What happened to Louis Farrakhan?
Health issues forced Farrakhan to reduce his role in the Nation of Islam in the early 21st century. He nevertheless maintained a fairly high profile, giving online sermons in addition to his public speeches. In 2010 he publicly embraced Dianetics, a practice of Scientology.
What is the best book about Louis Farrakhan?
"In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam." Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1996. Gray, Briahna Joy. " On the Dangers of Following Louis Farrakhan ." Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2018. " Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan ." Nation of Islam.
Will Farrakhan’s legacy be as controversial as his rhetoric?
But whoever prevails is unlikely to stir as much controversy as Farrakhan did by targeting whites and Jews with his fiery rhetoric, always packaged with an eye for maximum publicity, and his curious and compelling mix of discipline, spirituality and nostalgia. Farrakhan was diagnosed with cancer in 1991 and treated for three years with hormones.
How did Farrakhan get cancer?
Farrakhan was diagnosed with cancer in 1991 and treated for three years with hormones. When the cancer reappeared in 1994, radioactive pellets called "seeds" were implanted in his prostate. The treatment was repeated in 1997 when cancer was discovered in his seminal vesicles.
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Does Minister Farrakhan have cancer?
Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, is recovering from surgery and is free of cancer, his doctors said today. ''There is absolutely no evidence of cancer in his body,'' said Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, health minister for the Nation of Islam.
Who replaced Elijah Muhammad?
Warith DeenElijah Muhammad, the organization's leader for more than 40 years until his death in 1975, was succeeded by one of his sons, Warith Deen, who broke with his father over the issue of Islamic orthodoxy (and changed his last name to Mohammed).
Who will be Louis Farrakhan's successor?
Muhammad is also a Council Member and "is sometimes considered the most likely successor" to Louis Farrakhan.
Who was Louis Farrakhan's mentor?
Malcolm XEventually he became the official minister after Elijah Muhammad transferred Malcolm X to Muhammad's Temple of Islam No. 7 on West 116th St. in Harlem, New York City. Louis X continued to be mentored by Malcolm X, until the latter's assassination in 1965.
Who is the current leader of Islam?
Mirza Masroor Ahmad (Urdu: مرزا مسرور احمد; born 15 September 1950) is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Fifth Caliph of the Messiah (Arabic: خليفة المسيح الخامس, khalīfatul masīh al-khāmis)....Mirza Masroor AhmadReligionAhmadiyya IslamSignature8 more rows
Who was the spiritual leader of the Nation of Islam?
Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad, original name Elijah Poole, (born Oct. 7, 1897, Sandersville, Ga., U.S.—died Feb. 25, 1975, Chicago), leader of the black separatist religious movement known as the Nation of Islam (sometimes called Black Muslims) in the United States.
How much is the Honorable Louis Farrakhan worth?
Louis Farrakhan Net Worth: Louis Farrakhan is an American religious leader who has a net worth of $5 million....Louis Farrakhan Net Worth.Net Worth:$5 MillionDate of Birth:May 11, 1933 (89 years old)Gender:MaleProfession:PoliticianNationality:United States of America
Who founded the Nation of Islam in 1933?
Wallace Fard MuhammadThe Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African Americans.
Where did Louis Farrakhan go to college?
Winston-Salem State UniversityBoston Latin School (BLS)The English High SchoolLouis Farrakhan/Education
Who wrote the Quran?
MuhammadMuslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning in the month of Ramadan, when Muhammad was 40; and concluding in 632, the year of his death.
How do I eat to live Elijah Muhammad?
How To Eat To Live, Book 1 By Elijah Muhammad For more than 30 years, messenger Elijah Muhammad has been teaching the so-called Negroes of America on the proper foods to eat to improve their mental power, physical appearance, for prevention of illness, curing of ailments and prolonging life.
Who did Farrakhan support?
In 2008, Farrakhan publicly criticized the United States and supported then-Senator Barack Obama who was campaigning at the time to become the president of the United States of America. Farrakhan and Obama had met at least once before that time.
What did Louis X do after Farrakhan's conversion?
The summer after Farrakhan's conversion, Elijah Muhammad stated that all musicians in the NOI had to choose between music and the Nation of Islam. Louis X did so only after performing one final event at the Nevele, a Jewish resort in the Catskills.
Why did Farrakhan join the NOI?
When Farrakhan first joined the NOI, he was asked by Elijah Muhammad to put aside his musical career as a calypso singer. After 42 years, Farrakhan decided to take up the violin once more primarily due to the urging of prominent classical musician Sylvia Olden Lee.
Why did Farrakhan lose his Twitter account?
Farrakhan lost his verified status on his Twitter posts in June 2018, denying him full verification, after asserting the Harvey Weinstein scandal was about "Jewish power". A contributor to the Tablet website, Yair Rosenberg, objected to a potential suspension as "erasing hate from social media doesn’t make it go away, it just makes it easier to ignore" making them more difficult to dismiss as "inconsequential". The following October, Twitter said that it would not suspend Farrakhan's account after a tweet he posted compared Jews to termites as he had not broken the site's rules. After a Twitter rule change on hateful conduct in July 2019, the tweet ("I’m not an anti-Semite. I’m anti-Termite") was removed.
