According to the Rand Corporation, in a statement published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “one-fourth of hospital days, one-fourth of procedures, and two-fifths of medications could be done without [at that time].”

I want you to think about this. Because it should be no secret that when there’s a profit to be made, regardless to its adverse effects on human life, there are always those who will choose wealth over the health of the American people.

Medical care is big business. Three quarters of a trillion dollars [now $4.3 trillion], or 12% [now 18%] of the gross national product of this country is spent on health care expenditures.

In many respects America has become a pill society. Billions are spent each year on over-the-counter drugs. Americans spend $1.5 billion [now $24.5 billion] a year on cholesterol-lowering drugs instead of eating properly. Merchants of death have a vested interest in keeping you ignorant and perpetually sick.

Over $160 billion [now over $237 billion] is spent each year on cancer and heart disease treatments, and there is no guarantee that with surgery or with another of the various forms of treatment you’ll be free of the disease.

Treatments, including surgery, tend to further traumatize the body and depress the body’s immunological systems. For example, one of the treatments of cancer is chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is literally germ warfare on the body. The treatment is a by-product of WW II chemical and biological warfare research. Chemotherapy works by attacking cells within the body, killing normal cells in its efforts to kill the cancerous cells.

The result is a weakened body with no guarantee that you are cured of cancer. I am only pointing out the disadvantages of current treatments. I am not suggesting that you should not take the treatments prescribed by your doctor when your cancer or disease has progressed so far along that surgery or chemotherapy is the only option available.

The food industry is a $400 billion industry [now an estimated $1.5 trillion], based on promoting death-dealing overly processed foods. America’s diet of three meals a day with three snacks in between each meal is unhealthy. It is unhealthy because it consists largely of fast food and food that is overly processed in America’s food factories.

The foods get defibered, degerminated, defatted, refatted, and manipulated in countless ways other than how food is intended for us to eat. It’s no coincidence that the first heart attack reported in America was in 1896, the same time our diets began changing from a ruralbased local supply of food to the national food supply chains of highly processed foods.

It is now being proven by scientists that what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught on how to eat to live—one meal a day, no snacks in between meals, and to eat only the best foods—is absolutely correct and good for the body.

By our not having the knowledge of chemistry, we do not understand the effects from how the food industry injects hormones into chickens, beef, lamb and pork to fatten these animals up to get them to the market quicker to make a quicker dollar.

We do not understand that as we ingest these meats, our bodies react to the hormones. As a result, our girls, at 9, are developing breasts and having their menses. Our young men are prematurely developing sexually.

These hormones stimulate sexual development. When you add this to the degenerative kind of display of nakedness and filth in movies, television, songs, books and magazines, no wonder teenage sex and teenage pregnancy and teenage violence is greater now than it ever was.

This is a vicious circle of death dealing for the sake of profit. And who is the loser? The American people, especially Black people and particularly Black men.

How do we break this vicious cycle? How do we get out of this cycle of death? First, we must go back to Him who gave us the gift of life and Who is the Best Knower of how to protect, develop and properly care for and nurture the life that He has given. And that is Allah (God), the Creator Himself.

The post A Torchlight for America appeared first on Final Call News.

In the Holy Qur’an, the 45th Chapter, or Surah, called “The Kneeling,” includes a section titled “The Doom.” Verse 28 reads: “And thou wilt see every nation kneeling down. Every nation will be called to its record. This day you are requited for what you did.”  And the verse before that speaks of “The Hour,” “The Hour of The Doom.”

Please keep in mind that an “hour” has 60 minutes and a “minute” has 60 seconds; and “The Hour” refers to “The Doom”—it is The Number of The Beast, for it is the number of a man, “six hundred threescore and six” (“666”).

We have previously examined America’s deceit and wicked practices under the guise of her “foreign policy” and let us continue with that examination. …

A female author by the name of Naomi Wolf who wrote an article titled “Fascist America, in 10 easy steps,” stated that “the first step to fascism in America” is to “Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy” and “Creating a terrifying threat—hydra-like, secretive, evil—is an old trick.”

Ms. Wolf reminds us that the Reichstag fire of February 1933 “was swiftly followed in Nazi Germany by passage of the Enabling Act, which replaced constitutional law with an open-ended state of emergency.”

“The Reichstag” is the German Congress, and Adolph Hitler’s followers secretly set it on fire and claimed that Germany was under a “terrorist threat.”

With that being stated, let us look at some of our presidents, and what they have said and what they have done to cause the loss of life of hundreds and thousands, and tens of thousands, of American patriots who love their country—but have been constantly deceived by their leadership.

President William McKinley, the USS Maine: In 1898, the United States wanted control over Puerto Rico, The Philippines and Guam, so President William McKinley lied about an explosion on board the USS Maine anchored in Havana Harbor that killed 260 patriotic, innocent, servicemen. McKinley, and the media said, “Spain did it!”—but they offered no evidence. Does this sound familiar? Because of that war, the United States gained control over Cuba, so that the island could be opened to the United Fruit Company, and the other American corporations. America, in that war, took Puerto Rico, The Philippines, and Guam.

President Woodrow Wilson, “World War I”: In 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was signed by Congress, and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson—from 1913 to 2013 there have been 100 years of war.

In 1912, even up to December the 26th of 1913, the debt that America had was only $2 billion. One hundred years later, in this century of war, America is now nearly $17 trillion in debt—but when you add up Social Security entitlements, Medicare, Medicaid, pension funds, it’s nearly $60 trillion to $70 trillion.

How did we get into “World War I”?

From the book “The Untold History of the United States” by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, published by Simon & Schuster in 2012, Chapter 1 states: “… The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian fanatic on June 28, 1914, triggered a chain of events that, in August [of that year] plunged the world into the most brutal orgy of bloodshed and destruction humanity had yet seen. …”

Britain wanted America to get involved in that war. President Woodrow Wilson had been reelected for a second term under the slogan that he “kept America out of war.” But in 1917, he committed America to the first “World War.”

How did it happen?

In May of 1915, Germany sank the British liner Lusitania, leaving 1,200 dead, including 128 Americans. And despite initial disclaimers, the ship was in fact carrying a large cargo of arms to Great Britain.

Though Wilson had won re-election in 1916 on the slogan, “He kept us out of war,” he was increasingly coming to believe that if the United States didn’t join the war, it would be denied a role in shaping the post-war world. Then there was Germany’s resumption of submarine warfare in this area of the Atlantic, and blowing up the Lusitania. America claimed to be neutral—but America was also sending arms to Britain to fight against Germany. Woodrow Wilson’s real motive, of course, was his belief that only by entering the war could he be guaranteed a voice in negotiations. So on April 2, 1917, Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a “declaration of war,” saying that “the world must be made safe for democracy.” And right after World War I, Woodrow Wilson had a role to play in establishing “The League of Nations.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pearl Harbor/“World War II”: “World War II” started in Europe on September 1, 1939. It is written that President Franklin D. Roosevelt met secretly with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Newfoundland, and the two leaders drew up the “Atlantic Charter.”

Churchill wanted Roosevelt to lead America into war, but America did not wish to get involved in that war. However, Roosevelt said to Churchill that he would “wage” war, but not declare it; and that he would become more and more provocative, and if the Germans did not like it, they could attack American forces.

Everything was to be done to force an incident that could lead to war.

Is that what we’re seeing now? Is that what we’re hearing on our television stations now? Is North Korea being “forced into” a position to “strike first,” to give America the “excuse” to go to war?

Japan invaded French-Indo China in 1941, seeking the resources and bases needed to fortify its position in the region. The United States responded by completely barring petroleum exports to Japan. Its supplies dwindling, Japan’s leaders decided to secure oil from the Dutch East Indies, but they feared that the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor could interfere with their efforts. Well, my beloved brothers and sisters: Many great Americans warned us that the cryptographers had already decoded the messages sent by the Japanese to their submarines and their navy. And, in doing that, America knew what the Japanese were going to do; in fact, they wanted Japan to make that strike. In fact, they maneuvered Japan into such a strike. As a result of that, America entered “World War II” in December 1941.

At the end of that horrific war, “World War II,” they say a quarter of a million American young men lost their lives, and over 50 million human beings were destroyed. Some have said, and it is evident, that Churchill wanted America to get into the war, and they felt the allies could not win without America; and all our efforts to cause the Germans to declare war on us had failed.

So the conditions we imposed on Japan to get out of China were so severe, that we knew that nation could not accept those terms.

President Lyndon B. Johnson/The Gulf of Tonkin Incident/“The Vietnam War”: The official story was that North Vietnamese torpedo boats launched an unprovoked attack against a U.S. Destroyer navy ship on routine patrol in the Tonkin Gulf on August 2, 1964. And that the Communists followed up with a deliberate attack—two days later. None of this was true! President Lyndon B. Johnson used the fabricated incident to justify a momentous escalation in the war, ultimately leading to (1) Over 50,000 American deaths; (2) millions of Vietnamese causalities, and (3) many, many tens of thousands of Americans suffering the aftereffects of war.

President George H.W. Bush/ Persian Gulf War: Former Prime Minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher and her ambassador to Kuwait gave Saddam Hussein the “O.K.” to go into the 19th Province of Iraq that is now called Kuwait. It was said that Kuwait was extracting oil from wells that belonged to Iraq. This was mentioned to the American Ambassador to Iraq, April Catherine Glaspie, and it was mentioned to the British. The American ambassador said, “It’s okay with us. …” But after Saddam Hussein went in, that’s when he was told: “You must get out.”

Margaret Thatcher influenced George H.W. Bush to get [Sadaam Hussein] out of Kuwait; arguing that the terms were “great,” and so war took place. In Iraq, America dropped explosives filled with depleted uranium that is causing terrible side effects not only among the Iraqi people, but also side effects that are ill-affecting American soldiers.

