your enemy and the knowledge of the True Religion of God. That is what’s going to set you free.

***

My Brother Mugabe, today, is demonized. He’s no longer the “good man.” As long as White folk could have 12 million hectares of your land, and he said nothing, he was a “good man.” But Brother Mugabe was one of the warriors who felt betrayed: “I didn’t fight for a flag with no meaning. I didn’t fight for a few people to be in Parliament, riding around in Mercedes Benz, and I don’t have anything to feed my children! I didn’t fight for that! I fought to free the land! And if the land is not mine, then I have been betrayed! And the Revolution has been betrayed!”

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I thank God for you, because you brought to the President his own consciousness. He’s a good man! He could have denied you; sent the army and the police on you, and made you the demon—and he would have been loved by all White folks all over the world. He knew that you were right, but he had to find a way to do it; and he’s in between a rock and a hard place. That’s why he doesn’t need this kind of opposition that is “paid for.”

Pres. Mugabe needs his country to stand behind him. He needs the religious community—not these Uncle Tom religious leaders that will get a buttered biscuit and some chicken at the back door of White folk! He needs religious leaders that understand the Bible. If you just preach it to please your enemy, you’re not pleasing God. But if you preach the truth as the truth is written in the Scripture; and give the people understanding, then your people will rise strong, the land will be theirs again, and Zimbabwe will finally be free.

***

You’ve got to divest yourself of this enemy. Divest yourself of what he robed you in, and robe yourself in garments that are made by yourself. Government that is made by you! You don’t have to follow their example! You are older than they; wiser than they; lived on the planet longer than they. And if you dig deep into your nature, you’ll come up with a democracy and a form of government better than they. Yours will be the Kingdom of God on Earth, if you allow yourself to listen to your own voice.

Opposition is not wrong; it’s not bad to have an opposition. But opposition for opposition’s sake doesn’t help us. Opposition where you’ve got a better idea, or a different idea—you put your idea forth and let the people decide. But just to be so negative to beat up on your President; beat up on your leadership, it’s not wise. It’s not good. You’re allowing the White man’s system to help you tear up your own house!

In no way, when they had a referendum on land should the land question have lost in the public. That should never have happened. And you know what it says? We who know that the president is right, we’re being beaten by the money interests that have come into this country to make the people turn against their own leader, and their own best interests.

If this is your land, you should be able to do what you should do; go where you should go, and they should be asking you permission, not you asking them. So we’ve got work to do here to take this country back for ourselves.

So I thank you for the meal. I thank you for your kindness. And above all, I thank His Excellency, President Mugabe, for his kindness extended to us; for the goodness that we felt from the people, from each one of you. I just don’t want to see President Mugabe go out of this life not being appreciated for what he is doing.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters, we don’t have long to live. We should live our lives so that the children—your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren—will have a future. And whatever sacrifice it takes of us, we should be willing to make it. If it means that we are evil spoken of, we’ll accept that. If it means that you are banned from entering America or Europe, well, that’s a sacrifice.

But what does God say? He’s saying take your attention and put it on the land where you are free to travel and free this land. Free it, so that the children will have a great future.

Thank you.

Related links:

The Birth of the African Union

Reconnecting the international struggles of Black people (FCN/Min. Farrakhan, 05-07-2006)

Minister Louis Farrakhan's Peace Mission Report (FCN/Min. Farrakhan, 07-24-2002)

The Final Call