The Boycott Whip

By Ilia Rashad Muhammad

The Justice Or Else movement’s Boycott Christmas campaign is gladly being received by the oppressed and downtrodden communities who have been crying out for justice. However, corporate and political giants are rather offended by people deciding to withhold their money from their establishments. They’re even more offended by the fact that this movement is being spearheaded by the most independent voice of truth—the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Minister Farrakhan lifted up the Christmas boycott from a campaign previously initiated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists, who threatened to boycott certain white businesses and industries after justice had continually been denied to Black people. That same principle is what drives the demand for justice today. This boycott is akin to Jesus offending his enemies when he upset the corrupt moneychangers’ operations:

So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. – John 2:15

This Jesus, who used a whip to disrupt the economy of the Jewish leaders, is a huge contrast to the image given to us by most traditional evangelicals. The true Jesus of the scriptures brings a whip, which is considered a weapon and a tool, which he uses to radically disturb the intertwined religious, social, political, economic, and legal systems that exploit his people.

The Skill of Unifying & Organizing

It is interesting that the whip Jesus uses in his confrontation can also be understood as groups of people banded together for a common cause. One of the definitions of a whip has socio-political connotations. In politics, a whip is a member of a party who acts as an “enforcer” to ensure that his party’s vision, purpose, or agenda is carried out. A political whip serves as somewhat of a threat who brings the “or else” when the group’s goal is not met. This seems strikingly similar to Minister Farrakhan’s instructions when he urged us all to “be the or else” by unifying around the noble principle of justice.

A whip is a threatening weapon because it represents a certain level of pain (as in a redistribution of pain), but what made Jesus’ whip even more offensive was the fact that he utilized the organizational skill of unifying individual cords into a weapon. His preaching threatened the religious, political, and business leaders, but his deeds proved more threatening and offensive to them. This incident, coupled with his call for an independent kingdom, put him in direct opposition to the Roman authorities and the Jews and moved them to plot his murder.

Today, it’s not just the rhetoric of Minister Farrakhan that threatens the power structure but also the organizational thrust that follows his preaching. This is evident in the unparalleled level of discipline and organization demonstrated in the historic gatherings convened by him. The Million Man March in 1995 and its subsequent commemorations in 2000, 2005, plus the recent gathering on 10-10-15 in Washington D.C. all prove that he can form different cords into an organized tool that threatens white power.

Minister Farrakhan has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to unify and organize the oppressed people in a way that offends the U.S. Government’s anti-Black objectives. Remember, it was the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program that sought to disrupt any progressive unity among Black organizations and to “Prevent the rise of a ‘messiah’ who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement.” Since the most powerful government in the world is threatened by Black unity, then the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s unique voice is among the white power structure’s greatest fears! In other words, they’re afraid of his whip because he is forming different individuals into a unified tool aimed against America’s racist systems.

Those who know history and read the sacred scriptures understand that America’s celebration of Christmas is no more than old pagan practices guised under the good name of Jesus Christ. The capitalistic merchants and corporate giants use this time of year to capitalize on the frivolous spending of the ignorant masses who are unaware that such gross commercialization is disrespectful to Christ. With Farrakhan enlightening the people to this truth, the people’s response to boycott Christmas has big retailers feeling threatened and offended.

Modern Moneychangers Threatened by the Whip

Just as it was in the days of Jesus, those most offended by this truth are the ones who benefit from the deceit and the people’s irresponsible spending—the Jewish merchants. Theologians argue that Jesus offending the moneychangers was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” because he exposed the root of the corruption. This prompted the Jewish leaders to plot his demise because he was interfering with their economic stronghold and deception over the people.

Likewise, Farrakhan is one of very few public voices who expose the specific persons and groups behind the manipulation of America’s economy (i.e. the modern moneychangers). Much of this manipulation can be traced to institutions like the Federal Reserve System. In its attempt to hide the Jewish influence over America’s financial institutions, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) gave this description of the Federal Reserve banking system:

The Federal Reserve System is the central banking authority of the United States. It is a fiscal agency for the U.S. Government and custodian of the reserve accounts of commercial banks; it makes loans to the commercial banks; and is authorized to issue Federal Reserve notes — that is, the hand-to-hand currency with which we run our daily economic lives.

In layman’s terms, the Federal Reserve is the banking system that prints, regulates, and distributes America’s money. What the ADL failed to mention is that this institution is an autonomous private organization operating “with” the government, but not “by” the government. From its very inception its operational leaders have primarily been members of the Jewish community. The Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve is the head of the central banking system of the United States, and it’s no secret that Jews have held this position for the last few decades.

The Federal Reserve System is part of other international banking systems that influence the activities of other financial markets, giving it inordinate sway over the people. These monopolistic practices were known in Jewish tradition as herem hayishuv. Page 182 of The Secret Relationship Between Blacks And Jews Volume 2 quotes Dr. Irving Agus, who explained how Jews maintained control of certain markets:

“The herem hayyishuv was designed to force the overlord to deal justly with the Jews of his territory; otherwise that territory would become a commercial wilderness. Thus the Jews used monopolistic practices as a means of forcing the non-Jews to behave in a civilized manner toward them…”

This year’s boycott is offensive to such institutions because it threatens the modern moneychangers’ power base.

The same Jewish groups who target the Minister for exposing such truths were the same groups who vilified Malcolm X for the same reason. In his autobiography, he gave his firsthand description of how Jewish merchants would capitalize off the vulnerable Black dollar:

“Nothing Down” advertisements drew poor Negroes into that store like flypaper. It was a shame, the way they paid three and four times what the furniture had cost, because they could get credit from those Jews.

As Malcolm X preached the sobering message of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, cleaning the people of drugs, alcohol, and illicit lifestyles, Jews were at the forefront of those who wanted to see him dead because they comprised the majority of the Harlem merchants who exploited the illicit trade in drugs, liquor, and prostitution.

Let us not fall victim to the enticing sales that further lure us into their debt. The same deceptive group that Jesus exposed as “the synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9, 3:9) is still behind the mass financial manipulation and control of the people—but who will be bold enough to expose and disrupt Satan’s power? Those who truly know and love Jesus should stand with Minister Farrakhan for his Christ-like works and for being bold enough to boycott the hidden powers behind America’s corporate greed. Let’s be the “or else” and the “whip” that brings real change and boycott the moneychangers like Jesus did.