The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his075/bmuslims.lzh/BMUSLIMS.TXT

Text File | 1991-06-30 | 48KB | 858 lines

CUL:What are the Black Muslins?

   In our study, we are going to be going in great detail in what I
believe is one of the most important and rapidly growing non-Christian
cults of our day. It is known as the Black Muslim cult, or, as some
have termed it, the Nation of Islam. But, whatever name we wish to
apply to it, it is here, and it is penetrating many of the ghettoes of
the United States, and it is holding out hope to many black people who
are seeking some relief from the great oppression which has descended
upon large segments of our populace.

   In the furor of racial tensions in Africa, and in the United
States--so characteristic of our time--a new force is stirring
throughout the Negro world. And it is one to be reckoned with by
responsible persons of all races.

   Well Organized

   This is designated, as I said, the Black Muslim movement. Its
membership is conservatively estimated at more than 150,000
persons--all of them Negro. Now, there is good evidence that the hard
core of the Muslims in the United States does not exceed 35,000. But
they have more than 84 temples, and a membership goal of 20,000,000 in
the United States. Muslim real estate holdings and investments are
scattered across America, and they are sufficiently solvent to propose
the erection of an Islamic center in Chicago, Illinois, at a cost of
$20,000,000.00.

   It is quite obvious, therefore, that we are dealing with a
well-organized group of individuals who have specific goals and are
moving forward towards their realization. There can be little doubt
that the Black Muslim movement is propelled by a fervent nationalistic
spirit on the part of black people. And the most disconcerting feature
of its growth is the fact it has capitalized upon the Christian
churches' apparent reticence, in some quarters, to support vigorously
the rights of Negroes guaranteed under the Constitution.

   Church Not Interested

   Now, at the risk of getting into political conflicts and racial
tensions, let me point out that the Christian church never really
seriously got interested in the plight of the black man until long
after the fact has been attended to by other agencies- -whereas the
church ought to have been in the forefront of the crusade for minority
groups in the United States.

   That does not mean that the Christian church has not done many
things. That does not mean that the church has not extended herself
charitably and in the spirit of Christian love in many areas--for she
has. It does not mean that the church has not cared for the black man.
For, quite obviously, the evidence is clear that the church has. What I
am trying to say is that the Christian church did not make a basic
thrust of leadership in this field. Because of this, it left the door
wide open for other groups--cultic and otherwise--to come along and to
charge the church with negligence.

   Surely ours is the task of being the good Samaritan. Who is my
neighbor? Obviously the man who needs me. And the church should have
been directing her activities in this area long before she was forced
to by the exigencies of the day.

   Christianity "the White Man's Religion"

   Now, listen to this: The Black Muslims make the consistent charge
that Christianity is "the white man's religion"--ignoring totally the
fact that Jesus Christ was an Asiatic, a Semite, a descendant of Isaac,
half-brother of the Arabs through Ishmael. And, if anyone reads
carefully Genesis 16:1-12, it becomes apparent that the whole story is
spelled out for anyone to read, including those who are devotees of
black Islam.

   This Christianity claims closer ties to any supposed Islamic
brotherhood than any Negro Muslim movement ever could. Christianity is
certainly NOT the "white man's religion." It is the religion of the Jew
and the Arab through Judaism. Any national connection with the Negro
race of either a black Judaism or a black Islam is totally foreign to
the Bible, the Koran, and all the available evidence of anthropology
and genetics.

   Yet despite these facts the Black Muslims move forward with a
militant, vitriolic and denunciatory spirit against all white people,
merely because they are white--NOT because they belong to a religion
other than Islam. Any student of comparative religions will tell you
immediately that Islam launched its great crusade against the religions
of the world on the basis of a holy war to establish that there is one
God--Allah--and Muhammad is the prophet. Islam was not concerned with
"racial" issues. She's not concerned with it today. That is true of
historic Islam.

   A Racist Form of Islam

   But when we deal with Black Islam, we are dealing here in America
with a group that IS concerned with the color of one's skin, and
therefore it is a racist form of Islam. The official view of the Muslim
religion concerning Elijah Muhammad, prophet of the Black Muslim
movement, is one of outright disdain. The Muslim religion takes--if we
may use the phrase--a very dim view of Elijah Muhammad. The Koran
forbids anyone to discriminate against another on the basis of his
skin. It's an open fact that there are millions of Muslims who are
neither black nor brown, and who are indeed yellow and white, in many
quarters of the earth.

   The Federation of Islamic Association, the official Muslim
organization in this country, has repudiated the Black Muslims,
claiming "...that it is not affiliated and is not recognized as truly
Muslim."

