Defending Farrakhan: The Showdown!

By Donna Muhammad -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Feb 20, 2019 - 12:50:30 PM

(l-r) Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad, Student Minister Dr. Wesley Muhammad, Judge Nichelle Muhammad, Student Minister Demetric Muhammad

(l-r) Michael Hoffman, author and scholar of the Talmud and Torah, Student National Secretary Berve Muhammad, Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad, Attorney Abdul Arif Muhammad

CHICAGO—What began as the highly anticipated opening plenary session of the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day Convention quickly blossomed into a two-part session on the topic, “Defending Farrakhan: The Showdown!”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has been at the center of an intense, vitriolic attack by Zionist Jews since he called them out for a public showdown in his 2018 Saviours’ Day address. He challenged those referred to as the Synagogue of Satan by Jesus to prove their charges of anti-Semitism while he would expose their exploitation of Black people.

With that backdrop, a panel consisting of national student officials of the Nation of Islam, legal professionals and research scholars came together to provide members of the Nation of Islam and its supporters with the necessary tools to defend Min. Farrakhan against the malicious, unwarranted attacks.

Moderator Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad, the national assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, let participants know what to expect and why it was necessary.

“Today we will learn who the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) is. Today we will learn who the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is. They will educate us on who’s the real Semite, because we are going to prove to the world what they falsely charge us with,” he said.

“They are the anti-Semites, haters and bigots,” he said. “The Minister has challenged and called them out. We will prove that we are not what you charge us with, and we will prove to the world that you are not who you say you are. But this is not the time for him to keep defending himself. It’s time for him to be silent and see, and for the God to see, since we say we believe.”

Student Minister Abdul Arif Muhammad, an attorney and member of the NOI Research Group, shared the importance of knowing the historical context of today’s cries of anti-Semitism and the origin of the term “Black Hitler” leveled against the Minister.

Slide show at session included words about Min. Farrakhan uttered by former ADL head Abraham Foxman

“It is important to lay a foundation when building a case,” he said. The term “Hitler” is synonymous with the desire and effort to sterilize and exterminate Jewish people by Adolph Hitler, an action Min. Farrakhan has neither participated in nor advocated others to participate in.

He shared how the controversy began with Rev. Jesse Jackson calling on the Nation of Islam to aide him in his run for the presidency in 1984. During his campaign, Rev. Jackson expressed support of the Palestinian people and met with Mr. Yasser Arafat, earning him the wrath of the Zionist Jews, leading to death threats and a bombing of one of his offices.

Min. Farrakhan quickly came to his defense, providing personal security through the FOI and speaking on his behalf at a Saviours’ Day Convention, in which he told those Jews who were threatening Rev. Jackson to, “Talk to him. Don’t kill him, because we are tired of our leaders being killed. Because if you harm this one, it’ll be the last one that you kill.”

From left, Student Ministers Nuri Muhammad, Tony Muhammad and Hugh Muhammad applaud during opening plenary session at Saviours' Day 2019

As a result, Nathan Perlmutter of the ADL started calling Min. Farrakhan a “Black Hitler” and a Jewish tabloid ran it as a print headline, igniting a relentless assault. “I want you to be clear on how this came up. They attacked him because of his defense of Rev. Jackson on the righteous principle of Palestinian people. Be very clear,” Min. Arif Muhammad said. “The key in laying the foundation of defense against the enemy is that they called him a ‘Hitler,’ he responded in defense and they twisted his words to say he called Judaism a ‘gutter’ religion. It’s clear that you know the actual facts,” he added.

Additional panelists included Mt. Vernon, N.Y., Judge Nichelle Muhammad; NOI National Student Secretary Berve Muhammad; members of the NOI Research team Demetric Muhammad, Ilia-Rashad Muhammad and Dr. Wesley Muhammad; and Michael Hoffman, an author and Christian scholar of the Talmud and Torah.

Answering the question, “who is the Semite?,” Min. Wesley Muhammad explained that the Jew is not a Semite. He shared how Semites were described as native speakers of the Semitic languages and at that time in history, language and ethnicity went hand and hand. “Originally, a Semite was a Black Arab, so with the Jews’ anti-Blackness, they are the real anti-Semites,” he explained.

