Conspiracy Theorists

"The FBI, in preparation for this war, has stepped up its campaign against strong Black political leadership. The FBI is using dirty tactics under the guise of flushing out corrupt politicians to malign and besmirch the good name of many of our strong fighters for justice; threatening them with indictments or casting them into prisons. With other weaker leaders, the government has already promised them wealth and nearness to the centers of power and to be in their councils in exchange for their being silent when the attack finally comes."

"I am here to announce today that President Bush has met with his Joint Chiefs of Staff, under the direction of General Colin Powell, to plan a war against the Black people of America, the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan, with particular emphasis on our Black youth, under the guise of a war against drug sellers, drug users, gangs and violence-all under the heading of extremely urgent national security."

"Now, it is well documented, through the Senate Subcommittee hearings on the Counterintelligence Program of the United States government, under J. Edgar Hoover, and through information that we have received under the Freedom of Information Act, that the Government of the United States, the Justice Department and the FBI, in the name of fighting communism; and in the name of preventing a "Messiah" from rising among Black people, who would unite us; and in the name of protecting the existing social and political order, used taxpayers' dollars to employ every dirty trick that was ever used in overthrowing foreign governments deemed to be enemies of the United States, to overthrow and to undermine all Black leaders and Black organizations in the United States."

"Now that I, and those with me, are working to rebuild the work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as a means of reforming our people and transforming their lives into lives of service and usefulness to themselves and others, the same fear of the government that was seen in times past, is now seen again in the work of members of the FBI's anti-terrorist task force and the organized crime racketeering task force, that have been working night and day to cripple and destroy the Nation of Islam, culminating in an attack on Louis Farrakhan, with the purpose of discrediting, embarrassing and ultimately causing the death of Louis Farrakhan, preferably by heightening tensions within the movement exacerbated by government agents posing as Muslims. This is the aim of the United States government, and it appears to be the aim of the President of the United States President George Bush."

"Two weeks before George Bush was elected President, he made a speech before the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in Los Angeles, detailing his support of Israel and his continued support of the Jewish community. He pledged continued funding of the Justice Department in their continuing investigations and vigorous prosecution of those whom the President called, anti-Semites. And he said, "Whether they wear brown shirts, or white shirts and bow ties: whether they live in Skokie, Chicago, Illinois, or Brooklyn, New York, the villain is the same." I am sure President Bush was not referring to Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, who wears bow ties and white shirts. During the Reagan Administration, the then Vice-President Bush spoke out against me, identifying me by name. Now as he approached the Presidency he spoke of me by innuendo saying that he would continue the funding of the Justice Department, and he promised he would lead the fight against those whom he and certain leading members of the Jewish community determined to be "anti-Semites," through vigorous investigation, prosecution, and then, he indirectly referred to me as "the villain.""

"Evidence is now mounting that those were not empty words of the President, but those words, as in the past, have been translated into the final program and policy and war, that has been designed to destroy the Nation of Islam and Minister Farrakhan, with a particular focus on the growing strength of Black youth."

"For the past few years, the American press has been feeding the public the image of Black youth on a rampage. From the gangs called Crips and Bloods, in Los Angeles, California; the Central Park incident, to the drug sellers that are operating in the major cities along the East Coast, particularly in Washington, D.C., the image the American public gets is that when it comes to gangs, violence and drugs, that the gang leaders are Black; the violence is Black; the drug sellers are Black and the majority of drug users are Black. Our youth are being portrayed as the perpetrators of violence, and are being armed with "street sweepers," AK-47s, Uzis, MAC 10s. It is being reported that these Black youth are better armed than the local police."

"The police are saying that they have insufficient arms to combat these drug groups and, therefore, they either need heavier weapons, or the back-up of the National guard, and Federal troops. However, information has come to us that the police have great fire power available to them. And certain areas of the country have been targeted to test these new weapons. Armored personnel carriers that can travel at speeds up to 70 m.p.h. with high caliber machine guns are being stored in the armories of the major cities and the use of certain kinds of gases is being planned. This is being planned to be executed against Black youth in several major cities in the country, one of which is Washington, D.C."