   This Black Muslim movement, therefore, is characterized by militant,
vigorous racism, which describes all white men as "devils" and enemies
of the black race by nature. They vigorously reject any form of
integration under the Constitution of the United States, or of any
other country, preferring an all- black state of their own. They have
not hesitated to suggest that seven or eight of the states of the
United States be allotted to them for the creation of their own
separate nation. The Black Muslims are also vigorously opposed to
intermarriage between the black race and the white race. They are
segregationists par excellence, surpassing even white extremists of
certain sections of our country.

   A Black Ku Klux Klan

   In the Black Muslim movement we can see emerging the outlines of
what is most certainly a black Ku Klux Klan which wants, not equality
with the white race, but which maintains instead the intrinsic
superiority of the black race. It is a swing of the historical and
anthropological pendulum, liberally seasoned with a hatred which defies
description. It's a movement borne of many centuries of slavery and
degradation, and, unfortunately in the United States, a hatred not
totally unjustified.

   This is seen in the light of the exploitation of the Negro by
unscrupulous and unprincipled white men, who have nodded to the
Emancipation Proclamation, but have subtly disobeyed each of its
precepts, and those of the Supreme Court, in favor of the segregation
of the black man, both racially and socially. We are reaping the fruit
of this today. Christians must become concerned, because the Gospel is
both salvatory and social. We have a dual responsibility, not only to
proclaim Jesus Christ and live the Christian life, but also to minister
to the needs of a world which is perishing--black, white, brown, and
yellow-- independent of pigmentation or the absence of it--a world that
is perishing without the Son of God--a world that God so loved that He
was willing to send Jesus Christ to save.

   Promise of a "Pan-Negro Brotherhood"

   Black Islam presents the awesome spectacle of a growing, black
funnel, engulfing potentially millions of black people in the United
States, who, though they have no sympathy for its religious fervor,
know that in a number of areas it speaks the truth concerning the
exploitation of the black man. Many Negroes support the Black Muslim
movement because it is the voice in defense of their rights. The voice
speaks with increasing frequency and intensity throughout the major
Negro population centers of America--New York, Washington, Detroit,
Chicago, Los Angeles. And the Black Muslim movement sweeps into its
hold daily--by the annunciation of a militant nationalism--those
underprivileged and exploited Negroes who are promised the
eschatological dream of a "pan-Negro brotherhood" in which, at last,
the white man will have to recognize their independence-- and, if the
Black Muslims have their way, their superiority.

   This is important: Many Negroes, though non-Muslim, give aid,
comfort, and support to Elijah Muhammad's growing kingdom as a type of
protest vote against race-shy politicians and segregationists of all
varieties, Christian as well as non- Christian.

   It is sad to have to admit that such occurrences as Little Rock,
Birmingham, Watts, Rochester, and Memphis have only served to pour fuel
upon the fires so zealously fanned by the Black Muslims. Every instance
where they can legitimately show persecution of the black man,
violation of his constitutional rights, and his privileges as an
American citizen, only serve to demonstrate the validity of their basic
charge that the white man intends to always be the "slave master" of
the Negro race.

   Through this type of psychology, they are penetrating ghettoes where
people are looking for a ray of hope in the midst of ever deepening
darkness. Even though these things are demonstrably false, even though
they can be refuted from numerous sources, it still serves the
propaganda purposes of Elijah Muhammad. There is a new spirit abroad
today among the Negro in America, aided and abetted by the ignorant,
the uninformed, and the lawbreaker, whatever his apparently legal
maneuver may be. It is forging a solid wedge of discontent, unrest, and
antagonism toward the white man--and even, in some instances, toward
Negro leaders who have attempted a moderate approach, fully aware of
the grave dangers inherent in any Negro insurrection.

   The Black Muslim movement is a fuse which could ignite racial,
cultural, political and economic explosions that could do irreparable
damage to our country and to its image abroad. This image has been
marred and scarred by the excesses of a few on both sides of the racial
controversy. These seem willing to sacrifice the future welfare of our
nation for a continuance of something we fought one of the bloodiest
wars in all human history to eradicate--a war in which white brother
faced white brother as enemies in order to free black slaves that they
might become black brothers and citizens of a truly United States of
America, free from bigotry, slavery, exploitation, and oppression. In
the words of the Great Emancipator, a just government, "with malice
toward none, and charity for all."

   We may not have fully attained these things because we are limited
and sinful, and because these things will always limit the development
of the ideal, no matter how high that ideal may be set by mankind.

   Black Islam is Un-American

   The Black Muslim movement, by its insistence upon a separate black
state within the United States, will not add constructively to the
picture, but instead will divide further the federal union. It is
therefore untenable because it is un-American. If the black race were
given its own state, what then of the yellow race? And the brown race?
Would they too not have a just claim? And if these be granted, what
then of the union?

   The answer to all this, of course, is that the Black Muslims will
never get their state. For the cornerstone of American government is,
as Lincoln once put it, "the federal union--it must be preserved."
There can be no doubt that it will be.

