The Final Call

A year of sacrifice and service by God’s servant

By The Final Call @TheFinalCall | Last updated: Dec 25, 2019 - 1:18:48 PM

What's your opinion on this article?

CHICAGO—At 86 years of age, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan shows no signs of slowing down and 2019 was continued proof the Muslim world leader and champion of Black and oppressed people is backed by Allah (God) and His Christ. The Minister embarked on his 64th year as a student of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad—44th since the departure of his teacher—with the same consistent and unbreakable determination to guide, warn and teach the masses referred to in the Bible as “the Lost Sheep,” the Black man and woman of America and the Original people of the earth. 

Despite ever increasing attacks by his enemies and continuing attacks by naysayers who misunderstand and misrepresent his mission and work, this year saw Min. Farrakhan forge ahead—unbothered and unbossed—on the national and international stage.

Min. Farrakhan started off 2019 delivering a potent, powerful message in front of thousands on Feb. 17 at the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day convention held at the United Center in Chicago. His message was titled, “A Saviour Is Born For The Whole of Humanity: No One Need Perish.”

Min. Farrakhan told the standing room only crowd about the Black suffering in America, and that a saviour was born to relieve that pain. He also spoke on the reality of the life, light and power of Jesus in a global mission. The Minister explained in detail, during his message, how he was shaped and prepared from the womb for the role of helping his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, complete his difficult task of resurrecting the mentally and spiritually dead Black man and woman. 

“There is nobody in America like Farrakhan,” the Muslim leader explained. “I want you to listen. White people haven’t done anything that they weren’t supposed to do. The Holy Qur’an says the new ruler would create mischief and cause the shedding of blood,” he said.

During his address, Min. Farrakhan spoke on the reality of Jesus. “I want to introduce you to Jesus. He came to save us from our sins. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad added to that Bible reference, ‘save you from the sins of White people.’” Indeed, the Muslim leader explained, “They made us into themselves.”

“I represent a universal Saviour to all the White people,” Min. Farrakhan further explained. “I represent that Messiah. I am that Jesus. I have offered my life. Here I am!”  But the miracle of the resurrection of the Black Nation in this country was not to come without major opposition. “Jews are obsessed with me,” the Minister said. “I’ve been working 64 years on the ‘Black Problem.’ I never had any need to talk to White people,” and Whites, after their anti-Muslim campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s led to the increase in Mr. Muhammad’s fame and popularity, were mostly silent about the Nation of Islam until the 1984 presidential campaign of the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Minister Farrakhan has withstood the battering and countless condemnations of his good work. The enemy and Jewish groups and publications, in particular, have chosen in recent years to condemn and punish those outside the Nation who have associated with the Minister, demanding that they denounce him or distance themselves from him. However, Min. Farrakhan did not back down and repeated his calls for a “showdown.” 

“Why do you think that I call them out and they don’t show up?” Min. Farrakhan asked rhetorically, then explaining that their charges of “anti-Semitism” are wrong and unjust, because the Ashkenazi, Caucasians who call themselves Jews, are not truly Semitic people, as are the Arabs, Hebrews, and Arameans, who originated in the Holy Land, Palestine. “They are European White people.”

“These are not the true Jews! These are Ashkenazis who use the Talmud (which was written by rabbis), and not the Torah, the revealed Word of God.”  

A comforter 

The hip hop community was dealt a severe blow with the untimely death of Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom. Numbness, despair, shock, and confusion permeated the air around ground zero, The Marathon clothing store where popular rapper, entrepreneur, and social activist was gunned down. The 33-year-old Grammy-nominated artist was with his 12-year-old daughter at the store and plaza he and a partner owned in the Crenshaw area of South Central Los Angeles. She was unscathed during the attack, which occurred in broad daylight on Sunday afternoon, March 31.

Min. Farrakhan and the men, women and children of the Nation of Islam’s Western Region visited ground zero. The Minster hugged and spoke with mourners and shared words of comfort.

