From The Final Call Newspaper

Min. Farrakhan Speaks with His Excellency Mohsen Rezaee, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, in Tehran, Iran

By THE HONORABLE MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN | Last updated: Nov 27, 2018



PART ONE

(Editor’s Note: The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered a powerful message Nov. 18 at Mosque Maryam in Chicago. He provided details about his recent trip to Iran, the reception and reaction he received and taught extensively on the reality of the Great Mahdi and the Messiah and their direct connection to the Nation of Islam. The Minister issued a direct challenge to those who have falsely labeled him and the Nation as anti-Semites and haters and called for a public showdown where the truth can be proven before the world. The Minister also shared how he met with His Excellency Mohsen Rezaee, the secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, a legislative branch of the Iranian government in Tehran. Mr. Rezaee is also an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader and a former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Below
is an edited transcript of their meeting Nov. 4 in Iran. Editing done was simply to make the article easier to read because of some translation. None of the content or spirit of the message was changed. We urge our readers to carefully examine and digest these powerful and enlightening words. We also urge you to make sure that you stay tuned for Part 2 of this important article next week, God Willing.)

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.

I was weighing very carefully the time, the government of America and what America, I believe, is planning against the government and people of Iran. We have never been closer to war as we are right now. For the last 20 or more years, out of the Pentagon, plans were developed to overthrow seven Muslim nations in five years. The Generals that were a part of that plan, one of them, exposed what was in a memo that he gained from Paul Wolfowitz, one of the Neo-Conservatives, a Zionist, who has always felt that you can’t make peace with Iran because you cannot change Iran’s thinking. So, Iran must be destroyed.

They never sleep. They’re working in Iran as we are speaking developing an internal enemy. It was the same with Muammar Gadhafi. The CIA was working in Libya with disaffected Libyans from Benghazi. When America would attack, they wanted Egypt to attack Libya from the East and the assets of the CIA inside Libya would rise and kill Gadhafi and others.

They’ve all but succeeded in overthrowing with the Arab Spring many Islamic regimes that they disliked. A big surprise came in Egypt when Mohamed Morsi of the Islamic Brotherhood became president. Within a short time, America through their assets in Egypt, organized a coup against the legitimately elected president of Egypt.

My dear brothers and sisters, I am so full because I have been blessed by God to know what they’re planning against Iran. Not that you don’t know it because you do, but I don’t know whether we are taking the proper steps to block their evil plans. So here we are. I warned Brother Gadhafi that they were going to bomb Libya, the airfield, the water project. And, within days they bombed.

Right now President Trump cannot chastise Muhammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi because they’ve made a tremendous investment in the Saudi government in the friendship of Muhammad Bin Salman with Jerad Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump. Our president called Saudi King Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud and asked him to gather all the Sunni nations in Riyadh and invite him. And when Mr. Trump came to Riyadh, you listened. I’m sure you and the Supreme Leader listened very carefully. Mr. Trump’s aim was to extract from the Sunni nations pledges to buy the latest weaponry of America.

Then he proceeded to try to unite the Sunni nations and direct their anger at the Shi’ite Muslims. With all humility, we have allowed the division that took place at the deathbed of the Prophet to last for 1,400 years with no resolution of that which happened that split Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims. Allah says in the Qur’an that we did not become divided until knowledge came to us, splitting up our religion into sects and parties; each party rejoicing in their part due to envy. If envy is at the root of something, the root is rotten, so the tree and its branches will not bear the fruit that Allah desires.

So, your excellency, this is why I came because it is important that we are guided correctly in this hour, lest the Middle East will be the trigger of World War III where no nation will survive intact. I will close by saying, the Mahdi, to whom praise is due forever, it is written that He would set down every tyrant and set justice in the earth. Righteousness and wickedness cannot coexist, and each nation that is Islamic has to reconcile its own deviation from the Qur’an. We cannot allow politicians who are trying to win friendship with Shaitan to lead our nations because they can’t speak straight words because they want to compromise. You cannot compromise justice. You cannot compromise truth. You cannot compromise righteousness.



So the whole Islamic world must be called to repentance for putting the Holy Qur’an behind their backs as though Allah revealed something that has no merit in the modern time, in a modern world. So, our prayers, my dear beloved, brother as a warrior who had to fight and kill your own Muslim brothers because Shaitan came between us.

I was telling my host, this morning, that I had a meeting with Prince Bandar bin Sultan in the Saudi embassy in Riyadh. I asked him, why are you letting American troops into this Holy Land? He tried to assure me that they had agreements with America that when whatever they were there to do was finished, they could be asked to leave, and they would leave. So, I asked him: have you checked the treaties that America has made with the native people of America? How many treaties did they break? Did you see what they did to brother Muammar Gadhafi, of Libya, after he submitted and gave them his weapons of mass destruction on a promise that they would bring him out of the cold and treat him with respect and honor?

Why is our memory so short that we are not profiting from what we see happening with those who make agreements with America? So, a new president comes in and rips up the agreement. He never gave back the billions of dollars that they have of Iranian sweat and blood in their banks that they control. Now they are ready to go to war. Prince Bandar said to me, “we gave $80 billion to Saddam Hussein of Iraq. And with the help of America, we went to war with Iran because they feared Imam Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution.”

Why is Jamal Khashoggi dead? Because some in Saudi Arabia said he was an Islamist. There’s another adjective that they used in front of Islamist. A radical Islamist and that’s what they thought of Imam Khomeini, a radical Muslim. So, the radical Muslim is dead, murdered. So, can we make an arrangement with America that they will respect?



Minister Louis Farrakhan, of the Nation of Islam, meets with Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council in Tehran. The council is part of the legislative branch of Iranian government.