   The danger, however, has not been removed, and will not be, until
the general public and Christians in particular become aware of the
challenge of the Black Muslim movement.

   Black Islam, then, is not an insignificant cult. It is not a cult
that the Christian church can afford to become complacent about or
ignore. Instead, it directly challenges the very foundation of historic
Christianity. Paradoxically, it attempts to do this in terms taken from
Scripture itself.

   Elijah Muhammad's "Knowledge of Self"

   To better evaluate the Black Muslims, some understanding of the
historical and theological roots from which the cult sprang is
necessary. Such an evaluation, I believe, is necessary to gain an
understanding of the psychological and spiritual motivations and drives
which seemingly compel these zealous and sincere people upon a course
even they cannot fully understand. That neither they, nor those who
oppose them, can accurately predict what the outcome will be gives
pause for thought, in the light of the growing tensions of racial
conflict so apparent in America today.

   There can be little doubt that the American Negro has been
exploited, oppressed, and suppressed by the white man in not a few
states of our country, in the North as well as in the South. Emerging
as they have from slavery and denied their civil rights in far too many
instances, the American Negro has by and large been forced into a
ghetto-like existence. This is evidenced by his concentration in such
places as New York's Harlem, and its equivalents in Detroit, Chicago,
Washington, and Los Angeles.

   Elijah Muhammad has capitalized upon this, emphasized what he called
"the knowledge of self," and stimulated pride in the black man, pride
in his race, his heritage, and his abilities. Riding the crest of this
wave of racial pride, the Black Muslims have made enormous strides.
According to the late Louis Womack, distinguished Negro journalist, who
made an intensive survey of the Black Muslim movement, the following
observations should be carefully weighed by anyone who wants to know
what's really going on in the mind of the American Negro today. Wrote
Mr. Womack:

   "The same general approach, teaching race, pride as knowledge of
self, accounts for the success the Black Muslims have among low- income
Negroes. These people are in something of a prison tomb. They see
themselves as failures and need some accounting for what they are and
what they do, why they are not and what they are not. These needs are
met when a wave of the downtrodden proclaim the divinity of the black
man. Blame the white man for his sins and lawlessness, and then go on
to herald the impending destruction of the white 'devil.'"

   Negroes Beginning to Listen

   In other words, what Womack is saying, is that Elijah Muhammad has
gotten to the crest of this wave, and he has proclaimed the divinity of
the black man--blaming the white man for all the black man's sin and
lawlessness, and blaming the white "devil" for all the difficulties
which the black man faces. Because of this, a large, growing segment of
the Negro populace is beginning to listen, and some have accepted and
believed fervently. Womack went on:

   "Thus it is that a growing segment of the American Negro population,
beset with economic, psychological pressures, and remembering only too
well the history of slavery, limited emancipation, and Jim Crow
discrimination in the realms of education, economics, and civil rights,
is beginning to listen if not to follow the exhortations of Elijah
Muhammad. Goaded by a groundswell of nationalism prevalent throughout
the world, and badgered by cries of brotherhood within the black race
to the exclusion of all others, the American Negro finds himself at the
crossroads in an era when crises have become the common place. Should
he trust the United States government, dominated by white legislators,
in which he feels he has little voice to guarantee him the rights and
privileges legally afforded him a hundred years ago but never
fulfilled? Or shall he cast his lot with the nationalistic movement,
founded in racial pride and promising him dignity and a life of
equality, coupled with the respect of all races? This is the dilemma in
which many Negroes find themselves today.

   And the psychological appeal cannot be underestimated, especially
among a Negro populace which has suffered much and is today striving
for recognition and justice."

   Mr. Womack has, of course, performed a great service for those
interested in studying the Black Muslim movement. He, in company with
Eric Lincoln, whose classic volume, The Black Muslim Movement in
America, is by all odds the finest objective evaluation of the work of
Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X now in print, has carefully pinpointed
many of the difficulties which face us--and particularly the church of
Jesus Christ--who would reconcile the black man to God, recognizing
that all men, regardless of the color of their skin, are in need of
that reconciliation.

   Historical Roots

   The history of the Black Muslim movement began with Wallace Farbt,
an Islamic Negro who in 1930 appeared among the Detroit Negro
community. He spoke softly and intelligently and appealed to the Negro
mind about proper living and civil rights. At that particular time, he
utilized the Bible and the study of the Koran, and rejected the
teaching of Jesus Christ that one should turn the other cheek to one's
enemy. He built quite a large following, and then Farbt disappeared. He
was referred to as "the Prophet," but his disappearance was not
apparent until he had trained one Elijah Poole, now known as Elijah
Muhammad.

