Farrakhan says he wants to lead unity movement; Billy Graham is wary
The Layman Online, from news sources, January 6, 2000
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, saying a near-death experience has changed him, is preaching unity of races and religions and calling for “our act of atonement” to lead to forgiveness among human beings.
Farrakhan drew one endorsement for unity preaching. The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest who is white, said, “I believe he is the man who can bring us together … as Christians, as Jews and as Muslims.”
Amikham B. Asiel, a rabbi in the black Hebrew Israelite community, said he was heartened by Farrakhan’s statement that divisions between the Nation of Islam and the Jewish community “must be overcome.”
Others say they were encouraged but wary.
That includes the Rev. Billy Graham, the leading Christian evangelist of the 20th century. In an interview with Fox News, Graham said he doubts that Farrakhan can be a unifying figure. He said Farrakhan had asked to meet with him.
“His views and my views will be very far apart, and it would be very difficult for us,” Graham said. “We could be friends, but it would be very difficult for us to say that we are the same, or that we could be the same religiously.”