I’m sorry for talking so much but I am full, and I did not come here to accept your hospitality and your kindness and not leave something here from Al-Mahdi for you to think about. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us the Mahdi visited every inhabited part of our planet. But His work would not begin in this area of the world because of its decadence. Look at your Qur’an, every destruction that Allah brought about, he brought it about in this area of the world. How is this the Holy Land anymore? So, the Mahdi came to North America, the Citadel of Wickedness, because we were there enslaved for 463 years. Satan made us into himself well; when you look at a Black man, you’re looking at a White man in Black skin.

We reflect the evil of the wickedness of Satan. Al-Mahdi came, and he raised up Al-Massi. Don’t look for the Messiah to come out of the Muslim world. You are not worthy to produce such because of your deviation. We, the Blacks in America, rejected and despised were chosen by Allah to raise a light in the dark corner of wickedness. So, the sun of Islam is not rising in the East today. You cannot give us guidance because you have lost it yourself.

You need to be guided again to the path of God that has been forsaken and that is why the Islamic World is closing down in front of our eyes, so the sunlight of Islam is rising from the West. Not from the Whites of America, but from Black people whom many have rejected and despised. But today, Allah has given us a light and we will shine that light and whosoever will, will be guided by it. Please excuse my passion. I love you and I love Islam and I love this area of the world, which was once the domain, not of White Muslims, but of Blacks.

Yes, the Tigress and Euphrates Rivers, this is where civilization began. It will be returned to its former greatness only if we repent, bow down in submission and come back to Allah and the Path of the Prophet; and Allah will forgive us for deviation and raise Islam again. That’s why I’m here. I didn’t care whether you accept me or reject me. I’m not here to become a part of false friendship. If we’re a Friend of Truth, we’ll be friends. If we’re a Friend of Righteousness, we’ll be friends. So, my dear General, you’re out of the military in a sense but you’ll be back in it shortly. The greatness of your mind will be needed again.

And even though we’re older now, the young don’t have what you have. And they should have listened to the Supreme Leader. When you violate good guidance coming from your Supreme Leader, there are consequences. You can’t make those kinds of mistakes and not pay a price. So, I beg you, if I’m blessed to speak to my government from here, I will warn them of sanctions. They give you sanctions but Al-Mahdi, Allah, is going to sanction them not with sanctions but with Divine Judgement. If America does not repent, which I don’t think she will, she is finished as a great nation.

What is the theme of my talk? Is it about hegemony? Yes, America is losing the trust and friendship of many nations. America, like Babylon, is fallen. And Donald Trump is the right man to speed up her fall. Allah put him there to bring about the fruition of His will. The Christians say the devil is a liar and every day they’re mocking how many lies he tells. Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth. There’s nothing in this universe that was created by a lie except Shaitan; but even he is rooted in truth otherwise he could not deceive those who are truthful.

I didn’t expect to say these things. I don’t use notes. People sit down, and they write I should say this, and this will get this response. No. I speak from here, my mind, and here, my heart, to there, your mind, and there, your heart. You can do with me as you please. This is one of the greatest nations on this earth and you have set up a theocracy, but Al-Mahdi said he’s going to set down every tyrant and set justice in the earth. He’s a man born of a woman but anointed with tremendous power by Allah, the Most High. I come in his name and in the name of Al-Massi, the Messiah. I don’t expect you to believe that right away, but you are not foolish people. A false man you can easily dismiss him; but a truthful man who speaks from the guidance of Allah and His Messiah, you can’t dismiss Him except at your own peril.

Thank you for allowing me this privilege to have these few words, and if there’s any question that you would ask of me, my dear brother and brothers, I’ll do my best to try to answer it as succinctly as possible.

His Excellency Mohsen Rezaee: Bismillah Ir-rahman, Ir-rahim. (In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.) I felt very privileged at what you said. Your words came from your heart and mind, settles on the heart and mind. You speak with truth. We’re gratified and express much gratitude that you came at a sensitive time to our country. Your coming at this point and time shows that there’s no distance between us and you.

It’s obvious that we’re together. Our Islamic Revolution raised the Islamic flag. First, we think of Islam and then about you all.

Iran cannot survive without Islam. I have extra love for Islam. All Islamic nations say if they don’t think of Islam first nothing would be left for them, and now we’re being oppressed because of Islam. If Iran hadn’t raised the banner of Islam, we would have been oppressed so much, so many times. First the Europeans and the Americans have come to our area for the past three centuries and others. We have been occupied for the past three centuries by them, even Germany and France. The reason is because they’re afraid of Islam. They’re afraid because of the Revival of Islam in these countries. Our economy, our culture, our laws are becoming Islamic to reflect us. They’re afraid of us. There is enmity in the West because of Islam, and it’s in relying on Islam that we can survive and save ourselves.

Without Islam, we cannot reach anywhere. … The main war is between Islam and the West now. But in this world, Iran, Iraq and Syria cannot do it by themselves. We have to unite, including Muslims from Europe and the United States of America and also our own area. The Muslims of the world have to unite.

We have a need to form international hegemony against the rule of the West. We invited you to talk about coming together and being united against this oppression that has lasted for the past 300 years. It’s a unique opportunity. (It) put you on such difficult position. It’s a good opportunity. We think further than this and we want to reach an accord and unity with the Muslims in America and form an international campaign. We respect the Afro Americans in a very special way. We consider old Africans, especially African Americans, the heart of the Islamic Revolution.

When the students occupied the U.S. Embassy in this campaign which was done independently from the government, it had nothing to do with the government. Then the Imam Khomeini ordered, first of all, the Afro Americans should be released along with the women that were there. This signified and points to the fact the Afro Americans are with us, a part of us. The Imam was trying to say that by liberating the Afro Americans from the Embassy to show the world that we have no problem with these people.

We hope that as you have come, we can have more private sessions to discuss these same topics about closing in and uniting between us and yourself.

