c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Samuel K. Atchison is an ordained minister and has worked as a policy analyst and social worker to the homeless. He currently is a prison chaplain in Trenton, N.J.)

(UNDATED) One Wednesday evening, near the end of the weekly Bible study I run in my prison-church, one of the inmates made a comment that gave me cause for reflection.

While encouraging the men to search the Scriptures and apply God’s wisdom to their lives, I warned them to beware of unscrupulous leaders who use their charisma to lead people astray. “Hey Rev,”said one brother,”That’s exactly what Farrakhan is doing.” Most of the other 30-odd inmates voiced agreement. Fascinated by their perception but without adequate time to respond, I laughed and replied that that was a discussion for another day.

I was reminded repeatedly of the inmates’ discernment as I read Arthur Magida’s new book,”Prophet of Rage”(BasicBooks). This first-ever biography of Minister Louis Farrakhan provides much insight into the psyche of a man viewed alternately as a savior or a devil.

In the interest of fairness, I should state flatly that I am not a fan of Louis Farrakhan. While his many accomplishments on behalf of African-Americans are laudable, Farrakhan’s tendency to view the future of the race in the light of his own glory makes him suspect at best. That so many blacks desperately embrace his self-aggrandizing vision makes him dangerous.

Yet Magida, a former senior editor with the Baltimore Jewish Times, points out that these same qualities are what make Farrakhan such a fascinating study.”As a journalist from a Jewish publication,”he writes,”it was pre-ordained that I would be criticized for even being in the same room with Farrakhan. … But Farrakhan’s growing influence upon the political center made him a legitimate, proper subject for inquiring, critical reportage.” Magida’s inquiring approach served him well, enabling him”to know Farrakhan better than he assumed I did.”The Farrakhan that Magida came to know is an immensely complex individual, capable of private grace as well as public anger.

Farrakhan, who was born Louis Eugene Walcott in New York City and later moved to Boston, was studious, athletic and musically gifted. Though reared largely without a father, his natural talent and charisma made him a role model to his neighbors in Boston’s Roxbury section.

As an acolyte at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Roxbury, Walcott began to wrestle with issues of divine sovereignty and racial justice. As he noted later in a speech before a group of Christian ministers:”I would wonder why, if God had sent a deliverer to an oppressed people in the past, why that same God wouldn’t send us a deliverer. “I couldn’t understand why we would have to be buried in a separate cemetery if we were all going to the same heaven. … As a youngster, I loved Jesus and I loved Scripture, but I just wanted answers.” His subsequent encounters with members of the Nation of Islam led him to believe that the Nation’s leader, Elijah Muhammad, was the divine deliverer he had been seeking. Though disappointed that he himself had not been chosen, Walcott determined that”if God had chosen a Messenger, that choice is all right with me. Let me find the Messenger. Then I will serve him as I would serve God.” Forty years later, the man now known as Louis Farrakhan is served by many of his followers as though he were a messiah.

In telling the story of Farrakhan and the NOI, Magida proves himself an able reporter. Of particular note is his ability to trace the often confusing evolution of the NOI’s history, founders, leaders and doctrine.

The result of this laborious undertaking is that it helps to unravel the mystery of Farrakhan, his movement and his hold on black America. As Louis Walcott becomes known through the years as Louis X, Abdul Haleem Farrakhan, and eventually Louis Farrakhan, his doctrine and public persona undergoes a similar metamorphosis.

This ability to constantly reinvent himself and his organization keeps Farrakhan in the forefront of black consciousness. For he embodies the hopes and frustrations of many African-Americans.

To many blacks, the entrepreneurial success of Farrakhan and the NOI, however modest, is their success. His pride is their pride; his dream is their dream. He is their leader and they are his followers.

Nor can Farrakhan be dismissed as a mere charlatan. He truly believes in his own greatness and his self-confidence, particularly among the disenfranchised, is infectious.

It was for this reason that I was astounded by the insight of my inmate-congregants. They realized what so many who are on the outside do not: No human should seek what is due God alone.

MJP END ATCHISON