By Richard Muhammad
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com)–America’s impending war with Iraq will trigger conflict abroad and unrest at home that will doom the country, warned the leader of the Nation of Islam in a Feb. 23 address from the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan offered a final caution against war in a message that encompassed historical fact, current events, geopolitical analysis–and most importantly–scriptural references and words from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, whose 40-year work established the Nation of Islam. Black America must reject calls to support the conflict and prepare for hard times ahead, he said. The Minister also said this would likely be his last public address as America goes to war.
“The United States of America is at the crossroads and we, too, are at a crossroads. The Muslim world is at a crossroads,” said Min. Farrakhan. “If you allow yourself with patriotic zeal to follow that which is in error, then as the Bible says: If the blind lead the blind, both then fall in the ditch. The ditch represents hell and I hasten to tell you that the president of the United States is spiritually blind.”
Despite millions of people who came out against war in recent protests around the globe, President George W. Bush has grown emboldened and came into office determined to remove Saddam Hussein of Iraq, the Minister observed. War against Iraq looks easy but will start the roll downhill to America’s divine destruction, he said.
The anger of those protesters, whom the president has said he will ignore, will turn to violence as U.S. servicemen come home in body bags; and the Arab and Muslim masses will explode as innocent Iraqi children start to die, the Minister predicted.
America’s fate will not be determined by an outside nation, nor by any “silly terrorists,” he said. The Hon. Elijah Muhammad said over 30-years-ago that America was “a preserved area” that God would judge and punish if the country failed to repent, Min. Farrakhan added.
An audience of nearly 9,000 people heard the message at the Chicago arena and thousands more watched via satellite in 100 locations in America, with additional sites in the Caribbean, Europe, Canada and Central America. The Minister’s lecture was titled, “America at the Crossroads: War Is Not the Answer.”
“There is no way to clock President Bush and the actions of the U.S. government, unless you can compare what he is saying and what he is doing to what is prophesized in both the Bible and the Holy Qur’an,” said the Minister. The United States matches the nations styled in scripture as Babylon, Egypt and Rome and her prophesized downfall for rejection of God’s way begins with war in Iraq, he said.
If every nation has had a Warner, as it is written in the Holy Qur’an, where is America’s Warner? he asked. The prophets could not have missed the appearance of the greatest nation in the history of the world, the Minister argued. America had a divine Warner in the work of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and his teacher, Master Fard Muhammad, Min. Farrakhan said. That warning has gone unheeded by powerful Whites and Blacks, who could benefit from that message, he noted.
Saviours’ Day commemorates the birth of Master Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam who taught the Hon. Elijah Muhammad for three-and-one-half years before leaving him to his 40-year work, Min. Farrakhan explained. Master Fard Muhammad, born Feb. 26, 1877 in Mecca, taught the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, using a language about Islam that was misunderstood–but His wisdom broke up the “sick mindsets” of White supremacy and Black inferiority, he said.
Master Fard Muhammad offered a knowledge that raised the so-called American Negro from self destructive and immoral lives inside an oppressive society, he said. Master Fard Muhammad also unlocked the hidden truths contained in the Bible and Holy Qur’an and provided a necessary and unique interpretation of the scriptures, Min. Farrakhan added. White supremacy poisoned Christianity, Islam and Judaism and religion was used to justify the view of Whites that they were “better” than the darker peoples of the world, he said.
America’s period of warning and mercy runs out in 2004 and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad forecasted in 1967 that France would desert America in the final conflict, Min. Farrakhan said, adding that America’s power in the world would be broken in one year.
A powerful and divine balance in the universe bends toward justice, the Minister said. The Holy Qur’an, the Muslim book of scripture, warns that every nation and individual will be judged by their deeds and every deed has its consequence, Min. Farrakhan added.
What is America due for enslaving a whole people and bringing them out of Africa and other crimes against humanity? he asked.
Min. Farrakhan reviewed America’s “record” that will be reviewed by God to determine her longevity. That history is filled with an imperialistic view toward the world where America has taken land, killed leaders of nations and provoked incidents or outright lied to the American public in order to start wars.
These plotters are so wicked that as the public grieves over the 3,000 lives lost in World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2002, heartless policy makers look to manipulate grief to pursue satanic agendas, he said.
He also reviewed the numerous times that UN resolutions have been violated by various nations, including Iraq. Israel has the record for most violations, but the U.S. doesn’t call for enforcement of action against the Zionist state, said Min. Farrakhan.
U.S. policy toward Iraq is intertwined with the interests of Israel, he said. Iraq is not a threat to America, but is seen as a possible threat to Israel and therefore must be eliminated, Min. Farrakhan said.
The president is off course; his actions are in line with scriptural portraits of rulers who are arrogant and blinded by power, the Minister said. President Bush is a “radical that has hijacked Christianity,” he said.
Valley of decision
Blacks must not only reject war, but must also reject behavior that God condemns, the Minister said. The warning of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad has been ignored and churches have made a mockery of God, he said. There has not been a proper focus on changing lives to reflect God, he said.
Immoral behavior, sexual promiscuity, perversity and violence plague Black America, when God came to deliver her from such sin, Min. Farrakhan said. But the time to atone is over and chastisement will soon set in, he said.
“We’ve turned into a freak nation,” Min. Farrakhan said.
He appealed to leaders of Black, Latino and Asian so-called gangs and street organizations to stop the killing. Under Homeland Security, tanks, helicopters and armed personnel will come into the inner city and slaughter people, the Minister said. Since you love bloodshed, God will give you blood to drink, he said.
Whites are angry that the hip hop culture has taken their children and their future and Whites plan to get them back by destroying Blacks, Min. Farrakhan said.
The U.S. government will also persecute Muslims, in particular the Nation of Islam, he continued. “They will try to take the Nation’s property and may arrest me,” the Minister said. “But Muslims must persevere and it would be wise to stock food and other items in your homes,” he said.
Though still recovering from illness that left him unable to walk a week earlier, Min. Farrakhan spoke for nearly three hours. A chair placed nearby wasn’t needed and his strong voice and presence rang throughout the UIC Pavilion. Rousing applause greeted him when he came onto the stage and the audience interrupted his address numerous times with cheers and applause.
Before his address, the Minister offered condolences to the families of the victims of the E-2 and Rhode Island nightclub tragedies, those who died in the Columbia Space shuttle explosion and natural disasters that have battered parts of America.
Among those who attended the Saviours’ Day gathering were Rev. Willie T. Barrow of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Latino activist Emma Lozano and husband Rev. Slim Coleman, noted attorney Lewis Meyers Jr., mayoral candidate Rev. Paul Jakes, Rev. Michael Jenkins and Bishop Kim of the Unification Church and other dignitaries.
Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, wife of the Minister, was warmly received with a lengthy standing ovation when she emerged on stage after being introduced by Min. Ishmael Muhammad of Mosque Maryam, who emceed the program.
The Rev. Al Sampson offered a Christian prayer following an Islamic prayer by Sheikh Ahmed Tijani.
