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Hate Crime Panel Member: Criticism Ridiculous

CHICAGO (CBS) ― For the first time, the woman who prompted four people to resign from the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes is speaking out.

Sister Claudette Muhammad took to the airwaves Tuesday, and she is not backing down, saying it's ridiculous that she has been condemned for remarks made by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports Sister Muhammad and two other leaders from the Nation of Islam took the offensive position on the radio, and CBS 2's Sylvia Gomez reports neither side are backing down.

"For those who try to condemn me because of the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's remarks ... which were perceived by some as anti-Semitic, it's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous," Muhammad said on WVON-AM.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed Muhammad to the commission in August, but she drew no public attention until inviting other commissioners to attend a speech given by Farrakhan, who is known for his disparaging remarks about Jews, whites and gays.

"The governor has done the right thing in standing by his appointment and as a result some people have quit," Muhammad said.

The four Jewish members who resigned from that panel think she should have renounced Farrakhan's Savior's Day remarks. They began criticizing her presence on the panel after Farrakhan's speech Feb. 26 in Chicago that included references to "Hollywood Jews" promoting homosexuality and "other filth."

Members of the Jewish community have said they were offended when Farrakhan referred to wicked Jews and used expressions like the "synagogue of Satan."

Blagojevich said Monday that Muhammad is not responsible for any racist remarks Farrakhan has made. The Democratic governor also has said he didn't realize he had appointed a Nation of Islam official until learning about it from news reports.

Three Jewish members of the commission resigned last week, saying Muhammad's support for Farrakhan contradicts the panel's goals. They say she should not be on the commission unless she repudiates Farrakhan's criticism of Jews, gays and other groups.

Blagojevich appointed a state lawmaker to fill one of the vacancies, but he ended up also resigning on Friday.

Farrakhan's chief of staff, Brother Leonard Muhammad, said on the radio Tuesday that the Nation of Islam forgave the people who left the commission because "you left out of confusion. You misunderstand what the commission is all about. Come back to the commission and debate your point."

He later issued a stronger challenge to them to return.

"They need to come back or shut up," Leonard Muhammad said.

"And leave me alone," Claudette Muhammad chimed in.

Former member Richard Hirschhaut said the commission is compromised and likely will need a complete overhaul to re-establish its credibility.

"I have no intention of returning to the commission until it is cleansed of the stain and stench of bigotry caused by Sister Claudette's continued presence," said Hirschhaut, executive director of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

Another former commission member, Lonnie Nasatir, a regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said nothing has happened to change his mind about the commission and Muhammad still has not renounced Farrakhan's words.

"I don't see anything fruitful coming out of debating a group that has spewed such hateful rhetoric not only in years past but 10 days ago," he said, referring to Farrakhan's speech last month.

Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, who resigned after Blagojevich appointed him to fill one of the commission's vacancies, did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday. Former commissioner Howard Kaplan declined to talk about Muhammad's comments until he had read them.

But Dan Elbaum of the Anti-Defamation League says you can't have dialogue with a group that promotes and sells the synagogue of Satan.

"How do you have a dialogue with an organization that not only actively promotes anti-Semitic stereotypes, anti-gay stereotypes, anti-white, an equal opportunity offender," he said.

The Anti-Defamation League is still calling on Sister Claudette to renounce Farrakhan's statements, saying it is her duty as a member of the commission on hate to do so.

Muhammad, who previously said in a written statement she supported the commission's goals to eradicate hate and discrimination against any group or person, said Tuesday she and her family have been victims of hate crimes and discrimination. She also said she has Jewish family members, has traveled to Israel and has worshipped in Jewish synagogues.

"Please know I am not the victimizer here, OK, but instead I am the victim," she said.

Muhammad also refused to repudiate Farrakhan and recommend that people who disagree with him, speak to him.

"For those who try to condemn me for Minister Farrakhan's remarks -- perceived as anti Semitic -- it's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. Some of my family members are Jewish," she said. "For those criticizing Minister Farrakhan, I highly recommend they be man and woman enough to direct their concerns to the honorable Minister Farrakhan and have a dialogue with him. He will remain my minister."

Meanwhile, the Nation of Islam is thanking the governor for standing behind her. Nation of Islam officials on Tuesday praised Blagojevich for supporting his nominee but said they would have considered legal action if he hadn't.

Callers to Tuesday's radio show included the Rev. Michael Pfleger, the white pastor of a mostly black Chicago church and a friend of Muhammad's.

Pfleger said "good riddance" to the people who had left the commission.

"Leave, go ahead and go on out, we don't need that kind of a spirit or mentality and a narrowness on that kind of commission. I'm glad they're gone," Pfleger said.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)