The second point goes to the situation with the Islamic world. Today, the world of Islam is in its most difficult circumstances. You know about what just happened in Myanmar. Myanmar, Syria, Africa, this hand of Shaitan is mutilating the Islamic world. You know about Nigeria, what just happened in Nigeria just recently, a few days ago. The Islamic world is in its most difficult situation. The Muslims are seeing the most, the worst oppressions. At the same time simultaneously, the great improvements in the world of Islam in America, Europe. After they put down Saddam Hussein, they began to take control of those countries of Islam. They couldn’t do that. They haven’t been able to succeed. They had to retreat. Yemen, Syria, they were fighting with what they had with interest.

We believe that within the next decade, this region will be liberated from the Americans. We believe that the same power, the power that you were talking about, is behind this. I don’t have time to tell you about the details of how the Americans defeated Iraq and Syria. There is no time to explain this. There’s a lot of intelligence of what the Americans intended to do in Syria and they were not successful.

This past few months in Iraq, some of these Iraqis got to go into Parliament and offered $1 million each so the Americans would (control) the Prime Minister of Iraq but they were not successful. Another group took over the power in Iraq. In Syria, it’s the same scenario. Yemen, the same scenario. There were a lot of intelligence of defeats of the Americans, and also the British. Recently, Israel was in Abu Dubai … the Israelis created a base in Abu Dubai. That’s how they’re controlling … they were managing that base. But an incident destroyed their whole plan.

Europe and America, England think they can manage the world. But they don’t know that the world is a mess as an owner. Inshallah, falsehood will always be destroyed. What is missed is truth and sincerity. With falsity and with firepower you cannot challenge God. God Almighty is more powerful than all of them and in the end is God and His campaign is victorious.

Inshallah this victory is close.


The third point is about Iran itself. You know that it’s forty years. It’s four decades that the Americans have created problems for us.

Remember the time with Saddam Hussein. It was with the help and the support of America. Before that there was a coup d’état in Iraq. … Those that were caught in the coup d’état they said that everything we did was by American directions—the terrorist attacks and different explosions just after the revolution. And, of course, you know about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) which was agreed upon from the former President Obama and continues the policies of sanctions against us. But we are certain that we are going to defeat them Inshallah. …

The Americans have some people inside of the country and we know who they are. We are watching them. We are sure that Allah will help us and will put the sanctions behind us. We have difficulties, but we’ll get along. Between our Supreme Leader and the people there’s a good relationship. The people trust the Leader. Many in the Islamic world, people come with the help of the people in Iraq and Syria. They get martyred. They get injured in the war, the voluntary forces fighting with the occupiers. When we have people like that … volunteering in defending our country, we have a good relationship. We will resist these sanctions.

Trump is doing psychological war. He took aircraft carriers near North Korea but then he went and started talking with the North Korean leader. He lies. He also says a lot of rhetoric. We are very happy that we have met you. You’ll have a good time; your delegation will have a good time. You are our brothers, we love you and you are to be trusted.

(See next week’s edition of The Final Call Newspaper for the conclusion, Part 2, of this article.)

From The Final Call Newspaper

Come On Out

By Starla Muhammad @simplystarla23 Managing Editor


Minister Louis Farrakhan


CHICAGO—Not mincing words, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan issued a direct challenge to those members of the Jewish community and others who continue hurling false and erroneous charges that he is anti-Semitic. The Minister addressed those accusations and discussed his recent trip to the Islamic Republic of Iran and other topics while boldly declaring that the Nation of Islam stands on a foundation of “invincible truth,” during a two-hour address in front of a capacity crowd Nov. 18 from the Muslim movement’s headquarters at Mosque Maryam in Chicago.



Women in audience applaud during Nov. 18 program


“Those of the Jewish people who want me dead, there’s a way you can do it; because my teacher said he was willing to give his life if one word that he taught was false. And I’m willing to offer my life for the word that I teach from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. You want me dead? Prove that I have lied, and I will offer you my life. But will you offer me yours?” Min. Farrakhan stated matter-of-factly and with the confidence of a man who has worked tirelessly for over 60 years in the mission of his teacher.

Since the early 1980s, when he came to the defense of and provided protection for Rev. Jesse Jackson—who was running for president of the United States while receiving virulent opposition and even death threats from Jewish groups during his campaign for the Democratic nomination—Min. Farrakhan has been accused of being anti-Semitic for daring to criticize and point out wrongdoings of those in the Jewish community whose actions have harmed, interfered with or taken advantage of Black people.

In 1985 the Minister addressed a crowd of 25,000 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Jews and others protested outside the arena, many of them chanting, “Who do you want? Farrakhan! How do you want him? Dead.”

The attacks on Min. Farrakhan from that point have never ceased and have increased exponentially since the beginning of this year. White and Jewish political commentators, media personalities, celebrities and conservative and progressive pundits have increased pressure on their Black counterparts, demanding they disavow him and exercising their unrelenting need to maintain power and control over the affairs of Black America.

“If we prove you to be the liars will you offer your life? Not that we’re going to take you down to the river like Elijah did but our God is a witness of what you say and what you claim. If you’re willing to offer your life, he’s willing to take it,” Min. Farrakhan continued.

During the program, he touted the young scholars of the Nation of Islam and his research team for uncovering and revealing through the historic writings of Jewish academics, sages and rabbis, the inordinate influence, power and control Jews have exercised in the Black community from slavery through today. He also exposed the origins of the White race based on the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. White people are not natural people on our planet, explained Min. Farrakhan.

“See, if you were natural, you would be a native. The native Palestinians are Semitic people; been in Palestine for thousands of years. But this that crept out of Europe, stealing the birthright of the Semitic Jews, the Semitic Arabs, he’s against the Palestinians; they’re Semitic people. Well, where is the real anti-Semite,” he pointed out.

It’s our time

“We have fine teachers, some sitting here, some over there, some couldn’t make it here today, but I’m calling for my enemies—I’d like to get Don King to promote it—a showdown at Madison Square Garden,” the Minister said referring to the boxing promoter and businessman.