***

My dear brothers and sisters, this same idea or thought today is being used against Iran. These sanctions make it difficult for Iran to do what Iran needs to do for her country and her people, trying to force Iran to make an attack in the Strait of Hormuz. But, Iran is a follower of The Qur’an, and The Qur’an forbids a Muslim from being “the aggressor”; and, it even says Allah hates “aggression.” So, Iran is not going to bow to those provocations … .

But there is another question: “Will North Korea respond?”

The 9/11 and World Trade Center ‘attacks’

Now here we are, in the modern era, with President George W. Bush, “9/11” and “The World Trade Center destroyed”: Of course, the story that was told was that it was “Muslims.” I held a press conference on September 16, 2001, live from Mosque Maryam in Chicago, Illinois, and I warned President George W. Bush to be careful of how he responded to such an act of the destruction of nearly 3,000 lives. But remember, at Pearl Harbor we lost nearly 3,000 again; and the navy was almost completely destroyed to get America into war.

What I’m trying to say to us is: Our lives mean little when those in high places see “a bigger gain” through war.

A few days after “9/11,” and the press conference, I mentioned that this was the beginning of “a war against Islam.” Now, there are scientists today who say that Muslims had nothing to do with the destruction of The World Trade Towers. We had some of these great scientists to visit the Nation of Islam at our Saviours’ Day Convention in 2012; when, during the plenary session titled “9/11: What Really Happened, and Why?” these scientists gave irrefutable truth and facts that would make “a brass monkey” sit up and take notice.

Let us look at some of “The Questions” around the bombing of the World Trade Center:

Right before 9/11, unusually high levels of “put options” were placed on the stocks of American and United airlines, and corporate tenants of The World Trade Center. These are market bets that bring better profits if stock goes down. According to Bloomberg Business News in 2001, this would be one of the most extraordinary coincidences in the history of mankind—if it was, in fact, a “coincidence.”

How was the FBI able to release a list and photos of the hijackers within hours? Why have at least five of the 19 alleged hijackers turned up alive and well, living in Saudi Arabia? How could these alleged hijackers have known that multiple classified air defense drills were planned for the morning of 9/11, leaving only two fighter jets available to protect the entire northeastern United States? Why was Attorney General (John) Ashcroft warned to stop using commercial airlines prior to 9/11? How come the hole in the Pentagon was 18 feet across—but the wingspan of a 757 jetliner is 146 feet?

Hmm … Things to consider, wouldn’t you think?

How come a little single engine Piper PA-28 plane that crashed into the IRS office in Austin, Texas on February 18, 2010, did more damage to that building than a 757 jetliner did to the Pentagon? How does a pilot, Muhamed Atta, who failed his lessons on a one-engine propeller plane, pull off maneuvers only a highly-trained airline pilot could do—a 270-degree turn at 500 miles an hour, descending 7,000 feet in 2 1/2 minutes into a direct hit? Well, all of this makes us wonder: Was this another “lying wonder” that is spoken of by Paul in the Book of 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 2, verse 8-9: “And then shall that Wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders…”?

The U.S.S. Maine was a “lying wonder”—people wondered “how did we get into that war; World War I”? It was through the lies told! World War II, lies told; Vietnam, lies told. And present day, in the lead-up to the war with Iraq and Afghanistan: All of the members of the Bush government told lies. Condoleezza Rice, you lied. Colin Powell lied; Cheney and Rumsfeld lied. Bush lied. What was the lie? That Iraq, and Saddam Hussein had “weapons of mass destruction.” So America dropped bombs, the operation was called “Shock and Awe.”

But did they find “weapons of mass destruction”? No. Another lie … . And thousands of Americans were hurt, or killed; and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were destroyed.

In Pennsylvania, Flight 93: Why was there no visible airplane debris where Flight 93 supposedly crashed in Pennsylvania? Only a smoking hole in the ground—no bodies, no seats, no wings, no luggage.

What about the World Trade Center? Six months before the 9/11 attacks, the World Trade Center was purchased by the Silverstein Group for $3.2 billion—even though those buildings were covered in asbestos, an obvious health hazard; and in need of demolition. But Larry Silverstein took out insurance coverage on the property, which fortuitously covered “acts of terrorism”. The result was a potential payout of $4.6 billion, which was paid out. As the result of a court ruling, Silverstein made a huge profit off of the 9/11 attacks. At least one security guard at the World Trade Center reported the abrupt removal of explosive-sniffing dogs five days prior to 9/11.

Brothers and sisters: No steelframed building before or since 9/11 has ever collapsed due to fire. The World Trade Center buildings were designed to withstand the impact of airliners. The melting point of steel is about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. And the temperature of jet fuel fires does not exceed 1,800 degrees.

Why were two distinct spikes, one for each Tower, seen in seismic records before the towers collapsed?

How could the World Trade Center towers collapse in free-fall speed—only 11 seconds for World Trade Center One, and 9 seconds for World Trade Center Two—speeds that approximate that of a ball dropped from a similar height with no air resistance?

Why did so many people, including New York Fire Department Personnel, report hearing many explosions at street level prior to the Towers falling?

And by the way: Who were those men on top of a van with a tripod camera across the Hudson River, filming the Towers before the first plane hit? How did they know to be there? And why were they celebrating? The police arrested them, and let them go into Israeli custody. Why?

“Building 7”: This was the 47-story skyscraper that was part of the World Trade Center complex that collapsed on 9/11. Why did this skyscraper, which was not struck by a plane, collapse in 6.5 seconds at 5:20 p.m. on September 11th in the exact manner of a controlled demolition? And why was U.S. military explosive thermate found in the dust of the World Trade Center?

America is now

at war with ‘Islam’

Here are some more recent examples of “lying wonders”: Four-star U.S. army general Wesley Clark said that 10 years before 9/11, Paul Wolfowitz, the Neo-Con architect of Bush’s war on Iraq, told General Clark of plans to “clean out The Middle East,” and take over those Muslim nations. Just 10 days after 9/11, Clark was shown a Pentagon memo that describes how they planned to “take out seven countries in five years,” starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.

“Five years” and “seven countries”… .This woman, Naomi Wolf, who said that it would be a “hydra-like scheme”: This “hydra” is a multi-headed monster in mythology that Hercules fought against. But the strange thing about this “monster” is that every time Hercules cut off a head, the head would grow back.

America, now, is at war with Islam, make no mistake about it. Every time they kill a leader of Islam, another one rises. Why? You can’t kill, or destroy, Islam. Because Islam is The Nature of God, and it is The Nature in which He has created this Universe.

Remember, when Jesus came into Jerusalem, riding the ass and the colt; and the Jewish Sanhedrin said, “If we don’t stop this man now, the whole world will go after him.” Is this why it led to his ultimate crucifixion?

Is this what you all thought when you saw my call of a million Black men, and nearly two million showed up? Was your thought that you “have to stop Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam now” before the whole world goes after us?

We traveled the world, and you saw my acceptance in Africa, Asia, and in the Islamic world; in the Caribbean, in Central America and South America— you saw this! And in the Islamic world, even in the Holy City of Mecca when we made Umrah, or “The Lesser Pilgrimage” during the last 10 nights of Ramadan: The Saudi government put a police escort for me and those with me; and they escorted us from Jeddah to the Prophet’s mosque in Medinah; and from Medinah to Mecca. And at The Ka’abah in Mecca, young people broke down barriers to come and touch me—not out of “hatred,” but out of love! Is this what you fear?

What is it about Islam that you fear? And what is “Islam”? The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us, and all Islamic scholars bear witness, that “Islam” is entire submission to do The Will of God. Did not Moses submit his will to God? Did not Abraham, The Father of The Righteous, submit his will to God? Did not Jesus say, “Not my will, but Thy will?”

The Muslims in America are most peaceful and productive; they have contributed much to the development of this society in medicine, in science, in engineering, in research and development. But the FBI has been infiltrating mosques and creating conditions to entrap Muslims; and then you say, through your media, that you have “stopped terrorists.”

This is all a part of your aim of “invoking a terrifying internal and external enemy.”

***

Brothers and sisters, the American people, you are seeing, now, that we’re leading up to war again. You need to really look at other media on your internet, other than CNN, and the corporate-controlled media of America. Try Russian television (rt.com), Chinese television (english.cntv.cn); try Saudi Arabian news service Al-Jazeera (aljazeera.com); try Iranian news service Press TV (presstv.Ir). All of these stations will give you the same facts, but another viewpoint.

Kwame Ture, formerly known as “Stokely Carmichael,” believed that he was given cancer by the CIA. I have been battling cancer, and it was known that I had it. And when I flew to Washington to be treated for it at Howard University Hospital, the then-wife of Nelson Mandela, Sister Winnie Mandela—when she visited me, said that it was announced in South Africa that I had passed; and CNN and The New York Times were preparing to release a statement that I had “passed.”

What did they know?

‘I’m gonna live until I die’
—the enemy knows
The Doom that is coming

I would like you to study the following prophecy of “Babylon’s Doom” from the 13th Chapter of Isaiah, verses 2-11 [NIV Bible]: “Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles. I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—those who rejoice in my triumph. Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war. They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—to destroy the whole country. Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear. Terror will seize them … the day of the Lord is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger … The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light … I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.”

It is said that “the soldiers coming” will not spare the children or the fruit of the womb. So in closing, there was a song that Frank Sinatra sang; it’s called, “I’m Gonna Live Until I Die,” written by Al Hoffman, Walter Kent and Manny Curtis, and it goes like this:

“I’m gonna live till I die! I’m gonna laugh ‘stead of cry, I’m gonna take the town and turn it upside down, I’m gonna live, live, live until I die. They’re gonna say ‘What a guy!’ I’m gonna play for the sky. Ain’t gonna miss a thing, I’m gonna have my fling, I’m gonna live, live, live until I die.

