More than 100 venues to host Saviours’ Day anti-war message
Anticipation is high as the world prepares to receive the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, live-via-satellite, during a Feb. 23 broadcast from Chicago’s UIC Pavilion. With hundreds of thousands around the globe poised to hear his message, “America at the Crossroads: War is not the Answer”–which culminates the Nation of Islam’s Saviours’ Day weekend celebration–people from all walks of life will trek to venues in more than 100 cities across the country and internationally.
“I feel very good about the upcoming event,” said headquarters mosque Asst. Min. Ishmael Muhammad. “I had the opportunity to visit many cities and speak with both Believers and the general public. In every city the spirit is very, very high and everyone is eagerly anticipating Min. Farrakhan’s address.”
War is on everyone’s mind because President Bush seems determined to attack Iraq, he said. “That’s why everyone is eager to hear the guidance the Minister will give us for this dark hour,” he said.
›“It’s wonderful to be alive, both spiritually and physically, in this day and time to witness Allah’s Divine Servant do what Allah has destined for him to do,” added National M.G.T. Capt. A’Ishah Muhammad. “Not only is this a great time of manifestation. It is a trial for us, not for him. I pray that our response to his call will permit us to be like those women found with Jesus in the end.”
For New York Minister Kevin Muhammad, Min. Farrakhan is like one “crying in the wilderness, making straight the way for the voice of the Lord.”
“Not only is he crying out, but the people in kind are now responding to his voice,” he told The Final Call.
The New York minister spoke of the four venues that will host Minister Farrakhan within the five boroughs of New York City, including the two days of workshops addressing war, education, health, affirmative action, religion and racial intolerance to be held at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building in Harlem.
The events, Min. Kevin said, promise to give New Yorkers an intimate feel for what goes into a Saviours’ Day celebration and why followers of Min. Farrakhan feel as they do toward God and the whole of humanity.
With the cooperation of local Black-oriented media, Min. Kevin offers the city daily updates on a variety of radio shows, live public access networks and public rallies against war in Iraq. “Radio deejays ranging from Wendy Williams, to Mark Riley; Ed Lover and Dr. Dre, to Open Line with James Mtume, Bob Slade and Judge Pickett and WBAI with Al “Grandpa” Lewis have been very prominent in giving us the opportunity to make our case on behalf of Min. Farrakhan and have allowed us to respond to callers,” he said.
He also spoke on an all-Haitian radio network and Harlem community radio shows.
“Where mainstream media are afraid to carry his voice, we received tremendous help from shows such as the VK Report with Veronica Keitt, and Bro. Michael Sanders from the Hip Hop station Power 105. We thank Allah (God) for them,” he said.
The New York City venues are: Salem United Methodist Church, 2190 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., Harlem; Friendship Baptist Church, 92 Herkimer Street, Brooklyn; Quality Inn Hotel and Convention Center, 80 Clinton Street in Hempstead, Long Island; and the Nellie Thornton Elementary School and Wood Auditorium, 121 South 6th Avenue, Mount Vernon, N.Y.
The Motor City gets busy
Min. Dawud Muhammad of Detroit’s Muhammad Mosque No. 1 tells The Final Call that the sole focus in his city has been to bring the people to Min. Farrakhan.
“The gravity of the message from Min. Farrakhan and the use of science and technology to bring him to the face of the people in this way speaks volumes to who and what we are,” he said.
With the recent announcement of Min. Farrakhan’s address on the issue of marriage and family to the public on Feb. 21-22, Detroit secured the Northwest Activity Center and will host the Minister’s Sunday address at the near 5,000-seat Masonic Temple, 500 Temple Avenue.
“Allah is using his servant (Min. Farrakhan) as one of the few voices in the West to speak accurately to the world condition concerning war and what could be, as Mr. Nelson Mandela aptly described as a ‘global holocaust,’ ” he said.
The use of satellite and cyberspace technology, Min. Dawud said, gives the world an opportunity “to see the Minister and hear his message unedited and, God-willing, uninterrupted.”
Addressing the power of mainstream media and its failure to distort or deter the public from the Nation of Islam leader’s voice against war, Min. Dawud said: “On the Muhammad Speaks newspaper during the physical presence of the Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad, its logo showed Black men embracing from different points of the globe, engulfing the planet with a message and purpose. We are using modern technology, not to circumvent the lack of mainstream media coverage, but to say, here is a message you won’t carry.
“Consider this the NOI (Nation of Islam) Network News,” he said.
Memphis on the move
Muhammad Mosque No. 55, in Memphis, Tenn., returns to Cook Convention Center, 225 North Main Street on Feb. 23, with Min. Farrakhan’s Saviours’ Day message. The last appearance of the Minister at the convention center is still very much alive in the minds of people, commented Memphis Min. Anthony Muhammad.
“Memphis knows that Allah (God) has poured his spirit into Min. Farrakhan and we are eager to hear what he has to say,” he said.
With thousands of fliers, hundreds of posters and nearly a dozen strategically placed billboards attracting crowds from the state lines of Arkansas and Mississippi, Min. Anthony tells The Final Call that the spirit is extremely high, talk-radio is abuzz and the success discovered as a result of walking on faith in taking the tickets to the people, is unparalleled.
“We stay focused and operate off of one motto alone: “If it don’t sell tickets, it don’t make sense,” he said. “We know that the guidance that Allah (God) has placed in Min. Farrakhan in this hour is for all of us. We know the blessings in delivering the people to him and we are going to do just that,” he said.
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