When did Farrakhan lead the Million Man March?
In October 1995 , he organized and led the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Due to health issues, he reduced his responsibilities with the NOI in 2007. However, Farrakhan has continued to deliver sermons and speak at NOI events. In 2015, he led the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March: Justice or Else.
Where was Farrakhan born?
Farrakhan was born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933, in The Bronx, New York City, the younger of two sons of Sarah Mae Manning (1900–1988) and Percival Clark, immigrants from the Anglo-Caribbean islands. His mother was born in Saint Kitts, while his father was Jamaican. The couple separated before their second son was born, and Farrakhan says he never knew his biological father. In a 1996 interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr., he speculated that his father, "Gene", may have been Jewish. After the end of his parents' relationship, his mother moved in with Louis Walcott from Barbados, who became his stepfather.
What was Farrakhan's vision?
At the convention's keynote address, Farrakhan announced his attempt to restore the Nation of Islam under Elijah Muhammad's teachings. On October 24, 1989, at a press conference at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC, Minister Farrakhan described a vision which he had on September 17, 1985 in Tepoztlán, Mexico.
Who is Farrakhan's physician?
On March 19, Farrakhan's personal physician, Abdul Alim Muhammad, who runs the Abundant Life Clinic in Washington, held a news conference in Chicago saying Farrakhan had bounced back from his illness and felt "full of energy, full of life.".
How much weight did Farrakhan lose?
Respiratory and intestinal viruses combined with the aftereffects of radiation treatment made him weak and anemic, and he lost 20 pounds, his doctor said at the March news conference. He was at "death's door," but then a "miracle" happened, his doctor announced.
Where is Farrakhan's home?
Followers pointed to a few especially troubling signs. In the past, Farrakhan has been treated at an outpatient facility, at his home in Chicago or at a Nation of Islam retreat in Arizona. This was the only time followers could remember him checking into a hospital overnight.
Is Farrakhan's cancer slow growing?
Hospital officials would not confirm any details about Farrakhan's treatment or the stage of his cancer. Prostate cancer is among the slowest-growing cancers. A study from Sweden published in 1997 showed that in men with "localized" – potentially curable – tumors, 81 percent were alive 15 years after diagnosis.
What did Farrakhan do for the nation?
As a leader, Muhammad sought a separate state for Black Americans and endorsed racial segregation. He preached against "race-mixing," or people marrying someone outside of their race, as he said this hindered racial unity and was a shameful practice. Prominent NOI leader Malcolm X persuaded Farrakhan to join the group.
What is Farrakhan's birth name?
Farrakhan's birth name, Louis Eugene Walcott, came from a former relationship of his mother's. Farrakhan said his father’s philandering had driven his mother into the arms of a man named Louis Wolcott, with whom she had a child and for whom she converted to Islam.
What happened to Malcolm X after he left the group?
In 1964, ongoing tensions with Muhammad led Malcolm X to leave the Nation. After his departure, Farrakhan essentially took his place, deepening his relationship with Muhammad. In contrast, Farrakhan and Malcolm X’s relationship grew strained when the latter criticized the group and its leader.
What did the march challenge?
The Nation of Islam’s website points out that the march challenged stereotypes of Black men: “The world did not see thieves, criminals, and savages as usually portrayed through mainstream music, movies and other forms of media; on that day, the world saw a vastly different picture of the Black man in America.
Where was Operation Push based?
Both the NOI and Jackson’s civil rights group, Operation PUSH, were based on Chicago’s South Side. Fruit of Islam, part of the NOI, even guarded Jackson during his campaign. Farrakhan also voiced support for Barack Obama when he ran for president in 2008, but Obama did not return the support.
Who said such a man is worthy of death?
Two months before Malcolm’s assassination in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965, Farrakhan said of him, “such a man is worthy of death.”. When police arrested three NOI members for murdering 39-year-old Malcolm X, many wondered if Farrakhan played a role in the murder.
Where did Farrakhan's parents come from?
Both of his parents immigrated to the United States from the Caribbean. His mother Sarah Mae Manning came from the island of St. Kitts, while his father Percival Clark was from Jamaica. In 1996, Farrakhan said his father, who was reportedly of Portuguese heritage, may have been Jewish.
What is Farrakhan known for?
Farrakhan is known for having preached anti-Semitic, anti-White, anti-Catholic and anti-homosexual rhetoric.
Who was Farrakhan's father?
Other Facts. Farrakhan was named for Louis Walcott, the man his mother became involved with after his biological father, Percival Clark, deserted them. The Walcott family moved from the Bronx to the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston during the mid-1930s. He won a track scholarship to college in North Carolina.
Who replaced Malcolm X as the national spokesman of the NOI?