"Well, first I think the council did a commendable thing because I believe that Dr. Alim {Abdul Muhammad} and the brothers and sisters who work with him in the Washington area have done a most commendable thing with drugs and the scourge of this city and this nation. It should be interesting to note that Minister Alim went into Mayfair Mansions and Paradise Manor, comprised of nearly 8 or 9 thousand people which you know were crime-ridden and drug-infested, and not with money, and not with guns but with a moral authority has literally almost completely ridden that community of drugs and it is almost completely crime-free."

"We are not rich people. We are poor people. But with the word that we have been taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as espoused by Minister Alim, that miraculous result was brought about and so the city council should be commended for recognizing that effort."

"Now to speak to the charge of antisemitism. To say that Louis Farrakhan is an antisemitic is an improper and unjust characterization of me. To say that I have been critical of Jews and critical of the state of Israel is true. But I have been critical of blacks, critical of our leaders, critical of Arabs, critical of whites, and yet my own people don't call me anti-black and Arabs don't call me antisemitic and they are also semitic people. The term is wrong. And is wrongfully applied. My criticism of Jews should be taken in that light. And criticism, sir, with all due respect, is not necessarily born out of dislike of the person, but dislike of the condition that maybe these persons are involved with..."

"Certainly I said some Jews were responsible on the ships that brought our fathers into slavery. All Jews didn't own those ships. Some Jews have been responsible for characterizing black people as clowns and buffoons using the movie industry to get that message over..."

"I have no reference whatsoever to the religion that Jews practice. Listen to me carefully, please. I said this morning that I was referring to the actions of the state of Israel using God and religion as a cover for what I said was lying, stealing, murder, using God's name as a shield for your dirty religion, meaning you're preaching one thing, but you are practicing another. And when I said I have no reference to Moses and what Moses revealed, there is nothing in any way, shape or form in any of my speeches that you have ever heard me say that I condemn Moses and what Moses taught to the Jews, or condemned Jesus and what Jesus taught to the Jews, or condemned Muhammad and what Muhammad taught to the Arabs. But I do condemn our actions in direct contravention to what we profess we believe as taught by the prophets. And I said in that paper that Jews, some of them practice dirty religion; some Muslims practice dirty religion; some Christians practice dirty religion, and that's why we're in America in the condition that we're in under religious people who went in direct contravention to the teaching of their prophet. That's my statement. I never ever mention Judaism in that context, nor will I ever."

"There are righteous Jews, and there are righteous Christians, and there are righteous Muslims; and there are unrighteous Jews and unrighteous Christians and unrighteous Muslims. There are righteous blacks and there are unrighteous blacks, and now if we're going to get into lumping everyone together, then I think we would be guilty of making an error."

"I couldn't honestly say that. But, you know, it's like a knee-jerk reaction, because when {there's} a person like myself, and, you know, as a white person or as a Jewish person you're not used to hearing any black person criticizing Jewish behavior, not publicly. I could be wrong. But I don't recall any black person ever being lambasted like Louis Farrakhan {has been lambasted} as a bigot and {an} antisemite."

"I feel that there is a certain sensitivity -- that Jewish rabbis and I have sat down and talked about -- that Jews have, and that we have as a persecuted and an oppressed people. And maybe in that sensitivity there has been a reaction to statements made by Louis Farrakhan as we react to anything that opens a sore with us like the {CBS-TV commentator Andy} Rooney thing recently and the other fellow on CBS, Jimmy the Greek. We're very sensitive and Jews are very sensitive. And in that sensitivity, I think care has to be taken by us. And sometimes when you say something and people say, "Ouch!" and you learn that you have offended, then you're conscious of being careful."