“A showdown! Why not? We’re ready to die for what we believe! So, come on out Mr. (Jonathan) Greenblatt of the ADL and bring Mr. (Abraham) Foxman with you. Come on out Alan Dershowitz. You that say we are haters and anti-Semites,” thundered Min. Farrakhan. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Mr. Greenblatt (CEO/National Director) and Mr. Foxman (former National Director) and attorney and former Harvard Law professor Dershowitz have obsessively targeted the Minister for years in futile efforts to discredit him with the false label of anti-Semitism and demanding that Black leadership condemn him.


Capacity crowd fills Mosque Maryam at Nation of Islam headquarters of being an anti-Semite.


“Come on out from your hiding place. Leave your n**gers at home! Come on out! You think that the Nation is only Louis Farrakhan? You think that I’m the only one that can battle this enemy and beat him down? We’ve got stars here!” the Minister thundered as the audience stood, clapped and cheered. “Come on out, since you love to say we are the haters, come on out and prove it,” he challenged.

Min. Farrakhan held up several books written by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad including Message to the Black Man, The Fall of America and others, telling the audience the guidance and programs contained in the writings would be a basis for debate with those who oppose him. The trio of books by the NOI Research Department: The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, volumes one, two and three was a response, the Minister explained, to the unfounded attacks on him by Jews.

“Now these books got us in a lot of trouble. Our research department got so angry with White folks calling us anti-Semites, they went and researched the history of the Jewish relationship with us. Not all Jews, but those that have exploited us to our disadvantage and to their advantage,” said Min. Farrakhan.

“If you really want to know why they’re so hateful of us, it’s because these books expose their wickedness in dealing with us.” Despite death threats and threats of violence spewed toward Min. Farrakhan, there is no record of any member of the NOI under his leadership harming any Jewish person or attacking a synagogue.

“They talked about a 67 percent increase in anti-Semitism and you can’t find one that is a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad under my leadership that has done anything to Jewish people so how could we be the haters?” asked Min. Farrakhan.

The Ashkenazi European has no connection at all to the Holy Land, he added. “So, in a showdown prove to us that you are Semitic. All—let’s go on with it; it’s our time now.”

A message of invincible truth


The Middle East has a lot of cleansing to do and the Arab world has a lot of internal cleansing to do to, explained the Minister. He visited the nation, formerly called Persia on the heels of U.S. imposed sanctions. He met and spoke with religious leaders, representatives of the government, students at Tehran University and held a press conference at the studios of Press TV on Nov. 8 to confront the false media reports that he led students in anti-U.S. and anti-Israel “chants.”

“I want to tell you why I went,” Min. Farrakhan stated as he explained an important aspect of the history of Prophet Muhammad. “Before the Prophet, Peace be upon him—and I’m speaking of Muhammad ibn Abdullah—before he passed of this earth, he said to the Muslims, there is no superiority of the White over the Black. He said there is no superiority of the Black over the White. The one that is most careful of his or her duty to Allah, that’s the best among you,” he continued.

In our 400-year sojourn in America, Blacks have been underfoot, and some White or light-skinned people think that Black people are born to be under the foot of others. God allowed the White man to put Blacks in a condition that only God himself could get us out of, explained Min. Farrakhan.

The country of Iran is predominantly Shia and this school of Islamic thought is looking for the Mahdi, or Self-Guided One/Son of Man who is prophesied to come from the East and will set down tyrants and establish a new world government of righteousness and peace.

“God allowed a condition to be set up with a country that nobody could sit down and a people that nobody could raise up but he came by himself. He came to raise us up and to bring our enemies down,” said the Minister.

The 85-year-old world leader shared that he originally did not want to go on the trip based on how he was treated last time he was in Iran but that he prayed to Allah (God) on the airplane and received confirmation from his prayer that he was in the right place at the right time, just as Prophet Muhammad delivered messages to the rulers of various nations 1,400 years ago.



Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest ranking official in the country. He met with Min. Farrakhan recently in Iran.

Leaving no stone unturned, he spoke boldly and unapologetically to Iranian leaders that the Mahdi, Master Fard Muhammad visited Black people in America and raised up a Messenger from among them, Elijah Muhammad. The Minister met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest-ranking official in the country who serves a lifetime term of office.

In detail, Min. Farrakhan shared how he explained who Master Fard Muhammad is, his origin and mission among Black people in America and what he taught Elijah Muhammad about the planets and the dreadful looking human-built planet in the sky designed to destroy America.

“When I got finished, they sent me a note because I do tend to be a little long winded but I had to get my message over and they let me do that and in the end I asked the great leader: ‘What would you have me do when we get back to America’? He said, “‘Continue preaching Islam the way you do.”’

Min. Farrakhan thanked members of the delegation that accompanied him and brought them forward to stand on stage at the conclusion of the program. The delegation included NOI officials, members of his security team and Final Call editorial and video staff. Min. Farrakhan acknowledge deach member of the delegation, sharing affectionate and kind words about the men who ensured his safety, security, comfort and made sure operations ran smoothly. “I personally want to thank all of you,” the Minister said in part (See Min. Farrakhan’s center article for more information and a picture of the delegation.)

Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, national imam of the Nation of Islam and great-grandson of Elijah Muhammad, was part of the delegation that accompanied Min. Farrakhan to Iran.

“Many of our Muslim brothers and sisters from around the world have seen us (Nation of Islam) as strange in that we have come up in the belly of Satan’s world and Allah has granted by his grace one to be raised from us who would lead us into the straight path of Allah at a time when the Muslim world and its leaders and scholars have deviated from the right path,” said Imam Sultan Muhammad.



Minister Louis Farrakhan, of the Nation of Islam, meets with Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council in Tehran. The council is part of the legislative branch of the Iranian government.