   Farbt left behind him two manuals, The Secret Ritual Relation of
Islam and Teachings for the Lost, Found Nation of Islam in a
Mathematical Way. The first of these works was and still is orally
transmitted. The second is written in symbolic language requiring
translation and interpretation by the prophet. Farbt founded the
University of Islam and the Muslim Girls Training Class, and a militant
organization for the protection of Muslims known as the Fruit of Islam.
At the end of 1933 this organization was progressing so well that Farbt
withdrew from its leadership. Shortly thereafter, he disappeared.

   No one knows where Wallace Farbt went. But he was "deified" shortly
thereafter by Elijah Poole, nee Elijah Muhammad today, and was called
the "incarnation" or the "manifestation on earth of Allah."

   There was an interesting interview between Elijah Muhammad and the
New York Herald Tribune, which attempted to penetrate Muslim theology,
not too long ago. I'd like to give some documentation as to Muslims'
theological views, because a great deal has been said about it, but not
from authoritative sources. This is from Elijah Muhammad himself, the
highest voice in black Islam.

   Theological Views

   A New York Herald Tribune reporter said, "I asked Mr. Muhammad about
this (about Farbt and the early work of the movement). I said, `Is
there a mystery about what happened to Mr. Farbt?' `No sir, there is no
mystery about what happened to him,' he answered. Did Mr. Muhammad say
what happened? He is just waiting for the proper time to deliver
speeches. Did Mr. Muhammad consider Mr. Farbt to be not only a holy
man, but actually a divine person? `He is God himself. He is the one
that we have been looking for for the last two thousand years to come.
He is the one, and his word bears witness to the fact that he is the
one.'

   "`And you know him?' I asked.

   "`I do know him,' he answered.

   "Is Mr. Muhammad in touch with him now? `Yes,' he replied,
`spiritually.'

   "I asked him about a successor. Did he have in mind the identity of
his own successors, and see himself, as known, as the inspired
messenger of Allah. His answer to this was a swift one. `No, that is
not my job to do anything like that. This work has been put upon me to
do the will of almighty Allah, who has appointed me. There will be no
such thing as a successor, because everything will be guided according
to the will of Allah. And whatever he reveals will be carried on. It is
like today; we have the sun and moon and stars up there, and they are
not changed for others.'

   "I asked him about the membership figures in his approximately 80
temples around the country, saying that law enforcement officers seemed
agreed that the hard core membership of the Black Muslims is between
5,000 and 6,000 members, with a less attached number of followers
between 150,000 and 300,000.

   "He answered, `I don't even know that, because we don't have a
record showing the figures.'"

   In the theology of the Black Muslim movement, Wallace Farbt, then,
was God--or Allah--himself. And it is no exaggeration to state that the
Black Muslims worship a black god whom they say is awaiting the proper
time to return and proclaim the triumph of black Islam.

   Of course, should a death certificate and the discovery of a grave
identifying Wallace Farbt's remains ever be found, this would doubtless
embarrass the Black Muslim movement considerably, though the wily Mr.
Poole would no doubt explain that resurrection was imminent.

   It was Mr. Farbt who taught the Black Muslims that they did not owe
any allegiance to America or the American flag. After Elijah Muhammad's
break with the movement following Farbt's disappearance, he abandoned
this philosophy--at least outwardly. Eric Lincoln has described the
condition which followed the split. He said, "Farbt became identified
with the god Allah, being thus deified. He was worshipped with prayer
and sacrifice. Muhammad, who had served Allah, naturally assumed the
mantle of prophet, which Allah had worn during his mission in Detroit.
Today Muhammad is referred to both as a prophet and, more often, as the
messenger of Allah."

   The Black Muslims have come far under Muhammad. He has given them
temples and schools, apartment houses and grocery stores, restaurants
and farms. Most important of all, he has given them a new sense of
dignity, a conviction that they are more than equal to the white man
and destined to rule the earth.

   It's interesting to note also that on February 26, in the calendar
of black Islam, the notation is for Savior's Day--the birthday of
Wallace Farbt. And cards and presents are exchanged. He is recognized,
therefore, as an incarnation of divinity.

   It ought to be pointed out that the movement had about 8,000
adherents when Farbt departed. Elijah Muhammad then moved the
headquarters from Detroit to Chicago, and there set up new headquarters
and changed the emphasis into a militant movement of black people.
Farbt's approach was slightly different; Elijah Muhammad's was direct,
and produced fantastic results, as Mr. Lincoln has pointed out.

   Jail Yesterday, Luxury Today

   It should also be drawn to the attention of students of black Islam
that Elijah Muhammad was jailed between the years 1942 and 1946 for
sedition and for inciting his followers not to register for the draft.
We also ought to take into consideration the fact that he lives today
in an 18-room mansion and owns two Cadillacs and one Lincoln
Continental. His six sons and entire family are involved in the
operation of black Islam, and his oldest son is alleged to be in line
for inheritance to the Islamic throne.