Love descended on grieving residents of South Central LA when the Minister visited the Rollin’ 60s Crips street gang neighborhood to honor “Neighborhood Nip.”

On April 10, he said it was a joy to be standing on “sacred ground,” as he delivered a monumental message. “The man who made this happen is not just an ordinary man, because ordinary men don’t think like he thought.  Ordinary men don’t do like he did.  He was a man that God sent this way and he rose up out of a culture that nobody would think that greatness would come out of,” said Min.  Farrakhan.  

“It’s like the Bible says about where Jesus was born, can any good come out of  Nazareth?  Can any good come out of the ‘hood?  And, Nipsey answered and said, ‘Here am I. Send me,’ ” he added.

The next day, Min. Farrakhan spoke at the memorial service for Nipsey, as thousands packed the Staples Center to pay honor and respect to the entrepreneur and family man. 

On April 27, Min. Farrakhan delivered the eulogy for the late, great Muslim Minister Abdul Rahman Aquil Muhammad, affectionately called “The Rock.” Minister Rahman Muhammad, a long time Nation of Islam pioneer “fished in” a young, Louisville, Kentucky, boxer named Cassius Clay into the Nation of Islam, later named Muhammad Ali. Minister Rahman Muhammad passed away April 22 at the age of 87.

The service for Min. Rahman Muhammad was held at the historic West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Min. Farrakhan spoke glowingly of his longtime helper and friend.

“We are not here to fall down in sorrow. We are here to praise God for the life that he gave us in Brother Abdul Rahman Aquil Muhammad. So, may Allah’s peace be with the family. May Allah’s peace be with those of us that his life has touched. May Allah’s peace be on us to bear the pain of our loss,” the Minister said in part. 

We are Farrakhan!

The decision to ban the Minister’s worldwide social media presence and growing appeal was met with swift rebuke and condemnation not only from members of the Nation of Islam and Black people, but from people of various ethnicities, religions, political ideologies and backgrounds.

On May 2 Facebook announced a ban on the accounts of Min. Farrakhan along with several right-wing pundits and accused White supremacists. The ban also included accounts on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Sixty days afterward, Twitter followed suit, freezing the Minister’s account. 

“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” Facebook said in a statement. “The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today,” the statement continued. 

With no record of violence perpetrated or inflicted by Min. Farrakhan or by the thousands of men, women and children under his leadership over the past four decades against Whites, Jews, LBGTQ community or people of different religious ideologies—the move to ban him and equate the Muslim leader with White nationalists and White supremacists with a history of violence was baffling, a false equivalence and outright wrong, noted observers.

Celebrities and well-known Black movers and shakers joined the chorus of critics, voicing their displeasure, anger, frustration at the decision and their ongoing support of the Minister on social media including rappers Snoop Dogg and T.I., singer Stephanie Mills, comedian and radio host D.L. Hugley, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, actor and artist Nick Cannon, businessman Russell Simmons and many others. 

Min. Farrakhan demonstrated again, as he has countless times, that the enemy did not make him, therefore cannot break him. A rousing crowd in a packed St. Sabina Catholic church greeted the Minister and church pastor Fr. Michael Pfleger as they walked arm-in-arm into the sanctuary during an event held in Chicago in the aftermath of the ban. Min. Farrakhan responded to those who continue unfounded criticism of him.

Fr. Pfleger, a White Catholic priest, offered the Minister his church May 9 to respond to the ban.

To the White people who think I am a hater, “You’ve never had a conversation with me but somebody made you to hate me,” Min. Farrakhan said during an hour-long message. “But after you get acquainted with me, the hate began to be diminished and you began listening. After you began listening, your hate began to turn to love,” he said.

The 86-year-old Minister said his critique of Jewish actions—specifically his public exposure of writings in the Jewish Babylonian Talmud that declares that Jesus is in hell boiling in excrement and describes Mother Mary as a prostitute—has fueled the anger of powerful members of the Jewish community.

“The enemy is so hateful of me,” he said. “You make me the litmus test for any Black person who wants to rise in America.”

