In the midst of America’s anger-fueled movement against Islam, a voice hardly acknowledged in the mainstream press is rising and demanding to be heard.
The Nation of Islam, (NOI) often disassociated with Orthodox Islam, is beginning to fuel a counterattack against the America’s hate and fear toward Muslims. Most recently, while Christian extremists have rallied to block the building of mosques and threaten to burn the Holy Quran, leaders of Islam including the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan have been summons by the Muslim community to speak up and out about America’s growing Islamophobia.
On a Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan Show, an internationally syndicated show hosted by international journalist Riz Khan, Farrakhan appeared as a guest, speaking about the turmoil occurring in America.
He shared with Khan’s audience that it is unjust that America is holding million’s of people “hostage” because of their religious beliefs, due to the alleged attacks by a few Muslim extremists.
“The flames of hatred for Islam are being fanned and even though we have a Black president who has spoken out very forcefully that America will not go to war with Islam, that it is not Islam that is the problem, (that) it is those who are fanatic in their zeal supposedly for Islam that America sees and the Islamic world sees, as the problem,” the minister said. “It’s time for Muslims, especially African American Muslims to make our voices heard… We were born here, we live here, we’ve suffered here, we’ve bled here, we’ve died here; so it is our time now to speak up for the pain of the Islamic community.”
Brother Tony Muhammad, Western Regional representative for the Hon. Louis Farrakhan and the NOI, is in total agreement and is pushing for the re-education of America. He says while Islam does not stand for senseless acts of terror, America insists the religion preaches hate, violence, and against America.
Muhammad noted that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught his followers that there would come a time when America would allow harbored feelings of fear toward Islam to rise.
“The minister has always taught us that in the NOI, because of our great works in the Black community, that movement wouldn’t work so much on Black people,” Muhammad explained.
“But those who were somewhat ignorant, those who are somewhat unfamiliar with the religion simply, as the dumbing down of America has taken place, now those who have a suppressant personality, or what we call the wickedly wise (who) are in the media, they are using scare tactics as they did before with our people. There is a rise of fear of Muslims, because the media is holding the religion hostage and blaming the religion for what a few are doing.”
The NOI has played a significant role infighting America’s anti-Islam sentiment by speaking out, educating people, and walking in what they would call the true path of Islam.
In the past year or so, commentators on various news stations have been singing a similar tune, saying something along the lines, “I don’t hate Muslims, I hate Islam.” Many Muslims say that is sheer ignorance. When asked if one can separate the two–Islam and Muslim–Muhammad laughed saying Muslims are those who practice Islam, therefore it would be impossible to separate the two.
In his television interview, Farrakhan explained that this anti-Islam movement sweeping the nation is part of a deeper, darker plan of the “wickedly wise” and those corrupt powers running the nation to garner the support of ignorant Americans in order to attack and invade Muslim countries, particularly Iran for its resources, without a significant push-back at home.
“The neo-conservatives (who) came up with this project for a new American century, . . . , were Zionists, and most of whom have felt that Islam is growing too fast in America. So these neo-cons are promoting an anti-Islam agenda, and their aim today is to put a Black face, meaning President Barack Obama, on an unprovoked attack on Iran, which would be dangerous for Israel, dangerous for America, dangerous for the world. It is this kind of power in the media and with the neo-conservatives that is driving this so called Islamophobia,” the minister fervently explained.
Beyond the sacrilegious act of burning a people’s most revered holy book and White American Christians preaching hate against other people, NOI Muslims remind their attackers and even supporters that they were always prepared to deal with a large influx of ignorance, but will deal peaceable through the workings and principles of Islam. Muhammad emphasized the importance of education in these times, in particular, because the mainstream media has a “vested interest in keeping people dumb” and causing division among America’s own people.
