December 12, 2018
THAT'S A WHOLE LOTTA NUTTY TO FIT UNDER ONE TENT:
Inside Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam's Strange Ties to Scientology (Marlow Stern, 12.12.18, The Daily Beast)
You probably know about the Church of Scientology's courting of Hollywood celebrities, from Tom Cruise to John Travolta to the woman who's the voice of Bart Simpson, and perhaps you've caught wind of its cozy relationship with the Los Angeles Police Department.But few are aware of its close partnership with the Nation of Islam, led by Minister Louis Farrakhan.The approximately 20,000-strong black political and religious movement was formed in 1930 to improve the lives of black Americans, but in recent years has come under fire for its anti-gay, anti-white, and anti-Semitic views. Farrakhan, a vocal anti-Semite, found himself back in the news recently when he was cited as one of the reasons for the implosion of the Women's March, with some leaders of the movement accused of supporting Farrakhan and parroting his anti-Semitic talking points.The alliance between the Nation of Islam, a black organization, and Scientology, an almost entirely white one, was hatched in the mid-Aughts, when the late Isaac Hayes, one of the only famous black Scientologists, approached Scientology leader David Miscavige and asked why the "religion" wasn't doing more to court black Americans. So Miscavige reached out to the Nation of Islam, and by 2010, they began promoting the "benefits" of Dianetics, the core set of ideas preached by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.During a sermon in Chicago on July 1, 2012, Farrakhan proclaimed to his acolytes, "I found the tool that I know can help us. And I thank God for Mr. L. Ron Hubbard. And I thank God for his research and teaching."
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 12, 2018 2:41 PM
