Garbanzo Toons

The Truth as Presented by the Nation of Islam

There is a big Nation of Islam convention this weekend in Detroit. It features our local newspapers' favorite Jew hater, Louis Farrakhan. There have been a few articles in both the News and the Free Press, whitewashing Farrakhan's legacy of anti-semitism. In today's Detroit Free Press, for example,

The Nation of Islam and Farrakhan, who is known in the group as the Honorable Minister, have been accused of anti-Semitism, a charge the Nation denies.

and

In the past, Farrakhan has drawn fire -- particularly from Jewish groups, for remarks they deemed anti-Semitic.

I don't remember Mel Gibson being given that same courtesy. For some reason, his drunken anti-semitic rant was taken at face value, while Farrakhan is repeatedly excused. The Detroit News had this at the bottom of one of its articles,

Local Jews reject assertions that Farrakhan has moderated his point of view, so that the Nation of Islam will be more inclusive.

"This stuff is so anti-Jewish, it is so anti-Israeli, it is so homophobic, it is so anti-white, it is hard for me to believe that the community where I live in, the community that I work in, can feel this way towards him," said Betsy Kellman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Those darn "local Jews" always trying to rain on the Jew-hating parades. And there was this from a previous, mostly fawning article on Farrakhan,

Jews have accused the Nation of Islam of anti-Semitism, based on remarks Farrakhan delivered publicly over the past three decades. Farrakhan has sought to issue further explanations of those statements, asserting that he was misunderstood, and he has met with some Jewish leaders.

But the Anti-Defamation League still describes the Nation of Islam as a hate group, and it was highly critical of remarks Farrakhan delivered in Chicago at the 2006 Saviour's Day event.

I forgot, they're always either misunderstood, misquoted, or taken out of context.

Another big event at the Big Event, was a speech from the President of Sudan.

The President of Sudan told a cheering crowd of Muslims at the Nation of Islam's convention in Detroit on Friday that his country is being unfairly targeted by Israel and Western countries "who do not respect the will and dignity of our nation."

Speaking from Sudan, Omar al-Bashir addressed hundreds of Nation members and other Muslims in a video conference that Nation members said was broadcast live inside the African country.

"Colonial powers ... want to come back" to Sudan, al-Bashir said through a translator to a crowd inside Cobo Center, the site of a three-day convention by the Nation, founded in Detroit and headed by Louis Farrakhan. There is an "American, Israeli, British alliance to dominate all the region."

In recent years, al-Bashir and his government's military forces have been criticized for allegedly killing people inside Sudan, allowing slavery, and providing a haven for terrorists. The U.S. State Dept. lists Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

But al-Bashir said that "there is no ethnic cleansing at all" and "there isn't any slavery in the Sudan."

What other idiocies did he utter? I don't know. I do know that you can always depend on cheering crowds when you blame Islamic brutalities, corruption, and deficiencies on Israel and the West, even if you are in Detroit.

Labels: Farrakhan, islam, Sudan

posted by Harry @ 10:30 PM