Nation of Islam and anti-Semitism
Encyclopedia
A number of organizations and academics consider the Nation of Islam
to be antisemitic, stating that it has engaged in Holocaust denial
and antisemitic interpretations of the Holocaust, and exaggerates the role of Jews in the African slave trade
. The Nation of Islam has repeatedly rejected such charges as false and politically motivated.
, the American Jewish Committee
, the American Jewish Congress
, the liberal advocacy group The Public Eye, government officials, academics, Christian groups, and the Stephen Roth Institute
for studying Antisemitism and Racism have described the Nation of Islam as antisemitic.
The Catholic magazine, This Rock has described the Nation of Islam as both antisemitic and anti-Catholic.
Some articles by scholars of comparative religion have argued that the Nation of Islam is antisemitic and advocates Holocaust denial
. For instance, in the Global Journal of Classical Theology, Professor Richard V. Pierard writes:
Tim Russert
, during a 1997 Meet the Press
interview with Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, posed the question, "Do you believe there was a Holocaust in which 6 million Jews perished?" stated that he believed that "Jews perished in Germany while the Pope Pius XII
looked the other way and the government of America looked the other way":
A number of prominent secular humanists
have written that the NOI is anti-Semitic. Hating in the Name of God, by Benjamin Radford (Council for Secular Humanism website), and Madeline Weld's address to the 1995 annual meeting of the Humanist Association of Canada are examples of such criticism.
A report by the Stephen Roth Institute
for studying Anti-Semitism and Racism states the following:
British
Home Secretary
Jack Straw
and lawyers for the Home Office
have also described Farrakhan’s views as "anti-semitic and racially divisive", and as a result he has been banned from the United Kingdom since 1986.
For example, the Dallas Observer
recorded this dialogue between Nation-of-Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and an audience to which he was speaking:
is a book published in 1991 by the Nation of Islam. The book alleges that Jews dominated the Atlantic slave trade. Its thesis was that Jews played a major role in the Atlantic slave trade. The book has been labeled an antisemitic canard
by historians including Saul S. Friedman, who contended that Jews had a minimal role in New World slave trade. Henry Gates, head of the department of Afro-American studies at Harvard University, called the book "the bible of new anti-Semitism" and added, "The book massively misinterprets the historical record, largely through a process of cunningly selective quotations of often reputable sources." In 1995, in an action unprecedented in its 111-year history, the American Historical Association
(AHA) issued a statement condemning any statement alleging that Jews played a disproportionate role in the Atlantic slave trade.
, Louis Farrakhan, Khalid Abdul Muhammad
, and other NOI ministers are frequently critical of what they perceive as the Jewish control over African American society, their beliefs frequently approaching conspiracy theory
. For example:
Farrakhan gave a speech attacking then National Security Advisor Sandy Berger
, Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright
, Treasury Secretary
Robert Rubin
, and presidential advisor Rahm Emanuel
. In regards to their names, he stated that "Every Jewish person that is around the president is a dual citizen of Israel
and the United States of America...and sometimes, we have to raise the question, Are you more loyal to the state of Israel than you are to the best interests of the United States of America?"
In a letter responding to ADL
Director Abraham Foxman
's insistence that black leaders distance themselves from the Nation of Islam, hip hop
mogul Russell Simmons
wrote, "Simply put, you are misguided, arrogant, and very disrespectful of African Americans and most importantly your statements will unintentionally or intentionally lead to a negative impression of Jews in the minds of millions of African Americans," he continued, "For over 50 years, Minister Farrakhan has labored to resurrect the downtrodden masses of African Americans up out of poverty and self-destruction" and indicated that he had personally witnessed Farrakhan affirm, 'A Muslim can not [sic] hate a Jew. We are all members of the family of Abraham and all of us should maintain dialogue and mutual respect.'"
Jude Wanniski
, a journalist and conservative commentator who worked as associate editor of The Wall Street Journal
, was a supporter of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, and was the author of several controversial articles relating to Jewish issues (For example, Do Jews Control the Media?). Before his death in 2005, he called for Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), to be fired.
In a memo to Howard P. Berkowitz, National Chair for the ADL, Wanniski stated, "I think you have to offer Abe Foxman an early retirement or flat out fire him...Abe (Foxman) has become drunk with power, swinging his weight around knowing he can label anyone who challenges him an anti-Semitic bigot." Jude Wanniski personally defended Minister Farrakhan and the believers in the Nation of Islam. Wanniski wrote, "I've met dozens of men and women who belong to the Nation of Islam, attended many of their conferences, and prayed with them in their Chicago mosque to the God of Abraham
, Moses
, Jesus
, and Mohammed. I've concluded beyond any reasonable doubt that there is not an ounce of anti-Semitism or bigotry in Farrakhan."
