Book details grim future for diversity

It's the year 2030. Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam and Tom Metzger's White Aryan Resistance have taken over America and divided the United States into racially segregated regimes: one black, one white. All other citizens have been rounded up and deported.

It's a world without adequate plumbing, where lustful glances could result in prison terms and marriages are arranged by the government.

This is what might happen in the future, according to Saab Lofton, author of "A.D."

Lofton, 26, an SF State film major, has written a book that details the ascent and demise of a fictional society based on the Nation of Islam. He has scheduled a book signing this Friday in the student center.

His motivation for the book and its concepts began to develop in 1992 when he was a student at Solano Junior College. He began to collect information throughout that time and began writing the book in January of last year.

His primary reason for writing the book was the lack of curriculum regarding NOI. Lofton believes the historical cliche, "those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them."

Although a work of fiction, circumstances and ideology presented in the book have some factual basis.

Aqeelah Bey, a member of NOI, and an employee of Your Black Muslim Bakery Cleaners in Oakland, said the futuristic happenings described by Lofton are possible and are actual goals of NOI.

"Separation is a goal that needs to be reached. It is the core of our survival," Bey said. "The way things are going in America today, the most practical way to resolve it would be to divide the races. Not specifically black and white, but everyone."

In his book, Lofton refers to dealings between NOI and WAR as examples of little-known facts that people need to be made aware of.

Bey said there are, in fact, some connections between NOI and WAR.

"The number one goal of both organizations is separation. It is a must," said Bey.

She pointed out that NOI are beneficiaries of financial contributions from a number of separatist organizations, including WAR.

When asked why he had chosen to focus on NOI instead of other groups alluded to in his book, such as the Ku Klux Klan and WAR, Lofton said there already was information concerning the other groups.

"Everyone knows that the white supremacist groups are a bunch of goons. But the same kind of information isn't available when you talk about the Nation of Islam," Lofton said. "They are the only organization in political history that has managed to disguise itself for decades as a radical group when in fact it is a reactionary group."

Lofton defined NOI as reactionary due to its "segregationist, anti-Semitic and misogynist platform."

"The Nation of Islam requires women to cover almost every inch of their body, and they would probably ban everything from Huckleberry Finn to Cypress Hill," he said.

Addressing the issue of women being covered, Bey said it's a form of protection, and when women aren't covered it brings unwanted attention.

Lofton said that NOI practices a more unorthodox form of censure, citing articles from Hustler magazine and The Nation.

"When the NOI disagrees with somebody, they have been known to resort to violence. They're terrorist thugs," he said.

Lofton compares himself to one of his personal heroes, former New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, whose book was the basis for the movie "JFK."

"What I admire so much about Jim Garrison is that he wanted to tell the truth about the JFK assassination when nobody wanted to listen. My role is pretty much the same with the Nation of Islam. In his case, he had the CIA after him for telling the truth. In my case, the NOI will probably come after me."

Bey said the NOI would not resort to violence against anyone who disagrees with their opinion.

"If that were the case, people would be dropping like flies all over California, because there is so much negative press about the NOI," she said.

"There's a lot of misconceptions about the Nation of Islam out there, especially in the black community," said Lofton. "I think it's important to get the knowledge out there, and my book is part of that process. Just as science can develop cures for diseases, my book can help cure the political mess that's screwing up this country."

Saab Lofton will be signing his book in room B-112 of the Cesar Chavez Student Center on Friday, September 15, from 1-4 p.m. He will also appear at Modern Times Bookstore in San Francisco on Saturday, September 30, at 7 p.m.

[ back to Golden Gater Online September 12, 1995 ]

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