The Final Call Online Edition

FRONT PAGE | NATIONAL | WORLDPERSPECTIVES | COLUMNS
 ORDER VIDEOS/AUDIOS & BOOKS | SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSPAPER  | FINAL CALL RADIO & TV

WEB POSTED 08-09-2000

 
 

Related site:

Million Family March

Min. Farrakhan preaches unity, encourages Blacks to defend universal rights

by Eric Ture Muhammad

MIAMI (FinalCall.com)�"The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is not against any human being who is desirous of becoming a better human being for the pleasure of God," exclaimed Seventh Regional Representative and head of Muhammad Mosque No. 29, Minister Rasul Muhammad. "Regardless to your creed, your class, your race, or your color, every human being born, by the permission of Almighty God Allah, has a God-given right to become better as a human being for God�s pleasure. The Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan represents that," he told a capacity audience of 2,000 at the Joseph Caleb Auditorium on July 29.

Introduced by Million Family March (MFM) National Director Benjamin F. Muhammad, South Florida residents leaped to their feet when the Nation of Islam leader emerged onto the stage. After greeting stage dignitaries, Min. Farrakhan got right down to business. "It�s wonderful to be back in Miami again," the Minister beamed. "I thank all of you for your prayers that you sent up on my behalf, that I might recover from a near death experience, to come back and soldier a little harder, work a little longer for the liberation of our people and for all those who are oppressed on our planet," he said.

Citing the Holy Qur�an, Min. Farrakhan said that Allah (God) created man and woman into tribes and families, that they may know one another and not despise or hate one another.

"Some of you have pets in your house. Some of you have fox terriers, some of you have pit bulls, some may have great danes, or German shepherds. These are different species of dogs and you are not troubled by that. You are not troubled by the different colors of roses or the different colors of flowers because you understand the beauty of God in his creation." Min. Farrakhan said. "But we seem to have a problem with the differences in the colors and kinds of human beings that grace our planet."

Min. Farrakhan said such behavior suggests that "the world and its people are sick, because a philosophy of life prevails on the earth and it has poisoned humanity, to the point where � humanity lives on the plane of the beasts of the field."

Recognizing the carnage of war in Africa, Europe and the Americas, Min. Farrakhan said that people have not learned each other and knowledge and security are universal human rights. He also described the universe as a breast for man to study and feed from�just as infants seek nourishment from their mothers.

"If we are destroyed for the lack of knowledge, why aren�t we busy acquiring knowledge so we can avoid the things that are destroying us as a people, destroying our community and destroying our society as a whole," he said.

Joining the Minister on stage were Nation of Islam First Lady Khadijah Farrakhan and their daughter Fatimah, who also serves as the Minister�s personal nurse. Additional guests included Councilwoman Gwen Calloway, Lauderdale City Commissioner Levoyd Williams, political analyst Chris Norwood, Joe Major of the Black Association of Civic Organizations, Activist Alan Brown, Florida State Rep. candidate Phillip Davis, Henry Crest, Empowerment Zone Trust; U.S. Senate candidate Newall Jerome Daughtery, Ganice Bourisquot of Citizens Concerned About Children (CCC), Mabel Carmichael and Nagib Malik, the mother and sister of Pan-African freedom fighter Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely Carmichael).

The audience stood in appreciation for the sacrifice of Mrs. Carmichael and her family as Min. Farrakhan thanked God for the contributions of his revolutionary comrade and friend on behalf of the people�s struggle.

Often conjuring laughter in making his points, the Minister encouraged the audience to live life as instructed by the Creator. "Since you and I are not the author of life, should not He, who is the author of life and the giver of life, give us directions on how to live life?" he asked. "So now, your life is all messed up because you didn�t want to take instructions. But, you will read the perm bottle. You�re going to read the dye bottle � read the recipe for this and that, but you won�t read the recipe for life. As a result, the earth is in turmoil."

