[Editor’s note: The following article contains edited excerpts from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s keynote address delivered on Sunday, February 25, 2018, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, the culmination of the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day convention. Order this message its entirety on DVD/CD/MP3 at store.finalcall.com or call 1.866.602.1230, ext. 200.]
In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, The Lord of all the worlds. We thank Him for the life that we have, we thank Him for the truth that He has revealed, we thank Him for being an unequaled Guide in the midst of a wicked, deceitful enemy. We thank Him for raising up among us the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, His Messenger/Messiah: The Exalted Christ that the world has been looking for, for the last 2,000 years.
They say if you want to hide something from a Black man, put it in a book. And if you want to hide the Birth of a Saviour for the Black man, hide Him in the ghetto.
›“Can any good come out of Nazareth?”—that’s what they asked about Jesus. But Herod was looking for him. … And White America knew that a time had come that some divine help should come to us, so they were watching all the ports of entry because they knew He was to come “from the East even unto the West as lightning shines, for wheresoever the carcass is there shall the eagles be gathered together.” (Matthew 24:27-28)
Master Fard Muhammad, The Great Mahdi: He came to North America by Himself. He came under disguise. He came in the flesh and the clothes of our enemy. They looked, but they did not see, because they thought they were looking at one of their own when they were looking at one of us—a Man born to deliver us from the wicked hands of our oppressors.
Photo: Michael Muhammad
We thank Him for His coming. We thank Him for raising up the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and teaching him and giving to him an invincible truth; that no matter how hard the enemy has tried to put out the light of Islam with their pens and with their mouths, Allah is “perfecting His Light even though the polytheists may be averse.” (Holy Qur’an, Surah 61:8-9)
I thank Him for my teacher; I thank Him for my leader; I thank Him for my guide. I thank Him for being the father that I never had. I thank Him for allowing me to stay the course for 62 years and four months in The Classroom of God. I greet all of you, my beloved brothers and sisters, with the greeting words of peace: As-Salaam Alaikum.
‘Here I Stand’: To God Be The Glory!
Stephanie Mills [who sang “To God Be The Glory”]: I just knew you were going to “break my face” today; I knew I would not be able to be stoic, and not shed a tear in front of all of you who see me as such a strong person. But Stephanie sang my life.
There is nothing that I have done, nothing that I have been blessed to say—all the wonderful things that I have been guided to do up to this very moment came from the mind of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He told me that he wanted my mind. He wanted me to line my mind up with his mind so that it would be one mind.
I did not know how that could be accomplished. One day I was talking with my friend and confidant, Brother Jabril Muhammad, and I told him what The Messenger had said, and I said, “Gee, how … do I get his mind?” He said, “Oh, brother, that’s easy!” He said, “He has to bring you in the same path that God brought him, and you will walk right up into his mind.”
To my Christian family, the scripture teaches, “Let this mind be in you the same that was in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5) Here, God is offering to the people of His choice the greatest gift of all, because their suffering, under served, has made them heirs to the greatest gift of all, The Mind of God Himself through Jesus.
“With His blood He has saved me.”What do you mean “His blood?” How does the blood of a man save another man? Blood is the life fluid of every living creature. … I had to live the life of Elijah to grow up into him. So now I can say to the world as Jesus said to Phillip, one of the disciples, when he asked Jesus, “When will we see the Father?”
[Jesus said] “Have I not been among you this long, and you have not seen Him? When you see me you see the Father, for me and my Father are one. I am in Him, and He is in me.” (John 14:9-11)
“With His power He raised me.” That’s why there’s not another Black man on this Earth that can speak with the strength and the power and the wisdom and the guidance of Louis Farrakhan. There is not a White man on the Earth that has the strength of Louis Farrakhan. I will prove what I am saying.
I have been in front of you for a lifetime. I have been in front of you for the last 40 years in the absence of my teacher. If you really want to know how good a student is, just leave the classroom: Children don’t mind monitors; they say, “That’s the teacher’s pet.” He left me with you.
