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Louis Farrakhan In His Own Words

‘Don’t tell me you understand until you hear the man’

by
Jesse Bernstein
March 27, 2018
(SCOTT OLSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Holding a copy of the Holy Quran Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan addresses his congregation at the Mosque Maryam in Chicago, Illinois 16 September 2001 to denounce the recent terrorist attacks.(SCOTT OLSON/AFP/Getty Images)
(SCOTT OLSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Holding a copy of the Holy Quran Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan addresses his congregation at the Mosque Maryam in Chicago, Illinois 16 September 2001 to denounce the recent terrorist attacks.(SCOTT OLSON/AFP/Getty Images)

In 1988, Public Enemy released a song, “Don’t Believe the Hype,” featuring the following lyrics: “Follower of Farrakhan / Don’t tell me that you understand / Until you hear the man.”

It’s good advice, although not in the way that the group meant it. Listening to Farrakhan makes it abundantly clear just how deep his hate truly runs, not only towards Jews but also towards gays, transgendered people, and others he considers the enemies of God. Below is a small selection of Farrakhan’s public speeches throughout the years, documenting those beliefs.

1. “You are not the chosen of God; you are the chosen of Satan”

2. On why gays and lesbians are sinners and criminals

3. “They’re masters in business”

4. The Jews “run America, run the government, run the world, own the banks, own the means of communications, they are my enemies.”

5. “International bankers financed Hitler” and “big Jews were at the root of what you call the Holocaust.”

For more on Farrakhan, check out Tablet‘s special coverage here.

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This article is part of a Tablet series about Louis Farrakhan, anti-Semitism, and race relations.

Jesse Bernstein is a former Intern at Tablet.