Charles “Chuck” Barksdale may have been best known as bass singer in the legendary R&B group The Dells that gifted the world with beautiful, smooth ballads and mellow harmonies during a career that spanned decades. But to those that knew him best, he was much more. Family, friends, fans, fellow artists and dignitaries, including Min. Farrakhan, gathered May 20 at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Chicago to pay their final respects to Mr. Barksdale in a moving homegoing and memorial service. Min. Farrakhan delivered the eulogy. 

Islam dignifies and fighting for reparations

This year, Min. Farrakhan and a delegation from the Nation of Islam concluded Ramadan with an historic “Umrah,” or pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, at the invitation of the King Salman of Saudi Arabia. Ramadan is the annual Muslim holy month of fasting and prayers which ended on June 4 with the sighting of the new moon. It is a very special time of year and celebrates the revelation of the Holy Qur’an given to Prophet Muhammad of Arabia (Peace Be Upon Him) 1,400 years ago.

“For us, a delegation of 17 to start in Madinah, the city of the Prophet, at his masjid and to see how that masjid, that started with the hijra (flight of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, from Mecca to Madinah to escape religious persecution) as he set foot in Madinah and when he put his foot down, this is where his mosque would be, there was nothing there but stone at the time and now here we are, at the most beautiful city. In my life, this is the most beautiful city that I call home,” said Min. Farrakhan, speaking to thousands on the Ramadan Prayer Line. 

He added, “Though I was born in New York and raised in Boston, Mecca is our home and so we are back home and I don’t know of a better place to be during Ramadan and during the last 10 nights of Ramadan. We were in Madinah and now in Mecca. We spent Laylatul Qadar (the night the Qur’an was revealed), the Night of Power, in Mecca. That same night we made Umrah, they said that 2.5 million people were in Mecca. We were guests of the king. We were blessed in a most special way to make Umrah and run between the two hills (Safwa and Marwa).”

During the trip, the Minister was also interviewed on June 7 by journalist Abdullah Al Jasz in Riyadh. 

Days later on June 22, Min. Farrakhan delivered a pivotal message in Detroit at the 30th Annual National Convention for the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA).  In this critical time Blacks must understand what freedom looks like, how they must be repaired inwardly, what reparations truly means and how inordinate ego and vanity of leadership is the worst enemy of the rise of Black people, the Minister told a packed audience at Bert’s Marketplace in the Motor City, where the Nation of Islam was founded in 1930.

Black people are the Original People of the planet and from them came all others so in this hour of death, destruction and confusion, the resurrection of the Black man and woman of America and the world is a necessity, said Min. Farrakhan. 

On June 23, Min. Farrakhan dedicated the opening of the new Muhammad Mosque No. 1 in the city. 

Honoring brotherhood and warning an arrogant president

The unexpected death of Munir Muhammad was a devastating blow to Chicago and the Muslim community. Hundreds gathered at the House of Hope to share reflections on the life of Muhammad, co-founder and business manager of the Coalition for the Remembrance of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (CROE), an educational and media repository and institution dedicated to the legacy and teachings of the Nation of Islam patriarch. He passed away July 9 at age 69.

The Minister was one of several luminaries who spoke on the legacy and impact of Munir Muhammad at the July 15 service. The Minister described his friend and brother as a “universal man” because of the ecumenical bonds he formed over the years.

On July 21, Mosque Maryam, the Nation of Islam headquarters, was filled to capacity as Min. Farrakhan delivered an important message to President Donald Trump.

America is in great confusion today, and her institutions are being challenged by a president who really wants to operate as a king, he explained. 

“President Trump is literally destroying the republic that the Founding Fathers wanted to guide and gird it against what they suffered in Europe from kings, so clashing is going on,” he explained. “(Trump) has a feeling that he’s greater than a president. He feels he’s not bound (by the Constitution) so he’s interfering with those institutions. He just feels he could do better if he was the lawmaker.”

One week later on July 27 the Minister was in the St. Louis area honoring his longtime friend and companion Abdul Akbar Muhammad. The Muslim minister, teacher, entrepreneur, father, organizer, author, scholar and historian was honored during a special dinner at the Regency Conference Center in the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon, Ill. 