If I did not love God with all my heart, my soul, my strength, I could not have withstood what you put on me. If I did not love God and The Mission of the resurrection of Black people in America and all over the world, White people would have destroyed me a long, long, long time ago—But Here I Stand! With His power, He raised me. I am not a Negro! I am not a colored boy!
I am a young God, growing up in The Classroom of God! My brother Malcolm stayed in The Class for 12 years and shook the world. My brother Muhammad Ali stayed in The Class for about 10 years and shook the world. It’s real easy to follow a man in the cool of the evening, but how many can follow him in the heat of the day?
I don’t care what they put on me. The government is my enemy; the powerful Jews are my enemy; scared-to-death Negroes are my enemy; and weak Muslims and hypocrites are my enemy! But here I stand, unfazed by a government that wants my life! I told President Trump what he was planning. He tweets about everybody else—he doesn’t tweet back at me.
“By His power, He has raised me” And by living the life that He taught me, that’s His “blood.” He has saved me. Saved me from cancer, saved me from the plot of the enemy to kill me. HERE I STAND!
A Man and A Mission
I am so happy that God allowed me to be with you today. I am so grateful. … And in that song that Stephanie sang, it mentions the gratitude (of the one praising God). God hates ingratitude. We have been the recipient of so much from God, and all He asks of us is a prayer, and to struggle against the weakness of self to do His Will, and that seems to be too much.
It is so sad that if White people disapprove of somebody, we follow suit and disapprove. It’s so cowardly. … The Minister has stood for Black people strong, defended them when the government attacked them, though when the enemy put pressure on them, they would renounce me, denounce me, run away from me—yet when they were in trouble, they could call on me.
I, like my teacher, looked beyond our faults and saw our needs. I never try to judge you (as crazy as you are), because I love you. I just can’t help myself! I was born to love you. My teacher (told me), like his Teacher told him: “Take plenty. Take plenty.” I have taken plenty and I don’t complain.
I personally want to thank all of you that are in this audience—especially those who are in The Nation of Islam today or yesterday. We would not be where we are if it were not for you and your help of us. Sometimes we run into things (because working with us is taxing); if you don’t love Black people, you can’t withstand what we put on each other.
I thank all of these wonderful people on this stage. I know that I am not, and could not be, who I am without you. I don’t care how little your contribution may have been, it’s great to me. I am here today because you helped me to be here. I want to thank Brother Ishmael Muhammad. …
Brothers and sisters, every man who has a job to do needs help. Every man that has a mission needs help. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad was given “the hardest job,” Master Fard Muhammad said, “of any man that ever lived.” You ask, “My God, what kind of job is that?” I want you to go to the nearest cemetery and start talking to the graves, and see what kind of reaction you will get from what’s buried there.
After a while, people say about you: “Now, let me tell you something, that man is absolutely crazy!”—because nothing dead has ever come back from the grave. Elijah Muhammad said to me, “If there were any symbol that I could choose to represent me and my work, it would be a trumpet.” And that’s what we represent: The resurrection of our people.
All these that you see (in The Nation), faces bright and shiny, dressed in white garments, and trying to be a better them? They were dead people just a few days ago! You say, “What do you mean, Farrakhan, they were ‘dead people’?” They had eyes, but they couldn’t see. They had ears, but they couldn’t hear. They had a tongue, but they couldn’t speak. So God gave me to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as his helper—but He also gave me his son, Brother Ishmael, as a helper.
Now, all of these wonderful men and women that are my helpers, they go through something to be a helper, you know? And everybody can’t take it, especially in a military-line organization.
The Nation of Islam: See, this is not any kind of “organization,” this is absolute military! And let me tell you something: You don’t need to be in any organization that’s not military. Christian family (you know the song): “Onward Christian Soldiers.” But how many Christians are really soldiers? Paul (in the Book of Ephesians, Chapter 6) was trying to get us to put on “the whole armor of God,” that we may be able to stand against the wiles of Satan. Satan is a wily beast. And if you don’t have on “the helmet of salvation.” … well what is meant by “helmet?”
