[Vision2020] Barack Obama vows to 'change the world' ― Farrakhan Says 'New Beginning' For Nation of Islam

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Barack Obama vows to 'change the world'
Barack Obama has vowed that he will "change the world" even as he
urged his supporters to guard against complacency.

By Toby Harnden in Londonderry, New Hampshire
Last Updated: 9:55AM BST 18 Oct 2008

The supremely confident demeanour and exalted rhetoric of the
Democratic nominee at a New Hampshire event betrayed that he is a man
convinced he is poised to make history.

While his Republican opponent John McCain, trailing in the polls, is
pursuing a strategy of eking out a victory in traditional swing
states, Mr Obama is transferring resources to conservative strongholds
like Georgia, West Virginia and even Kentucky in pursuit of a
landslide victory.

Speaking in an apple orchard against the picture-perfect New England
backdrop of an red, green and yellow autumn foliage on a stage adorned
with pumpkins and hay bales, Mr Obama reminded voters of the dangers
of hubris.

Polls indicated that the young Illinois senator was cruising towards a
crushing victory over Hillary Clinton in the state's Democratic
primary. His rallies were two or three times the size of hers. The
media had declared him the victor, a conclusion shared by Obama aides.

On election day, however, Mrs Clinton won. "We are 19 days away from
changing this country. Nineteen days away. But for those who are
getting a little cocky, I've got two words for you: New Hampshire,"
said Mr Obama.

"I learned right here, with the help of my great friend and supporter
Hillary Clinton, that you cannot let up, you can't pay too much
attention to polls. We've got to keep making our case for change.
We've got to keep fighting for every single vote. We've got to keep
running through the finish line."

At a glitzy fundraising event in Manhattan at which Bruce Springsteen
and Billy Joel performed Mr Obama warned high-roller supporters:
"Don't underestimate the capacity of Democrats to snatch defeat from
the jaws of victory. Don't underestimate our ability to screw it up."

But much of Mr Obama's speech in Londonderry ― punctuated by cries of
"We all love you Obama", "I love you" and "We will work with you" ―
was devoted to the kind of quasi-religious sentiments and
motivational-coach style exhortations, the kind of pride that set him
up for a big fall in January.

"I want you to believe," said the candidate, clad in an open-necked
shirt and barn jacket. "Not so much believe just in me but believe in
yourselves. Believe in the future. Believe in the future we can build
together. I'm confident together we can't fail."

There was a carnival atmosphere among the crowd of some 4,000, who
almost drowned Mr Obama out as he reached his crescendo and said: "I
promise you. We won't just win New Hampshire. We will win this
election and, you and I together, we're going to change the country
and change the world."

Mr Obama was described as "preternaturally confident" in a gushing
endorsement by the Washington Post on Friday.

His supreme self-belief has also been the target of late-night
comedians. "With just 19 days left until the election, Barack Obama
warned supporters today to guard against overconfidence," Tina fey of
Saturday Night Live reported.

"Then he boarded Air Force One, blasted 'We Are The Champions' and
shouted 'I'm King of the World'."

Both Democrats and Republicans in New Hampshire appear convinced that
Mr Obama will win.

"We feel we're on the brink of a whole new life in this country," said
Betsy Whitman, 69.

"Sure, he'll win," said Marlene Hulme, 70, at the Londonderry event.
"Our expectations were high today and he knocked it out of the park."

A lone McCain supporter at the rally said she too was convinced that
the Republican nominee was finished. "McCain has lost," said Deborah
Barnhart, 48, who runs a landscaping business.

"He's lost because the Messiah has spoken and we're going to change
the world. That's all people want to hear after eight years of Bush.
Obama thinks he's won. Everyone here thinks he's won."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/3219308/Barack-Obama-vows-to-change-the-world.html

Farrakhan Says 'New Beginning' For Nation of Islam
CHICAGO (AP) ― The Nation of Islam, a secretive movement generally
closed to outsiders, has planned a rare open-to-the public event at
its Chicago-based headquarters in what the Minister Louis Farrakhan
deemed a "new beginning" for the group.

Hundreds of religious leaders of different faiths have been invited to
the event planned for Sunday, a rededication of the group's historic
Mosque Maryam on the city's South Side. Farrakhan is scheduled to
speak.

"We have restored Mosque Maryam completely, and we will dedicate it to
the universal message of Islam, and the universal aspect of the
teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad," Farrakhan said in an
invitation letter. "It represents for the Nation of Islam, a new
beginning."

The event comes just weeks after the death of Imam W.D. Mohammed, the
son of Nation founder Elijah Muhammad who broke with the group and
moved thousands of African-Americans toward mainstream Islam.

The Nation purchased the mosque, a former Greek Orthodox church, in
1972 and has since been making renovations. The stately 1948
structure, embellished with a golden dome and topped with an Islamic
crescent moon, is adorned with Quranic verses in Arabic.

Experts say opening the mosque's doors to the public is a calculated move.

"It is a very conscious effort to open the mosque up to the community
and to rededicate the community to learning about Islam," said Aminah
McCloud, a professor of Islamic studies at DePaul University.
"Previously, the Nation has been open to people coming to visit it,
but its members don't generally go anywhere else . . . now there is a
concerted effort."

While the Nation has espoused black nationalism and self-reliance
since it was founded in the 1930s, in recent years members have
reached out to other groups. For instance, the Nation has a Latino
liaison and has become involved in immigrant rights rallies and
marches. Also, the Minister Ishmael Muhammad, a top assisting minister
at the mosque and widely thought to be a potential successor to
Farrakhan, has talked about unity between all people, at times
speaking in Spanish.

Farrakhan, 75, has haltingly tried to move the Nation toward
traditional Islam, which considers the American movement heretical
because of its view of Elijah Muhammad as a prophet ― among other
novel teachings. Orthodox Islam teaches that there has been no prophet
after Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century.

He's also played down some of the group's more controversial beliefs.
The Nation of Islam has taught that whites are descended from the
devil and that blacks are the chosen people of Allah.

The event on Sunday also wraps up a week of events marking the 13th
anniversary of the Million Man March, which Farrakhan began in 1995.
That year, hundreds of thousands of people traveled to Washington,
D.C. to participate.

On Thursday, Farrakhan spoke to inmates at Cook County jail urging
self improvement, atonement and reconciliation, principles the Million
Man March promoted.

Those values "can help reduce violence and anti-social behavior ...
and have universal significance and will benefit those willing to
listen," according to a statement from the Nation.

Farrakhan's Sunday speech will mark his second major public address
this year and is among several smaller community and religious events
he has attended.

His public appearances have surprised many since in 2006, he seceded
leadership to an executive board while recuperating from serious
complications from prostate cancer.

In February, Farrakhan appeared at an annual Saviours' Day event in
Chicago and called Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama the
"hope of the entire world" that the U.S. will change for the better.
The Obama campaign quickly denounced Farrakhan's support, because of
past comments about Jews that many have called offensive.

In the past months, Farrakhan has attended funeral services of W.D.
Mohammed and Jabir Herbert Muhammad, both sons of the late Elijah
Muhammad.
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