Louis Farrakhan
* Elements of the analyses of an African-American pastor, a Latino priest and an Islamic leader presented in Voices (Nov. 8) about Louis Farrakhan troubled me no less than Farrakhan’s well-known views.
Says Elder Isaac Patrick, “What he (Farrakhan) says about the historical perspective of the black man in this country is accurate and not censored.” Yet this is the same Farrakhan who publishes “The Secret Relationship Between Black and Jews,” which promotes the malicious and historic untruth that the Jews played a pivotal role in bringing and enslaving blacks in America. Dr. Nazir Khaja, president of the Islamic Information Service, assures the reader that Farrakhan recently told him personally that “he has totally denied he is fanning the flames of racial hatred.” He should take time to read Farrakhan’s sermons, which castigate all Americans of European heritage as “white devils.” Father Juan Santillan muses aloud if Farrakhan’s “bluntness” can be “a model for” Mexican-Americans. Heaven forbid.
A generation ago, one religious figure, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., bestowed a legacy of commitment to equality and social justice based on shared spiritual values. What message are we leaving our children?
RABBI ABRAHAM COOPER
Associate Dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center
Los Angeles
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