A Torchlight for America

A Torchlight for America is a religious text of the Nation of Islam, written by Louis Farrakhan.

History

Farrakhan gave a speech titled A Torchlight for America on October 18, 1992, at the Georgia Dome with 55,000 people attending.^[1] In 1993, Farrakhan publish an expanded form of the speech through FCN Publishing.^[2]

The book is anti-prison, suggesting that rehabilitation is best achieved through Islam, in particular for Black Muslims.^[3] It also refers to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad as an important source for remedying crime and drug addiction.^[4]

Reviews

Mattias Gardell described A Torchlight for America as Farrakhan's "vision to rid America of classism, racism, and sexism".^[5]

In his text, Terror and triumph: the nature of Black religion, Anthony B. Pinn writes that Farrakhan's work "connotes a mainstream take on national developments. This is the case because it highlights problems within the American system that many outside the Nation of Islam would recognize as valid points of discussion, based on a system of ethics and morality, of corporate accountability, not uncommon in dominant political discourse."^[6]

C. Eric Lincoln, the author of The Black Muslims in America, wrote that "the essence of Farrakhan is formally spelled out" in A Torchlight for America^[7]

Cornel West called the text, "a call for dialogue."^{[8][page needed]}

Gilles Kepel wrote that, in his text, Farrakhan "presented the community model of the Black Muslims as an example for the whole of the country, which he envisaged as a series of communities living side by side."^{[8][page needed]}

Controversy

The text has been controversial due to its opposition to homosexuality and abortion.^[9][10] Farrakhan writes that, "We must change homosexual behavior and get rid of the circumstances that bring it about." In the text, Farrakhan also equates abortion to murder.^[11]

References

1. Muhammad, Toure (1996). Chronology of Nation of Islam History: Highlights of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam from 1977-1996. Toure Muhammad. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-56411-426-6.
2. "Farrakhan: Fiery Separatist in a Sober Suit". The New York Times. 30 March 1994. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
3. Gardell, Mattias (1996-09-26). In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-8223-1845-3.
4. Cole, Robert (2022-03-24). Encyclopaedia of Propaganda. Routledge. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-317-47198-1.
5. Gardell, Mattias (1996). Countdown to Armageddon: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Hurst. p. 314. ISBN 978-1-85065-289-2.
6. Pinn, Anthony B. (2003-01-01). Terror and Triumph: The Nature of Black Religion. Fortress Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4514-0384-8.
7. Lincoln, Charles Eric (1994). The Black Muslims in America. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-8028-0703-8.
8. Kepel, Gilles (1997). Allah in the West: Islamic Movements in America and Europe. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2753-2.
9. "Gay Blacks in Quandary Over Farrakhan's March". The New York Times. 30 October 1995. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
10. Carbado, Devon (1999). Black Men on Race, Gender, and Sexuality: A Critical Reader. NYU Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-8147-1553-6.
11. ."Farrakhan: Fiery Separatist in a Sober Suit". The New York Times. 30 March 1994. Retrieved 26 February 2012.

External links

• A Torchlight for America, C-SPAN Video