“The blues I lay low, I’ll make them stay low, They’ll never trail over my head. I’ll be a devil, till I’m an angel, but until then. / Hallelujah, gonna dance, gonna fly, I’ll take a chance riding high, Before my number’s up”—666— “I’m gonna fill my cup, I’m gonna live, live, live, until I die!”

Thank you for reading these words. May Allah bless you with The Light of Understanding, as I greet you in peace: As-Salaam Alaikum.

The post America’s ‘Century Of Wars, Lies And Deceit’ appeared first on Final Call News.

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

February 16, 1983 “The Purpose of Knowledge”

“Whether you know it or not, beloved Black brothers and sisters, you are right now in your first state along the path of human development. You are a long, long, long way from where you and I yet have to go.

“White folks today, rule the world. They are not in their first state of development, but I say to Caucasian people:

Do not mock the development of those who are coming out of colonialism, up from under imperialism, up from under a dark night of ignorance as they struggle to evolve.

And don’t make your evolution cause you to think that you are superior to other life, lest it produce in you arrogance; and that arrogance stops your growth and development because you think that because God has favored you with Knowledge, Light and the Freedom to grow, you are “better” than others who are now coming into that Light by God’s Permission.”

October 14, 1990 “Stop The Killing”

“Black people in America are sick people. Black people in the Caribbean are sick people. Black people in Africa are sick people. Wherever you find Black people who have been under colonialism, under White Supremacy, we are sick people and nothing has been able to revive us.

“We are ‘Christians.’ We go to church and we listen to our pastors, but we are still a people steeped in self-hatred. We are our own destroyers yet we say we’re ‘Christians.’ We are college graduates; we are Masons and Shriners; we are Alphas and Omegas.

We belong to every organization that there is, every church that there is, every religion that there is, but look at our condition. Nobody has been able to heal us.

“ … How do you heal a mind that has been destroyed, where we are no longer what we should be? We don’t work for ourselves. We don’t fight for ourselves. We don’t build for ourselves.

We work for White people, fight for White people, live for White people, die for White people, kill one another for White people. That is sick. We needed a doctor. We needed a healer. We needed a Saviour.

“Don’t condemn the Honorable Elijah Muhammad—look at the effect of the medicine. You who didn’t take the medicine, you can’t testify. We who took the medicine, we can testify. We know that the medicine works.

I can’t condemn Elijah Muhammad, who gave me the medicine. And I can’t condemn The Scientist (Master Fard Muhammad) that concocted the medicine, and gave it to Elijah to give to me to make me whole again.

“Don’t judge yet because we are not what we’re going to be and we’re not what we were. We have to stop the killing.”

October 16, 1996

Press briefing with members of the International Media (World Press Corps) on the World Day of Atonement

Question: Mr. Farrakhan, what is the view of your organization (NOI) on the invasion and the continuous occupation of Haiti?

HMLF: “Well, certainly our sympathy has always been with the Haitian people and it seems that ever since Toussaint L’Ouverture and Jean- Jacques Dessalines beat Napoleon, Haiti has never been allowed to come out from under Western domination and humiliation.

“I think what has happened to Haiti with Jean Bertrand Aristide is mockery. If Aristide was disallowed his five-year term in office because of a coup (overthrow); and America put him back in power but disallowed him to continue where he left off—and then disallowed him to be re-elected—I think there is something wrong. So, Haiti continues to suffer.

February 28, 2010 “Saviours’ Day”

“Haiti is in trouble today. And even in spite of differences, the bigger picture is Haiti. We have to come together around Haitian leadership; and over the long term, help rebuild Haiti.

“You have voted, and, I have voted, and, we have voted for our brother, Barack Obama, to be our president. I love my brother, and I’m proud of him. I love his wife and his children, and I’m proud of them. But, Barack Obama was selected before he was elected.

“There’s a tiny group of people that study you—and I’m saying this to Wyclef Jean, because, when your heart is for your people, there are those who have always corrupted the leadership of Haiti.

“And right now, like vultures that gather around a famous brother, because they suspect a future for him back in Haiti. And they want to get their claws into the brother, so that if he goes back to serve, he’ll be their man.

“When they select you, they study you well. They studied Barack Obama, our brilliant Black brother. If you can recall Senator Harry Reid’s comments, he was talking to a White reporter and said: “You all got it all wrong.” He was telling the White reporter, “Look. I think we can abide a light-skinned Negro that doesn’t speak with Negro dialect.”

“See, White folk want to see their selves in you! They look at us, and we’re light-skinned, they say: “Oh! That’s us in them. That’s why they’re smart. That’s why they’re intelligent.” So light-skinned Black people have always been given one-up, two-up, three-up, ten-up, while your Black brother, Black sister, suffer. And this makes light-skinned people think that they’re better!

“This is why there’s oligarchy in Haiti; people that are rich, and suck the blood of the poor! They only had one popu-larly-elected president in 200 years, and that was Brother Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

“Now let me tell you how our government deals: Brother Aristide comes up out of the masses—he’s like Barack: He wants to unite everybody! In America, they push Toussaint L’Ouverture, and you can’t read books and find too much about Jean Jacques Dessalines, or Henri Christophe.

“Toussaint was a great man—he is to Haiti as Martin Luther King was to us. But Martin Luther King was the lesser of two evils! They would rather deal with Martin, than Malcolm.

There may be a little honorary street here and there named after Malcolm and Elijah, but everywhere there is a boulevard named for Dr. King. He deserves it; he’s a great man. But he’s a great man who wanted to integrate us into a dying house, with a wicked slave master!

“How in the hell can you unite with that which has enslaved you, and oppressed you? And then say: We want to be with you!”? Not on those terms! “Toussaint and those with him fought, and they won, but he wanted to maintain Haiti as a colony of France. A colony—after you bled, and you died, and you won? You still want to be a colony?

Dessalines would not have that. “So when they tricked Toussaint out of Haiti; and then he never came back, he died while he was out of the country. Dessalines said, “No!” and the first Black Republic on this Earth was Haiti!” “We owe Haiti a debt of gratitude …”

“Haiti received its independence a few years after America won her freedom from Great Britain, or, England. Imagine a Black Republic in the Caribbean in the midst of all these nations that had us as slaves: America, Brazil, Central America, Jamaica, Barbados.

You had the Dutch, the Spanish, the French, the Portuguese, so some of you have Spanish names, and you’re dumb enough to think that you’re a “Spaniard.” Some of you have English names, and you swear you are “English.” And the names of my Haitian brothers and sisters: Francois, Chauncey.

“But where did you get that name? From your slave master. He doesn’t respect voodoo! What is voodoo? What is the Native American culture? What is the Sun Dance? What are your rituals? Are they worth anything to the White man of America? They are worth nothing. He is superior.

“He could have learned from the Mayans, but he burned their books of Higher Mathematics. He could have learned from the Aztec, but he was arrogant! “Your religion means nothing! I’m going to make you a Christian.” Can you imagine a devil making you a Christian? How in the hell can he make you into Jesus, when he was as far away from Jesus as Satan and Lucifer and Beelzebub are from Jesus Christ?

“After Christophe whooped Napoleon—I mean, they gave him an African Whooping!—he said, “Enough of this! I don’t want anything to do with these Blacks in the Western Hemisphere. So you all can have The Louisiana Purchase at a price of $15,000,000.”

“This is because the brothers went off in Haiti. There was Denmark Vesey, there was Nat Turner, there was Gabriel Prosser; there were the Maroons in Jamaica; there were the uprisings in Brazil—all started from our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I want you to see what our revolution in Haiti gave to America. That’s why America, you owe something to Haiti; and we are not going to let you make it a paradise so you can rape our women, sodomize our boys, or take them out of Haiti, and make them slaves! We’re not going to let you do it!

“We owe Haiti. I can’t let this go. I promised I would be a voice for the voiceless, along with all of you. I don’t say that I don’t love Toussaint—I love him to the max! But I’m a man like Dessalines: I don’t want to be a ‘colony.’

“We’re going to have to be free.”

The post A Voice For Haiti, A Voice For All Our Rise appeared first on Final Call News.

Beyond preventing disease and cutting this country’s healthcare bill, Black people in particular have even more reason to make a change and adopt healthful living as a priority. We already know we live in a racist society.

But did you know that the very stress of racism cripples us in a way that leaves us susceptible to illnesses and lifestyles that lead to illnesses and death? The constant ever presence of racism in every aspect of our lives triggers physiological responses that release hormones into the body that can harm us.

One leading doctor, Dr. John L. Mason, wrote in his book “Guide to Stress Reduction,” that “if a stress response is chronic, the constant presence of stress hormones begins to wear down the body’s immunological systems.”

The stress from the constant bombardment of racism, from our being in America under this system of hatred toward Black people, works to increase the heartbeat, tense the muscles, increase the blood pressure and ultimately release adrenaline and other hormones into the body.

Without a physical outlet to free you of the buildup of these hormones and adrenaline, these things wear down the immunological systems and leave you vulnerable to illness and disease.

Or, you begin to seek mood-altering substances like drugs, alcohol, food, or even sex or violence to help make you feel better. After we destroy ourselves, through our response to the destructive enemy assault of racism, we then look to the doctor or the government to help us.

Let me remind you, the key to solving our problems begins with self-improvement. The government and the medical community cannot be relied on to solve our problems. Take cancer as an example.

When former President Nixon launched the National Cancer Act in 1971, he funded the National Cancer Institute with a $1.4 billion annual budget. Since that time there has been no marked improvement in cancer death rates.

All we’ve received is warnings that smoking, improper diet, lack of exercise, getting an annual checkup, all of these simple guidelines to healthful living can dramatically reduce the risk of cancer.

