Farrakhan Suspends Aide Over Bigoted Remarks

WASHINGTON —  Chastened by expressions of disapproval from the Congressional Black Caucus and the U.S. Senate, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan suspended a top aide Thursday for making what he called “repugnant” and “mean-spirited” remarks about Jews.

But the controversial black leader modified his rebuke of Khalid Abdul Muhammad by insisting: “I stand by the truths that he spoke.” He then accused the Jewish Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and Vice President Al Gore--both of whom had criticized Muhammad’s remarks--of being anti-black.

Farrakhan’s announcement at a press conference came a day after the Senate condemned the remarks in a unanimous resolution and the caucus publicly backed away from a “sacred covenant” of cooperation that it only recently had entered with the Nation of Islam.

Farrakhan’s move climaxed weeks of controversy that began on Nov. 29 during a speech at Kean College of New Jersey, when Muhammad referred to Jews as “bloodsuckers of the black nation.” He said that they control government, the news media and other black activists. He also heaped insults on other persons and groups, including Pope John Paul II, whom he called “a cracker,” and homosexuals.

The Anti-Defamation League called attention to the comments and condemned Farrakhan in a full-page newspaper ad.

Farrakhan explained his action against Muhammad by saying: “In that instance, he was not representing us. He was representing himself. I found the speech . . . repugnant, malicious, mean-spirited and spoken in mockery of individuals and people, which is against the spirit of Islam.”

He added: “While I stand by the truths that he spoke, I must condemn in the strongest terms the manner in which those truths were represented.”

The black Muslim activist said that he had relieved Muhammad of his duties “until he demonstrates that he is willing to conform to the manner of representing Allah and the honorable Elijah Muhammad (founder of the Nation of Islam).”

Farrakhan said that he remains convinced, however, that the Anti-Defamation League is prejudiced against blacks and is trying to destroy him and his Nation of Islam by publicizing the speech. He called the Jewish organization “self-centered, bigoted and malicious,” adding that Gore is conspiring with it against black people as part of “racism at the highest levels of government.”

Gore had criticized Muhammad’s remarks as “the vilest kind of racism,” telling the United Jewish Appeal that “America is a tolerant country but we should not tolerate hatred and racism.”

Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, Thursday rejected any characterization of his group as anti-black. He said that Farrakhan’s comments about the organization are an example of “double-think and hate.”

Earlier this week, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), chairman of the black caucus, labeled Muhammad’s remarks “evil and vicious” and said “nowhere in American life can we give sanctuary to such garbage.”

BACKGROUND

The Nation of Islam is a splinter group based in New York that grew out of the 1960s movement given prominence by the late Malcolm X. It traces its roots to the black pride and black nationalism that swept Africa after World War II.