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. In 1993, Farrakhan publish an expanded form of the speech through FCN Publishing.[1]

Reviews

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."

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

Cornel West called the text, "a call for dialogue."

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."

Controversy

The text has been controversial due to its discussions on homosexuality and abortion [2] 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.[3]

References

1. "Farrakhan: Fiery Separatist in a Sober Suit". The New York Times. 30 March 1994. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
2. "Gay Blacks in Quandary Over Farrakhan's March". The New York Times. 30 October 1995. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
3. ."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