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Nation of Islam and Scientology: Their Dangerous Alliance

rachel@shymanstrategies.com
Article Source: rachel@shymanstrategies.com

Article Source: rachel@shymanstrategies.com

Scientology is a cult worth billions of dollars
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan speaks at a press conference in Chicago in support of ousted Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan speaks at a press conference in Chicago in support of ousted Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Nation of Islam and Scientology would seem to have nothing in common, yet they have formed a bizarre and dangerous alliance.

The Church of Scientology, an organization created by the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, is a cult that boasts multiple A-list actors in its membership. Scientology was founded in the 1950’s, after the publishing of Hubbard’s self-help book Dianetics. This cult is built around the ideas found within both Dianetics and the science fiction genre for which Hubbard was known.

Scientology has multiple celebrities and business magnates in their membership.  In addition to being worth billions of dollars with massive real-estate holdings, Scientology has been known to attack detractors and cover up the misdeeds of some of its most prominent members.

Scientology has faced a storm of public criticisms over the past decade, much of it done by former members of the group. One action taken by Scientology, in response to the criticism, was to establish a front group called Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination (STAND).  STAND claims its goal is to “put a stop to incitement of bigotry and hate crimes, and to secure religious freedom for Man,” however, the group spends most of its time attacking critics of Scientology.

Scientology and their group STAND pay lip service to fighting against religious bigotry. Recently, following the massacre of 11 Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, STAND expressed solidarity with the Jewish community.  However, while Scientology claims their sympathies are with the Jewish faith, they in fact have had a long-term partnership with a group of the most hateful, anti-Semites in America, The Nation of Islam (NOI).

The NOI has a long history of extremism and Holocaust denial. NOI’s spiritual leader, Louis Farrakhan, has a long history of anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-white and conspiracy-filled preaching. Farrakhan regularly calls Jews “Satanic” and claims that they “control everything and mostly everybody.” In a recent sermon, he compared Jews to termites and called his Jewish critics “stupid.”

The relationship between Scientology and NOI goes back nearly two decades.  Farrakhan was introduced to Scientology in the late 90s. Scientology leader David Miscavige expressed interest in attracting members of the black community and, by 2006, Scientologists honored Farrakhan at the Ebony Awakening Awards.

In 2010, Scientology held a summit near the NOI’s headquarter and, according to the NOI’s official publication, The Final Call, this was around the same time when Farrakhan began having NOI members take courses in “Dianetics.”

One of Scientology’s most important practices is that of “auditing.”  A Scientology audit is a therapy session in which an auditor listens to a patient and helps them to eliminate negative emotions and obtain higher levels of consciousness.  It has been alleged that auditing sessions are monitored and that the information obtained through these sessions can be used for blackmail.

By 2013, the NOI boasted, “the Nation of Islam has 1,055 Certified Auditors. Among those are 526 auditors who have received their Gold Seal permanent certification, demonstrating consistent proficiency and results.”  They go further, claiming that, “8,500 members of the Nation of Islam have participated in Dianetics seminars.”  It is said that Farrakhan personally receives a commission for recruiting NOI members to become Certified Dianetics Auditors.

In 2017, Scientology awarded its highest honor, the Freedom Medal, to NOI Minister Tony Muhammad.  In his acceptance speech, Muhammad thanks Allah, Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan whose name invokes loud applause. Muhammad is the western regional representative for NOI, and is seen as the person in NOI who, by far, is most responsible for pushing the Scientology/NOI alliance.  Muhammad recently helped launch a Scientology center in Ireland.

A few months after winning his award, Muhammad delivered a lecture to NOI members titled “Why The Jews Hated Jesus; And Why The Jews Hate Farrakhan,” in which he praised Farrakhan, expressed multiple conspiracy theories and describes Jews as a “wicked,” “lying” and “arrogant” people.  Muhammad recently claimed, that, in addition to controlling the entertainment business and banking, Jews control “drugs,” “pedophilia” and “pornography.”

This alliance has given the NOI access to Scientology facilities around the world, as well as use of their infrastructure and ability to attack defectors and opponents.  While Scientology and many of its well-known members call for an end to hate, they have closed their eyes to the fact that NOI has been spending the past decade solidifying an alliance with Scientology.

This is truly an alliance one wishes were confined to the realm of science fiction.

This article appeared originally in The Federalist

 

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