Farrakhan: War can end through process of atonement
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CHICAGO (FinalCall.com)—If America would adopt the process of atonement, she would remain strong hundreds of years into the future, said the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan during his Oct. 16 Holy Day of Atonement address celebrating the 6^th anniversary of the Million Man March.

“I would hope that President Bush would lead the country in atonement” and say to the world that “we’re going to change our policies that are unjust, unfair; we’re going to deal with the Middle East crisis with an even hand,” he said to more than 3,000 people at Christ Universal Temple, and thousands more nationwide via satellite and the Internet.

“If you do it, all this hatred will begin to diminish, dissipate, and go away; and the American people would not have to worry about bombs and bio-warfare. The American people don’t deserve that,” he said.

Min. Farrakhan noted that although some of the founding fathers of America were slave-owners, still they were God-fearing men and would not be pleased with the present deviation from the principles that made the country great.

He also warned that President Bush is not satisfied with a war on Afghanistan alone but is planning a wider war to include Iraq, Libya and Sudan. The U.S. government would like to link the Minister himself to terrorism because of his uncompromising voice, he said.

“I pray, President Bush, that you won’t pursue what you have in your mind because if you do, I’m going on record as saying this, you will end the United States as it is currently known,” Minister Farrakhan warned, adding that God’s judgment will visit the country.

Questioning the role of oil in the current events, the Minister stressed that President Bush has the responsibility to present the “overwhelming evidence” he claims to have to justify the war instead of hiding behind national security. Min. Farrakhan also questioned the President’s motive for repeatedly defining Islam as a religion of peace.

While in agreement with the president on the definition, the Minister said that President Bush is not qualified to represent Islam and Muslims should not allow Islam to be misrepresented to fit into a scheme to paint the religion as non-violent. Islam is not non-violent nor is Christianity, Minister Farrakhan said, pointing out that the principle of a just war exists in both religions.

The UN must define terrorism so governments can be judged by a correct standard, the Minister said. When the KKK burned down churches, it was not called terrorism, he added.

“We have to discern whether the governments of the world are repressive of the legitimate aspirations of their citizens. And if that is so and a person rises within that government to seek redress, to alter that government or replace that government, then are they terrorists or are they the liberators of their people from oppression?” he asked.

Fundamentalist Christians and Muslims only want their communities to return to the purity of the word of God, the Minister explained, and Islam is a theocracy.

“That’s what the kingdom of God represents,” he continued, a government under the rules and laws of God.

He defined a patriot as one who is willing to pay the price of speaking truth to power; to point out the wrong that may lead to the correction of a practice that is against a nation’s principles; and to uphold the principles that their flag represents, not just wave a flag.

Minister Farrakhan also called upon the religious community to accept their responsibility to call America’s leadership to repentance. “If ever there were a time that spiritual watchmen and women need to be awake, that time is now,” he said, adding, “their only fear should be what God will do if they do not deliver the message. It appears that the leadership in America today is spiritually blind and morally bankrupt.

“Must countless hundreds of thousands of innocent lives be lost and the cause of terror never be addressed?” said the Minister, humbly asking the President to find a better way to defeat terrorism.

This is why the Day of Atonement, practiced among the Hebrew faith as their holiest day, is a celebration that all of humanity needs to be a part of, he added.