Wanniski put the focus on Abe Foxman, pointing out, "My conclusion is that Foxman is in the wrong, not Farrakhan, that the ADL has spent the last 15 years using its political and financial clout to demonize Farrakhan and financially destroy the Nation of Islam... the ADL, which has spent a fortune trying to destroy him and the financial underpinnings of his religious institution."
Wanniski also pointed at the one-sided media coverage of Farrakhan and the NOI. Wanniski wrote, "I can post a defense of Farrakhan on the Internet, as I do with this (memo) to you, but there is no major news outlet that would entertain such a defense, wary of being condemned by Foxman as an agent of hate—as he has done to NBC
."
Despite the historic discord between the Jewish community and the Nation of Islam, a handful of Jewish leaders have declared that it is worth attempting to engage the Nation of Islam in dialogue to foster better relations. For example, Prominent Rabbi Marc Schneier
, President of the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), held a private meeting with Minister Louis Farrakhan. Jewish leaders who engaged in this outreach stated that they hoped this would lead in a change of tone and content from NOI spokespeople in regards to the Jewish people. Since then, however, further attempts at dialogue have faltered.
Commenting on Rabbi Schneier's willingness to engage in dialogue with Farrakhan, black political commentator Cedric Muhammad wrote:
During a 1991 speech at the University of Illinois, Farrakhan responding to the controversy between him and members of the Jewish community:
, a tiny, fringe Orthodox Jewish group that is well-known for its highly unusual association with and support for anti-Zionists
.http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/145435http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/25/us-un-assembly-iran-jewsint-idUSTRE48O00E20080925 Neturei Karta stressed that NOI leader, "Minister Louis Farrakhan is an extraordinary force for good in the Black community. His followers are responsible, industrious, modest, and moral. And for this he and they have our respect."
In 2005, members of the Neturei Karta counter-demonstrated at a rally held by a few individuals who publicly accused Farrakhan of anti-Semitism.
Khalid Abdul Muhammad
has stated that the Jews deserved to be exterminated by the Nazis. Echoing white supremacy
propaganda, he holds that Jewish people undermined German society, and thus deserved to be targeted by the Nazis.
such as the Institute for Historical Review
(IHR), and the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust. A Nation of Islam supporter's website quotes from these groups, and these groups reciprocate. For example The Institute for Historical Review
links to BlacksandJews.com, a Web site run by supporters of the Nation of Islam.
The Nation of Islam's official position does not deny the Jewish holocaust. Tim Russert
, during a 1997 Meet the Press interview with Nation of Islam leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan posed the question, "Do you believe there was a Holocaust in which 6 million Jews perished?"
, and criticism of the Anti-Defamation League
. NOI writers have been published in LaRouche publications and vice versa. Both organizations were targets of the ADL files controversy.
, the leader of the American Nazi Party
, was invited to speak by Elijah Muhammad
at a Nation of Islam
rally. At a Michigan meeting of Neo-Nazis and White supremacists in 1985, Farrakhan was praised as someone who understood that the real enemy is the Jews, and the need for separate white and black nations.
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
to be antisemitic, stating that it has engaged in Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
and antisemitic interpretations of the Holocaust, and exaggerates the role of Jews in the African slave trade
African slave trade
Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...
. The Nation of Islam has repeatedly rejected such charges as false and politically motivated.
General claims
The Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
, the American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
, the American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
, the liberal advocacy group The Public Eye, government officials, academics, Christian groups, and the Stephen Roth Institute
Stephen Roth Institute
The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism is a research institute at Tel Aviv University in Israel. It is a resource for information, provides a forum for academic discussion, and fosters research on issues concerning antisemitic and racist theories and...
for studying Antisemitism and Racism have described the Nation of Islam as antisemitic.
The Catholic magazine, This Rock has described the Nation of Islam as both antisemitic and anti-Catholic.
Some articles by scholars of comparative religion have argued that the Nation of Islam is antisemitic and advocates Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
. For instance, in the Global Journal of Classical Theology, Professor Richard V. Pierard writes:
Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
, during a 1997 Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
interview with Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, posed the question, "Do you believe there was a Holocaust in which 6 million Jews perished?" stated that he believed that "Jews perished in Germany while the Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
looked the other way and the government of America looked the other way":
A number of prominent secular humanists
Secular humanism
Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
have written that the NOI is anti-Semitic. Hating in the Name of God, by Benjamin Radford (Council for Secular Humanism website), and Madeline Weld's address to the 1995 annual meeting of the Humanist Association of Canada are examples of such criticism.