“In this hour when the nation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in the crosshairs of the United States of America, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan went to speak not only to the students and public of Iran but the government of Iran, the Ayatollah of Iran and directly to the Supreme Leader himself, Ayatollah Khamenei. In his presence there he had on his heart one thing and that is to deliver and declare a message that he was raised to deliver from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to our brothers and sisters of what is known as the seat of Shia scholarship in the Islamic world.”

Mohamad Yazdanpanah and his wife Safa Emam are from Iran but currently live in Baltimore. Both attended the Nov. 18 program. Mr. Yazdanpanah told The Final Call he recently became familiar with Min. Farrakhan through online videos.


Muslim women at Mosque Maryam Nov. 18 in Chicago.

“I only know him for three days, not even three. My wife is right there so she knows. God is my witness as well. ... I had heard of Minister Farrakhan before, I heard of Elijah Muhammad before but the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan only two days,” he said.

“I just listened to videos on the news report with Iran so that was one hour; one hour in a church I think was the anniversary of the Million Man March. That’s not even a total of three hours; just a few readings online but that was all. I bought my ticket last night, about 6:30 a.m. was the flight and we’re going back tonight.”


Mohamad Yazdanpanah and his wife Safa Emam are from Iran but currently live in Baltimore. Both attended the Nov. 18 program. Mr. Yazdanpanah told The Final Call he recently became familiar with Min. Farrakhan through online videos.


Not everybody gets the chance to go and see the Supreme Leader face-to-face, his wife added.

“Even though it’s not necessarily a privilege because as Brother (Farrakhan) mentions there are flaws, including in Iran even though our government of Iran is trying to take a stand against tyranny and oppression. But there are flaws and brother mentioned a few of them so it’s not necessarily a privilege to meet him but it’s something very special; there’s no doubt,” said Mr. Yazdanpanah.

(To view Minister Farrakhan’s Nov. 18 message in its entirety, visit noi.org.)

From The Final Call Newspaper

I Am Not An Enemy To America

By Richard B. Muhammad


TEHRAN, Iran and DOHA, Qatar—Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan’s name was splashed across TV screens, Twitter feeds, newspaper pages, internet news searches and spewed out of the mouths of journalists.

Mischief media was again at work as American, British and Jewish outlets, in particular, repeated a bold lie that the Minister led anti-American chants while visiting the Islamic republic on the eve of and at the beginning of U.S. sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.



Min. Farrakhan speaks to students at Tehran University. Photos: basij_lp/Instagram


While the misreporting captured Western media attention, the visit to Iran was much more than that and included a historic and important meeting between Min. Farrakhan and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the highest ranking official in the country and serves a lifetime term of office. The Minister also held important meetings with major political and religious leaders, students and the media.

“I never led a chant that called for the death of America or Israel, contrary to misreporting in U.S., British and Jewish publications and the intentional, malicious and false reinterpretation of my words,” said the Minister in a statement issued from Tehran.



Iranian journalist Nader Talebzadeh who has interviewed the Minister in the past (left) and translator that translated Min. Far- rakhan’s remarks in Farsi (right) at Tehran University in Tehran, Iran.

“There is nothing more important than truth today. The truth of anyone and anything is enough to condemn any individual or institution. But to make media mischief by altering my words from their places is a betrayal of the right to free speech, the blessing of a free press and a violation of the people’s right to know. It is wrong and shameful that journalists and news organizations that should seek the truth would traffic in such lies.

“I never led a chant calling for death to America. To say otherwise is a blatant falsehood and an attempt to paint me as an enemy in a very dangerous time as tension rises between America and Iran and nations around the earth reject unjust sanctions and heavy-handed U.S. foreign policy,” he continued.

“I asked a question about how to pronounce the chant in Farsi during my meeting with Iranian students and an examination of the video shows just that. My point was to engage students in a talk about what gives a nation perpetuity versus that which undermines and destroys a nation. Evil, falsehood and violation of divine law doom nations to destruction, and the holy books of the world’s three greatest monotheistic religions warn us of such.”

Unjust U.S. sanctions criticized


Min. Farrakhan visited the Islamic Republic of Iran and spoke to students at the University of Tehran, met with political and religious leaders and mem- bers of the press. Photo: basij_lp/Instagram


The Minister’s points of correction followed an address to law students at Tehran University, where the room was packed. He spoke as the president re-imposed trade, finance and other punishments on Iran.

The Trump administration Nov. 2 restored U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, but carved out exemptions for eight countries that can still import oil from the Islamic Republic without penalty.

The sanctions took effect Nov. 5 and cover Iran’s shipping, financial and energy sectors. They are the second batch the administration has re-imposed since Mr. Trump withdrew from the landmark accord in May.

Mr. Trump repeatedly denounced the agreement as the “worst ever” negotiated by the United States and said it gave Iran too much in return for too little.

But proponents as well as the other parties to the deal—Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union—vehemently defended it. The Europeans mounted a drive to save the agreement without the U.S., fearing that the new sanctions will drive Iran to pull out and resume all of its nuclear work.

Mr. Trump said, “Our objective is to force the regime into a clear choice: either abandon its destructive behavior or continue down the path toward economic disaster.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran must meet a list of 12 demands to get the sanctions lifted that include an end to its support for terrorism and military engagement in Syria and a halt to nuclear and ballistic missile development.

Mr. Pompeo said eight nations will receive temporary waivers allowing them to continue to import Iranian petroleum products as they move to end such imports entirely. He said those countries, which other officials said would include U.S. allies such as Turkey, Italy, India, Japan and South Korea, had made efforts to eliminate their imports but could not complete the task by Nov. 5, the day sanctions became effective.

The waivers will be valid for six months, during which time the importing country can buy Iranian oil but must deposit Iran’s revenue in an escrow account. Iran can spend the money but only on a narrow range of humanitarian items.

