By Danny Ben-Moshe, Executive Director of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission

Sharon Firebrace, a Socio-political commentator on Aboriginal affairs and a Board member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Commercial Development Corporation

Reconciliation is the moral underpinning for multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is the basis upon which mutual respect and understanding is established between ethnically, religiously and racially diverse groups.

Louis Farrakhan espouses racial supremacy all be it black rather than white, contending that the superior black man originated in the moon while the inferior white man is the result of a scientific experiment. These views, which have led Farrakhan to develop ties with the Ku Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party and the British neo-Nazi National Front, precludes the Nation of Islam leader from contributing to the reconciliation and multicultural process in Australia.

Aboriginal groups have highlighted reconciliation as a priority national issue. This has been backed by Jewish groups such as the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission. Yet Farrakhan opposes reconciliation between black and white and instead advocates separation between peoples of different colours. Speaking of America he declared, "We have no hope that we can effect true reconciliation between blacks and whites.... The answer ultimately is going to be separation". This call is backed up with threats; "We will put so much fire under their (white) backsides that they will be afraid to come back where we live."

Farrakhan tries to present himself as a champion of black rights, but his crusade is highly selective. It does not extend to black women, who were specifically excluded from his million-man march, nor does it extend to black Christians who like their white coreligionists are accused of "dirty practices".

There is little tolerance for black people who refuse to tow Farrakhan's line, or as he declared "we will hang them from the highest limb, we will chop off their head and roll them down the street." As he said of black politicians in America, "We don't want no butt-licking, butt-poking Negro politicians with a slave mentality." The tone of such remarks serves as a warning to members of Aboriginal community who refuse to embrace his doctrine.

In the world tour that has brought him to Australia, Farrakhan paid a state sponsored visit to the military regime in Nigeria where he expressed no regret about the execution of Nigerian writer and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, saying "You hanged one man? So what? Ask them to, 'How many did you hang?'" In a solidarity visit to the Sudanese military regime, he expressed no concern about the thousands of black animists and Christians killed in Sudan or the Sudanese black women and Children sold into slavery for a few dollars.

Against this background it is reasonable to conclude that Farrakhan's efforts to speak out on the Aboriginal issue is a cynical political exercise in which he will exploit his colour for his own demagogic goals and racist agenda.

There are serious problems facing indigenous Australians which must be addressed, high rates of poverty, morality and imprisonment. Farrakhan may try and exploit this situation by offering simplistic solutions to these problems and there is the danger that some Aborigines in desperate socio-economic conditions will find some attraction in this. However, there are no quick fixes to these problems and it would be foolhardy to believe that there are.

By definition, opposition to racism cannot be selective, supporting the rights of some while vilifying others. Yet Farrakhan has a long list of others, Jews whom he described as "bloodsuckers", Gays describing California as a "state filled with homosexuals, filled with degenerates, filled with disease..."and Asians against whom he has incited racial violence.

It is commendable for ethnic and indigenous groups to find their dignity and place their socio-political concerns on a national agenda. But as Black American columnist Carl Rowan has commented, "A lot of us black Americans are worried and angry about the widening racial divide in America, especially the upsurge of white politicians trying to wipe out almost every gain made by minorities during the last 35 years. But we have not designated Farrakhan to articulate our concerns in words that sound treasonous or approving of all the murderous dictators and scoundrels of Africa and the Middle East."

No Aboriginal group invited Farrakhan to Australia, nor was the Aboriginal community consulted about his visit. As such he is imposing himself on the indigenous population of Australia in an act of political manipulation. Aboriginal history is not analogous to that of the black American constituency Farrakhan purports to represent. Aborigines are an indigenous people intimately associated with this land; African Americans were brought to America in the most tragic circumstance of slavery.

Farrakhan is coming to Australia after a turbulent year in race relations in general and reconciliation in particular. To seek to exploit this sensitive environment smacks of unwelcome opportunism. What will Farrakhan do here?

Will he offer money and trips to America for Aborigines? Jewish and Aboriginal groups must work together to ensure that Farrakhan does not leave in his stead a constituency from which to attempt to undermine the process of building a culturally diverse and tolerant society.

Farrakhan's self-proclaimed tour is billed as a ‘Friendship’ tour. But friendship is about understanding, tolerance and sharing, between black and white, Jews, Christians and Muslims, Asians and others. These are principles Farrakhan finds abhorrent. This is why he will remain irrelevant to the ongoing process of securing true national reconciliation and deepening a sense of identification with multiculturalism between people of all races and religions.

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