"What he is saying is reality," commented Sunni Muslim Terry Muhammad, who traveled from the Bahamas to hear the Minister. "Bro. Farrakhan really is from the message of truth, from Allah. � It�s in line with the Qur�an. I know that some brothers in the Bahamas think he has deviated in some way from Qur�an, but I believe he is on the right path. So, I pray Allah will guide him and protect him. Bro. Farrakhan is truly a messenger. May Allah bless him."

Fort Lauderdale resident Jimmy Davis, Jr. said, "From all appearances tonight, the Minister appears to be in tip-top shape. I liked what he said about unifying and the essence of family. I was a student in 1995 at Florida A&M University (FAMU) and I covered the Million Man March for FAMU�s newspaper. I will be there for the Million Family March too. I like Farrakhan. He�s a good brother and it�s like he said in his speech, it�s one thing to have the knowledge, but it takes another kind of person to have the courage and to speak out about the ills of America."

Min. Farrakhan addressed several ailments plaguing the human family�in particular the natural and unnatural origins of hate. He introduced the MFM National Agenda of public policy recommendations to the audience, and spoke of the need for "God-conscious people in government."

Min. Farrakhan said that man, by nature, has a duty to perform by God, but often ignores that duty.

"You can�t feign ignorance on this one. You don�t pray, you don�t worship God. You don�t even think about Him until you get in big trouble," he said. "He who gave you life, He who brought you into existence, He who has supplied all our needs for our existence is worthy of our acknowledgment of Him, our prayers to Him and our setting up of no rival, or no partner with Him."

Min. Farrakhan said that unity, love for self and seeing each other as family puts an end to the madness and frustration engulfing the lives of the human family.

He told the crowd that answering the call for a million families on the National Mall Oct. 16 is serious business. "We are not going to school that day. School is out. We are not going to work that day. Work is out. We are not going to do anything that day, but hallow that day in worship of God and in coming together as a family," he said.

In his call for nationalists, Pan-Africanists, religions, fraternal orders, gangs and organizations to come under their respective symbols or banners, to Washington, D.C., Min. Farrakhan said that no symbol is greater than the people or sign it represents. "If we on that day (Oct. 16) can elevate us beyond our symbols to the one God and we begin to construct that tent, spiritually, that all of us can be under in comfort, then we have produced a family," he said.

"It�s about time somebody did it," commented 21-year-old Christian Farrad, a Latino Miami resident, referring to the call for a Million Family March. "Min. Farrakhan is good for the American people because his message is universal."

Concerning the perception among some that the Minister is divisive, Mr. Farrad said, "There are two opinions about him�informed opinions and uninformed opinions. People who call him divisive are uninformed. His message is anti-oppression."

Mr. Farrad was accompanied by Osiris Rojas, 16, of Venezuela, and other members of the 360 International School of Thought based in Miami. Ms. Rojas, seeing Min. Farrakhan for the first time, said, "Everything he said was well thought out and exactly what people need. He�s a powerful speaker. I was very taken in by it."

Brandon Jimenez, 18, also a 360 member who lives in Miami, said: "He�s trying to open up the doors of peoples� minds. He�s trying to tell us to realize the current situation we�re in and take action to change that.

"The way he formulates his ideas captures you and penetrates through you. You can feel what he�s saying," Mr. Jimenez said.

(James Muhammad contributed to this article.)

Photo: The Miami audience went up in cheers when Min. Farrakhan announced the presence of Mabel Carmichael, mother of freedom fighter Kwame Ture (aka Stokley Carmichael), and daughter Nagib.

 


FRONT PAGE | NATIONAL | WORLD PERSPECTIVES | COLUMNS
 ORDER DVDs, CDs & BOOKS SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | FINAL CALL RADIO & TV

about FCN Online | contact us / letters | Credits | Final Call Customer Service

FCN ONLINE TERMS OF SERVICE

Copyright � 2011 FCN Publishing

" Pooling our resources and doing for self "

External web links are not necessarily  the views of
The Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan or The Final Call