"For those who are students of history, we are very suspicious to be very honest with you, because we know the history. We know that in this country to decimate the population of the Indians, blankets were sent to the Indians containing smallpox. We know that in this country {there was} the Tuskegee experiment, where a hundred black men were given the most virulent form of syphilis and a program was set up that they would never be treated for syphilis and these men cohabited with many, many women, spreading syphilis among our people. This is documented. We do know that in New Zealand, in Australia, in the Congo -- wherever whites have wanted that particular area -- there has been a genocidal plot against the lives of those native people, and it goes on to this day. And we respectfully submit that we are deeply concerned because we have a population of between 30-40 million people much of whom are useless to this society. And we watch how this society treats the elderly who have served this country well, and we watch how this society treats those who have outlived their usefulness."

"And we are afraid when we see a population ever growing, millions of unemployed, millions of unemployable and angry youth. And we see drugs flooding into our community and you know we don't produce the drugs, we don't bring them in. You know, sir, that because of the deep economic condition in the black community, you can't offer young blacks a job at Wendy's or McDonald's as an alternative to selling crack. And if Mr. Bush can see the wisdom in providing some economic solutions to the growers of the cocoa leaf in Peru and Bolivia, then surely Mr. Bush should see there has to be an economic solution to drugs in America and particularly in the black community. So I am saying we are dying. Blacks are dying in America at an inordinate rate. Is there a plan? We believe there is."

"America, since the 1954 Supreme Court decision and since the civil rights acts of 1964 and '65, has created a larger black middle class sort of as a buffer between the white community and the black community. And this middle class that has been created as a result of the struggle of the poor, the youth that were out on the marches with Dr. King, the youth that were rioting, the youth that were throwing the Molotov cocktails, the youth that got shot down in the streets -- it was their effort that caused you {black journalists} to be here. You weren't here before then, I don't think. It's the suffering, the poor black people that opened the door for us sitting around the table."

"We built your country and this civilization has turned us so backward mentally that you let us go under the Emancipation Proclamation, passed the 13th Amendment against involuntary slavery knowing that {because of} the mental condition that our people were in, we would become your volunteer servants. And so we have served America, fought in all her wars, bled and died on every field of battle. We helped you beat Germany, and now Germany is reunited and we can't get together. The walls are tumbling down between Eastern Europeans, but no walls are tumbling down with us because there are those who don't want to see us reconcile our differences."

"Since the prisons are full and you really don't rehabilitate prisoners, you loved Malcolm X, so you say. Well, look at Malcolm. He was a thief, a hustler, a pimp, a user of drugs, a seller of drugs, a bank robber. Would you love him in that condition? Would you accept a picture of him on your wall in that condition? But who reclaimed him? We did. And the brilliance of that man is the same brilliance that's hiding in prisons all over America. Malcolm was not the exception. Malcolm is the rule. There are many brilliant black people. All they need is a chance."

"Gentiles and Jews worked together with the aid of America, England, France, the United Nations and set up the state of Israel, took land from the Palestinians, but you created a state for Israel and you created hope for Jews. All Jews are not there, but all Jews know that they have the right to go there."

"And I'll close by saying, you know Mr. Bush, the president, I think a week before he was elected, was standing before the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and he pledged his support to Israel. And then he turned around and said that he pledged continued support, funding the Justice Department in their vigorous investigation and prosecution of antisemites whether they wear brown shirts, white shirts and bow ties, whether they live in Skokie, Chicago or Brooklyn, the villain is the same. I don't think they were talking about Sen. {Paul} Simon {D-Ill.}, who wears white shirts and bow ties. That to me says that this president has in his heart for me what Reagan had in his heart for {Libyan leader Moammar} Gadhafi. And I'm saying that's a mistake. Through The Washington Post, I'd like to say to Mr. Bush, that would be unwise. And it is unwise because you, Mr. Bush, are in the position of a modern pharaoh and Pharaoh lost his army, his government and his power over his rejection of an honorable and just solution to the problem posed by the unwanted presence of the Israelite slaves. And so it is today."

