This short introduction to the interview that follows is being written on the eve (October 15th) of one of the most pivotal speeches the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has ever given. This interview was conducted on May 2, 2002, in Phoenix, Arizona. It answers some of the questions at the end of the interview on May 1st. (See Vol. 22, No. 2.)
For better than two-and-a-half decades, I’ve often stated, to whoever would listen or read my words, that if you watch the movement of the mind of Minister Farrakhan, you can tell time–of which the scriptures foretold.
His words provide crucial study material for us who follow him and for everyone else. His words contain invaluable insights into the core of what is taking place here in America and elsewhere. His words are essential for us to gain a better than average understanding of what we must do to survive the madness of this falling world.
Jabril Muhammad: “Brother Minister, after the experience of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, where God had an angel (Luke 22:43) to help him get through that moment, he was made to appear before Pilate and the other officials. Then came the trial, after which they put him on the cross. Now, his last words, (in John 19) while on the cross were: “It is accomplished.” or “It is finished.” It’s put in different ways in different English translations.
“There were six women and one man, who were his followers, who stood by him as he hung on the cross.
“There were Roman soldiers there, too, but their mindset was different. One of them, however, was finally affected by the way Jesus handled himself in that horrible moment, and bore witness to his identity.
“What are your views on this? Why were the six believers there? What were their motives? What could they offer him? What did he get from them, if anything? Why do you think we’re even told this in the first place? What bearing does all of this have on our getting through–so that when that time comes, in fulfillment of the scriptures, we can answer in the affirmative to the question in Luke 18:8: ‘É when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’ “
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan: “That very dark hour of Jesus, when he was in that certain and delightful spot that he loved so well, called the Garden of Gethsemane, in the Mount of Olives, there they say he prayed until sweat was dropping from his brow. In that same hour when he was praying–for he was conscious of the hour–his disciples were in a state of sleep or suspended consciousness. They were not aware of the hour.
“It appears that there were aspects of what he said and taught that they didn’t agree with and did not necessarily believe; not because they were disbelievers, but they could not bear the pain of the thought of his leaving them. Nor could they bear the pain of the thought that they might not see him again for awhile. Some may have even had the thought that they would never see him again.
“So in that dark hour of their suspended consciousness, when they awakened to the reality of that hour, the soldiers were already upon him and them and took him.
“Then, of course, there was the trial, where he fulfilled what the scripture teaches, that He was as a sheep, dumb before its shearers. He would not even speak in his own defense because it was not his trial. It was the trial of all of those whom he had taught, among whom he had worked, and among whom he had done so many wonderful and miraculous things.
“Now they were called upon to be a witness for him. In that hour of the cry of “crucify him” it appeared that there were no witnesses for him. The people, in their sickness, could accept a thief more easily than they could accept a man of God. So at his crucifixion, none of them, according to scriptures, none of them were present, except for John and these women.
“The six women and the one man represented an untold number that were growing into belief in him but were not present. The events of the hour were making a whole new cadre of believers.
“Regardless to their lapse, the disciples could have been raised in the next instance, or they could have been replaced by those who bore resemblance to them, in terms of faith. But under a new reality, they became renewed in the knowledge that he was, in fact, alive.
“Some of the old can be made new but most of the old will be gone; unworthy, unfit to be with him in that next dispensation.
“I feel that in my going overseas, that my mission is to do everything in my power to stop a war, which the present administration of the United States of America is bent upon. It is in my heart to announce my purpose even before I go, that the world will know that the Brother is a peacemaker, who does not wish to see one American soldier; Black, Brown or poor White lose their lives to fulfill the vendetta of several presidents against Saddam Hussein, who has been, and is, a thorn in their side.
“It is my desire to visit some of these countries that are referred to as the “axis of evil.” But in the root of my thinking is that, if the Muslim world could unite in a significant way, they could stop this war from taking place.
“It will hurt the Bush administration. It will hurt his chance for re-election and, therefore, the Minister will be seen as one that has to be destroyed.
“They are trying to build a case, falsely, against Saddam Hussein to justify their destruction of what is a thorn in their side. There are those Zionists, in and outside of the government, whose desire is to use the power of America to destroy–not one who is any potential threat of the United States of America–but one that Israel feels, if it develops any weapons of mass destruction, it will be a threat to Israel’s power to dominate and destroy the whole Arab world.
“As a result of my effort, which will be seen on both sides and interpreted by many, I may be charged with sedition or treason and whatnot. Under these charges they might want to freeze bank accounts and do harm to the Nation. It will cause many to feel that I deliberately did something to harm the Nation and I had no business thinking about Iraq or Muslims over there; that I should have concerned myself with the Nation here and as a result of my predisposition to help the Muslims outside of America, I put the Muslims inside of America into a position to be threatened and persecuted by the United States government.
“But what they don’t realize is that what I’m doing is directed by God and the Christ, which will give God the justification for His attack on this world.” (Emphasis mine)
The conclusion next issue, Allah willing.
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