   Today the disciples of Elijah Muhammad propagandize in major Negro
population centers throughout the United States. Their methods of
evangelism are visiting jails and places where Negroes congregate in
their particular areas and ghettoes. They hand out fliers on street
corners; they sell Elijah Muhammad's paper which tells about Muhammad
speaking and proclaiming to the world the message of black Islam. They
utilize radio spots, and they are very, very adept at working together
through communal usage of properties in attracting the attention of the
community to the success they have managed to attain by working
together as black people for a common goal. They have attracted the
media's attention this way.

   The Late Malcolm X

   And none was more successful in this than the late Malcolm X, a man
who had been involved in drug traffic and in pimping and in every
conceivable kind of crime, virtually, before his "conversion" to black
Islam.

   Muhammad had made a great convert in Malcolm X, and Malcolm went
forth to become the chief spokesman for black Islam in the United
States. Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali, is today the best
public relations man for black Islam. But it was Malcolm X who really
put the movement on the road or in the eyes of the public for everybody
to see it with his publications and with his tremendously powerful
apologetics for the Negro.

   I'd like to give a few quotations to demonstrate just how effective
Malcolm X was, and just what the theology of Islam is, as Malcolm X
explains it, because he was Elijah Muhammad's prize pupil. Questions
were addressed to Malcolm X in a taped interview shortly before his
death. I have a copy of that transcript, and I'd like to give you some
excerpts from it, because I think they reveal more about black Islam
than one could get from reading 100 of the newspapers and 20 or 30
books on the subject.

   Question: "What is the ambition of the black Muslims?"

   Answer: "Freedom, justice, and equality are our principal ambitions,
and to faithfully observe and follow the honorable Elijah Muhammad is
the guiding goal of every Muslim. Mr. Muhammad teaches us the knowledge
of ourselves and our own people. He cleans us up morally, mentally, and
spiritually, and he reforms us to the vices that have blinded us here
in the Western society. I don't know when Armageddon is supposed to be,
but I know that the time is near when the white man will be finished.
The signs are all around us. Christ wasn't white; Christ was black. The
poor, brainwashed Negro has been made to believe Christ was right to
maneuver him into worshipping white men. Mr. Muhammad says that Allah
is going to wake up all black men to see the white man as he really is,
and see what Christianity has done to them. The black masses that are
waking up don't believe in Christianity any more. All that's done for
black men is to help keep them slaves. Mr. Muhammad is teaching that
Christianity as white people see it means that whites can have their
heaven on earth, but the black man is supposed to catch his hell here.
You must understand that the honorable Elijah Muhammad represents the
fulfillment of Biblical prophecy to us. In the Old Testament Moses
lived to see his enemy Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea, which in essence
means that Mr. Muhammad will see the completion of his work in his
lifetime, that he will live to see victory gained over his enemies."

   And then, of course, Malcolm was asked more questions. One of the
questions: "How do you reconcile your disavowal of hatred with the
announcement which you made last year that Allah has brought you the
good news that 120 white Atlantans had just been killed in an air crash
en route to America from Paris?"

   Answer: "As I see the law of justice, it says, `As you sow, so shall
you reap.' The black man's true god, Allah, to defend us, and for us to
be joyous, because our god manifests his ability to inflict pain on our
enemies. We Muslims believe that the white race, which is guilty of
having oppressed and exploited and enslaved our people here in America,
should and will be the victims of God's divine wrath. All civilized
societies in their courts of justice set a sentence of execution
against those deemed to be enemies of society, such as murderers and
kidnappers. The presence of 20 million black people here in America is
proof that Uncle Sam is guilty of kidnapping. Because we didn't come
here voluntarily on the Mayflower, and 400 years of lynching condemn
Uncle Sam as a murderer. Islam is a religion that teaches us never to
attack, never to be the aggressor. But you can waste somebody if he
attacks you. These Negro leaders have become aware that whenever the
honorable Elijah Muhammad is caused by their attacks to level his guns
against them, they always come out on the losing end. Many have
experienced it. Another thing to think of in the 20th century is that
the Christian church has given us two heresies--fascism and Communism."