The blood of Jesus will put a “helmet” on your head because he is so wise. If you lived the life he taught you, studied the wisdom he gave you, (then you will be able to say): “Oh man, my helmet is on strong, man!” But you can’t play this “game” (called “life” without The Armor of God); so, you have to also put on “the breastplate of” what? “Righteousness.”
We love talking “God.” It’s nice. And we’re in the church, spiritually masturbating: doing things that make us feel good, but not living the life of Christ. If you don’t want to live the life that you preach, you’re no damn good. … Do you know it is righteousness that keeps you (“sustains you”) in a world like this? Do you know why they hate The Nation of Islam?
It doesn’t mean that we are righteous, but we are striving to be righteous; and if you strive to be better today than you were yesterday, you are putting on your breastplate of righteousness. Then you have “the sword of” what? “The Spirit [which is The Word of God].” (Ephesians 6:17)
“The sword of The Spirit”: What is “spirit?” It’s the energy of life itself! You can’t go to war and not have any spirit!
Fearlessness in a society, world full of cowardice
America is in deep trouble today. The Nation of Islam can help you. Those poor young children down in Parkland, Florida, at Stoneman Douglas High School: Seventeen precious lives lost. And the sheriff’s deputy, with his gun, he’s standing on the outside; he’s supposed to run to where the shots are being fired! We don’t know how many lives he could have saved, but a punk with a gun.
Guns don’t make a man. A gun is an extension of your manhood—if you are a man. But if you’re a punk with a gun, and you’re looking for somebody to be afraid because you’ve got a gun, and that person is not afraid? The punk will wonder, “Oh hell, what did I run into here?”
I would say to the president: Mr. Trump, you’re trying to arm teachers. Teachers are not trained to use guns. You send the children to school to be taught. But when you have a racist mind you’re talking about the inner cities. You can’t come in the Black community, as a teacher, and not expect something from your Black students; so maybe you’d like to have a gun in a Black classroom so you could shoot down a Black boy or girl who is challenging you. Whether you like it or not, there is some knowledge coming to Black children that will make them challenge a teacher that is talking crap in the name of “education.”
So here we are, The Nation of Islam. We don’t carry weapons. “What? You’re talking all tough and don’t have no weapon?” Oh, I’ve got a Weapon, all right—Brother Ishmael told you Who my Weapons are.
See, when you know God, The Knowledge of God takes the fear out of you. … Dear brothers and sisters, fear is your worst enemy. Fear chokes you; fear won’t release you to be the great man, the great woman, the great child, the great thinker. You can think beyond where you are, you can do bigger than what you are doing if only fear were removed from your hearts.
“The fearlessness of women worldwide”: Have you noticed the women’s movement today? Something is going on in the world—the women have the world shook up. Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour (co-chairs of The Women’s March), these sisters got something started, and all over the world women rose.
We thought the Million Man March was great, and it was, but when those sisters rose up all over the world (on the day after the inauguration of President Trump), that sent a message to every government on this Earth: Women have not been treated right in any government on this Earth.
That man, President Donald J. Trump, made women angry. Imagine all the groping that he (has done). … We’ve got a lot of gropers. And when our beautiful Black sisters go to work downtown, sometimes they will not come home and tell you what they are up against; you (men) may be home in the bed when you should have been working—she’s out there working!
And the enemy feels when he’s got a woman, I don’t care whether she’s White or Brown or Black, he feels, “If I am the boss, I have the right to abuse you.” And if you (women) don’t submit to that, you’ve just lost your job. We, as men, are not protectors of our women. And for that we will have to answer to God.
Satan distorts past and present truth of Jesus
Did you know that the biggest trick that Satan has pulled on the human family is his deceitful way he represented Jesus Christ? Please bear with me; we can go in a little deeper water, okay? Family, look at this: The enemy knew that Jesus was the man. To all my Christian family, you’ve got the right man! You just don’t know yet how to properly represent him, because the enemy made you think 2,000 years ago was The Jesus you fell in love with. We, The Nation of Islam, know the true history of Jesus as taught by God Himself!