Min. Farrakhan, accompanied by his wife, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, family members and some top aides, was sometimes emotional as he spoke of the contribution his brother, friend and comrade made to his life and success.  

The Minister was back in Atlanta Aug. 31 with the Farrakhan and Rahman families, national laborers and friends at Muhammad Mosque No. 15 at a memorial for Nation of Islam pioneering Minister Abdul Rahman Aquil Muhammad and the launch of the Circle of Life Rahman Foundation. 

While in the city, the Minister also had the opportunity to visit with another one of his longtime companions, Minister Abdul Allah Muhammad at his home. Formerly known as John Shabazz, Min. Abdul Allah Muhammad joined the Nation of Islam in the 1950s and was minister of Temple No. 27. In 1983 he stood with the Minister to help rebuild the Nation. 

Independent education and serious, sobering messages

Everyone dressed in their finest to embrace “an evening of celebration” for the alumni, pioneers and students of Muhammad University at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago. Several hundred people attended the dinner, marking 30 years of sacrifice and triumph since the university’s re-establishment as an independent school system in 1989 by Min. Farrakhan.

“We have a great school, we have a great tradition starting with the blood, sweat and tears of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Muhammad family,” he said during the Sept. 8 celebratory dinner, shortly after being presented with a “star” award for his service in preserving what the Hon. Elijah Muhammad established in 1934. 

The Minister delivered a serious and sobering message of warning to the City of Grand Rapids from the pulpit of True Light Baptist Church to a packed audience on Sept. 24. The time is up for the powers that continue perpetuating injustice in the world, he cautioned. 

His visit came five years after the mysterious death of Student Minister Robert Dion Muhammad, who served as the local representative of the Nation of Islam in Grand Rapids. The 40-year-old’s body was pulled from Muskegon River, September of 2014 after an outing with co-workers. 

“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, ‘when truth fails to bring justice about, truth should always lead us to a just conclusion, but if the forces of evil are so strong that truth falls in the street and is not allowed to bring about justice, then the God of truth and the God of justice must physically remove from power the forces of injustice,’” said Min. Farrakhan. That time has arrived! he stated.

Men from several Black Masonic lodges came together to pay homage, honor and respect to  Min. Farrakhan during a special gathering at the Palace, home of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

They gathered in Chicago Sept. 28 for the special occasion. Some of the men were there representing their lodge and others were present as invited guests and presented honors on their own behalf.

The City of Gary honored its former Mayor Richard Hatcher with a bronze statue of him on the steps of City Hall where he served as mayor for 20 years. More than 100 people including the Minister attended the ceremony Oct. 9 honoring the man who fought to improve the conditions of Black residents long neglected by the city’s White establishment and to revive a city as de-industrialization ravaged the manufacturing sector.

At the unveiling, Min. Farrakhan referred to Mr. Hatcher as his brother, friend and companion in the struggle “to guide us all.” Mr. Hatcher passed away Dec. 13. 

 The stench of Satan’s world has fouled the whole of humanity and the earth is “entering a new day” where God and His Christ have come to take over rulership, the Minister announced to a cheering crowd at Christ Universal Temple church on Oct. 13 during the 24th anniversary observance of the Million Man March.

“The Bible calls the human being the glory of God, but all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. Satan is like a snake and a skunk that has urinated on the human family. Satan has done a job on us. The rule of the earth under the wicked has been a horrible nightmare,” he said.

It was a night full of love and joy and one to remember as the Minister, his wife Mother Khadijah Farrakhan and members of their family accompanied the beloved students of Muhammad University to a Nov. 11 performance of the UniverSoul Circus, a contemporary Black-owned and operated circus. 

Min. Farrakhan paid honor to another longtime friend on Dec. 7, joining thousands who came together to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Clay Evans, founder of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Calling him a “balm” among us, Min. Farrakhan paid tribute to the longtime pastor and gospel legend at Apostolic Faith Church.