   The Jew in Black Islam

   Then Malcolm went on to discuss something else which black Islam has
very definite views on--the position of the Jew. Let me quote once
more: "Where did fascism start? Where is the second largest Communist
party outside of Russia? The answer to both is Italy. Where is the
Vatican? But let's not forget the Jew. Anybody who gives even a just
criticism of the Jew is instantly labeled anti-Semite. The Jew cries
louder than anybody else if anybody criticizes him. You can tell the
truth about any minority in America, but make a true observation about
the Jew, and if it doesn't pat him on the back, then he uses his grip
on the news media to label you anti-Semite. Let me say just a word
about the Jew and the black man. The Jew is always anxious to advise
the black man, but they never advise him how to solve his problems the
way the Jews solve their problems. The Jew never went sitting in, and
crawling in, and sliding in, in freedom riding, like he teaches and
helps Negroes to do. The Jew stood up and stood together, and they used
their ultimate power, the economic weapon. That's exactly what the
honorable Elijah Muhammad is trying to teach black men to do. The Jews
pool their money and bought the hotels that bogged them. They bought
Atlantic City and Miami Beach and anything else they wanted. Who owns
Hollywood? Who runs the garment industry, the largest industry in New
York City? But the Jew that's advising the Negro joins the NAACP, CORE,
the Urban League, and others. With money donations the Jew gains
control and he sends the black man doing all this wading in, boring in,
even burying in--everything but buying in. He never shows him how to
set up factories and hotels, never advising him how to own what he
wants. No, when there's something worth owning the Jews got it. All
these things dangled before us by the white liberal posing as a friend
and benefactor have turned out to be nothing but bait to make us think
we're making progress. The Supreme Court's decision has never been
enforced. Desegregation has never taken place. The promises have never
been fulfilled. We have received only token substitutes, trickery, and
deceit."

   I think that after one listens to words like this from someone like
the late Malcolm X and realizes that this same material is found
consistently in the literature of black Islam today, that the so-called
"party line" has not altered. And we are reminded of the words which
appear in God's great discourse with Abraham as recorded in the book of
Genesis: "I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless them that
bless thee. I will curse them that curse thee. And in thee will all the
nations of the earth be blessed." What is God saying? Don't touch
Israel. Israel is the apple of my eye. That's how sensitive Israel is
to God. Leave the Jew to God's judgment, because God will deal with his
own people.

   A Virulent Form of Anti-Semitism

   And what we are seeing here is a virulent form of anti- Semitism.
Some truth is involved in it, to be sure, as there is always truth
involved when one is making accusations. But blanket condemnation is
what leads to the Dachaus, the Buchenwalds, and the Ravensbrooks. It is
this type of thinking which brings upon nations the shame that we have
seen in the past, particularly under fascism and now in Russia, where
persecution of the Jew is beginning to rear its head once more with
great force.

   I think once we grasp these things we can understand the threat of
black Islam, because they are moving out and binding people together in
the Negro community, not on the basis of love, compassion, or
brotherhood, but on the basis of hate--a hate for others instead of a
love for one another and for one's fellow man.

   The Scripture gives us an important dictum, Leviticus 19:18:
"...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord." Now, if
we're going to take seriously what the Scripture says, we have to
believe that loving our neighbor as ourselves is a divine command. This
places Christianity and the teachings of Elijah Muhammad at direct
conflict with one another, because in effect what we are seeing here is
the command from him that those who oppose black Islam are not to be
loved, but to be opposed themselves. One need only read the literature
to understand that they are to be thoroughly and consistently hated.

   The White Man is the Devil

   Now the question was asked by the Herald Tribune which I thought was
quite interesting. Question: "You seem to have based your theses on the
premise that all non-white races are necessarily black." Answer: "Mr.
Muhammad says that the red, the brown, and the yellow are indeed all
part of the black nation. Which means that black, brown, red,
yellow--all are brothers, all are one family. The white one is a
stranger. He's the odd fellow. And white people who also are seeing the
pendulum of time catching up with them are now trying to join with
blacks, or even find traces of black blood in their own veins, hoping
it will save them from the catastrophe they see ahead."

   Of course here we are seeing emphasis upon black superiority. One of
the things we ought to keep in mind at this particular juncture is
that, if Malcolm X could be swept into this--and he was a highly
intelligent man--think of all the people in the black community who do
not have Malcolm's acumen and capacity, who have not only been swept
into this but are today vigorously projecting these teachings and
proselyting in the name of Elijah Muhammad, believing these things.

   Elijah Muhammad's statement, from Malcolm X: "The white man is the
devil. I'm a good example of why Islam is spreading so rapidly across
the land. Mr. Muhammad's teachings brought me from behind prison walls
and placed me on the podiums of some of the leading colleges and
universities in the country."

   What is Malcolm saying? I listen to Elijah Muhammad; he gave me
self-respect. He taught me how to survive in a white culture. I banded
together into this particular protest movement--which is exactly what
it is--and what happens? Other people are listening to me now--and the
black people are listening.

   The Death of Malcolm X

   You know, I think it's a tragic comment, but true, that people often
destroy their greatest leaders and their potential good without
recognizing it. Malcolm X went to Mecca to make a pilgrimage because
official Islam rejects Elijah Muhammad and rejects Wallace Farbt as an
incarnation or manifestation of Allah, since Allah is spirit and cannot
take human form. And so he went over there to Mecca in order to have a
spiritual experience, an awakening, something that would be meaningful
to him. When he got over there, Malcolm found that there were white
people there and black people there and brown people there and yellow
people there, and they all were followers of Islam, all devotees of the
Koran. And here he was exposed to true historic Islam. And when he came
back he tried to communicate this to Elijah Muhammad, who has never
been there.

