February 26, 1996
Web posted at: 10:15 a.m. EST
From Correspondent Lisa Price
CHICAGO (CNN) -- Unrepentant, Louis Farrakhan was back home in Chicago Sunday after a tour of Africa and the Middle East that included controversial visits to Libya, Iran and Iraq.
And the head of the Nation of Islam said he is ready to call the government's bluff.
"Bring me before Congress," Farrakhan said to thousands of supporters. "It's time for the showdown."
U.S. officials have charged that Farrakhan "cavorted with dictators" -- including Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi -- during his trip, and some have called for an investigation of whether he is acting as an agent for other countries.
Farrakhan's supporters vow to protect him.
"If they make one move against our minister, this country will be in flames," said one. (82K AIFF sound or 82K WAV sound)
Critics say Farrakhan made the trip primarily to raise money, but Farrakhan claims he was on a mission of peace. He admitted he accepted Gadhafi's pledge to provide at least $1 billion, but said it will be used to build up the black community and increase its political power.
He said the money will not be used to arm his followers, despite a report from Iran that he had said there that one day Allah will destroy Americans at hands of Muslims.
He denied Sunday that he had made that statement. "I'm not an enemy of America," he said. "... America is a preserved area." But he said Jews had "wrapped their tentacles around the U.S. government."
"I will produce a revolution," he said. "Farrakhan will overthrow the government of your mind."
Not all Muslims agree with Farrakhan's interpretation of Islamic doctrine. Khalid Ahmed of the American Congress of Muslim Youth says that no other Islamic sect follows Farrakhan's teachings.
"He's alone in his belief and we encourage him to talk with mainstream Muslim leaders in America and clarify theological differences," Ahmed said.
But Farrakhan shows no signs of changing course. "Since you don't like me -- government of America, Jews of America, press of America -- why haven't you been able to stop me from doing what I'm doing?" he said.
Farrakhan says that he is returning to Africa -- this time Nigeria -- in a few weeks, and challenged those who dislike him to try to kill him. (97K AIFF sound or 97K WAV sound)
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