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. |