Mr. Pompeo defended the oil waivers and noted that since May, when the U.S. began to press countries to stop buying Iranian oil, Iran’s exports had dropped by more than 1 million barrels per day.

He said the Iranian economy is already reeling from the earlier sanctions, with the currency losing half its value since April and the prices of fruit, poultry, eggs and milk skyrocketing.

Some Iran hawks in Congress and elsewhere said the move should have gone even further. They were hoping for Iran to be disconnected from the main international financial messaging network known as SWIFT.

With limited exceptions, the re-imposed U.S. sanctions hit Iran as well as countries that do not stop importing Iranian oil and foreign firms that do business with blacklisted Iranian entities, including its central bank, a number of private financial institutions, and state-run port and shipping firms, as well as hundreds of individual Iranian officials.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said 700 more Iranian companies and people would be added to the sanctions rolls. Those, he said, would include more than 300 that had not been included under previous sanctions.

Israel, which considers Iran an existential threat and opposed the deal from the beginning, welcomed the announcement.

The sanctions drew widespread protests in Iran and coincided with the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the American embassy that was a major part of the student-led revolution, and a holiday devoted to Islamic martyrs. The annual commemorations draw Iranians out of their homes and into the streets. Sanctions appeared to increase the spirit of resistance and numbers of people participating.

The attack on Min. Farrakhan


The demonization of Min. Farrakhan and any Black leader who speaks about or criticizes U.S. foreign policy has been a mainstay in American history and includes such figures as Paul Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The aim is to keep voices of Black dissent from affecting what the U.S. wants to do abroad, explained Eugene Puryear of the Answer Coalition, which is opposed to war and racism.

“I think that sort of demonization is important because Minister Farrakhan has stature in the Black community, and not only stature as an individual. But (he) is the representative of an organization that has a long deep history in the United States, in general, but certainly in the Black community. And in a time where you want to have full-on demonization towards Iran and you don’t want anything to crop up where there are likely points of opposition,” he continued. The Black anti-war activist is based in Washington, D.C.

“If someone just says, ‘Oh Minister Farrakhan was over in Iran I wonder what that was about. Let me look more into this.’ That is potentially dangerous because if you really scratch the surface I think many people who aren’t paying attention will see on multiple levels that these sanctions are terrible, that the policy is really only going to hurt the most average people,” Mr. Puryear said.

Most people see such policies have not worked in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, noted Mr. Puryear. “So perhaps the same sort of policies on Iran might not actually be good and might not work and maybe we need to rethink how the U.S. engages in that area,” he said.

Questions about Iran policy may also dovetail with questions about policy toward the Palestinians and U.S. policy that sides with Israel, Mr. Puryear continued. “So what does it mean to have a situation, sort of a spiraling domestic opposition? I think you want to demonize any voice who by engaging with Iran can provide a bridge to a significant number of people,” he said.

“And I think as much as many people do not like this, the reality is that Minister Farrakhan is someone who people pay attention to; want to know what he has to say and who can redirect the conversation at least in terms of people paying attention to him and that’s certainly not what they want. I think they want it all negative all the time. And, I think in the past that is also the case and, in particular, rebelliousness in the Black community is never looked upon fondly,” Mr. Puryear said.

Leonard F. Muhammad, a longtime advisor and aide to Min. Farrakhan, made the trip to Iran. He argued all American ethnic groups draw a distinction about what is good for their home country versus what is proposed under U.S. foreign policy.

“When I look at our foreign policy in Africa, our foreign policy in the Middle East, and Central and South America, I realize that our government’s position and what they feel is in the interest of America may be totally different from positions that Black people ought to take,” he said.

“The sooner we step up and start taking greater responsibility, we would then be able to be relied upon by Black nations and by the Middle East to help our government, the government that we’re apart of here in this country, to have a more fair and balanced foreign policy,” he said. “We should be lobbying our government and saying to our government, ‘we disagree’ and that’s up to us to do. The Minister shouldn’t be a lone voice taking that kind of position inside of America.”

“It’s a big mistake for Black leaders and other leaders to remain silent depending upon what color the country is that is being mistreated, that is being disaffected and starved, and millions of people of whose lives are being hampered by these sanctions. We saw it with Cuba. We saw it with Libya. Oddly enough, for the most part, it’s been all non-White nations that are primary targets for sanctions,” Leonard Muhammad observed.

In talks with students, political and religious leaders as well as journalists, Min. Farrakhan consistently stated the sanctions were wrong and called on Iran to find a way to talk to rival Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally and proxy.

Tensions between the two nations, predominately Sunni Islam Saudi Arabia and predominantly Shia Iran, have been high. The Minister warned the two regional powers must find a way to mediate their problems and open lines of dialogue, otherwise the door will be opened for U.S. intervention and war.

While the mainstream media tried to paint the Minister in an ugly, unpatriotic light, his purpose, position and his focus were clear. “I am not and have never been an enemy to America, nor the people of America. However, I love America enough to speak unpleasant truths that are in the best interests of an erring nation that perhaps she may change her conduct and course. I have an abiding love for the right to free speech, the right to a free press and the right every human being has to hear the truth. It is only truth spoken in season that can bring us what we desire of freedom, justice, equality and, ultimately, peace,” he said in his Nov. 8 statement.

During a news media conference at Press TV, the English language station for Iran that offers news and programming, an Iranian journalist tried to bait the Minister into an anti-American chant. The Minister refused.

“So, the Western media outlets, especially the United States media outlets are accusing you these days of leading death to the United States. I just read a couple news items about you and how the Western media is accusing you of chanting the ‘Death to the United States.’ I want to ask you this question: Would you, are you willing to chant the slogan of ‘Death to the United States?’” asked the questioner.

“Because you are a person who is living in the United States and you are a person who is exposed to some of the policies that are done and conducted against you, carried out against you in the United States. The Black community in the United States is humiliated and you are Black person and at the same time you’re a Muslim. And as you see Muslims these days are exposed to some of the wrong policies committed by the United States. So would you chant the slogan on Death to the United States?”