However, according to the Public Health Service, given the excessive deaths in the Black community, the government has written off the possibility of closing the gap in the near future. And if we are written off in the near future, then what future is there in continuing to look to the government for help?

We must now look to God and ourselves for solutions to our problems. The route to economic and political empowerment begins with affirming the Will of God and living in accord with His directions. Why would we add poor health to a condition that is already economically, socially and politically disadvantaged?

We compound our own disadvantage i by partaking of the slough-trough of the degenerate life of America’s popular culture instead of raising ourselves up and being a beacon of hope and an example to every oppressed group of people on the earth.

We need a healthy community to shoulder the responsibility of self-determination. You cannot fight for self-determination when you are at war with your own body and mind.

I’m urging you to adopt healthy lifestyles, not for vanity’s sake, but for the sake of our future, and our grandchildren’s future. Because without healthy, strong bodies, wise and disciplined minds, we only help the enemy by serving as the instruments of our own extinction.

The post Walking: Preventative Care Guidelines appeared first on Final Call News.

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

The message in the mouth of the messenger that comes at the end of the world condemns a whole world. It’s not a man talking about a nation or a ruler or a king or government or a system. This is a message that condemns rulers, all of them; systems, all of them; nations, all of them; the religions of the world, all of them.

That means that the whole world will come against that individual because nobody wants to believe that they are wrong or in error. Everybody wants to believe that they are right. But if we were right, then we would have a significant impact on Satan’s world.

Being right in the mosque doesn’t mean anything. Being right in the church or in the temple doesn’t mean anything. There is a world out there that needs to be conquered for God. The real work is in the streets.

When that man appears, he will be opposed by the ruling order of the present world because his presence alone means the end of their world.

So the object of Satan is to stop the increase of the man of God, to confuse the people about the man of God, to throw a veil over the man of God and, ultimately, to kill the man of God and all those that believe in the man of God because to believe in him is to receive the same anointing that he’s anointed with.

The Holy Qur’an says of the messenger, “Oh, messenger, deliver that which has been revealed to thee from thy Lord. And if thou do it not, thou has not delivered His message. And Allah will protect thee from men. Surely Allah guides not the disbelieving people.”

What is Allah (God) saying to the messenger? Allah is saying, “Don’t be afraid. I know you are going to be attacked, but Me, and Me alone, should you fear. They are going to call you a liar when you say that you are My messenger.

But I will bear witness that you are the messenger, but you’ve got to deliver the message. And if you deliver the message, surely I will protect you from the men that will attempt to kill you for delivering that message.”

This teaches us the inherent danger that is embodied in delivering that kind of message. But the messenger is told by Allah, if you don’t deliver the message you are not My messenger.

In other words, it is the duty of the messenger, without fear of consequences, to deliver the message that bears witness that this person is the messenger of God. And the promise of God is that He will protect the message and the messenger from the plotting of those who feel that it is their duty to take the messenger’s life and destroy the power of the truth of his message.

When God comes, His presence in the world is a declaration of war. It is written that on the coming of God, He will uproot the wicked and leave them neither root nor branch. If something is plucked up by the root, it will never grow again.

The clashing of these two worlds puts the people in the valley of decision. Once the truth is made known to you, then you must decide which world you want to be a part of. If Satan’s world is exposed and Satan, himself, is exposed, do you want him for your friend?

You’ve got to make a decision that nobody can make for you. Your life is the sum total of the decisions that you make, and this is the most important decision in your life.

When Allah (God) comes, He is bringing in a New World. Satan is trying to hold on to his world. So the message and the messenger is what Satan will oppose with all of his power.

Therefore, the messenger and those who believe in the messenger must be of a certain quality and character to be able to withstand Satan and his tremendous opposition.

None of the prophets, no matter how firm they were with the message that Allah gave them, were able to keep their followers and their community from being deceived by Satan after that prophet left the world.

Moses kept his community together until he went to the mountains to receive the law. Then Satan upset his community. After he went up again into the mountains to die, Joshua did well but he could not hold the community together.

The community that is called Jewish is a divided community today. Their community is beset by problems caused by deviation from the laws, statutes, and commandments of Allah (God) that He gave them through the mouth of their prophets.

As long as Jesus was in the world, he kept the community together. But when Jesus left the world, the apostles did the best they could but the early church was filled with division and strife because Satan was present.

After the death of Jesus and his “resurrection”, Christianity did not start again where Jesus taught and lived—in the tiny state of Palestine that is now called Israel. It started again in Rome in 325 A.D. when the rulers got together to decide what they would believe in, and out of that came the Nicene Creed.

So the Christian house is divided. Who divided you after Christ came to unite the followers under the Gospel? Satan divided you.

What about the Muslims? The community of Muhammad was beautiful while he was in the world. But even while he was in the world, the seed of satanic minds was among some of his followers.

Satan could not win while Muhammad was present, but after he was gone the community became divided. And the Holy Qur’an teaches, “And they did not become divided until after knowledge came to them. And they became divided due to envy.”

What causes the division among us? Envy! And envy is the most irredeemable emotion in the human being. When one person envies another, that spirit is the spirit of Satan. Envy is in the church; envy is in the mosque; envy is in the synagogue; envy is in the world. Satan runs any place where envy is the order of the day.

I know there are sincere Muslims all over the world, as there are sincere Christians who want the purity of that faith and really are disturbed at what they see and hear going on in the name of Jesus.

I respectfully say to Christians that Jesus would be classified as homophobic in today’s world because Jesus said that he wouldn’t admit the effeminate into his Kingdom, neither the liar, the adulterer nor the fornicator. His kingdom is going to be righteous.

That means if we are doing those things, we’ve got to clean ourselves up. Jesus said, “wash and be clean.” Dirty people can’t claim Jesus. I don’t mean just dirty on the outside. The real filth and the real dirt is the dirt that is on the heart of those who claim to worship Almighty God.

Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, all have deviated from the original path. Satan has devoured the entire world, but there is a remnant that Satan has not overlooked, he just has not been able to get them.

And out of that remnant, Allah will take over the world and rule it again forever. Satan was given a season and a time to do his work and, according to the Bible, he was given six days, but on the seventh day he would have to rest from his labor.

The Bible teaches that a day with the Lord is as 1,000 years. So, for six thousand years Satan will rule. Again, the Bible teaches that God’s rule comes after the working of Satan. After! If Satan is going to rule for 6,000 years, then we can’t look for God’s presence in the world until the time of Satan’s rule is up.

Don’t you want to see a change in the people in your community, synagogue, church, mosque, that when you walk among your own people that claim they believe like you, that you can feel the presence of God?

Don’t you want to feel that when you come out of your house with your babies, that you can walk the streets of your community without fear that some foolish person will drive by and kill your babies because of gang warfare. Satan rules the streets, but you want to see a change.

That means that you have to make a decision to accept that truth that will give you the power to go back from here, or from the church, or from the mosque, and start in your house and change your family.

You must start in the community and begin changing the people from Satan’s way to God’s way. After a while, when you look around Satan will be leaving and God will be coming in. And before you know it the whole spirit in the community will take on a change.

To be continued, Insha’Allah.

The post The Ultimate Decision: Will you choose God’s world or Satan’s? appeared first on Final Call News.

[Editor’s note: In an exclusive interview with The Final Call eight years after the overwhelming success of the Million Man March, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan shares his reflections on maintaining unity, developing international relationships, enduring media and government attacks, and sacrificing to build a better world. This text originally appeared in Vol. 23, No. 5, November 4, 2003.]

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

The Final Call (FC): What did Allah (God) allow you to see that sparked the call for the Million Man March?

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan (MLF): I was shown in a vision-like experience that the President of the United States in early September of 1985 had met with his Joint Chiefs of Staff to plan a war. I was told that I should make it known and tell the world that I got this information from Elijah Muhammad from where he was at the time. He said he was on the Great Wheel.

As time went on, I learned that the government of the United States had planned a war with Libya, and I recognized that that war was on two fronts: one dealing with the Libyan-Arab Jamahiriya; the second dealing with Black youth in the streets of America.

This insight caused me to go on a tour to stop the killing, and then another tour to speak to men only about the condition of the Black man in America. Out of that came the call for the Million Man March.

FC: How was the aim and purpose of the March directly linked to the insight that Allah (God) gave you? What did you hope the March would achieve?

MLF: During that time period, there was the arrival on the scene of crack cocaine; an increase in gang activity starting on the West Coast moving eastward with the Bloods and the Crips; and movies that portrayed our youth throughout the world, like “Colors” and “Menace to Society” that put Black men in particular, in a very ugly light. So that call for the Million Man March then led to efforts to organize for the success of it.

FC: Please share your vision of the success of the March at that time, what you felt it produced then and since then?

MLF: We knew from the tremendous turnout of Black men that it was a great success; the unity that was present, the peace that was present. The commitment of those men to make life better for their wives and children, and to bring a greater amount of peace and security to our communities, that remained to be seen—whether we would follow through on that commitment.

There was great fear that these men would act in a way that would create the necessity of the National Guard, federal troops and others to intervene. So, government—city and federal—closed down on that day, and the Million Man March became a major media event. This worldwide media attention put the nearly two million Black men who were present, and all of those who spoke, in the view of billions of people around the planet.

The way the March was characterized by the media caused me to be somewhat depressed, and I went into solitude and quiet to ask Allah’s (God’s) guidance for what the next step should be.

FC: Can you elaborate on how the media portrayed the March?

MLF: First, they played down the numbers that were present. They mocked the value of the speech that I gave. Others tried to separate the success of the March from the man in whom Allah (God) had deposited the idea for the March.