"I believe that there is {a} continuing investigation and I believe that Mr. Bush and those who fear the rise of black people see me as much today a threat as they saw my brother, Martin Luther King, when he made that speech, a really innocuous speech in Washington in 1963 where he hoped that black and white and Jew and gentile, Protestant and Catholic would get together. The next day, J. Edgar Hoover received from his staff people a memo saying that Martin Luther King Jr. was the most dangerous Negro in America and then this government through the Justice Department investigated Dr. King vigorously, and I doubt that the government can escape culpability in that man's assassination or in the assassination of Malcolm X. And I firmly believe that they have something similar in store for me."

"We thank all of the Black newspapers, radio stations, commentators, disc jockeys who really talked up the Million Man March. The mass media did not get involved until the last minute and it seemed as though they got involved with another agenda in mind. But to all of you, and we thank you the mass media too, because even though you planned it for mischief, God planned it for good."

"We’re standing at the steps of the United States Capitol. I’m looking at the Washington Monument and beyond it to the Lincoln Memorial. And, beyond that, to the left, to your right, the Jefferson Memorial. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of these United States and he was the man who allegedly freed us. Abraham Lincoln saw in his day, what President Clinton sees in this day. He saw the great divide between Black and White. Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton see what the Kerner Commission saw 30 years ago when they said that this nation was moving toward two Americas–one Black, one White, separate and unequal. And the Kerner Commission revisited their findings 25 years later and saw that America was worse today than it was in the time of Martin Luther King, Jr. There’s still two Americas, one Black, one White, separate and unequal."

"Abraham Lincoln, when he saw this great divide, he pondered a solution of separation. Abraham Lincoln said he never was in favor of our being jurors or having equal status with the Whites of this nation. Abraham Lincoln said that if there were to be a superior or inferior, he would rather the superior position be assigned to the White race."

"Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, and 16 and 3 make 19 again. What is so deep about this number 19? Why are we standing on the Capitol steps today? That number 19! When you have a nine, you have a womb that is pregnant. And when you have a one standing by the nine, it means that there’s something secret that has to be unfolded."

"Right here on this mall where we are standing, according to books written on Washington, D.C., slaves used to be brought right here on this mall in chains to be sold up and down the eastern seaboard. Right along this mall, going over to the White House, our fathers were sold into slavery. But, George Washington, the first president of the United States, said he feared that before too many years passed over his head, this slave would prove to become a most troublesome species of property. Thomas Jefferson said he trembled for this country when he reflected that God was just and that His justice could not sleep forever. Well, the day that these presidents feared has now come to pass, for on this mall, here we stand in the capital of America, and the layout of this great city, laid out by a Black man, Benjamin Banneker. This is all placed and based in a secret Masonic ritual. And at the core of the secret of that ritual is the Black man. Not far from here is the White House."

"You came not at the call of Louis Farrakhan, but you have gathered here at the call of God. For it is only the call of Almighty God, no matter through whom that call came, that could generate this kind of outpouring. God called us here to this place, at this time, for a very specific reason. And now, I want to say, my brothers, this is a very pregnant moment, pregnant with the possibility of tremendous change in our status in America and in the world. Although the call was made through me, many have tried to distance the beauty of this idea from the person through whom the idea and the call was made."

"We are standing on the sacrifice of the lives of those heroes, our great men and women that we today may accept the responsibility that life imposes upon each traveler who comes this way. We must accept the responsibility that God has put upon us, not only to be good husbands and fathers and builders of our community, but God is now calling upon the despised and the rejected to become the cornerstone and the builders of a new world."