“No, I will not do that. I will not do that,” the Minister responded sternly and bluntly. “I would ask who sent you to ask that question? You see, you seem to be one of those who are paid at PressTV to provoke that. That’s not my chant,” declared the Minister in a strong voice. There was tension as the reporter tried to add to his statement, but Min. Farrakhan would not accept that.

Reporter tries to bait Min. Farrakhan into reciting anti-American chant. The Minister refused.


“I heard you,” said Min Farrakhan. “I heard you. But I also heard something else about you that I don’t like. You want me to chant because they lied on me and said I led a chant. I know that chant came from the people of Iran and this sanction is what’s hurting the people of Iran. They have a right to chant it, but I’m not a chanter! I’m a worker for God and the truth will undo falsehood and the righteous will win against the wicked! Not with a chant, but with actual words and deeds. I just don’t, I don’t like your attitude,” he said.

“You know, I have to say this: I’m not just listening to your questions. God is showing me your motives. And I’m addressing with anger, your motive. I know the question. I don’t like it. Now, I’ll take one or two more questions but if you got—if you have not heard me yet, then I’m wasting my time. Is there another question?” he asked.

While some mainstream outlets focused mainly on the false chant charges and others focused on his anti-sanctions positions, Iranians embraced the Minister and his expansive messages about creating Islamic dialogue, national development and unity, respect for women and greater understanding of young people, the value of Islam and the Holy Qur’an in resolving disputes.

They listened carefully to his assertion that the Great Mahdi, the self-guided one the Islamic world is looking for, made His appearance in North America in 1930 and started the Nation of Islam movement. Min. Farrakhan boldly declared and laid out an explanation of the Mahdi’s advent in America and his declaration that the Mahdi had raised the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, patriarch of the Nation of Islam, to the prophetic position of Messiah.

Iranians from all walks of life and levels of society listened intently during meetings and during sessions that were broadcast via television.

“The Minister went there with a very definite purpose to provide some information and a warning to the Iranian government, and I was blessed to witness him carry that out faithfully. And I was also blessed to see the reactions from the Iranian citizens and the Iranian government to what the Minister had to say while he was there,” said Leonard Muhammad.



Abdul Akbar Muhammad (center), international representative for Min. Farrakhan listens intently during press conference.


“He spoke with absolute authority and that authority that we know as given to him by the two that back him up: Master Fard Muhammad as well as the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I thought the reception of what he had to say was excellent, both from the government side as well as the general population as they witnessed the different public appearances that he had which were televised to the Iranian people,” he added.

It proved that the words of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad saying Allah (God) has gone around the world making friends for his Minister were true, said Leonard Muhammad.

“We witnessed a great friendship unfolding in Iran with the Minister and on behalf of the Nation of Islam,” he said.

From the Final Call Newspaper

Ferguson activist wants the truth about the death of her son and vows to get it

By Janiah Adams and J.A. Salaam


SPANISH LAKE, Mo.—Two weeks after the troubling death of 24-year-old Danye Dion Jones, his family and friends were seeking answers to questions about what actually happened to him.


Danye Jones


Mr. Jones was found hung in the backyard of his mother’s home in the north county community of Spanish Lake, Missouri, just five miles away from Ferguson where 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed in 2014. The St. Louis County Police Department is investigating the death as a suicide and say a 911 call about a “suicide” was made by a family member, who used that specific word, according to reports.

But Melissa McKinnies, Mr. Jones’ mother, and other family members aren’t convinced and lack confidence in police handling of the death and subsequent investigation.

“I don’t know who said my son committed suicide,” Ms. McKinnies told The Final Call. “Of course, when you first see someone hanging, your first thought is that. But I know my son and none of us said he killed himself. The police were standing there, and I said to both of them, ‘this needs to be investigated, do you hear me?’ I know my son and none of this adds up, not at all.”

St. Louis County police spokesman Shawn McGuire, during a press conference, said there were no signs of struggle or trauma to the body.

Ms. McKinnies found her son hanging by a bed sheet early Wednesday, Oct. 17, at approximately 5:45 a.m. As photos of Mr. Jones’ lifeless body circulated online many people expressed their suspicions via social media. Some questioned whether someone else could have been involved in causing the young man’s death.

“The knots that were used in the sheets he was hung with, everybody I talked to that’s been in the military, know about these knots. My nephew was not in the military, militia or boy scouts,” said Daniel (Kashif) Muhammad, Danye Jones’ maternal uncle.


Makeshift memorial dedicated to Danye Jones. The 26-year-old was discovered hanged in the backyard of his mother’s home Oct. 17. Police are calling it a suicide, his family and friends dispute that conclusion.


Photos showed an arm chair that Mr. Jones allegedly used to stand on, lying approximately three feet away from where he was hanging. The family believes this was staged to make it appear like he hanged himself. How did he get up there and tie a military-type noose around the branch of the tree and his neck? they asked.

Mr. Jones was about 6 feet and 1 inch tall. His feet were eight inches from the ground, his pants were rolled down to his ankles and both of his fists were clenched. He had abrasions on his face and blood on his shirt.

“He was too happy with his life and the possibilities of being successful. He had just written in his notebook the night before, about his plans with his new real estate business. So why would he take his life? He wouldn’t, and we will find out who did this to him,” vowed his mother.

Mr. Jones had started a real estate business, Movin’ On Up Properties, that his uncle helped him with.

“He was really excited about it,” said the uncle. “When we came back, he didn’t think he was gonna be able to do anything about it because of his credit, and I began to tell him about wholesale real estate. He was taking down notes. He would take down notes like the law, then from there we were talking on the regular and he was doing his research,” said Daniel Muhammad.

