Farrakhan Says U.S. Should View Nation of Islam as Friend

Minister Louis Farrakhan granted a rare one-on-one interview to Times staff writer Andrea Ford on Saturday. Farrakhan, controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, was in Los Angeles for a Friday night speech at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

In the interview, which was limited to 20 minutes, Farrakhan repeated assertions that the war on drugs is a disguised war on blacks by the government. He also said the Nation of Islam is dedicated to eliminating drugs and that the government should view the Nation of Islam as a friend, not an enemy.

Following is a partial transcript of the interview.

Q: What did you hope to accomplish with this visit to Los Angeles, and did you accomplish it?

A: Always our aim is to teach and guide our people to that which will give them a better life and a better grip on themselves that we might come into a stronger bond of unity. . . . I believe that last night, certainly a beginning was made. . . . The Crips and the Bloods were there and even though they find it difficult relating one to the other, it appeared they found ease in relating to me and to us. We might possibly serve as a link to bring together those factions in our community that up to this point have not been able to find the path to unity.

Q: In your speech you said the government’s war on drugs is a disguised war on the black community. Could you elaborate on that?

A: We believe that the government . . . is frightened by the rise in population of our people. We believe (the government) sees in black people a useless population that is considered by sociologists a permanent underclass. And when you have something that is useless, you attempt to get rid of it, if you cannot make it serviceable. . . . And just as Mr. Bush used the war on drugs as a pretext to bomb and invade Panama . . . we believe that same scenario is being put in place to attack the black community.

Q: Beyond unity, do you have a specific plan or proposal to try to cure some of the ills plaguing the African-American community, the gang warfare, the drug problem?

A: Yes, of course. One could not come to the black community today as a servant if one does not have some solution to these problems. Most of these that you see that are with me in the Nation are those that we retrieved from the streets, from prisons, from a very low life . . . and we have by God’s grace reformed these men and women, taken them from the old life style and given them a life style that is in harmony (with) the prophets of God. So if we can do it for the few, that is a sign that we can do it for the many if we are given a chance. When they are trying to find a cure for something, they measure what (the medicine does) with that small sampling, then they spread the sampling, then they get federal approval and give the medicine to all that suffer from that disease. I would hope that ultimately the government would see the Nation of Islam, not as the enemy, but the Nation of Islam as a friend.

Q: Do you believe the perception of you as perhaps anti-Jewish decreases your effectiveness in spreading your message to a wider audience of Americans?

A: No, not at all. It has increased it. In fact, in 1985, when I came to Los Angeles, if it had not been for the Jewish community making the kind of issue that they made of my presence, we might not have filled the Forum. And 19,000 people came to the Forum to see and hear this man who had the Jewish community so upset. Jews have never been upset over any black person. They usually have great control over black people. But here’s one they don’t control, and they have not yet found the mechanism to destroy what they can’t control. And so it causes them great consternation. However, as I said last night, I am not anti-Semitic, nor am I anti-Jewish.

Q: In your speech you described the black community and Los Angeles specifically as being on the brink of eruption. What do you mean?

A: This is not just in Los Angeles. All over the country, police killings of black people are on the increase. And when a human being’s life is taken, the law of justice says that loss of life must be justified. . . . Now millions of lives of black people have been lost and there has been no redress for that grievance. So something is building in the breasts of black folk and if wise measures are not taken at this juncture, this could explode in a volcanic eruption.

Q: Is Louis Farrakhan being irresponsible, as some say, by telling people they have every right to erupt? Are you giving license to rage?

A: I cannot give license to rage. It is injustice that gives license to rage. Since I did not commit the crimes that have the black community enraged, then it is not I who gives license to the rage. . . . The people don’t need a leader to direct their rage, they know who they are enraged against.