"Oh, but you better look again, Willie. There’s a new Black man in America today. A new Black woman in America today. Now brothers, there’s a social benefit of our gathering here today. And that is, that from this day forward, we can never again see ourselves through the narrow eyes of the limitation of the boundaries of our own fraternal, civic, political, religious, street organization or professional organization. We are forced by the magnitude of what we see here today, that whenever you return to your cities and you see a Black man, a Black woman, don’t ask him what is your social, political or religious affiliation, or what is your status? Know that he is your brother. And if he needs help, you are obligated to help your brother because he is your brother."

"You must live beyond the narrow restrictions of the divisions that have been imposed upon us. Well, some of us are here because it’s history making. Some of us are here because it’s a march through which we can express anger and rage with America for what she has and is doing to us. So, we’re here for many reasons but the basic reason that this was called was for atonement and reconciliation. So, it is necessary for me in as short of time as possible to give as full an explanation of atonement as possible."

"Now, Martin Luther King, Jr. was probably one of the most patriotic Americans. More patriotic than George Washington. More patriotic than Thomas Jefferson. More patriotic than many of the presidents because he had the courage to point out what was wrong in the society. And because he pointed out what was wrong, he was evil spoken of, vilified, maligned, hated and eventually, murdered. Brother Malcolm had that same road to travel. He pointed out what was wrong in the society and he had to suffer for pointing out what was wrong and he ultimately died on the altar for pointing out what was wrong. Inside the nation, outside the nation, to the greater nation and to the smaller nation."

"For every deed has a consequence. And we can never be granted protection against the faults that we refuse to acknowledge or that we are unwilling to confess. So, look. Who should you confess to? I don’t want to confess. Who should you confess to? Who should I confess to? Who should we confess to? First, you confess to God. And everyone of us that are here today, that knows that we have done wrong, we have to go to God and speak to Him in the privacy of our rooms and confess. He already knows, but when you confess, you’re relieving your soul of the burden that it bears."

"Now, look brothers, sisters. Some people don’t mind confessing. Some people don’t mind making some slight repentance. But, when it comes to doing something about the evil that we’ve done, we fall short. But atonement means satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury. It means to make amends. It means penance, expiation, compensation and recompense made or done for an injury or wrong. So, atonement means we must be willing to do something in expiation of our sins so we can’t just have a good time today, and say we made history in Washington. We got to resolve today that we’re going back home to do something about what’s going on in our lives and in our families and in our communities."

"I must hasten to tell you, Mr. President, that I’m not a malicious person, and I’m not filled with malice. But, I must tell you that I come in the tradition of the doctor who has to point out, with truth, what’s wrong. And the pain is that power has made America arrogant. Power and wealth has made America spiritually blind and the power and the arrogance of America makes you refuse to hear a child of your slaves pointing out the wrong in your society."

"Inside of one month, we would have over $100 million. And in one year, we would have $1.2 billion. What will we do with that? I would love for the leadership up here to form a board and call in Myrlie Evers Williams and ask her, what is the budget of the NAACP for this year? It’s $13 million. It’s $15 million, write a check. Now, next year you have to become accountable to the board, and the members of the NAACP will be on the board too, which means that no Black organization will be accountable to anybody outside of us. But accountable to us and we will free the NAACP, the Urban League and all Black organizations to work in the best interest of our people. How many of you would like to see all our Black organizations free? Now, look brothers, an economic development fund for $10 a month is not a big price to ask to begin to build an economic infrastructure to nurture businesses within the Black community. Soon the leadership is going to meet and work out the details of an Exodus, Exodus Economic Fund."

"Oh, before we say that prayer, the brother of my leader and teacher, the honorable Elijah Muhammad, is here with me and with us. He’s like my father in the absence of my father. He knows this history of the Nation of Islam better than any man in America and I thank God that he lived long enough to see the day that he suffered and worked for, for now 65 years. The brother of the honorable Elijah Muhammad, brother John Muhammad."