Michael Hoffman, a Caucasian, shared how a 90 second segment from Min. Farrakhan’s 2018 Saviours’ Day Address impacted him deeply when he heard him speak on the portion of the Talmud that speaks on Jesus being in hell, burning in hot excrement.

“It’s one thing to read that, but it’s another thing to hear the Minister say those words. I was almost moved to tears because, I realized there isn’t one prominent so-called Christian leader in America that would make that statement, because in those simple 90 seconds, he had wiped out the legitimacy of Judaism and the Talmud,” said Mr. Hoffman.

“Only a book from the Church of Satan would dare to say that the Messiah of these billions of Christians is burning in hell in hot excrement and I thought to myself, I wanted to come here this year to lend support to the Minister.”

Mr. Hoffman felt that Min. Farrakhan has acted like the lightning rod for the exposure (of the Talmud). “I have been working in this field for more than 20 years and we have not had a prominent leader who has a great deal to lose, to forfeit, to stand up and make these statements. How could I fail to assist him in any way that I may be able when he’s the point man for this? I think that at any time in history God has wanted the Talmud to be exposed, but I think it’s most propitious that it is this time, thanks to Minister Louis Farrakhan and the work he’s doing and the singular leadership role that he’s taken on this specific issue,” he added.

Judge Michelle Muhammad gave an overview of organizations that are enemies to the rise of the Nation of Islam and to Black people such as AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee), the Jewish Defense League (JDL) and the ADL.

“When you attack Farrakhan, you attack me,” she said.

Student Ministers Demetric Muhammad and Ilia-Rashad Muhammad reminded the audience that the open enemy is attempting to block the words of Min. Farrakhan across the various social media platforms and that there must be an increase in efforts to spread the message to wider audiences. “They are fighting to bar the Minister from having equal access to these very important platforms. We must continue to strengthen our defense of our beloved minister against those who are looking to destroy the Nation of Islam,” said Min. Demetric Muhammad.

Secretary Berve Muhammad drew from John 14:6 where Jesus told the people, “I am the way, the truth and the light. No person comes to the father except through me,” as the theme of his segment. “The ‘way’ means that he is a guide. He is the way through the wilderness, the jungle, the attacks. We must be found studying the way,” he said. “As students, and if we hope to follow the way and be strong in our defense of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, we have to reflect on our teacher, the Honorable Louis Minister Farrakhan, the ‘Way’.

“And so, we should not go off on our own arguments unless and until we have looked at the arguments that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has already made. He is the way and he will tell you, before you make the arguments make sure you are standing on the foundation,” he added.

Ms. Kimberly Paul of Alexandria, Va., shared how she has recently become acquainted with the Nation of Islam and came to the meeting for the purpose of gaining talking points. “As a person with a new interest in the Nation of Islam, I am just wondering how I can best represent the Nation of Islam and make sure that people know the positivity and the good work attempted to be made by our people. I believe that it will happen, and I think that the goals will happen. I believe in us and I believe in what the Nation is trying to do,” Ms. Paul, said.

In expressing how she became attracted to Min. Farrakhan and the Nation, she recalled being in an empowerment meeting with some members of Muhammad Mosque No. 7 in Harlem, N.Y. “Just seeing the way that they operate, the way the conduct themselves, it made me interested in learning more. So, I was trying to figure out why they were that way. Then I found out they were in the Nation and as they shared concepts, a lot of the social issues that I felt like I needed to address and hearing the solutions that they had, those solutions were already being addressed. So that’s what attracted me,” she said.

At the close of the presentation, Ms. Paul felt that she had a better understanding of how Min. Farrakhan could not be an anti-Semite, based upon the presentation of the true definition of an anti-Semite and who the true Jew was.

Throughout the day’s presentations, the program was punctuated by video clips of Min. Farrakhan defending himself against the Jewish attacks in interviews and at large public gatherings, providing further training for the audience on how to properly defend him.

The Final Call