A report by the Stephen Roth Institute
Stephen Roth Institute
The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism is a research institute at Tel Aviv University in Israel. It is a resource for information, provides a forum for academic discussion, and fosters research on issues concerning antisemitic and racist theories and...
for studying Anti-Semitism and Racism states the following:
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Jack Straw
Jack Straw (politician)
John Whitaker Straw is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Blackburn since 1979. He served as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 and Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons from 2006 to 2007 under Tony Blair...
and lawyers for the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
have also described Farrakhan’s views as "anti-semitic and racially divisive", and as a result he has been banned from the United Kingdom since 1986.
Jews "control the economy"
For many years certain Nation of Islam (NOI) ministers have been preaching that "the Jews" control the American economy and the world economy. Statements to this effect can be found in its newspaper The Final Call and in speeches given in their temples and on college campuses.For example, the Dallas Observer
Dallas Observer
The Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas . At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover. For a time during the early years, the paper...
recorded this dialogue between Nation-of-Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and an audience to which he was speaking:
Jews played a major role in slave trade
The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and JewsThe Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews
The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews is a book published in 1991 by the Nation of Islam. The book alleges that Jews dominated the Atlantic slave trade....
is a book published in 1991 by the Nation of Islam. The book alleges that Jews dominated the Atlantic slave trade. Its thesis was that Jews played a major role in the Atlantic slave trade. The book has been labeled an antisemitic canard
Antisemitic canard
An antisemitic canard is a false story inciting antisemitism. Despite being thoroughly disproved, antisemitic canards are often part of broader theories of Jewish conspiracies. According to Kenneth S. Stern,Historically, Jews have not fared well around conspiracy theories. Such ideas fuel...
by historians including Saul S. Friedman, who contended that Jews had a minimal role in New World slave trade. Henry Gates, head of the department of Afro-American studies at Harvard University, called the book "the bible of new anti-Semitism" and added, "The book massively misinterprets the historical record, largely through a process of cunningly selective quotations of often reputable sources." In 1995, in an action unprecedented in its 111-year history, the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
(AHA) issued a statement condemning any statement alleging that Jews played a disproportionate role in the Atlantic slave trade.
Criticisms of perceived Jewish "control"
Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
, Louis Farrakhan, Khalid Abdul Muhammad
Khalid Abdul Muhammad
Khalid Abdul Muhammad was an African American activist who came to prominence as the National Assistant to Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam . After a 1993 speech at Kean College Khalid was condemned and removed from his position in the Nation of Islam by Louis Farrakhan...
, and other NOI ministers are frequently critical of what they perceive as the Jewish control over African American society, their beliefs frequently approaching conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
. For example:
Farrakhan gave a speech attacking then National Security Advisor Sandy Berger
Sandy Berger
Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger was United States National Security Advisor, under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. In his position, he helped to formulate the foreign policy of the Clinton Administration...
, Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
, Treasury Secretary
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Robert Rubin
Robert Rubin
Robert Edward Rubin served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury during both the first and second Clinton administrations. Before his government service, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs eventually serving as a member of the Board, and Co-Chairman from 1990-1992...
, and presidential advisor Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
. In regards to their names, he stated that "Every Jewish person that is around the president is a dual citizen of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the United States of America...and sometimes, we have to raise the question, Are you more loyal to the state of Israel than you are to the best interests of the United States of America?"
Response to charges of antisemitism
The Nation of Islam has repeatedly denied charges of anti-Semitism, and NOI leader Louis Farrakhan has stated, "The ADL .. uses the term 'anti-Semitism' to stifle all criticism of Zionism and the Zionist policies of the State of Israel and also to stifle all legitimate criticism of the errant behavior of some Jewish people toward the non-Jewish population."In a letter responding to ADL
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
Director Abraham Foxman
Abraham Foxman
Abraham H. Foxman is the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League.-Early life:Foxman, an only son, was born in Baranovichi, just months after the USSR took the town from Poland in the Nazi-Soviet Pact and incorporated it into the BSSR. The town is now in Belarus...
