Muslim Leader Assails Farrakhan as Having Distorted View of Faith

Warith Deen Muhammad, spiritual leader of the largest group of American black believers in Islam, visited the site of a proposed new Los Angeles mosque Saturday and criticized rival Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan as having a distorted view of the faith.

There are “serious differences and very serious conflicts” between himself and Farrakhan, said Muhammad, 52, the son of the late Elijah Muhammad, founder of the militant Nation of Islam, once popularly known as the Black Muslims.

Muhammad said he came to Los Angeles to boost fund-raising efforts for the proposed mosque in South-Central Los Angeles and to “clear the air” in the wake of massive publicity that Farrakhan has received.

Speaking with reporters before delivering a late-afternoon speech to a crowd of about 800 gathered in a tent erected at the mosque site, Muhammad said that Farrakhan “has made anti-Semitic statements” and has failed to “stick with what is universal true Islam.”

Muhammad--who is the imam , or spiritual leader, of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad Mosque in Chicago--said he is attempting to counter media exposure given to Farrakhan by emphasizing the basic Muslim message that “God is one and all people are his creation and his dependents, and he loves and cherishes them all.”

“In my religion, you cannot charge people with sin or with wrong as a race or a group,” Muhammad said.

Has Denounced Separatism

Since becoming leader of the Black Muslim organization in 1975 after his father’s death, Muhammad has denounced racial separatism and led the organization toward orthodox Muslim views.

Under Muhammad’s leadership, the organization changed its name, first to the “World Community of Al-Islam in the West” and later to the “American Muslim Mission.” Even that name was abandoned last May with announcement that the American Muslim Mission was being dissolved and that affiliated masjids (mosques) would simply be considered part of the general worldwide Muslim community. Muhammad is still considered a spiritual leader by the 70,000 to 100,000 Muslims associated with mosques that were affiliated with the American Muslim Mission.

A breakaway faction of Black Muslims led by Farrakhan, however, rejected the changes instituted by Muhammad, and has retained both the name Nation of Islam and the viewpoint of militant racial separatism. Farrakhan’s message of black pride and self-reliance has won him many supporters, but his verbal attacks on Judaism and Israel have brought him notoriety.

In September, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley resisted pressure from Jewish supporters to condemn Farrakhan’s views before a Farrakhan speech in Los Angeles--a decision Bradley said was prompted by the expectation that Farrakhan would restrict his remarks to the subjects of black economics and self-help. He did not.

On Friday, in a speech to the annual convention of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Bradley declared that through the controversy he had “learned a lesson from Louis Farrakhan: He respects no one.”

Muhammad, when asked Saturday for his view of how Bradley handled the controversy, said, “I think when it comes to Farrakhan or others of our leaders who might be considered extremists or radicals, there’s a fear of criticizing them,” Muhammad said. “Maybe he (Bradley) slipped into that. I don’t know.”

Muhammad spoke Saturday in a tent at the 4016 S. Central Ave. site where the old Masjid Felix Bilal once stood. The old structure--which had been the largest Los Angeles-area mosque of the American Muslim Mission--was a converted Masonic hall that did not meet earthquake safety standards. The main part of the building was torn down recently in connection with plans to build a new mosque on the site.

Drive for Funds

“I hope my visit will encourage more Muslims to support the masjid here and the drive to fund new construction,” Muhammad said. The local Masjid Felix Bilal congregation hopes to build an “Islamic structure” that would be a landmark in the area, he added.

Saturday’s daylong event also featured entertainment and booths selling food and crafts. Muhammad Ali, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, quietly munched a chili dog and potato salad as he sat with a few friends on chairs set up at the edge of the bazaar area. Ali, who said he often attends services at Masjid Felix Bilal, later was seated on the stage with Muhammad and Abdul Kareem Hasan, the local imam .

Muhammad will speak again today at 1 p.m. at the same site.