Scientology 'Ally' and 'Partner' Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan denies 'death to America' chant, saying he merely "asked a question about how to pronounce the chant in Farsi."
While the following Washington Times article may not be entirely neutral, it has additional reporting and good analysis.
Washington Times:
Louis Farrakhan denies 'death to America' chant as he rips U.S. foreign policy in Iran
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/8/louis-farrakhan-denies-death-america-chant-iran/
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Audio and video from his appearance show him speaking the Farsi words for “death to,” which sound like “marg bar.”
“America hates when you say, ‘marg bar Israel.’ Am I saying it right?” asked Mr. Farrakhan, flanked by Iranian officials, at an appearance before students and media.
Several people in the audience corrected his pronunciation. He then said “marg bar” twice, to which they answered “America” and “Israel.” The crowd laughed as a smiling Farrakhan then shouted, “Okay!”
Does that mean he led a chant? The Iranian television announcer thought so, saying in Farsi, “Listen to the leader of the Nation of Islam chanting ‘Death to America,’” although Mr. Farrakhan did not say “America.”
“I asked a question about how to pronounce the chant in Farsi during my meeting with Iranian students and an examination of the video shows just that,” said Mr. Farrakhan. “My point was to engage students in a talk about what gives a nation perpetuity versus that which undermines and destroys a nation.”
Iran state TV news presenter: Listen to leader of Nation of Islam chanting “Death to America”
Farrakhan [in Farsi]: “Death to…”
Not everyone was buying his explanation, given that the automatic rejoinders to “death to” in Iran would be “America” or “Israel.”
Cornell Law School professor William A. Jacobson called his denial “extremely unpersuasive, given his history,” a reference to Mr. Farrakhan’s record of anti-Semitic jabs, such as last month’s tweet referring to Jews as termites.
“If his defense is he only spoke the words ‘death to,’ but he didn’t lead the chant, that seems to be the equivalent over what the definition of ‘is’ is,” said Mr. Jacobson, who runs the conservative Legal Insurrection blog.
After the “death to America” exchange, Mr. Farrakhan told the university audience, “If you mean death to America, death to Israel, then you must mean life for Islam, life for Iran, life for Muslims.”
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Nevertheless, Scientology 'Ally' and 'Partner' Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan previously gave a sermon in which he stated: "America is #1 on God's list to be destroyed." A video of that sermon was posted to Instagram by 2017 Scientology Freedom Medal Winner Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad.