Nation of Islam has no monopoly on oppression

ãThe Jews are a frightened people. Nineteen centuries of ÎChristian loveâ have broken their nerves.ä
÷ Benjamin Disraeli, former British prime minister

One of my biggest problems with the Nation Of Islam (other than the vehement anti-Semitism that is spouted so readily by its current leader, the disHonorable Louis Farrakhan) is the inability of its members to question what he says.

What one man says is gospel, and even when that man is proven fallible, questioning his word is unacceptable.

Remember Malcolm X? As he learned about Elijah Muhammadâs indiscretions and became less militant and unwavering, he was silenced.
Cases like this show the Nation Of Islam has departed from Muslim scripture just as much as any other religion.

My other problem with the Nation Of Islam was illustrated at a lecture Sept. 24 when Jamal Muhammad challenged anyone to ãfind another group of people anywhere in the world that have suffered the way African Americans have suffered.ä

Why does the Nation Of Islam think it has a monopoly on suffering?

How about the rape and pillage of the cultures and people indigenous to this continent? How about the persecution of the Chicano over the last several hundred years? How about the blatant racism heaped upon the Asian American?

How about the Jew?

You wanna talk about suffering, letâs talk about suffering. My people have either been kicked out of or annihilated in almost every country on the planet. My people have faced mass extermination more times throughout history than I care to count.

Muhammad blasts the white man, blaming him for 400 years of oppression.

Four hundred years is a drop in the bucket, Jamal.

Letâs try thousands of years, a large portion of which was spent building the pyramids you so readily accept credit for creating. Those were built by Jewish slaves, held captive for 1,000 years by their Egyptian foils.

But Iâll bet Muhammad would readily contradict any of my points. His teacher is revisionism at its most evil.

Farrakhanâs word is Jamalâs gospel.

And thatâs a hell of a scary proposition.

Farrakhan now refuses to grant one-on-one interviews. His tirade and banter are based on the hate from which he sprang. He canât be cornered because he lives outside the law and outside morality. Holding him accountable for his lies and innuendo is pointless.

Instead, I challenge his faith.

There is always an absolute truth. But everyone has an agenda, especially people in positions of power. The true scholar would seek out that truth even if it contradicted what he was ãtaught.ä

So I challenge you, Jamal Muhammad, to question the accuracy of what you have been taught. I challenge you to say, ãI have learned,ä rather than, ãThe Honorable Elijah Muhammad said.ä