"Women are beautiful and the female body is attractive, but a real man cannot think sane thoughts with the female form on his mind. Girls look at television, watching beautiful Beyonce with her beautiful body, but her moves are so provocative. The child does not know anything about sex, but sees that adults approve of those provocative dances, and begins to imitate Beyonce. As young as four and three, girls are learning to shake their bodies in vulgar dances, yet no one seems to be speaking to this as the destruction of potential virtue."

"Some men have become so sick that they try to push themselves in a sexual way into a baby, splitting them. Fathers are sexually abusing their daughters, along with uncles, brothers, cousins and even aunts; and now the lesbian craze is in. We are so undervalued because of our ignorance and lack of the potential for honor and respect."

"So some women tell themselves they do not need a man for anything. It is not that our women want to be lesbians, but another woman understands the pain that another woman is going through or being put through in her interaction with men. When they get tired of the game playing, they fall on each other and find more comfort in another woman than they find in a man. But I do not care if you call yourself a lesbian, when a real man comes along, a real man will awaken that spark in you because you are a real woman—a beautiful woman, but a very abused woman."

"If a virtuous woman is more precious than silver and gold and you wake up in a place where there are 70 virtuous girls who have never been touched by a man, where did you wake up? You do not have to physically die to see that paradise, but you have to die as a n----r. You have to die as the creature that the White man made. When you wake up from that death, you will want to see virtuous women, because the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, "Where there are no decent women, there are no decent men, for the Black woman is the mother of civilization.""

"We are a sick people and there is no way we can expect White people to show respect to us and submit to our desires when we are so fractured and broken as a people. But no one wants to address the real problem: respect for authority. Who is the Supreme Authority of this creation? It is our Creator. Does the Creator have a right to expect from us respect, honor and obedience?"

"Many of us drive automobiles, which came with an owner’s manual in the glove compartment when we bought it. If we really want to get the best out of our vehicles, we have to follow certain guiding principles in the owner’s manual from the maker. Some of us use beauty products, which have instruction on the bottle. If we fail to pay attention to the instructions, we may lose our hair."

"So since the Creator is the author of our existence, should not He have the right to give us instructions and should not we respect His right to guide us in how to use the life that He so beautifully and wonderfully gave to us? The Bible and Holy Qur’an both contain instructions on how to use the life that Allah (God) has given. Scriptures are not romantic stories of foolishness; they offer many wonderful guiding principles. In our ignorance, we defile our bodies, but there is a consequence for rebellion against God, Who is the highest line of authority."

"When men have an outside interest in another female, and they have made a vow to their wives; and because there are so many women with so few men, men feel that they can play with women, who do not respect marriage. In the Islamic world, adultery is punished by death penalty. Allah (God) gave Moses a law that the fornicator and adulterer should be stoned to death, because marriage is the cornerstone of family. Family is the cornerstone of nation and anything that will interfere, corrupt or destroy marriage and family is ultimately a disease that will undermine and sink that nation."

"Your wife may believe your lies about your whereabouts at first, but eventually you cannot fool your wife when another woman interferes in her house. She knows something is wrong; your touch does not feel the same. When she confronts you with actual facts, you become a master liar and manipulator. You put on a macho front and threaten her. But either you are going to come clean or you undermine yourself by lying."

"She argues with you because she is hurting. She feels betrayed. She does not mind calling you out of your name. Your children are listening. When the fight is over, the children talk to each other about what you called each other. If the father smacks the mother, the children tend not to take their father’s side. The woman brought them into the world. They are on her side because nature tells them to be on her side. Babies will throw their bottles at their fathers for hitting their mothers."

"While it is natural for a man to be attracted to the beauty of a woman, Brothers, we must restrain ourselves to protect our marriages and families. The face of the enticing beauty of women is a great test, which most of us fail. Men believe there is free pleasure, but there is no free woman. Every woman costs money and it costs money to play. To play with your wife, family and the future of that family is self-destructive and almost suicidal behavior."