Farrakhan: The Face of Hate

Oct. 28, 2002

The unsettling disclosure that suspected Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad (formerly John Allen Williams) has ties to the Nation of Islam follows this summer's arrest of "dirty bomb" suspect and fellow American citizen Abdullah al Muhajir (formerly Jose Padilla), who converted to Islam while in jail and who also allegedly felt compelled to strike out against his countrymen.

Then, of course, there is the case of another Muslim convert, John Walker Lindh - the "American Taliban," whose perfidy outraged the nation in November.

With the disturbing saga of John Allen Muhammad, there is yet another reason for conjecture about potential breeding grounds for homegrown Islamic terrorists.

Meanwhile, the Nation of Islam has a strange apologist in its leader, Louis Farrakhan.

Recently, Farrakhan attacked President Bush for his attempts to build consensus concerning the threat of an armed Iraq:

"If you look at what the man said and find truth, then you'll find very little truth but a whole lot of 'half truths,' 'outright lies,' 'assumptions,' 'maybes,' 'possiblys,' and 'ifs.'Ö If there is going to be a regime change, that regime change should be right here in the United States of America and get the warmonger, war-making person out of office."

Louis Farrakhan has over the years used anti-American sentiments in his speeches, as well as aligning himself with the likes of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, who, although relatively quiet these days, once reportedly urged Nation of Islam members to take up arms against their government.

This past summer, Farrakhan held meetings in Baghdad with Iraqi officials on a "solidarity" trip billed as an effort to avoid a U.S. military campaign against dictator Saddam Hussein, according to press reports.

During that Baghdad trip, Farrakhan held talks with Islamic Affairs Minister Abdul Munem Saleh on "ways to confront the American threats against Iraq," Iraqi News Agency reported. Saleh was quoted as urging a worldwide effort by Muslims to "expose the American and Zionist crimes toward the people of Iraq and Palestine."

Furthermore, the agency quoted Farrakhan as saying "the Muslim American people are praying to the almighty God to grant victory to Iraq."

Even before the revelation of Muhammad's ties to Islam, a poll conducted by ABC News showed substantial doubts about the religion's tenets among Americans. More than a third of Americans didn't think the religion taught respect for other beliefs.

Even more telling, nearly a quarter believed Islam encouraged violence against non-Muslims.

According to the poll figures, last January 22 percent said Islam didn't teach respect for other beliefs; that figure was up 35 percent in the recent poll. The belief that Islam encouraged violence was up by 9 points, to 23 percent.

The ABCNEWS/Beliefnet poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 11-15, 2002, among a random national sample of 1,018 adults.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/10/27/211111.shtml