I asked those men to join an organization of their choice that is working to better our condition. I also asked them to join a church, mosque, synagogue, or temple of their choice that would re-ignite spiritual values in our young men. As a result, organizations, churches and mosques grew with Black male participation.

So, in my solitude, I reflected on the actual fact that the President of the United States went to the Egyptian leadership and government asking them to send troops on the ground to attack Libya and promising to give them air cover, while CIA operatives in Libya would rise up internally against Muammar Gadhafi. As I looked at the geographical position of Egypt, seeing that it was east of Libya, and feeling that the government and the media propagation would try to say to the Muslim world that we, in the Nation of Islam were not true Muslims, I decided that I should go East in order to connect the Nation of Islam with our Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world, and also to connect the struggle of Black people in America to the struggle of Black people and Indigenous people throughout the planet. As I reflected on my more-than-a-vision experience, it came to me that I should cement friendships with Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

FC: You are referring to your World Friendship Tours, after which you began another national tour to explain your motive, because of more negative media attention on your tours. Why did the media and the government continue to take a negative position?

MLF: There never has been a desire on the part of the government that the struggle of Black people in America should be linked to the struggle of our people in every part of the earth. Every leader that was international in scope and in reach became the target of the government—Paul Robeson, Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Kwame Ture and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Any Black leader who would try to connect us to our brothers and sisters in Africa and Asia were seen as a threat and became a target.

This is written in the prophecies of the Old Testament—that the enemy, Pharaoh, saw the Children of Israel multiplying and that they would try to unite with an enemy and come against them. So, they devised a plan, not only to cut the Children of Israel off inside the house of their torment, but to keep them from being in unity with anybody outside of Egypt that Egypt believed was its enemy.

If you look at our leaders historically, all of them were persecuted. I don’t believe we have ever had a Black leader that was so widely accepted among the masses of people, as well as the leadership, in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, as Allah (God) has blessed me to be accepted. Thus, this meant to the government that I was indeed a threat. The movement of us to link with our people around the world was also seen as a threat.

FC: What is it that we, as a people, are headed for, in relation to our enemy’s plan, that would make the Million Man March and your World Friendship Tours impact that journey?

MLF: Everywhere we went in the world on behalf of our people we were received as a head of state. Both the leadership and the people saw the Black male in a different light than the savage condition that was being projected by Hollywood. The people of the world saw Black men now as a potential force politically that might impact and make positive change in the way the government formulated its policy toward Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Asia. The Million Man March, in one day, helped to defeat all of the evil propaganda spread about Black men throughout the world.

FC: What benefits of your World Friendship Tours do we enjoy today? And how will we benefit in the future from cementing those friendships?

MLF: We are blessed to grow up in a country that is the world’s leader. We are blessed to be some of the most well-educated Black persons anywhere to be found in the world. This education and talent can be used in a friendly relationship with Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Asia to develop the wealth and resources of these nations. The friendship of us with our kith and kin around the world would cause both sides to benefit exponentially, based upon how well we develop these relationships.

FC: I want to get back to a point that you had made earlier in reference to the attack on youth. In 1997, you convened a Hip Hop Summit that brought peace to a feud between East and West Coast rappers. Now, we are facing a similar feud. What lessons did we learn in 1997 and perhaps have now forgotten?

MLF: The lesson learned by those who learned the lesson causes those who learned the lesson not to repeat the error or mistake that caused that split, which caused the loss of life of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur and others.

As time moves on, a new generation arises that may not have experienced what the former generation of rappers experienced. So, the wisdom gained from the learning of that lesson has to be passed on to succeeding generations, otherwise the enemy will cause what was to become what is and to destroy the future of what could be. So, with God’s help, we will work to diffuse this kind of thing again.

FC: In light of the worsening conditions in our communities, with Black men in particular, is there a need for another Million Man March, or do we miss the point in seeking to recreate what happened in 1995?

MLF: It’s not necessary to have another March. The worsening conditions in our community is not necessarily directed toward those men who came to the Million Man March and are still working as mentors and in business, education, politics, and other areas to make the condition of our people better. As the condition of America and the world degenerates, it is we who are the weak or the poor or the ignorant who feel it worse.

Now we have to think, not in terms of what is good for an individual or a segment of the population or an organization or a sect of Christianity or Islam or Judaism, we have to think today of what is in the best interest of the whole of our people. The conditions that we are suffering force us to address the real issues that affect the life and well-being of the majority of our people. That is why the call for reparations and justice in dealing with the problems of Black people is so relevant now.

FC: Why was it significant that the men paid their own way to the March?

MLF: The Million Man March was held on a Monday. Most marches were always held on a weekend and most marches were paid for by philanthropic groups and organizations and labor unions, etc. So, the people who came did not necessarily have to make a great sacrifice to be there.

Our going to Washington was not to petition government, but to petition our God and Creator, that we may regain His favor and come into a position of power with Him that would allow us to correct our own condition.

I wanted to see if we, as men, in the spirit of atonement, reconciliation and responsibility, would accept the responsibility to be there on our own, to pay our own way, to stand in front of God and each other, after having made a sacrifice of that day of work, of school, that we were not going to go into any place of business or spend money on that day; that we were going to fast and pray and meet in our churches and meet in our mosques and in our homes to reconcile differences. It wasn’t just the March itself, but it was the whole country of our people involved in a Holy Day of Atonement.

God showed us, on that day, His favor. I learned that the National Security Agency of the United States Government had recruited some of our young people to come to the March to create a problem. But the spirit of the brothers that were there was so strong that they could not. The favor of God was on us, so that those nearly two million men were present and there was not one arrest, and the crime in Washington, D.C., on that day was almost zero.

From the Million Man March to this day, the crime and murder rates have significantly decreased in the major cities of America, according to police reports. I believe that the Million Man March was a significant part of the reason for the decrease.

There was greater voter registration and voter participation by Black men since that time and an increase in economic enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit among Black men. So, there’s great benefit that has come from it, but in order for us to truly be free, even greater sacrifice will have to be made by all of us.

FC: In your 2003 Holy Day of Atonement address, you outright declared that, “this government of the United States is our worst enemy.” Why is it necessary to keep that at the forefront of our minds, in light of all the positive things that you just pointed out?

MLF: As long as the Children of Israel saw Pharaoh as a friend, they could not see Moses and Jehovah as their true friend. As they came into consciousness—by the wicked things that Pharaoh continued to do against them—that Pharaoh was indeed their enemy, then Moses and Jehovah’s call to them to separate from Pharaoh to build a nation of their own became a reality.

As long as we see America and her wealth as something that we want, we will never leave Pharaoh. As God’s hand touched the wealth of Pharaoh, it is now touching the wealth of America. As the Black man and woman become more awakened to the wicked machinations of government, the aim is the same today: We should never be free of their influence and power.

As Abraham Lincoln said, if there is to be a superior position, he would rather that superior position be assigned to the White race. That superior position must be protected by those who believe in White supremacy and they will do everything in their power to make sure that that position will always be throughout the generations.

So, our path is clear: We refuse to be inferior. We want to be exactly what Allah (God) has desired for us to be and we can’t be that in their house. We either have to take over their house or go and build a house of our own.

FC: Let’s focus on your critics and their attacks on your credibility. The Nation of Islam won a discrimination lawsuit brought by a woman in Boston against the Men’s Only meeting held there, as part of the two-year organizing effort for the March. Why did you choose to put the men first? What didn’t that sister, and others like her who criticized this aspect, understand about your motive?

MLF: Why, in the scriptures of the Bible and Holy Qur’an, did God create man first? I believe that we are in the genesis or the beginning or the birth of a new world order, so then man and woman have to be made new again. We started where God started—with men. If we can reform the man and make him a better man and a God-fearing man, then we have a chance, we believe, to build a better world.

Our talking to men may have been seen by some as a threat to women, but most Black women loved the idea of our trying to raise the level of consciousness of Black men. Many mothers brought their sons to the “men-only” meetings; many wives encouraged their husbands to come. When the women at home saw what the men committed themselves to do, they rejoiced. And, in fact, the Million Man March would never have been successful if it were not for the women who stood with us and helped to organize to make the March what it eventually became.

FC: Why was it important to conduct and publicize the complete audit of the Million Man March?

MLF: The enemy has always been able to point the finger of suspicion and/or guilt to Black leaders that they are enriching themselves at the expense of the people. Before the Million Man March took place, in my hotel room a very highly respected AME Bishop asked me two questions. One was about proselytizing Islam on that day where we had unprecedented Christian support. I told him that was not my purpose; that I would send these men to join mosques, synagogues, churches and temples. Secondly, he asked, what about the money? I said I would hire respected CPA firms, make a complete audit, and give to the world the results of that audit. I gave my word and I fulfilled my word.

A lot of the money that we saw in the hands of people we couldn’t collect because the lines were so tight, there was no aisle to go through. But whatever we were blessed to get, within three months or so, we had the complete audit of every aspect of the Million Man March. The press was called; and, of course, they who were pointing this finger of suspicion at us, now when the audit was a reality, they wouldn’t spread the news that the Minister had fulfilled his word.

This is the first march that we know of that was paid for completely by the people. We ended up with a loss, which the Nation of Islam paid. The Nation of Islam was the biggest contributor to the Million Man March, but poor people gave their nickels, dimes and dollars; some wealthy Black people gave money to make that March a success—and every nickel, every dime, every dollar was accounted for.

FC: You mentioned that there was unprecedented unity between Muslim and Christian communities and organizations. There are now leaders who have been taking credit for the March when they only participated but were not instrumental in organizing it. How can this play into the enemy’s plan to break that unity, and how can we avoid it?

