Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan stressed religious unity Sunday (Feb. 25) in what was expected to be his last major speech, saying the world is at war because Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths are divided.
The 73-year-old Farrakhan told the tens of thousands at Detroit’s Ford Field that Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad would embrace each other with love if they were on the stage behind him.
“Our lips are full of praise, but our hearts are far removed from the prophets we all claim,” he said. “That’s why the world is in the shape that it’s in.”
Thousands of followers of the Nation of Islam as well as African-Americans of all faiths gathered for the event, possibly the last chance to see and hear Farrakhan, considered one of the most charismatic and controversial religious figures of modern time. The two-hour speech marked the first time the ailing Farrakhan, 73, had addressed the public in nearly seven months since relinquishing control to the group’s executive board.
“God is angry because of the ideas of neoconservatives,” Farrakhan said. “Many so-called Jews and Christians have accepted the philosophy of an imperialist America, even without any aggression or provocation.” Aside from this farewell speech Louis Farrakhan is considered a very controversial and polarizing figure in recent history. Here are some facts about him and about the nation of Islam:
Louis Farrakhan is the longtime head of the African-American religious organization the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan is known as a powerful speaker who has promoted black separatism and self-reliance, and is equally well known for his flammable comments about whites, Jews, Asians, and others whom he feels have exploited blacks. Farrakhan was encouraged to join the Nation of Islam in 1955 by Malcolm X.
The group’s leader, Elijah Muhammad, died in 1975 and Farrakhan founded a splinter group with a more radical agenda with the same name in 1978.
Since then he has been a prominent figure in American politics while making the Nation of Islam a force in black urban communities. Farrakhan organized the Million Man March in 1995, in which hundreds of thousands of black men gathered in Washington, D.C. for a day of speeches and unity.
Farrakhan announced in September of 2006 that he was stepping down as leader of the Nation of Islam for an indefinite period, due to health problems related to his treatment for prostate cancer.
His speech, “One Nation Under God,” was delivered in February of 2007 as his farewell address.
Malcolm X split with Elijah Muhammad in 1963 and was later assassinated by three men with ties to the Nation of Islam; many of Malcolm X’s supporters have blamed Farrakhan for instigating the murder, either directly or indirectly.
Farrakhan has denied this, but in 2000 he expressed regret for speaking against Malcolm X, saying “I may have been complicit in words that I spoke leading up to the murder.”
He ended his farewell speech with these words: “My time is up. The final call can’t last forever.”