- Target:
- The United Kingdom Government - Home Secretary
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.noi.org.uk
Dear Reader,
The Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan was invited to London in January 1986 by the Hackney Black Peoples Association. Preparations were made for him to speak, including bookings and advertising. On January 16, 1986, shortly before the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan's planned address, the then UK Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, imposed an Exclusion Order on him entering the UK. This took place amid a period of media controversy, namely in the US, regarding his public speeches.
The Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan flew into London in February 1986 and was detained at Heathrow Airport, interviewed and subsequently escorted to obtain his connecting flight. Home Secretary Douglas Hurd’s grounds for the Exclusion Order were that the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan's presence was “not conducive to the public good” and that his public statements in the US “give reasonable cause to believe that, if he came to the UK, he would be likely to cause racial disharmony and possibly commit offences of inciting racial hatred.” Also cited was the belief that his presence would threaten “public order”. We, the Nation of Islam in the UK, know these given reasons to be totally without foundation.
After 15 years of legal, moral and political arguments, the Nation of Islam initiated "Lift the Ban on Farrakhan". A legal challenge against the British Government took place at the High Court in London in July 2001. The case of the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan, based on the facts, prevailed in the British Judiciary – the Ban was lifted, July 31st 2001! A landmark victory!
Two months later, on October 1st 2001, the Government announced that it would appeal the decision. Several months of legal deliberation resulted in a ruling overturning the initial judgement of Mr Justice Turner - the Ban was, regrettably, re-imposed. The Appeal Court supported Secretary David Blunkett’s judgement.
It was stated that the Ban “did not involve a disproportionate interference with freedom of expression" and that the Home Secretary possesses a “wide margin of discretion” and is able to make a more informed decision than a court in the matter. It was also inserted by the Judges that the “events of September 11 had intervened” since the first ruling overturning the Ban. The given reasons made no reference to the previous arguments put forward by the Government concerning the words and character of the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Why was the argument discontinued? Is it because it is impossible to maintain a case upheld by “media misrepresentation” and propaganda in the face of overwhelming evidence?
We believe that the UK public has the right to ask and have answered such questions. Hence this petition.
Despite the second ruling, the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan continues his work both here and in his mainstay of the US. He enjoys a support base in the UK that spans the religious and political spectrum. His record of inspiring people towards elevating their consciousness and solidifying family relationships remains today, unparalleled.
It is without question that the “public good” is central to the agenda of the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan, a man providing deep insight and honest brokering in matters ranging from the Sudan, the Middle East, mediation between the so-called gangs on the streets of the US and also the alarming events being mirrored here in the UK among our Black youth.
Delegations from the NOI for the past 20 years, have travelled annually to the US to see and hear the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan. They can testify to the great changes in their own lives from adhering to the guidance he imparts. The NOI in the UK, through his inspiration, have also established full-time schools.
With this said, it is not just for the personal benefit of the membership of the NOI that we desire his company here. It is indeed on behalf of all men, women, mothers, fathers and children whom we know will benefit immeasurably from his words.
We, the undersigned, call on the Government (UK Home Office Secretary) to lift the Exclusion Order on the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan such that he can
travel freely to and from the UK and speak publicly within the UK.
The Lift the Ban on Farrakhan petition to The United Kingdom Government - Home Secretary was written by The Nation of Islam - United Kingdom and is in the category Justice at GoPetition.