The stare-down between Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and the Obama White House recalls the racial powder keg in the mid-1990s when the militant minister tried to punk down — and seemingly did — former President Bill Clinton and Congress over the issue of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Farrakhan has once again drawn a distinctive line in the sand and is daring the U.S. government to cross it.
During the Clinton years, Farrakhan had been emboldened by the wildly successful Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Afterwards, Congress, Clinton and white America were horrified and outraged that Gadhafi had publicly pledged to pour the wealth of Libya into the Nation of Islam as a result of that march — and even more irate that Farrakhan defiantly proclaimed he would accept the offer on international TV.
Congress demanded that Farrakhan appear before congressional hearings and that he register as an agent of a foreign government. Bad move. Farrakhan was at the peak of his powers and influence in the ’90s, and the offensive by Congress galvanized a sizable portion of black America and the country’s left wing. A mostly one-sided war of words ensued.
“Bring me before Congress!” Farrakhan thundered onstage back then, daring Congress to act on their words, which only served to incite the capacity crowd into pure bedlam, as recorded on C-SPAN.
And once Farrakhan had his crowd of followers and supporters on an emotional high, he tore into the government for even daring to question him. “When you bring me before Congress, I’m going to call the roll on all the senators and congressman who are honorary members of the Israeli Knesset and who get contributions from the Jewish AIPAC [a powerful lobbying group for Israeli interest]. And then I want you [congressmen and senators] to register as an agent of a foreign government!” Farrakhan said. “If you hurt our brother [Ghadafi], we’re going to rise up against you.”
The risky move paid off then. Soon after Congressman Peter King notified Farrakhan of his required appearance at the U.S. Capitol, Congress quickly backed off, afraid that Farrakhan would be turned into a hero and a martyr, political pundits reasoned. Clinton never broached the subject publicly again.
Fast-forward 15 years. The White House is assisting the rebels’ efforts at overthrowing the longtime regime of Gadhafi, a friend of Farrakhan’s for decades. And the very building in which Farrakhan leveled his anger at the Obama Administration, the gold-encrusted “Mosque Maryam” on South Stony Island Avenue in Chicago, was acquired with Gadhafi’s help. He provided the Nation of Islam with a $3 million loan, which they used to acquire the facility, a former Greek Orthodox Church, according to NBC Chicago. Gadhafi also provided Farrakhan with another $5 million loan, which Farrakhan has previously said was forgiven in full.
And now Farrakhan and the White House are at it again. And Farrakhan, one of the most electrifying and eloquent speakers of the modern era, is pummeling the White House — again — with incendiary and threatening speeches in defense of his friend Gadhafi. Will the move pay off again? We shall soon see.
–terry shropshire
