Last week, Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan made his annual address at the 2024 "Saviour's Day" in Detroit.
Farrakhan's speech was titled: "What does Allah the Great Mahdi and the Great Messiah have to say about the War in the Middle East?"
As the title suggests, the speech focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the current Hamas-Israel war. It essentially comprised over 3 hours of antisemitic statements, deception, manipulation, revisionist history, false prophecy, false biblical teachings (especially from the Torah and the Hebrew prophets), and cheerleading for the US-designated terrorist group, Hamas, to the gleeful applause of the thousands of Nation of Islam followers in the audience.
Farrakhan's refrain: "Israel is not going to stay in the Middle East."
Since the early 2000s, I have been observing Louis Farrakhan's teachings. Every time I heard him speak, it was almost exclusively during a cable broadcast of a Black church service, where he would stand at the pulpit with the Koran and the Bible on either side of the podium. Considering that I grew up in a devout Christian home, the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan were not regular topics of discussion, so watching this display in my 30s was a novelty.
It struck me how Farrakhan's obvious conflation of Koranic and Biblical theology was so readily received by the pastors and service attendees. It was clear that he was deceiving the people who embraced and admired him as if he were the leader of a cult. But it wasn't until a few years later that I heard Farrakhan's unabashed antisemitic rants.
I've lectured and written extensively about Farrakhan's profound Jew-hatred, including in my book Zionism & the Black Church. As I've stated, though Farrakhan's antisemitism is not a reflection of the majority of Black Americans, his influence on prominent Black leaders (lawmakers, professional athletes, entertainers, etc.) is significant.
Farrakhan's recent speech has many points to unpack, but I will focus on his false conclusions about Israel's destiny and Black support for Israel.
His conclusion begins as follows:
"What I gave is prophecy that you can find in the Bible and Koran, that Israel is not gonna stay in the Middle East…and when that war triggers all of the countries that it will trigger, the war of Armageddon will be all over the earth. China will be involved. Russia will be involved…North Korea will be involved. And there'll be no hiding place for anyone."
Farrakhan references the international war against Israel (Armageddon) as explained by the prophet Ezekiel, implying that the result of that war will be Israel's removal, even though the Bible states exactly the opposite result.
Let's be very clear - this is tantamount to calling God a liar.
Shortly after, Farrakhan directly addressed Jewish and Israeli officials attempting to reach Black American youth, saying:
"[This younger generation of Black Americans] refuse to be controlled by the (pro-Israel) forces that controlled their fathers and their grandfathers. That is over! So, I say to Israel, 'Leave the Black youth alone! Don't come into our community trying to kill us to satisfy your blood lust.'"
Let's review Farrakhan's latest falsehoods:
Armageddon means the end of Israel.
- Black Israel supporters (most of whom base their sentiments on the Bible) are controlled by Israel/Jews.
- Jews and Israel need to leave the Black youth alone after attempting to indoctrinate Black youth with false prophecies, and
- Israel is trying to kill Black youth to satisfy [their] blood lust — which is yet another Jew-hating blood libel.
For over 3,500 years, leaders much more powerful than Minister Louis Farrakhan have declared the end of Israel – that the Jewish homeland would cease to exist. Those leaders are all gone.Yet, Israel is still here — and always will be.
As is written in Amos (9.14-15): I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them," says the Lord your God.
Pastor Dumisani Washington is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI).
This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Daniel Citone.