Farrakhan railed against Christian pastors who endorse gay marriage, saying,'God has never sanctioned that kind of behavior.'"
In a fiery speech delivered to 18,000 at Joe Louis Arena, Minister Louis Farrakhan blasted the U.S. judicial system as being biased against African Americans, calling upon the community to set up its own courts.
“We want equal justice under the law,” Farrakhan said on the last day of the Nation of Islam’s annual convention, held in Detroit this year. “Our people can’t take much more. We have to have our own courts. You failed us.”
With U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, and Detroit City Council President BrendaJones sitting behind him, Farrakhan spoke for nearly three hours. He urged unity among Muslim and Christian leaders, saying that “Jesus and Mohammed would be arm in arm,” and he reiterated the Nation of Islam’s view that the U.S. is a land headed for destruction unless it starts to obey the word of God.
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The crowd often clapped and roared in approval during his talk, which included a discussion of African-American civil rights leaders over the past century.
Farrakhan suggested that African Americans rely on the Quran and Bible to help set up their own legal system that would be more fair to African Americans.
“Has America been just to us?” he asked the crowd.
“No,” the crowd responded
“So ... if we retaliate, you can bring out your soldiers. We got some, too.”
Also on stage during Farrakhan’s talk Sunday were Christian pastors, including the Rev. Jim Holley of Little Rock Baptist Church in Detroit.
Farrakhan railed against Christian pastors who endorse gay marriage.
“God has never sanctioned that kind of behavior,” Farrakhan said.
Farrakhan’s talk came on the last day of a four-day convention of the Nation of Islam, the 84-year-old black nationalist group based in Chicago that was started in Detroit by Fard Muhammad. The Nation believes that separation of the races is needed to better the lives of African Americans, a point stressed during the gathering’s workshops.
On Thursday night, Farrakhan spokeswoman Ava Muhammad said that African Americans needed to separate because eventually, “planes are going to destroy every area that is not dominated by Islam.” She said Detroit might be the city Nation of Islam members choose to migrate to in order to form their own community.
She was referring to planes that the Nation of Islam believes are in a wheel hovering in the sky. Farrakahn referred to the wheel in his talk Sunday.
During his talk, Farrakhan denied he was anti-Semitic, saying: “Did Jesus have a problem with the Jews of his day? He’s not a hater. Neither am I. I don’t hate Jewish people ... what I hate is evil.” Farrakhan noted that both he and Henry Ford have been accused of being anti-Semitic: “I feel like I’m in good company.”
He said “Satan is in control of Hollywood,” TV, media and money.
Farrakhan also blasted Muslims for fighting each other in the Middle East.
You’re “slaughtering your own people for America” and the “European infidel,” Farrakhan said. He also told the crowd that if the U.S. launched a war on Iran, “we ain’t fighting. We’re not killing no Muslims for these infidels.”
Noting that the Nation of Islam started in Detroit in 1930, Farrakhan said: “I want Detroit to know we’re back to stay. This is a great city.”
During the past year, Farrakhan has talked about reinvesting in Detroit.
Farrakhan spoke about Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, urging him to take care of neighborhoods, not just downtown.
“First time in a long time you’ve had a white mayor. We hope he’ll be successful.”