February 21, 1965 - Malcolm X is assassinated. Louis X replaces him as the national spokesman of the NOI. Late 1960s - Takes the name Louis Abdul Farrakhan. Late 1970s - Farrakhan has a falling out with NOI leader, Wallace Deen Muhammad, who wants to move the NOI away from racial separatist teachings to a more conventional ...
Why did Farrakhan perform a violin concert?
In 1993, on his sixtieth birthday, Farrakhan performed a violin concert on Chicago's South Side in an attempt to better his image. The concert was held at a temple in hopes that tensions between Farrakhan and the Jewish community could be mended.
Why did Farrakhan receive a loan from Libya?
Criticism of Farrakhan increased when it was uncovered that during the 1980s he had visited Libya and received a $5 million interest-free loan from Libyan head of state Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi (1942–) to help build Muslim institutions and businesses.
What did Farrakhan say about Hitler?
Farrakhan's role in Jackson's campaign was greatly reduced after it became known that Farrakhan had referred to Judaism as a "gutter religion" and described Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), the German leader who caused the deaths of millions of Jewish people during World War II (1939–45), as "a very great man.".
What did Farrakhan do in high school?
In high school he was an honor student, a good track athlete, and a member of the choir in the local Episcopalian church.
How many members did Farrakhan have?
Farrakhan's Nation of Islam, which in 1983 was estimated to have between five to ten thousand members, remained little known until March 1984, when controversy (a discussion marked by the expression of opposing views) suddenly erupted over his association with presidential candidate Jesse Jackson (1941–).
Who was the leader of Islam in 1955?
In 1955 Farrakhan was taken by a friend to hear a speech by Elijah Muhammad (1897–1975), the leader of the Nation of Islam.
Where did Farrakhan's family move to?
Farrakhan's family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, when he was three. Farrakhan had a talent for music and began taking violin lessons at the age of five.
What was Farrakhan's purpose in his speech?
In context, Farrakhan was speaking of the price he will have to pay for a lifetime of standing up against the false religion (“corrupted” Christianity) invented by Satan and preached by white people to deceive blacks into accepting subjugation and slavery.
Who is Farrakhan's redeemer?
Going deeper, Farrakhan’s writings and speeches indicate he believes that the Messiah prophesied in the Torah, the Qur’an, and the Bible — the figure to whom he refers as “my redeemer” — is, in fact, former Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, who died in 1975, but whom Farrakhan believes is still “physically alive”: ...
Early Life and Education
Career and Activities
- In the 1950s, Walcott began his professional music career as a singer billed as "The Charmer". At this point, earning $500 a week, Walcott was touring the northeastern and midwestern United States, sometimes also using the nickname "Calypso Gene". In 1953–1954, preceding Harry Belafonte's success with his album Calypso (released in 1956), he recorded and released a doze…
Views
- Racism and black nationalism
The Anti-Defamation League classifies Farrakhan as a racist and the Southern Poverty Law Center considers the Nation of Islam (NOI) as a hate group and a black nationalist organization. As the leader of the NOI, Farrakhan has preached the organization's theology which claims black superi… - Antisemitism
Southern Poverty Law Center classifies Farrakhan as an "antisemite". He disputes this label. Farrakhan has made many comments that have been deemed antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League. The Simon Wiesenthal Centerincluded some of Farrakhan's comments on its list of the …
Activities and Statements Since 2005
- Hurricane Katrina
In comments in 2005, Farrakhan stated that there was a 25-foot (7.6 m) hole under one of the key levees that failed in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. He implied that the levee's destruction was a deliberate attempt to wipe out the population of the largely black sections wit… - Relations with Barack Obama
In 2008, Farrakhan publicly criticized the United States and supported then-Senator Barack Obama who was campaigning at the time to become the president of the United States of America.Farrakhan and Obama had met at least once before that time. The Obama campaign q…
Controversies
- Farrakhan has been the center of much controversy with critics saying that his political views and comments are antisemitic or racist. Farrakhan has categorically denied these chargesand stated that much of America's perception of him has been shaped by the media.
Other Issues
- Brief return to music
When Farrakhan first joined the NOI, he was asked by Elijah Muhammad to put aside his musical career as a calypso singer. After 42 years, Farrakhan decided to take up the violin once more primarily due to the urging of prominent classical musician Sylvia Olden Lee. On April 17, 1993, F… - Health
Farrakhan announced that he was seriously ill in a letter on September 11, 2006, that was directed to his staff, Nation of Islam members, and supporters. The letter, published in The Final Call newspaper, said that doctors in Cuba had discovered a peptic ulcer. According to the letter subs…
Further Reading
- Muhammad, Jabril (2006). Closing The Gap: Inner Views of the Heart, Mind & Soul of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. FCN Publishing Co. ISBN 978-1-929594-99-3.
- Gardell, Mattias (1996). In the Name of Elijah Mohammed: Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-1845-3.
- Farrakhan, Louis (1993). A Torchlight for America. FCN Publishing Co. ISBN 0-9637642-4-1.
External Links