's insistence that black leaders distance themselves from the Nation of Islam, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
mogul Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
wrote, "Simply put, you are misguided, arrogant, and very disrespectful of African Americans and most importantly your statements will unintentionally or intentionally lead to a negative impression of Jews in the minds of millions of African Americans," he continued, "For over 50 years, Minister Farrakhan has labored to resurrect the downtrodden masses of African Americans up out of poverty and self-destruction" and indicated that he had personally witnessed Farrakhan affirm, 'A Muslim can not [sic] hate a Jew. We are all members of the family of Abraham and all of us should maintain dialogue and mutual respect.'"
Jude Wanniski
Jude Wanniski
Jude Thaddeus Wanniski was an American journalist, conservative commentator, and political economist.- Early life and education :...
, a journalist and conservative commentator who worked as associate editor of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, was a supporter of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, and was the author of several controversial articles relating to Jewish issues (For example, Do Jews Control the Media?). Before his death in 2005, he called for Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), to be fired.
In a memo to Howard P. Berkowitz, National Chair for the ADL, Wanniski stated, "I think you have to offer Abe Foxman an early retirement or flat out fire him...Abe (Foxman) has become drunk with power, swinging his weight around knowing he can label anyone who challenges him an anti-Semitic bigot." Jude Wanniski personally defended Minister Farrakhan and the believers in the Nation of Islam. Wanniski wrote, "I've met dozens of men and women who belong to the Nation of Islam, attended many of their conferences, and prayed with them in their Chicago mosque to the God of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, and Mohammed. I've concluded beyond any reasonable doubt that there is not an ounce of anti-Semitism or bigotry in Farrakhan."
Wanniski put the focus on Abe Foxman, pointing out, "My conclusion is that Foxman is in the wrong, not Farrakhan, that the ADL has spent the last 15 years using its political and financial clout to demonize Farrakhan and financially destroy the Nation of Islam... the ADL, which has spent a fortune trying to destroy him and the financial underpinnings of his religious institution."
Wanniski also pointed at the one-sided media coverage of Farrakhan and the NOI. Wanniski wrote, "I can post a defense of Farrakhan on the Internet, as I do with this (memo) to you, but there is no major news outlet that would entertain such a defense, wary of being condemned by Foxman as an agent of hate—as he has done to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
."
Despite the historic discord between the Jewish community and the Nation of Islam, a handful of Jewish leaders have declared that it is worth attempting to engage the Nation of Islam in dialogue to foster better relations. For example, Prominent Rabbi Marc Schneier
Marc Schneier
Marc Schneier is an American rabbi, and founder and president of The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and the founding rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, New York and the New York Synagogue in Manhattan....
, President of the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), held a private meeting with Minister Louis Farrakhan. Jewish leaders who engaged in this outreach stated that they hoped this would lead in a change of tone and content from NOI spokespeople in regards to the Jewish people. Since then, however, further attempts at dialogue have faltered.
Commenting on Rabbi Schneier's willingness to engage in dialogue with Farrakhan, black political commentator Cedric Muhammad wrote:
During a 1991 speech at the University of Illinois, Farrakhan responding to the controversy between him and members of the Jewish community:
Endorsement by Neturei Karta
The Nation of Islam has had friendly relations with the Neturei KartaNeturei Karta
Neturei Karta is a Haredi Jewish group formally created in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisroel...
, a tiny, fringe Orthodox Jewish group that is well-known for its highly unusual association with and support for anti-Zionists
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
.http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/145435http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/25/us-un-assembly-iran-jewsint-idUSTRE48O00E20080925 Neturei Karta stressed that NOI leader, "Minister Louis Farrakhan is an extraordinary force for good in the Black community. His followers are responsible, industrious, modest, and moral. And for this he and they have our respect."
In 2005, members of the Neturei Karta counter-demonstrated at a rally held by a few individuals who publicly accused Farrakhan of anti-Semitism.
Jews, Nazis, and the Holocaust
Farrakhan has stated that the Jews financed the Holocaust.Khalid Abdul Muhammad
Khalid Abdul Muhammad
Khalid Abdul Muhammad was an African American activist who came to prominence as the National Assistant to Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam . After a 1993 speech at Kean College Khalid was condemned and removed from his position in the Nation of Islam by Louis Farrakhan...
has stated that the Jews deserved to be exterminated by the Nazis. Echoing white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
propaganda, he holds that Jewish people undermined German society, and thus deserved to be targeted by the Nazis.
Holocaust deniers
According to The Public Eye, "One Revisionist author, Dr. Arthur R. Butz, was invited to share the stage with members of the Nation of Islam and other guests at a February 1985 Chicago NOI forum." There has been cooperation between supporters of the Nation of Islam and Holocaust deniersHolocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
such as the Institute for Historical Review
Institute for Historical Review
The Institute for Historical Review , founded in 1978, is an American organization that describes itself as a "public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history." Critics have accused it of being an antisemitic "pseudo-scholarly...