MLF: The Minister was used by God to call the Million Man March. The Nation of Islam became the principle organizer, but all who participated can take credit because we didn’t do it by ourselves. Every brother, every sister, all of the local organizing committees, there were countless hundreds of persons who helped to organize the success of this March. The Minister can only say with truth that Allah (God) inspired him with the idea. It was hundreds, maybe even thousands, that helped in the organization of the March that made it successful. So, all can claim it as theirs and that will never break our unity, except that any of us become vain.

I could never take credit for this great event. That’s why on October 16, the eighth anniversary of the March, I asked the question from the scripture, will a man rob God? The scripture says not only in tithes and offerings, but man will rob God of the credit that He is due. If I ever tried to take credit for what God deserves the credit, He would be displeased with me, and I’m more interested in pleasing Him than pleasing ego or vanity.

So, all who participated, all who helped to organize, all that worked, are the organizers of the Million Man March. And in its success, all who worked can claim their part of its success.

FC: Since the initial days after the March, what do you see as a continuation of the enemy’s effort to attack your credibility? The most recent example is the sniper murder case, where it was often repeated on the news that the suspect attended the Million Man March.

MLF: At the Million Man March, a group of brilliant young men and women, the Wellington Group, did a poll that determined that 80-85 percent of the men who were present claimed Christianity as their religion. Twelve percent said they were Muslims and the remaining percentage was other. When it was known that a Muslim made a call and 85 percent or so of those who answered that call were Christians, it was decided at another level that never again should a Muslim make a call and Christians respond.

As I went about the country again thanking the people for their support and encouraging the principles of the March, I found that, in the churches that were opened to me during the Men’s Only Tour and in the pastors that I talked to, there was a new spirit. The 700 Club and other religious broadcasters were painting Louis Farrakhan as the anti-Christ.

Five years after the success of the Million Man March, we were able to go back to the Mall on Washington for the Million Family March. There were a little over 1.2 or 1.3 million people. Although less than the success of the Million Man March, it was a great success again, and it showed the Minister’s impact still with Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Native Americans and Hebrews.

So, they were unsuccessful in destroying the beautiful unity created by the Million Man March, but there definitely was—and is—a great effort to erode that working together of Muslims and Christians for the benefit of our total community.

Now, to answer the other part of your question, John Allen Muhammad was definitely at the Million Man March. Of those two million men at the March, I don’t know how many have had some run in with the law or have been institutionalized or are on probation, etc. But we are not responsible for the behavior of anyone that goes contrary to what we teach, any more than the Pope of Rome or the Archbishop of Canterbury or a religious leader who teaches moral law and values can be charged with the errant behavior of a parishioner or congregant who may violate their moral teachings. That is on the individual.

I don’t know of Brother John Allen Muhammad’s guilt in this, but he definitely was a member of the Nation of Islam. At the time of his arrest and being charged, he was not in good standing with the mosque. They’re saying that the Minister taught him hatred and this is the reason why he did what he did. But he was also a member of the armed forces of the United States of America. Did they teach him hatred? We certainly didn’t teach him how to shoot a rifle. He learned that from whomever his teachers were; we were not that.

These are all part of the ongoing effort to discredit the Minister and the Nation of Islam as terrorists, because we disagree with the government’s position with respect to the war, which is our right to do. But to link us with terrorists and terrorism is a big, big stretch.

FC: There has been very little publicity overall about the Nation of Islam. Is that because the Nation is not doing anything worth mentioning in the public or because of some other motive to ignore the works of the Nation and separate the Nation from you?

MLF: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said no matter how much they attacked him and the Nation of Islam under his leadership, they only helped the Nation to grow. So, the more they attacked me and the more I withstood that onslaught, the more thousands of people came out to, at least, hear a man that was being so vilified in the media. When they recognized that they were not hurting but helping me, they decided they wouldn’t say anything except to continue to discredit. So, there is a conscious effort not to publicize anything that the Nation is doing of value.

But we are not a creature of the media, so we are not depending on the media publicizing us to make us successful. The media can if they will, and they don’t have to if they don’t wish to. Our work is the work of resurrection and reform of our people and we will continue that work, in the light of the media or out of the light of the media. Our success depends on us, our unity, and our willingness to submit to the will of Allah (God).

FC: What I just heard in your answer was that much of our strength, or all of our strength really, comes from seeing you properly and seeing you in response to what is done to you. What enables you to withstand these attacks?

MLF: We must remember that it is written that we would undergo these kinds of attacks. In the Bible and Holy Qur’an, God shows us through the life of His prophets and messengers that none of them came into the world to do their work without severe opposition against them. That was with Abraham, Noah, Lot, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all and all the prophets and messengers in between. That is our role today.

If we do what Allah (God) has asked us to do—to unite on the basis of truth, to reform our lives, to civilize ourselves and others, and to form a nation for His glory—and we are attacked by the government and maligned and evil spoken of, that is exactly why Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount said, “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My namesake.”

Then, Jesus said when these kind of things happen, we should not be sad by it and walk around with our shoulders drooped and our head hung down; we should rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is our reward in heaven, for so did they, the prophets that were before us.

So, we are in a prophetic mode. We cannot escape what the prophets of God did not escape. If we bear it patiently and remain strong and united, Allah (God) says in the Qur’an that He loves those who are patient and steadfast under trial. We want to be those whom Allah (God) loves.

FC: Thank you.

The post The Million Man March: Past, Present and Future appeared first on Final Call News.

The Holy Qur’an teaches us that we are social beings. So there comes a time in your development, at age 8, 9, 10, when you leave the home and go out into the street to meet your friends in the neighborhood, and you form a natural alliance.

There is a time in our lives that we identify with, get our feeling of worth from, and seek recognition by, a group of boys and girls who have similar interests, aspirations, or needs, and usually they come from the same neighborhood in which we are growing up.

Our reason for being together is defined by streets or neighborhoods and, therefore, we feel we have a need to protect or defend what we call our “turf.”

As a result, out of the need to identify and belong to and be recognized by a group of peers to feel safe and secure, groups are formed and natural leaders emerge to whom the members of the neighborhood group or gang give their allegiance.

Each one of you that have a neighborhood group that is called a gang, you have given your allegiance to one of your own. You call him your “Leader.”

What qualities does the leader have? He usually possesses extraordinary gifts; courage, bravery, the strength to dominate, the Will to win, the Will to survive. Oftentimes, the leader is the greatest fighter among you. Sometimes, the leader whips you, so that when he beats you physically, you submit to him, you become his “boys,” his group.

In White neighborhoods, they harness this courage, bravery, and will to win, this aggressive tendency in young people. It’s not a fault. It’s a natural tendency in young men to be aggressive, to show strength.

It is our rite of passage to maturity. We are growing up now. I am as strong as you, so I test my muscle against your muscle, my strength against your strength. I’ll put my hands up and shoot out a few jabs to see if you know how to defend yourself. This is a part of growing up.

We don’t have a YMCA in most inner-city neighborhoods, so we have no way to direct the energy that is in us; but among White people they see the same energy and they form a Little League—a baseball team, a football team, a basketball team, a boxing team.

And all of the hostility and aggression is worked out in team sports. The will to win makes you a winner in baseball, in basketball. The courage is seen in how you work with the team, your bravery, your desire to be a winner.

In White communities and the more affluent Black communities, they do this to guide the “macho” spirit in young men. But suppose you don’t have any money? There is no Police Athletic League that cares about you. There is no Little League team for you.

Then what happens to this aggressive tendency in the young man? It degenerates. Consequently, our leadership gained through courage, bravery, and strength, is gained not in games, but in conflict.

“You came on my turf, man.” I hit you in the mouth for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this is the way I prove to myself I have it; this is the way I keep my “boys” in line. So, since you get leadership by that means, the only way leadership is maintained is by constantly proving yourself by constant involvement in conflict.

Therefore, our recognition can only be maintained and sustained by exploits that cause us to be recognized: how many members of a rival gang have we beaten, maimed, killed? And the more we beat, maim and kill one another, the more we have to beat, maim and kill. So, it becomes an ever-spiraling cycle.

There are White people at the top who know that this is a natural evolution in human beings. It’s not just germane to poor people; this is natural to all human beings, particularly males. But they sit in boardrooms and say, “How can we manipulate this?”

Now look at our communities today. What is the result of this “gang” conflict? It is the destruction of our own people simply because they do not live in the same neighborhood, go to the same school or wear the same colors.

They don’t wear the same symbols; they don’t wear their hat in the same way. If I wear it one way, I am this; if I turn it around another way, I am that. We start killing ourselves over something silly, over the marks that we have in our hair.

Everybody in this gang has three marks on the side; everybody in that gang has four marks in the back. And we knock each other down because our hair is cut differently.

You don’t see the big picture. You don’t realize that we all come up out of the same earth and are fellow sufferers in an unjust society that has put us in that sick role. We are the same people, with the same experience, originating from the same source. We come from the Lord of the Worlds, Almighty God, Allah, yet, we see each other as strangers.

Have you ever thought that perhaps somebody wants this to happen?

The post Black Youth Marked For Death By U.S. Government, Pt. 2 appeared first on Final Call News.

In the times of Moses, Pharaoh saw the Children of Israel multiplying. So he said, “Come, let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply, join on to an enemy of ours and come against us.” What did Pharaoh mean, “let us deal wisely with them?”

Let us plan and carry out a masterful maneuver, scheme. What is the basis of the scheme? Kill the boy babies, spare the female. Is that the Bible? How many of you have read it? Then ask yourself, what is it there for?

Pharaoh killed the male children of the Children of Israel. Is there an assault on Black youth? Is there an assault on Black babies? Why is our infant mortality rate so high? In the city of Washington, our babies die in their first year more often than in Cuba, than in some countries in Africa that are considered backward.

They are giving our sisters pills. You don’t know the chemical nature of the pill. They are telling you, that when you get pregnant you have to have a Cesarean, frightening you because they are going to have to cut you up.

