By Student Minister William Muhammad and Brother David Muhammad
William Muhammad
Recently Sheriff David Clarke launched an outrageous barrage of attacks and lies against the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on Fox Business Networks. Sheriff Clarke stated “This guy spews hate, racism, he’s an antisemite. He last September called for 10,000 black men to rise up and kill 10,000 white people.”
The truth is that Minister Farrakhan called for 10,000 fearless men and women to go into our communities and make them decent places to live.
He charged us to stand in the midst of the violence and be agents of conflict resolution and peacemakers. Log on to justiceorelse.com/join-10000 and register to be part of the 10,000 Fearless.
When you register you’re saying you’re committed to being one of the 10,000 Fearless, that the Minister Louis Farrakhan has called on to help stop the senseless violence in our communities and that you desire to be trained to qualify yourself as one of the 10,000.
Sheriff Clarke went on to say, “He has done nothing to improve black life in any city of America, and I think that’s a guy who should be shunned, and if you’re a parent out there, you should keep your sons and daughters away from the likes of Louis Farrakhan as a role model.”
David Muhammad
Let us briefly review some of the life saving, life giving work the Minister has done in his 60 year labor of love and sacrifice.
In 1988, the Fruit of Islam (FOI) in Washington, DC, inspired by Minister Louis Farrakhan went into the drug infested Mayfair Mansions apartment complex, which was riddled with gun violence, putting a stop to crime and drug trafficking. This was followed by millions of dollars in reinvestment and development.
Women, children and the elderly, who before the presence FOI lived in constant fear, came out of their homes to enjoy a peaceful and secure environment. Keep in mind the followers of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan do not carry weapons and patrol the community unarmed.
Muslims involved with the effort formed security companies and were granted contracts in public housing projects in different parts of the country. These privately owned companies, however, were targeted by Jewish groups who pressured the Department of Housing and Urban Development to drop the contracts despite credit given to the Muslims for their work by Republicans such as Jack Kemp and even First Lady Barbara Bush.
All throughout the mid 80s and the 90s, Minister Farrakhan toured the cities and towns of America, speaking to tens of thousands of black people with Continued on page 8 Lee A. Daniels an inspiring message of self-love, discipline, and self-determination.
The Minister convened gang summits and inspired street organizations to form truces and work together to stop the violence in the inner cities.
Following a grueling national tour entitled “Stop The Killing,” Minister Farrakhan then went on another national tour speaking to black men only.
This culminated in the greatest demonstration of love and unity that the world has ever witnessed, the Million Man March.
Minister Farrakhan gave instructions at the Million Man March that inspired the adoption of 25,000 black children, increased black voter registrations by 1.5 million, grew the membership of the NAACP, churches and organizations, transforming countless individuals who attended and who stayed home.
He had the men pledge to strive to improve themselves spiritually, morally, mentally, socially, politically and economically for the benefit of themselves and their family.
They pledged to work collectively to build community and not destroy it, and that they would not beat their women or use the “B” word.
This is the redemptive restorative work of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. In light of the condition of the black community in Milwaukee County, Sheriff Clarke should be praising and supporting the work of the Minister instead of denying it.
In his Fox News interview, Sheriff Clarke intentionally misrepresented the Minister Farrakhan’s overture to him, on the eve of the Minister’s August 2015 visit to Milwaukee.
Clarke stated, “last fall Farrakhan came to Milwaukee and his staff had the nerve to call my office and ask if we would provide security for him.”
I was a part of the staff that met with Sheriff Clarke’s staff. I can say with truth that the Minister never requested security from the Sheriff.
The meeting was a courtesy to the Sheriff, following normal protocols letting him know that the Minister would be in the city that he is responsible for.
The request was for an escort to facilitate the movements of the motorcade.
The other purpose of the meeting was to make it clear to Sheriff Clarke that Minister Farrakhan never advocated the killing of white people.
This lie was reported in the media the week prior to the Minister’s visit to Milwaukee. Sheriff Clarke responded on FOX News saying that if the Minister came to Milwaukee, he would monitor the message to see what action should be taken.
Minister Farrakhan offered to have a face to face meeting with Sheriff Clarke to clear up any misunderstandings and to give the Sheriff an opportunity to express his concerns in a respectful dialogue.
However, it appears that Sheriff Clarke would rather pander to the conservative audience of Fox News than have a respectful dialogue with his brother.
According to the Urban Dictionary, the word “sheriff” has an etymological connection to the Arabic word “sharif,” which was a title given to those who serve as the protector of the tribe and all tribal assets, such as property, wells, and land.
In Arabic/Persian however, the word “sharif” means “honorable.” In so many ways, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has been a greater sheriff than Sheriff David Clarke. Sheriff Clarke enforces the law through his authority to arrest.
The Minister is a reformer of the thinking and actions of human beings, by means of spiritual inspiration and guidance, making it unnecessary to be at odds with law enforcement.
In 2013, Clarke ran public service announcements telling Milwaukee’s residents not to call 911 or the Milwaukee Police Department, but instead to take up arms against suspects.
“Once the wolf is at the door, once the intruder is inside your home, once you’re on the street and someone sticks a gun in your face to take your car or your wallet, you don’t have the option of calling 911,” said Clarke.
This promotion of gun ownership and vigilantism has, according to many observers and law makers, led to 2015 being the deadliest year in Milwaukee in over a decade.
Milwaukee’s spike in homicide is now being directly correlated to the 2011 passage of the state’s concealed carry law, which has led to the highest rise in straw purchases, stolen weapons and accidental shootings since 2007. Many of these guns are used in incidents of domestic violence which has risen simultaneously. Clearly, the approach of “10,000 Fearless” is just what Black America needs to rid itself of gun violence through conflict resolution and community building.
Milwaukee has been ranked among America’s most dangerous places to live, which is in large part due to the influx of drugs, access to weapons, and the sex trade, all of which proliferate on the highways of Milwaukee County.
Milwaukee has been declared the “Harvard” of human trafficking, with young women being sold throughout the mid-west on county highways. Sheriff should rally behind the Minister’s instructions in his Saviours’ Day message to protect our women and girls.
One of the most outrageous remarks from the Sheriff was when he said, “If Lucifer had a son, it would be Louis Farrakhan.” The healing work of Jesus in the 12th Chapter of Matthew was also condemned by the lawmen of that day.
They accused him of healing and performing miracles by the power of the Beelzebub (Lucifer). Jesus responded by pointing out their hypocrisy. They were unable and unwilling to perform his redemptive work.
He gave them the sign of Jonah and Nineveh as an example of how to redeem the people and the city.
I close with instructions from Minister Farrakhan to his followers on July 23, 2012, as he personally led the FOI into the south side and west side of Chicago.
“We desire for the World to know that we do not do these things for money nor were we offered any money from any municipality to come out into the streets to try to stem the rising tide of violence.
We came into the streets, and by the Grace of Allah (God) will stay in the streets out of the love that we have for our people and our desire to serve them. It is written in the Holy Qur’an, “Do no favor seeking gain. Do the favor or good work and the gain will come.”
Now that’s a true Sheriff.