A Personal Defense of Minister Louis Farrakhan

By Alverda Ann Muhammad -Guest Columnist- | Last updated: Feb 26, 2019 - 4:19:29 PM

Final Call senior editor Askia Muhammad and Sister Alverda Muhammad seated with her mother at their wedding. Photos courtesy of Alverda Muhammad

My mother was a Caucasian Jewish woman of Russian descent. When as a young girl I first heard the Teachings of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad under Minister Malcolm X in New York City, and heard him teach that the White man is the devil, I had had enough experiences in my young life to know that that was absolutely the truth. And this was without knowing my history as a descendant of slaves and beyond.

Most of my “friends” and acquaintances at that time were Caucasian. So, I proceeded in my newly converted zeal to go to each one and inform them that I had learned who they really were and that I would no longer associate with them—including my mother!

I did not share what I had done with anyone and therefore did not have any guidance regarding my behavior. My mother and I were estranged for years, robbing my children of the relationship with their grandmother. She was a renowned photographer, publishing several children’s books, among other photographic accomplishments. She contacted me once and asked if she could take photographs of my children and I agreed so long as she did not say who she was—simply that she was a photographer.

Many years later, I had the privilege of helping with the Muslim women’s class, the MGT and GCC, under the guidance of Minister Louis Farrakhan. One evening after dinner in a hotel suite in Washington, D.C., Minister Farrakhan was speaking with several of his laborers and friends. Somehow in the conversation, I mentioned proudly in my ignorance that when I learned that the White man is the devil, I had gone to my mother and told her that she was a devil and that I would have no more to do with her. Minister Farrakhan appeared horrified and said to me, “but sister, that is your mother!” He repeated, “That is your mother!”

Alverda Muhammad with her mother.

After that evening, I contacted my mom and told her what Minister Farrakhan had said. She was happy and eager to reestablish a relationship, although I learned later that she had suffered much, never denying that it was the truth about her people. In fact, I might take this opportunity to point out that not one person that I went to in those earlier years denied that it was the truth.

Because of Minister Farrakhan’s deep love and commitment to Truth, he brings us the understanding that it is not one’s color that determines whether a person is a devil or not; but their behavior. He also taught me that the Prophet Muhammad taught that after God, mother was the most important person in one’s life.

Years later, when Minister Farrakhan, was defending his brother, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, he was falsely accused of making a statement about the Jewish religion, which all of us registered Muslims knew immediately was a lie because we knew the lesson from which he drew the statement that he did make. Minister Farrakhan was attacked in the media and held up to public ridicule. My mother told me that she was urged by her Jewish friends to disown me. She said that she let her friends know that she was not about to do that because it was because of Minister Farrakhan that she had a relationship with her daughter.

Allah blessed me with wonderful years with my mom before she passed several years ago—years I would not have shared without the loving guidance of Minister Farrakhan. How can this man be called an anti-Semite (in the popular usage of that term) and give back to me, a Black female follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the magnificent bond between a Jewish mom and a Muslim child?

Alverda Ann Muhammad is a Nation of Islam pioneer and served as an MGT&GCC Captain, which means she was responsible for the teaching and training of Muslim women. She is also a devoted follower and helper of Min. Louis Farrakhan. She is the wife of Final Call senior editor Askia Muhammad.

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