THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408010193
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN AND DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 138 lines
Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, fired up his audience Saturday night to become spiritual warriors against the killing that is destroying the African-American community and the nation.
``I have come to Norfolk in the name of the Sovereign of the Universe. . . shouted. ``Stop the killing. First in you, then in your family, then in your community, in your nation and in the world.''
Farrakhan delivered a barnburner sermon to an audience of nearly 6,000 at Scope. He whispered, shouted and screamed, pounded the podium and danced behind it. He pointed his finger at the crowd and struck at the heart: The black community and the entire nation is at war, because people are spiritually dead.
He railed at the multitude of churches and religious denominations that have created divisions among people. People should unite in worshiping God, he said, but instead they create movements named after the great teachers.
``In the church right now, you make more fuss over Jesus than you do over the Father,'' Farrakhan said. ``Stop the killing! You're killing yourself spiritually because you did not plug up to the right plug. You got a short in the system. . . . Jesus did not want you to plug into him. He wanted you to plug into the Father, like he was plugged in.''
Farrakhan's appearance, sponsored by the Hampton Roads Coalition Against Violence, is part of a ``Stop the Violence'' rally to kick off a campaign against black-on-black violence.
He used religion as a leaping-off point for direct attacks on premarital sex, homosexuality and abortion rights. He castigated the audience for materialism, and the willingness to kill for ``a piece of paper with a picture of a dead president on it.''
``We have become so dead spiritually that Air Jordan shoes mean more than the air a human being is breathing to keep alive,'' he said. ``Because you do not care anymore for life.''
But Farrakhan had entered the auditorium just minutes after the ``green wave,'' as members of the audience waved dollar bills in the air, then dropped the money into blue buckets to show support for his ministry. There was also a half-hour auction-style fund-raiser during which audience members rose to give $100 and $50 contributions. The donors' names were shouted to loud applause.
The fund raising was led bya Muslim leader from Baltimore who told the group that Farrakhan needs money to spread his message in a hostile world. ``Your enemies don't fear you when you have wisdom without wealth,'' said Jahmil Muhammad. ``Mr. Farrakhan represents the wedding of wisdom and wealth. If you have wisdom and no wealth, you cannot implement the ideas in your head.''
On Friday, members of the Hampton Roads Coalition Against Violence complained that Scope officials had hampered their efforts to sell out the event by refusing to issue large numbers of tickets to them. Farrakhan picked up on that point, telling the audience that people in authority tried to stop his appearance out of fear.
``They are frightened because they do not control Brother Farrakhan,'' he said. ``I am not one of their boys. And because I am not and speak the truth, they are afraid of me.''
The city has denied allegations of attempting to sabotage Farrakhan's appearance.
Farrakhan and his followers have been criticized for anti-Semitic remarks, but his preaching Saturday did not single out Jews for any attacks. He listed Judaism among religions that he said had lost the true path to God, and turned to taunt the media: ``Get your cameras on me now. . . . I ain't gonna say anything anti-Semitic.''
The audience members, nearly all African-American, showed their enthusiasm for Farrakhan by their willingness to stand in long lines for a security check before entering the building.
Men and women entered by separate doors. The men moved through a gantlet: Three pairs of bow-tied, dark-suited guards ran hands down the men's bodies and checked their pockets. Cigarette lighters and pocket knives were dumped into a trash can. Umbrellas lay in a pile against the door.
Women got a more polite, but slower, inspection behind blue curtains. The men, finished with their security check, formed a massive traffic jam by the women's entrance. They stood with folded arms and faces of strained patience as a Farrakhan guard pleaded, ``Keep on moving! Keep moving.''
There was a virtual bazaar of items for sale in the hallways.
While waiting for his girlfriend to get through the security check, Victor Manuel strolled around the arena, bypassing tables of perfumed oils, books, tapes and vendors' screams of, ``Brother man! Won't you buy a T-shirt!' ''
``I've seen him on TV, and I thought he would be a good speaker,'' Manuel said. ``Even if I don't believe in what he says, I'll at least hear a good speech.''
The focus of the evening was stopping violence in the black community, but curiosity about the religious leader brought many to the rally.
``Part of it is the controversy that surrounds him,'' said Cindy Horton of Virginia Beach.``He's strong on family values, but I've never been to anything so controversial, and I wanted to be a part of it.''
This was the second Farrakhan rally for Toni Smith of Norfolk. She saw him in Richmond a month ago.
``I didn't like him before I saw him, but after going to see him, I changed my mind,'' Smith said. ``A lot of people here will accuse him of not talking about stopping the violence, but he does, indirectly. He's saying if you concentrate on God, you can't kill your brother, you can't kill yourself. That is the essence of what he's saying.''
Amanda Taylor started cursing her watch at 9:15, only halfway through Farrakhan's speech. She needed to be at work by 9:30, but she wasn't ready to leave.
``So far, I'm really impressed,'' said the Chesapeake woman, one of the few white people who attended the rally.
``I don't know what I expected, but I wasn't expecting this. I might not agree with everything he says, but he's made very good arguments and you've got to respect him for that. I think more people just need to hear him and understand what he's saying.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
IAN MARTIN/Staff
ABOVE: Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan delivered a rousing
speech to a crowd of about 6,000 at Norfolk's Scope on Saturday.
LEFT: A man in the audience shows his support by donating money to
help Farrakhan spread his message.
Photo
IAN MARTIN/Staff
Outside Scope on Saturday, Rolando Barrera of Martinsville sells
tickets for Louis Farrakhan's speech. Farrakhan's appearance was
part of a ``Stop the Violence'' rally.
Graphic
THE NATION OF ISLAM
Louis Farrakhan, who spoke Saturday night in Norfolk, is the
leader of the Nation of Islam black Muslim sect.
Elijah Muhammad founded the Nation of Islam and stamped it with a
militant brand of religion. In 1978, three years after Muhammad's
death, Farrakhan resurrected the Nation of Islam's name and
continued a militant and often separatist message.
Researchers estimate there are 6 million Muslims in this country,
of whom 2 million are African-American.
Within that group, 10,000 to 20,000 are members of the Nation of
Islam, according to the American Muslim Council.
by CNB