They will tell you your uterus is too small, so we have to operate. Then they cut you and charge you $10,000 to have a baby, giving you enough pain to frighten you away from ever having any more. Then they suggest to you that you should have your tubes tied.

Sometimes you go for an operation and when you are finished you find out they have taken out all of your reproductive organs. This is done so that you will not bring any more Black babies on the Earth, Brother and Sister.

But if you happen to escape the death plan at birth, then they have another plan for you almost the moment you come on the Earth. The leaders are not going to say this.

They know it, but they are too cowardly to stand against the wickedness of the government for the Salvation of our People? You may not like Farrakhan, but you will never be able to say that I hid the Truth and allowed you to go to your death not knowing.

Now when what I am about to tell you actually comes down, God will bring back to your remembrance what I have told you this day if you fail to act upon it before you are killed.

Herod had the same plan. Kill all the boy children. This is not just talking about little babies. It is talking about these young men ages 7 through 16. The plan is against you! Who is filling up the jails? Every jail in America is filled with who? Black men. Black young men. Hispanic young men. You already opted out of education.

Very few of you are going on to college. You don’t think education has much value. There is a reason for that. The young girls are going to college, getting an education, while your young male counterpart is standing on the corner, selling drugs, getting involved in criminal activity and being swept off the street into jail or into the Army.

They are telling you that you can “be all” that you can never be in the society, if you just join the Army, not because you are patriotic, but because you need a job, you need some money to take care of the babies that you are making. So they put you in the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Army, the Coast Guard. You are filling up the National Guard.

I want you to see that time has brought us, Beloved, to the point where the enemy has decided to destroy our youth. And what we saw in China [referring to the 1989 Tianamen Square Massacre, 1989 during a student led protest by the government] is mercy, because what you saw in China is to prepare you for what you soon are going to see in the streets of America.

Did you notice that [then] President Bush did not speak out forcibly against what went on in China?

Ask yourself, why didn’t the President speak out against it? The members of Congress had to nudge him to speak against what went on in China. Even though they were killing young leaders, 27 of them murdered already, shot in the back of their heads, President Bush had not spoken yet.

Do you know why? It is not because he was former Ambassador to China. It is because he knows what they have planned against you. And if he comes down hard on Deng Xiaping, he cannot justify what they are planning to do against you.

What you may not know, Beloved Brothers and Sisters, is that there is a remedy. Allah does not show us what the enemy is planning without giving us a way to overcome his plans. The fact that what is about to happen has not happened yet and someone among you sounds the alarm is God’s Mercy to you.

The post Black Youth Marked For Death By U.S. Government appeared first on Final Call News.

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

THERE IS AN INCREASINGLY conservative and hostile climate growing in America towards the aspirations of Black people and people of color for justice.

The “Contract with America,” proposed by the Republicans and thus far agreed to by the Congress is turning back the hands of time, depriving the Black community of many of the gains made through the suffering and sacrifice of our fellow advocates of change during the ‘50s and ‘60s.

The recent Supreme Court decision on Affirmative Action has set the stage in the U.S. for closing the doors, thereby impeding the progress made in Black enrollment, and graduation from colleges and universities; and minimizing business opportunities and the hiring of Black Americans in the public and private sectors.

Each day, somewhere in this nation, the Black community witnesses and falls prey to an increased rate of crime and violence. Aspects of the “Crime Bill” suggest that Black males will be filling the jails of America and will spend the rest of their lives working for little or no pay in the new prison-industrial coalition.

The unfair use of the death penalty to punish the Black male is in fact a systematic genocidal tool being institutionalized to significantly decrease the Black population.

The proliferation of drugs and gun-related violence in the Black community, and the escalation of Black male fratricide has diminished the positive role and attributes of Black men, and instead has elevated ugly images of Black men as thieves, criminals, and savages—projected through movies, music and other communications, technologies throughout the world.

The epitome of these major challenges to the Black male and our community is this mounting force of hate being built against our people, particularly Black men.

We, therefore, have deemed it necessary in this critical hour to call for one million disciplined, committed, and dedicated Black men, from all walks of life in America, to march in Washington, D.C.—showing the world a vastly different picture of the Black male.

As the sons of a proud people, we are coming together and moving forward to chart the course for our future as responsible heads of our families; to reclaim and build our neighborhoods; to unify our families; to save our children who will lead us into the next In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. millennium.

We recognize October 16th as “A Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation.” We believe that it is only when we are as one—at peace with ourselves and our Creator—can we then begin to reconcile ourselves with the Creator.

We then are fortified with the ability and the capacity to successfully reconcile our differences, and accelerate the upward mobility of the Black community.

We believe that as men, we must recognize and unconditionally Atone for the absence, in too many cases, of the Black male as the head of the household, positive role model and builder of our community. We believe that we must Atone for, and establish positive solutions to, the abuse and misuse of our women and girls.

Our presence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is a day set aside to reconcile our spiritual inner beings and to redirect our focus to developing our communities, strengthening our families, working to uphold and protect our civil and human rights, and empowering ourselves through the Spirit of God, more effective use of our dollars, and through the power of the vote.

We are asking all religious leaders of the various denominations of Christianity and the various Faith Traditions within the Black community to declare October 16, 1995, as a Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation—a day of fasting and prayer for those who are able.

This will be the first time since the institution of slavery that Black people would have declared a Holy Day for our people. We must designate and recognize this day in accordance with the Word of our Creator.

We are asking the Black woman, particularly our mothers, to be with our children teaching them the value of home, self-esteem, family, and unity; and to work with us to ensure the success of the March and our mission to improve the quality of life for our people.

We take this historical moment to recognize the major contributions that the Black woman has made, and continues to make, toward the advancement of our people.

Bonded under the guise of leadership and strength, we, as one people must come together to improve the quality of life for our children and for the Black family. For, the long and winding road that we must travel to define our future shall be determined by the depth of our unification.

We are asking that the church doors be opened and that all those who have differences within the congregation go to their house of worship to reconcile their differences.

Parents, our children, and members of our community should come together by the end of the day, at a religious temple of any denomination to pray for the success and well-being of the Black man, woman, and child, and our community.

We are asking all those who have not registered to vote to go to a house of worship on October 16th, to get registered. There are approximately eight million Black persons in the U.S. eligible to vote, but who remain unregistered.

Our goal is to have a registrar in as many churches as possible. There will be teachers present to provide guidance, instructions, and information.

The most critical election of this century will be held in 1996. This will be the last presidential election of the century. We are determined that never again shall any political party take the Black vote for granted.

We are asking that you join many of our leaders who have gathered together to develop a national agenda for our people, as a follow-up to the Million Man March. Religious, political, civic, and youth leaders will be called to come together to incorporate sound ideas and recommendations; and to amend and finalize this national platform of action.

We shall take this platform of action to various communities in America to hold town meetings to encourage the Black community’s input and secure our people’s approval and active support of this agenda.

We shall emphasize in our actions and in the written word that the Black community shall not give our vote to anyone who is against, or is not willing, to represent the best interests of our people.

We believe that by the grace and goodness of our Creator, the success we envision for the Million Man March, and beyond October 16, 1995—our first declared Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation—will be captured in the annals of history as a landmark period in which Black people came together to effect the greatest promise of change for Black people in America, and throughout the world.

The post Why a Million Man March? appeared first on Final Call News.

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

“Leadership” is undergirded by a Divine Principle. Some of us think that “good looks” make us “good leaders,” and maybe that’s why we’re in the shape that we’re in. “Leadership” is not for the arrogant.

Some think that “great articulation of words” and “beautiful speech” is what makes “good leaders,” and maybe that’s why we’re in the condition that we’re in, because we always choose leaders that can speak well, but don’t do well.

And we always choose leaders sometimes that appeal to our fancy of what “leadership” is without ever considering the Divine Principle that undergirds real, and true, leadership.

Black people today don’t need leaders who “wanna be”: Who are seeking somebody to carry their bags and to help us live better with finer cars and clothes, and homes in good neighborhoods—Black people don’t need that; enough of that! As the Qur’an says, “Away with” that!

But how would we choose? What standard would we use? And this is why the scripture teaches that when God chooses a leader, He does not look without. He looks within.

He chooses someone that maybe the people would never choose, because we are made to look upon the outside of a thing because we’re not wise enough to discern the Inner Principles that people have built their lives on! So I want to talk about the characteristics of leaders. …

Why does God look at the “heart”? The hearts of people are where their innermost motivations are hidden; people that have hidden agendas and mask it with noble words to enhance their “look” among the people. But God looks at the heart.

And the heart of those who will lead today and tomorrow: Let me describe those hearts, because you don’t want to be like what we have experienced.

Study the Book of John, Chapter 10. In Verse 8 Jesus said, “All that ever came before me were thieves and robbers. …”; then in Verse 11 he gives a Principle of Leadership: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Evidently there were a lot of bad shepherds around. … “But he that is an hireling”—who’s in it for the money; who’s in it for the lust of power and influence—“… seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth:

And the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.” (Verse 12) When “the wolf” comes, that kind of “hireling leadership” runs away. But the good shepherd will lay down his life for the sheep.

So to those who want to be leaders, and those who are currently playing the role and not doing so well: The Casting Director has been watching the “tryouts,” and you know how bad it is when you get “cut”?

However, it only takes one person to make The Change, and I hope that you are that one; or, you will be that one, and you will strive to be better than what was before you in order that we can advance our people beyond where they are.

True Leadership is in your worship and honor of God

The greatest characteristic that a leader must have is a four-letter word: Love. Because it’s only love of the people that puts their worth and value above your own! It’s love of the people that will put their lives above your own!

It is love of the people that will make you bear the insults of the people that you come to lead. Because Black people are difficult to lead, and if you don’t have love, they’ll wear you out!

