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Word is bond: Farrakhan promise being fulfilled in Haiti
By Brian E. Muhammad -Contributing Writer-
Updated Mar 19, 2012 - 12:39:09 PM

ROSEMONT, Ill. (FinalCall.com) - During a recent tour of Haiti, where recovery from a devastating 2010 earthquake is still in progress, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan made a commitment to the Muslim community there to deliver Holy Qur’ans.

The responsibility of helping the internationally-known Muslim leader fulfill that promise fell on the shoulders of Talib Muhammad of St. Louis, a man known to give away the scriptural book of the Muslims as part of his propagation work to spread the message of Islam.

However, for Bro. Talib this call was different because it was a request for French translations of the Holy Book and it was on behalf of Min. Farrakhan.

“Brother Akbar [Muhammad] called me and said the Minister wanted them; I had no idea where I could get them, it put pressure on me … because I wanted to keep our minister’s word bond,” Bro. Talib told The Final Call.

During Saviours’ Day 2012, the National Convention of the Nation of Islam, Min. Farrakhan received the first 100 Qur’ans toward fulfilling that commitment.

Bro. Talib related that he had never even seen a French Qur’an, but knew he had to make it happen.

Min. Farrakhan was in the beleaguered nation for his first time as part of a larger tour of the Caribbean where he delivered messages of unity and self-determination. Among the diverse leaders, groups and the masses of people he met were the Muslim community of Haiti. The Muslims followed and attended every appearance the Minister made while in their country, Bro. Akbar told The Final Call.

When Min. Farrakhan asked the Muslims in the first Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere about their needs and wants, they requested Holy Qur’ans, according to Bro. Akbar, who serves as the international representative of the Nation of Islam.

This is not the first act of kindness from Min. Farrakhan to the Haitian people. In contrast to a plethora of “disaster capitalists” waxing rich on Haitian misery, Min. Farrakhan has spearheaded efforts to mobilize assistance directly to the Haitian people after the devastating earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people and ravaged parts of the country.

In addition to the specific pledge of Qur’ans to the Muslims, Min. Farrakhan previously promised and sent a $120,000 Mobile Max Pure solar generator that purifies and pumps an average of 30,000 gallons of water each day at a cost of less than one penny per gallon. The Muslim leader plans to build several more allocated for delivery to various areas, including the Muslim community.

There are approximately 5,000 Muslims in Haiti whose current history is rooted in Haitian members of the Nation of Islam who returned there to do outreach during the 1970s and ’80s, according to Bro. Akbar. Historically, Muslims played major roles in jumpstarting the Haitian revolution that led to independence in 1804 with liberation fighters—such as Boukman and Makhandal—who struggled against the foreign forces of enslavement and oppression.

Though the rebuilding of Haiti since the January 2010 tragedy has been slow and neglected, it is the strength, resilience and staunch inner dignity of her people, coupled with the living legacy of Boukman and Makhandal in a Muslim leader of today — Louis Farrakhan — who is making his word bond and answering the need of the Haitian people, Bro. Akbar said.

Meanwhile, “more cases of Holy Qur’ans are being secured for shipment to Haiti,” Bro. Talib said.

(To help with further efforts, donations may be sent to Disaster Relief Fund, 4855 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Ill. 60615.)

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