Mr. Jones was also looking forward to his 25th birthday coming up on Nov. 19, he added.

Since the shooting of Mike Brown Jr., in August 2014—which sparked national and international outcry and protests—there have been numerous threats toward some of the frontline activists of Ferguson protests on social media.

Darren Seals, a 29-year-old youth activist, was found with his Jeep Wrangler engulfed in flames in Riverview, Mo., another suburb of St. Louis. He died from a gunshot wound to his head, according to authorities. Family members felt his crime scene was sloppily handled. Mr. Seals was among one of the first to respond in Ferguson following the shooting of Mr. Brown.

Deandre Joshua, 20, was shot once in the head and burned inside his car in 2014. He was the only person who died during unrest that shook Ferguson after a grand jury decided not to indict the White officer who killed Mr. Brown. He was a friend of the young man who was with Mike Brown, Jr., during the fatal police encounter. There has been speculation that he testified to a grand jury, whose records are secret, but his family told a news outlet after his death that he did not testify.

Could the death of Mr. Jones be related to what many see as suspicious deaths?

“Absolutely,” said John C. Muhammad, a member of the St. Louis City Council and family friend of Ms. McKinnies. “I don’t think that these are isolated incidents. We continue to see a pattern of people that are involved in a protest movement or going against a system, we see that these people die. We see that consistently. We think that these are all connected some way, somehow. It may not be by the same forces, but there is a connection that binds all of them together—that is definite.”

Ms. McKinnies was very close to Mr. Seals, according to Daniel Muhammad. She was one of the original protestors in Ferguson who lead demonstrations and campaigns surrounding the death of Mr. Brown. She was a member of a grassroots activist group called “Lost Voices.”

The St. Louis County coroner is currently doing an autopsy that could take several weeks. The office did not respond to The Final Call’s request for comment.

Although family members and supporters believe police should investigate the case as a murder, they’re preparing for the police to render a different decision.

“Realistically, do we have the utmost faith in the law enforcement system here? Absolutely not,” said John C. Muhammad. “And that’s because of what we’ve seen happen in the past when our movement and protests have been shot down and no justice has happened after their death. … Our justice will not come from any police department that investigates it. We understand this is something we’re going to have to pursue on our own.”

John C. Muhammad said some community members have been trying to piece things together.

“We’ve all been trying to find information for what we can bring together to find out what happened, when exactly and why,” he said. “So, we can come up with a motive or a story or something we can say well, this is why. And from that point, this is how we know how to move.”

Regardless of the decision by police, Ms. McKinnies is determined to get answers.



Danye Jones and his mother Melissa McKinnies


“They are not going to sweep this one under the rug. No! Wrong mother, wrong child,” she said. “Even if I have to get an autopsy done myself, we will get answers. Or hire an investigator myself, but we have to do it. I’m going to fight for my baby, that’s what he would want me to do and I will.”

Since Mr. Jones’ death, Anthony Shahid, a St. Louis activist, said the atmosphere in the city is terrible.

“It’s always a cloud over [us] every time someone turns up deceased around here. It’s always something you can’t put your hands on and we’re not accepting it,” he said.

Marcellus Buckley, a local poet and activist, found it difficult to believe the way Mr. Jones died. “I still don’t believe it, in some ways, that we’re still getting hung like we’re still going through that period of Jim Crow and it’s just heartbreaking,” he said.

“And for my son, to have him grow up in this world where this is still happening because we want to speak out or we want to have an opinion on our rights as human beings, it’s a sad thing.”

Ms. McKinnies is a friend of the Nation of Islam in St. Louis, said John C. Muhammad. Two of her brothers are members of the Nation of Islam. Daniel Muhammad recalls bringing his nephew to the mosque when he was young.

“When he was young, he used to be a part of the Jr. FOI (Fruit of Islam). He used to do the drills and when I first got back to St. Louis in 1999, when he was real young, we cleaned him up from pork and we went into it about the worms,” he said. “We had him to the point where he would run and open the door for the sisters.”

Daniel Muhammad said during a vigil for the young man, many recalled how well-mannered he was. “One thing that everybody mentioned from the drills is how we would have him say, ‘yes sir, no sir, yes ma’am, no ma’am.’ And everybody constantly talked about his love and mannerisms, not even knowing where it came from,” he said.

Javon Jones, Danye’s younger brother, said he was a good, family person. “We just want justice for what was done to my brother. It wasn’t his time to go. Even though God has a time for everybody, we would have really appreciated for him to stay here a lot longer,” said Javon Jones.

He’s dissatisfied with what he saw from the police in his yard the day his brother was found.

“They say it was a suicide. The police were in the backyard. I was looking at them through the back window; they were not even next to him,” he said.

“They were on the right side of the yard laughing and stuff. They were laughing and having a group conversation in the front yard before they even went back to do the investigation on what happened in the backyard. They didn’t give it any time of mind. They just wanted to hurry up—get in and get out. My brother had bruises on his face and when it comes to suicide, you don’t do harm to yourself like that.”

The family held a press conference Nov. 1 to share with the public their belief that Danye did not commit suicide. Ms. McKinnies believes “vicious, hateful individuals” may try to paint an ugly picture of her son and herself. However, she’s determined to defend him.


Danye and his mother Melissa, a local activist.


“As his mother he was born for me to protect. And where he is now, I am going to protect him,” she said. “I know my son. Danye had too much going on. Why would he be downstairs in his room writing his notes for his business if a couple of hours later he was going to hurt himself?”

As of now, John C. Muhammad said the main priority is comforting the family.

“It’s all about giving them comfort and giving them physical and spiritual security,” he said.

At Final Call press time, the case was still open and had not officially been ruled a suicide.

The family received all of Danye’s belongings except the sheet that was around his neck. They were told the investigation will take up to eight weeks before they can release the sheets and give their findings. The family is demanding a full investigation and for the sheets to be returned sooner.