Trending topic on twitter today: Minister Louis Farrakhan has been banned from Facebook and other platforms due to his anti-semitic rhetoric.
Louis Farrakhan was born Louis Eugene Walcott in The Bronk, New York in 1933. He is an American black nationalist and the leader of the religious group Nation of Islam. His father is Jamaican and his mother is from Saint Kitts and Nevis. Farrakhan converted to Islam and joined the Nation of Islam in 1955 while in college.
Alleged Anti-semitic controversy
- According to New York Times, Farrakhan referred to Judaism as a “dirty religion” in 1984 when delivering a speech once he returned from his visit in Libya. Farrakhan denies this claim and stated
” I would never refer to the Revealed Word of Allah (God)—the basis of Jewish Faith—as ‘dirty’ or ‘gutter.’ You know, Jude, as well as I, that the Revealed Word of Allah (God) comes as a Message from Allah (God) to purify us from our evil that has divided us and caused us to fall into the gutter”. (1) - In 1984, Nathan Pearlmutte, a chairman of an American Jewish base organization referred to Farrakhan as the “black Hilter”. Farrakhan in response stated his similarities with Hilter because of their rise from nothing background but also added not to “compare me with your wicked killers “(1).
- Farrakhan allegedly accused Jews of being involved in the 9/11 attack in one of his weekly sermons in March 2012.
No longer Supports Barack Obama
Minister Louis Farrakhan supported Barack Obama in the the 2008 election, but denounced the former President in 2011. Farrakhan called President Obama “the first Jewish President” because of the USA military intervention in Libya to destroy Muammar Gaddafi regime. Minister Farrakhan is a known support of the late Gaddafi.
Minister Louis Farrakhan Impact in the African American community
- He organized the Million Man March in 1995. It was a gathering of one million African American men at the National Mall in Washington, DC. This event was an effort to unite and inspire black men to become self-sufficient leaders in the community despite oppression. He invited prominent speakers such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King III.
- Minister Farrakhan has maintained his presence in the African American community serving as the leader of the Nation of Islam. He supports black economics and empowerment.
- In 2016, his interview with a popular New York radio station, Power 105 fm, gained himself popularity and following with younger African Americans because of his black nationalist ideology. He also was in attendance at the late Nipsey Hussle ‘s funeral. See radio interview below:
Sources:
1.https://www.noi.org/judaism-religion/
2. https://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/us/louis-farrakhan-fast-facts/
3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Farrakhan#cite_note-noi.org-77
4.https://www.ibtimes.com/louis-farrakhan-defends-brother-gaddafi-blasts-us-action-libya-278095