So the question I would ask is, “Why do you want to lead?” Have you checked your heart? Do you love enough to suffer at the hands of your own people to advance us? And I’m not talking about this silly “emotion” that we describe as “love,” I’m talking about that Creative Force out of which The Almighty God Allah created the Universe.

Think about His Love for what He created: He regulated the affair of everything that He created, and He provided sustenance for everything that He created that it might fulfill its purpose.

True Leadership is in God, because only God loves to that degree! And those of You who would want to lead: We have to lead after God. “Well, I don’t believe in God!” Well, that’s okay, brother. But you won’t lead long. “Well wait a minute, man: Are you tellin’ me that I’ve gotta believe in God?” Well, let me ask you this: How did you get here? What Creative Force brought you here?

And Who originated that Force that attracted your mother to your father, and your father to your mother? Who created the sperm? And Who created the egg that brought you here? And if you have any gift at all, did you give it to yourself? Or did God give it to you?

Look at the Principle that Jesus articulated: “Not my will, but Thy Will be done.” So, to “worship God” and to “honor God” is one of the first Principles of Leadership!

According to the Book, he said, “I”—pay attention to his words—“can of myself do nothing; whatsoever the Father bids me to do, that I do.  And whatsoever the Father bids me to say, that I say.” Do you know how powerful that is?

When whatever God commands is what you do, and what you say? Have you noticed how people that are in leadership always use the personal pronoun “I,” and they never get anything done because “I can of myself do nothing”?

Only God has the right to say “I.” But all of us: The principle is “we.” And if as a person striving for leadership you cannot involve others, then you are not a good leader.

The Principle of Leadership is buried in the words that Jesus said, in the Book of Mark, Chapter 12: “… The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

“Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength”—that’s heavy! And why wouldn’t we? That means nobody else gets anything; it’s all for God. … Not nine-tenths, not 15 percent; not 99 percent!

All of it! And if you can’t “give it all” to Him Who gave it all for us, then leadership is not for you! That’s not for you because in The World to come that is now present in you, you’ve got to give it all up for Him Who gave you life.

“Well, who is ‘He’?” Well, by whatever name you call Him, you know Who I’m talking about! The Originator of it all.

True Leadership is in the love you have for the people

And the Second Commandment is like unto it: “Love your neighbor,” or your brother, “as yourself.” So without love, you can’t lead: You can’t lead if you don’t love Him Who created you; you can’t lead if you don’t love your brother. And you can’t lead if you don’t love yourself!

And if you’re a self-hating Black man or woman, get out of it, because leadership is not for you! How can you be a self-hating Black man or woman, and stand up in front of Black people, with your “light-skinned/dark-skinned,” “up-on-the-hill/down-in-the-valley,” “I got it, but you’ve got it to get” attitude?

See, when you love, you take a look at the condition of our people to see how terrible our condition is. But if you’re judging us, saying, “See that Nigga? He ain’t nothin’!” well how can you lead him if he or she is “nothing” in your mind?

As a leader, you have to look beyond, as that song in the church says “He looked beyond my faults and He saw my need!” And if you can’t think like that, get out of leadership because your people have faults, and so do we. So if you can’t look beyond the faults of others; if you can’t forgive and be merciful, compassionate, firm and strong in love, you can’t lead.

In the Book of Matthew, Chapter 20, verses 25-28: “… Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant …”—Boy! That’s a heavy principle. Can you serve people that you think you’re “better” than?

Then Jesus said, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (unto others) …”—that means to “serve” others. So a “leader” has to be The Principal Servant of the people!

Now when “we serve,” on the plate that you’re serving your people must be The Answer—not to their “wants,” but to their needs, because every human need is a human right. So when you look at your people and see their needs, then as a “leader” or “one who aspires to leadership,” then you must examine your heart for “love,” and examine your heart for “service.”

But there is another most important characteristic that the leaders of this world do not have, which Jesus had with his Disciples: Big “ego” problems. The Disciples wanted to have the uppermost seats in the building. … You know how pseudo leaders are?

They come late, but, they want to come first! I mean, “right up front,” you know? And when they pray, they pray these long, heavy prayers; and when they give, they give to be “seen of men.” See, these kinds of “ego needs” start scratching you off for “leadership.”

Humility has to be a characteristic among leaders. We should not think more of ourselves than we should. And you know how we are: We’re so starved for “appreciation” and “ego gratification,” so we use leadership as a way to satisfy “ego needs.”

The Principle of Leadership is not based on “ego gratification.” The Principle of Leadership is based on serving, and seeing that the people whom you’re serving value the service, benefit from the service and grow from the service; in order, then, that they become that to others as you have become that to them.

Intelligence is the mark of a True Leader

Another example of leadership is in the study of “sperm.” When studied under a microscope, the sperm is observed “wiggling” as it’s going toward The Goal. The sperm’s tail is giving it “mobility,” but it is the head that knows exactly what it has to do. So intelligence is in the head of the sperm.

In “Leadership,” every head that leads must have the intelligence to know where you’re going! You can’t lead somebody else and don’t know where you are going! Where’s your destination? What do you want to lead them to? What is The Goal?

Consider the sperm: It presses on toward The Goal in a hostile environment; yet, never complains, “Damn! This is a rough environment! Look at all these other sperm, man, they’re running toward the same Goal! Only one of us is going to make it. … I better swim, man!”

And then they have to swim against gravity. So a lesson in this for leaders is to not complain that your cities are “hard”: “Oh man, Philadelphia’s a hard city!” Yeah, I know it is. … “These are the hardest-headed Negroes I’ve ever seen!”

Well, you’re one of them then! Hell, if it’s “too hard” for you, sit down! But if you’re the right man, you don’t care anything about “how hard” the people are; because if you’re the right one, He made you harder than them!

If their “hardness” is going to melt you down, then, well, you shouldn’t have started! “Oh man, the environment is tough out here, just tough! These some terrible Negroes, you know what I’m saying?” Why are you complaining?

The sperm wasn’t complaining: God tried it with a hostile environment, so don’t think that God is going to make it easy for us just because you want to help. You’ve got to set your mind for Struggle!

Intelligence is the mark of a leader. So in the “acquisition of knowledge,” you have got to know something in order to go someplace and take others with you. Allah (God) introduces Himself in the 2nd Surah of the Qur’an as “Alif Lam Mim,” which the scholars translate to mean:

“I, Allah, Am The Best Knower.” Well, if you’re going to lead people, you have to know more than the people that you’re trying to lead. You can’t arrogate to yourself that you do know, because your works will bear witness of you.

Now watch the makeup of your body: Your head is the leader of your body, right? I hope. … But some people’s bodies lead their head. Well, that’s “bad business,” because the head sees, the head hears, the head thinks, the head visions, the head speaks.

And the body follows. You started, and I started, from one cell; and now there are billions of cells in your one body, led by your head, so the Principle of Leadership is that you have to preserve your body.

If Self-Preservation is the First Law of Nature, then what does it take for you to preserve this gift that God has given you, which is life itself? What does it take? See, you have to know what this body needs. You have to know how to get what it needs. You have to use your hands to fashion the thing that will live after you are gone.

Practicalities of Leadership: Sufficing the Needs of the People

Leadership provides the needs of the people. Where Black people live in cities throughout America, there are food deserts. Once the people learn the value of good food, then as a leader, you want to be able to produce food—“if you’re going to lead, you have to feed.” Jesus fed The Multitude! Well, we might as well start! Feed yourself good health, but my point is: Leadership suffices needs.

How are you going to tell me that in Philadelphia young people are dropping out of school? Have you ever studied why? Do you think they’re stupid? Oh, but some of us that have our degrees may say:

“These stupid young people are quitting school!” Well, let me ask you a question: What had school done for you? I’m not knockin’ you; I’m asking a question, because if your degree has not made you productive, then it hasn’t served you well.

You have to learn what is requisite knowledge, what is proper knowledge. … Knowledge that suffices for The Time and The Circumstance that we have arrived at is The Knowledge that you have to get! And unfortunately, it’s not in the schools. These schools have been created by The Enemy to serve The Enemy!

You can get something out of it, but who wants to go to a restaurant, and in the kitchen it’s dirty; there’s fecal matter from mice and rats, and the service is bad? Well that’s what the schools are! It’s from a dying educational system based on White Supremacy that is finished!

“Well, Minister Farrakhan, what are we going to do?” You create a system of education! You’re not stupid people, you just act that way! But a Leader will arise to say, “Away with this!” and set down a New Educational Paradigm that is fit for The Time in which we live.

“Economic Development”: Do you think because we went out and voted en masse for our brother President Barack Obama, that he is a “magician”? Even Houdini couldn’t get out of the trap that he’s in!

He is part of a system; and he’s trying to save it! Sorry .… He’s late. And guess what? They’re not going to let him (President Obama) save them. Even though they need his kind of heart that he came with, that is gradually leaving him. …

Dear politicians, listen: I’m not against “politics,” but I know that you can’t solve the needs of the people. I know that! And the question is: When are you going to find it out? If you know that what you’re in cannot suffice the people’s needs, then what are you going to do?

Are you going to still stay there, and think about: “Vote for me! Vote for me! I’ll give you jobs!” You’re a damn liar! You can’t create any jobs for these people—not in that system!

Your political savvy is valuable, but we’ve got to find a way to use it in a way that we can create the jobs that we say we need, because America is finished creating jobs for her millions of unemployed—and us, too?

I have to tell you: We cannot sentence another generation of our people to the lie that “this system will work for them” because it’s not working for others! But it can be useful … .

So some practicalities of Leadership are: 1) Food, 2) Clothing, 3) Shelter, 4) Jobs, 5) Banking, 6) Trade and 7) Commerce. We have to be Masters of Industry.

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