   What was the result? There was a split in the organization; Malcolm
changed his view about the "white-eyed devils," and all white men being
evil, because he couldn't adhere to that and be a good follower of
Islam, and started to talk more moderately and in a conciliatory tone.
It wasn't long after that, that Malcolm X--who could have been one of
the bright conciliatory stars in the firmament of bringing black and
white together in many of these situations--was brutally assassinated
by his own kind, and by a member of black Islam.

   I think this speaks very, very pointedly of the inherent danger of
believing too much in the authority of one leader and swearing
allegiance to him as a manifestation of the divine.

   We also have to face some other facts. "The entire American economy
is based on white supremacy," say the Black Muslims. "Even their
religious philosophy in essence is white supremacy. A white Jesus, a
white virgin, white angels, white everything, but a black devil."
That's from black Islam; that's what they believe. You see how
everything is put in terms of the black and the white.

   Blacks Ruled the World Before Adam

   And then this quotation: "Mr. Muhammad is warning this generation of
white people that they too are facing a time of harvest in which they
will have to pay for the crimes committed when their grandfathers made
slaves out of us. The honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches that it is now
God's intention to put the black man back at the top of civilization
where he was in the beginning before Adam, the white man, was created.
The world since Adam has been white and corrupt. The world of tomorrow
will be black and righteous. In the white world there has been nothing
but slavery, suffering, death, and colonialism. In the black world of
tomorrow there will be true freedom, justice, and equality for all. And
that day is coming sooner than you think."

   The Black Muslim movement speaks more eloquently for itself than any
of its interpreters or critics. And they have made their position
abundantly clear.

   Now, let me sum up in a practical way what this means where
Christianity is concerned. Where do the black Muslims stand concerning
basic theological truths? I don't think it's important--and I think we
waste a great deal of time going into it--to discuss a general outline
of Christian theology, because black Islam simply rejects it out of
hand. They certainly don't accept the Trinity, the virgin birth, deity
of Jesus Christ, His vicarious atonement for our sins, or His bodily
resurrection from the dead.

   That's just for openers. And we could go on from there with one
negation after another.

   What we want to know is what they believe for themselves. What is
the theology of black Islam? What are some of their basic tenets?
First, that the black man is the original creation. He was created
approximately 66 trillion years ago. This, of course, creates a number
of problems for the people who are trying to support this position. To
the best of our knowledge and all of the information available to us,
anthropologically and geologically, and from every other science that
we can possibly draw upon, man has been on the earth--that we know of--
approximately 2 to 2-and-a-half million years. Some have tried to push
it up to 4 million years, but they haven't been too successful.

   Two million years is probably a very liberal figure for the age of
man on the earth. I think if we went into the analysis of fossil man
and so forth we could probably spend a great deal of time discussing
various ages, and some people would accept it, and some people
wouldn't. But the only important thing that I'm trying to bring out is
this: 66 trillion years? Definitely not. The earth itself is between 6
and 8-and-a-half billion years old. Therefore, it would be very
difficult to populate the earth with a super-black race a considerable
number of aeons before the earth was created. Therefore, 66 trillion
years does pose problems for the theology of black Islam.

   Secondly, they maintain that Allah did not create the white man.
Instead, a genius called Yacoub, or Adam--an evil genius-- did and was
expelled from paradise. That all took place 6,000 years ago.

   Thirdly, Allah appeared as W.D. Farbt, and appointed Elijah Muhammad
to carry on the work of Islam and to deliver the black man from
Christianity, which is an alien and inferior religion, and restore the
true religion of Islam.

   This, of course, makes it very difficult to understand, because
Christianity antedates Islam. How one can restore the true religion,
when the other religion antedates that religion, will take a
considerable amount of stretching the facts. But, nevertheless, this is
one of the planks in the platform of Black Muslim religion.

   I think also that we can recognize here that Farbt represents the
Lord Jesus Christ in Christian theology, and Elijah Muhammad is quite
obviously the one who is carrying on the work for him afterwards. And
that would probably be a prophet or head of apostolic authority. We
couldn't say it would be John the Baptist, because we would have to
reverse it. But instead, Farbt would represent God incarnate, and
Elijah Muhammad would be the chief prophet of the religion, or the
chief apostle of the religion, and himself moving onward--I think, from
all evidence-- towards divinity.

   We are of course confronted with the words of Jesus Christ at this
juncture: "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ...go ye
not therefore after them." And many have come in His name, and those
who have clung tenaciously to Him have known the liberation that Christ
alone can give, "For if the Son will make you free, you will be free
indeed."

