Groups denounce black leader as Canadians head for march

The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario) October 16, 1995 Monday Final Edition

Copyright 1995 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.
The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)

October 16, 1995 Monday Final Edition

SECTION: FRONT; Pg. A6

LENGTH: 287 words

HEADLINE: Groups denounce black leader as Canadians head for march

SOURCE: CANADIAN PRESS

DATELINE: TORONTO

BODY:

Some Muslim groups denounced controversial U.S. black leader Louis Farrakhan as Canadians headed for a demonstration he organized in the U.S. capital today.

“We support the march, (but) we disagree with Louis Farrakhan’s teachings,” said Faisal Kutty of the Canadian-Muslim Civil Liberties Association.

Farrakhan is the inspirational speaker at the so-called Million Man March. The leader of the black Muslim group Nation of Islam, he is reviled by many for his anti-white, anti-Jewish opinions.

“Farrakhan’s teachings — in essence black supremacy — is not sanctioned by Islam,” said Kutty’s association, adding that one group can’t better itself by discriminating against another.

The Jewish group B’Nai Brith welcomed the association’s statement, though they said they were disappointed it did not condemn Farrakhan’s “blatant anti-Semitism.”

B’nai Brith also said it did not oppose the march. But spokesman Frank Dimant said he would caution Canadian blacks who do attend “not to be taken in by racism and anti-Semitism.”

Organizers said hundreds of Canadians would be at the Washington, D.C., rally, which some estimate could draw between 200,000 and a million blacks. A march was also planned in Toronto today to show support for the U.S. event.

“For the first time, a platform has been erected that has brought together people of different faiths and from different walks of life,” said Brother Donnie X, a spokesman for the Nation of Islam’s Toronto chapter.

Farrakhan’s views have created a dilemma for black Canadians, who like many of their U.S. counterparts, support the march as a chance to draw attention to injustice and rally black men to take responsibility and help their communities.

Tags: Louis Farrakhan

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