Jesus 2,000 years ago was not The Messiah, he was a prophet. He was the last prophet to the Jews. (“What Farrakhan?” Yeah, I’m coming strong now.) He was the last prophet to the “House of Israel”—the entire White race. They were made to raise hell; everywhere they have gone, they have destroyed the peace of the human family.
But they decided when they translated the Bible to make the work of The Messiah, which is so magnificent, instead of putting it in the right time frame, they made us look 2,000 years ago, and that man was not The Messiah! In fact, he learned that he was 2,000 years too soon to end the civilization of the Jews. In the civilization of the Jews, they are the boss: this is their world.
“Oh wait a minute, I know a few Jews; they’re not … see now, he’s an anti-Semite.” Stop it. I am a truth-teller.
To my Mexican family: Why aren’t the real dark indigenous Mexicans in power? Look at South America. In practically every country the ruler is White, and he claims he is “Peruvian,” he is “Bolivian,” he is “Ecuadorian,” he is “Brazilian,” he is “Venezuelan,” he is “Columbian.” But look at the country, and look at the dark people that are there. They never reach where their power would allow them to reach, but they are so masterfully manipulated by a memetic White man.
When I say a “memetic White man” (and brothers and sisters, you pay close attention to this point): A “memetic White man” is a White man that takes on, like a chameleon, the language, the culture, the history, the folk music of the place where he goes. So, you have Mexicans, but they are Mexican Jews; they run the country.
You have German Jews; Polish Jews; Ukrainian Jews; Russian Jews; Lithuanian Jews; Estonian/Latvian/Denmark Jews; Sweden/Norway/Finland Jews; you have Italian Jews; you have French Jews. And everywhere they are, they take on the language, the culture, but they run the money; they run the business. When there is a Jewish holiday, everything gets silent. They are very wise people. So, Jesus was their last prophet.
Prophets don’t come because things are right. That’s like the sheriff visiting your house. What is he doing there? “Something is going on here,” that’s why the sherriff comes. Well, when God sends a prophet, it’s not because you’re doing right, it’s because you’re doing something wrong that has stirred the anger of God, and now the prophet wants to warn you and correct you, to put you back on a right course.
So, Jesus, he was no “Jew.” See, we want them to challenge what we say—and you (scared-to-death Negro), just shut up and sit down—and tell them, “Come on out and meet Farrakhan in the public!” You can’t defeat Elijah Muhammad’s wisdom! I know you can’t!
I know all of you have Jewish friends. I’ve got some, too! But when you know them, and you are not afraid to say who they really are, they move to destroy you. I have a daughter who lives in Mexico. She was educated there and has a Jewish friend. And I guess she was staying overnight, and so she decided to ask the girl, “Why is it that you don’t like Jesus?” And the little girl told her: “Because he called us devils.”
Now, a lot of you say: “Jesus did that? He said that?” Go back home and pick up your Bible; all right, scholars, theologians, come on, go get your Bible! Jesus: His mother Mary was an Egyptian woman, and Jesus was a member of the Black nation. He came to warn the Jews that the end of their time was coming!
He thought he was the one that was to end their civilization, and he found out he was 2,000 years too soon. So, what did White folk do? They used Jesus’ name to shield a dirty religion under the holy and righteous name of a servant of God. Jesus never taught anywhere in the Black world—not The Jesus of 2,000 years ago.
The FBI has been the worst enemy of Black advancement. “Can you prove that, Farrakhan?” Yes. See, the Jews have control over those agencies of government. … This enemy: he is so angry with Farrakhan, that now if you like me you have to either hide it (or lie about it), especially if you want advancement in the White man’s world. …
Why do they hate me with so much passion? Because Jesus, my brother, who was their last prophet, was 2,000 years too soon. I am on time.