   Man Has No Immortal Soul

   Then another plank in the platform of Muslim theology is that man
has no immortal soul. Only Allah is immortal. This they derive from the
theology of Jehovah's Witnesses, because in the 1920's Wallace Farbt
was a devotee of the writings of J.F. Rutherford, who was then the
president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. And his literature
reflects the influence of the Jehovah's Witnesses at that particular
time. You wouldn't know that unless you did an analysis of the history
of it, but once you get into the theology of it, you find Watchtower
theology ingrained in different places in this particular theology of
black Islam. And it's strange that the Watchtower theology and Farbt's
theology at this point are identical. And I don't think that we have
too much difficulty finding out where he derived it from.

   "The black will inherit the earth after Armageddon." Malcolm X said
he didn't know when Armageddon was. They were postulating Armageddon
around 1970. 1970 has now passed by, so Armageddon is now a distinct
problem in their eschatological scheme. But so far as black Islam is
concerned, the black will inherit the earth, the white will be judged
for their oppression of the black, and heaven will be on earth, for
heaven and hell as we understand it in Christian theology do not exist
in Black Muslim theology.

   Malcolm X put it this way: "The black man is supposed to keep
believing that when he dies he'll float up to some city with golden
streets and milk and honey on a cloud somewhere. Every black man in
North America has heard black Christian preachers shouting about
tomorrow in good old Beulahland. But the thinking black masses today
are interested in Muhammad's land; the promised land that the honorable
Elijah Muhammed talks about is right here on this earth."

   Conclusion

   Now, as we have analyzed so far the teachings of black Islam, we can
see that we are dealing with a socioeconomic and religious phenomenon.
We are dealing with those who have firm convictions concerning the
future and the part that they feel that they must play in it. We are
dealing with those who feel that they have been persecuted and
oppressed, and we are dealing with those who feel that they are the
instruments of God for the restoration of a new era, and Elijah
Muhammad is to be the vehicle for the ushering in of that great era.

   The establishment of a black state, the isolation of the Negro from
the cultural and racial complex of our times in the American Republic,
is not the answer. But instead, his full and complete integration as
intended by the Founding Fathers and the Great Emancipator must be the
continued goal. Such responsible leaders as the late Martin Luther King
and others, who invoke Christian ethics and resistance to evil within
the boundaries of the law, will in the end lead the black man, through
love, patience, and faith, into his rightful heritage. I believe it is
very significant that thinking black leaders such as Thurgood Marshall,
Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, James Farmer, Martin Luther King, and Dr.
Ralph Bunch, have all repudiated the excesses of black Islam, and have
all, as responsible leaders should, pointed their people toward the
freedom and justice which is to be obtained under the American
Constitution. In the light of holy Scripture, we can expect the
testimony of history to say that the black Islam cult and all movements
based upon hate and revenge have disappeared under the sands of time,
as have Wallace Farbt, Malcolm X, and Elijah Poole--to whom the words
of Hosea were fittingly applied when he said, "If you sow to the wind,
you shall reap the whirlwind."

   The Apostle Paul's fitting comment upon this statement was, "Be not
deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap."

   This speaks of divine judgment for the Black Muslim movement and its
misguided followers, who are willing to love their neighbors, if their
neighbors are black, and to hate their enemies, those who are
non-black. The Christian attitude in the midst of all this must be one
of patience, love, and a firm resolve. We must turn the other cheek to
their abuses, and strive to guarantee for them and for all Americans
regardless of race their just rights under the laws of our land. In
this way we shall indeed demonstrate to them the love and the teachings
of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   In stark contrast to the teachings of their black Allah must be the
words of the Son of God, who warned us that many would come in His name
claiming to be Christ, and would deceive many. "You have heard that it
has been said that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy,"
said Jesus Christ. "But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them
that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of
your Father which is in heaven. For He makes His sun to rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For
if you love them which love you, what reward do you have? Do not even
the publicans the same?"

   I believe, as we analyze black Islam, we must recognize that it is a
challenge to the Christian church. It characterizes Christianity as the
white man's religion, when in reality Christianity does not discuss the
color of one's skin ever, but instead recognizes the fact that God is
color blind, and that he looks only upon the nature and condition of
the soul, and whether or not that soul has had an encounter with the
person of His Son, who bore in His own body our sins upon the tree. Let
us put all of these things in their proper perspective, and looking at
them as they ought to be looked at, in the light of holy Scripture, let
us remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly, and you will find
rest unto your souls."

   The target of Jesus Christ was the reconciliation of lost men to
God. The targets of black Islam are white men, Christianity, the Jews,
and whoever stands in the way of the realization of a black empire.
Christ said, "Blessed are the meek. The meek shall inherit the earth."
We have a parody on that today in black Islam. "The black shall inherit
the earth."

   The message of the Scripture is that God couldn't care less about
the color of men's skin. He is interested in the condition of their
soul.