(IHR), and the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust. A Nation of Islam supporter's website quotes from these groups, and these groups reciprocate. For example The Institute for Historical Review
Institute for Historical Review
The Institute for Historical Review , founded in 1978, is an American organization that describes itself as a "public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history." Critics have accused it of being an antisemitic "pseudo-scholarly...
links to BlacksandJews.com, a Web site run by supporters of the Nation of Islam.
The Nation of Islam's official position does not deny the Jewish holocaust. Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
, during a 1997 Meet the Press interview with Nation of Islam leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan posed the question, "Do you believe there was a Holocaust in which 6 million Jews perished?"
LaRouche groups
During the 1990s the NOI and the widely-criticised Lyndon LaRouche network were cooperating on matters including the Million Man MarchMillion Man March
The Million Man March was a gathering of social activists, en masse, held on and around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 1995...
, and criticism of the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
. NOI writers have been published in LaRouche publications and vice versa. Both organizations were targets of the ADL files controversy.
Endorsement by White supremacists
In 1961 and 1962, George Lincoln RockwellGeorge Lincoln Rockwell
George Lincoln Rockwell was the founder of the American Nazi Party. Rockwell was a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs and writings have continued to be influential among white nationalists and neo-Nazis.-Early life:Rockwell was born in Bloomington,...
, the leader of the American Nazi Party
American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party was an American political party founded by discharged U.S. Navy Commander George Lincoln Rockwell. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Rockwell initially called it the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists , but later renamed it the American Nazi Party in...
, was invited to speak by Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
at a Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
rally. At a Michigan meeting of Neo-Nazis and White supremacists in 1985, Farrakhan was praised as someone who understood that the real enemy is the Jews, and the need for separate white and black nations.
See also
- African-American – Jewish relationsAfrican-American – Jewish relationsAfrican Americans and American Jews have interacted throughout much of the history of the United States. This relationship has included widely publicized cooperation and conflict, and—since the 1970s—has been an area of significant academic research. The most significant aspect of the relationship...
- Conspiracy theoryConspiracy theoryA conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
- Islam and JudaismIslam and JudaismIslamic–Jewish relations started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. The two religions share similar values, guidelines, and principles. Islam also incorporates Jewish history as a part of its own. Muslims regard the Children of Israel as an important...
- Islam and antisemitism
Further reading
- The Secret Relationship between Blacks and Jews by Historical Research Department of the Nation of Islam, 1991. ISBN 0-9636877-0-0.
- "An historian critiques the book The Secret Relationship between Blacks and Jews" by David Walter Leinweber, H Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online, retrieved April 3, 2005
External links
- Louis Farrakhan responds to allegations of anti-anti-Semitism (Video: Al-Jazeera Interview, February 27, 2007)
- University of Virginia on Nation of Islam
- B'nai Brith Audit of Antisemitic Incidents
- MSN Encarta: Louis Farrakhan (Archived 2009-11-01)
- Anti-Semitism Worldwide 1997/8: Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam
- Equal Opportunity and Social: Justice African American-Jewish Relations
- Rev. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam from The Public Eye
- The New anti-Semitism
- Farrakhan unrepentant after meeting Jewish leader
- Nation of Islam requests meeting with Anti-Defamation League (CNN)
Anti-Defamation League documents and webpages
Final Call/Nation of Islam webpages
- Farrakhan and the Jewish Rift; How it all started
- Zionism, not Farrakhan is the problem, rabbis say
- Minister Farrakhan and Jewish Delegation meet in Chicago
- Interview with UIC Professor Michael Lieb
- Nation of Islam leader pays historic visit to synagogue
- Review of "The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, Volume One" by Donald Muhammad, The Final Call, November 18, 1991
- FinalCall.com Interview with Ashahed M. Muhammad, author of "The Synagogue of Satan"
Jude Wanniski's Polyconomics webpages
- An Interview with Nation of Islam leder Louis Farrakhan, Pt. 1 -On relations with Jewish community
- An Interview with Nation of Islam leder Louis Farrakhan, Pt. 2 -On relations with Jewish community
- An Interview with Nation of Islam leder Louis Farrakhan, Pt. 3 -On relations with Jewish community
- Memo: To Howard P. Berkowitz, National Chair, Anti-Defamation League
- Judaism is a gutter religion
- Another View of Blacks and Jews