Michigan governor-elect Jocelyn Benson (D.) tapped a Nation of Islam leader who has pushed antisemitic conspiracy theories, referred to Jews as "the enemy," and promotes Nation of Islam literature that forbids interracial relationships to serve on her gubernatorial transition council.
Benson, who defeated Republican John James on Tuesday, picked Benton Harbor mayor Marcus Muhammad to serve on her 15-person transition team alongside Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Detroit mayor Mary Sheffield, and other Michigan Democratic leaders.
It comes even after Jewish organizations have denounced Muhammad over his antisemitic rhetoric and leadership role in the Nation of Islam, widely considered an anti-Jewish and anti-white hate group. The Combat Antisemitism Movement removed Muhammad from its mayoral advisory panel over the summer in response to a Washington Free Beacon report about his remarks and said it "will collaborate with no one who legitimizes" the Nation of Islam.
Muhammad is a "student minister" in the Nation of Islam. He is also a disciple of its firebrand leader Louis Farrakhan, who has compared Jews to "termites" and called Adolf Hitler "a great man."
Muhammad has repeatedly defended Farrakhan. After Farrakhan referred to Jews as "the Satan" during an infamous July 2020 sermon, Muhammad posted a photograph of Farrakhan with the caption "Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him."
In a podcast interview with fellow Nation members this year, Muhammad referred repeatedly to "the enemy"—a term Nation of Islam members use to refer to Jews or white people—while discussing The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, a controversial book that alleges Jews malignantly shape American foreign policy.
"They have the muscle, they have the money, they have power, they have influence," said Muhammad, who campaigned with Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D.) last week.
Muhammad invoked the Holocaust-era Nazi pogrom against Jews, writing about what he called "the ongoing Jewish and Gentile Kristallnacht against Black Muslim businesses." Muhammad attended and promoted a Farrakhan speech in 2023 in which Farrakhan favorably stated that "Hitler went against usury and Hitler attacked pornography that the Jews had put on the Germans."
Muhammad's comments about Jews and embrace of antisemitic conspiracy theories are often untied to criticism of Israel. He promoted another seminar of Farrakhan's in which the minister discussed The Secret Relationship Between Black and Jews, Vol. 2, an infamous Nation of Islam treatise which asserts that Jews were behind the transatlantic slave trade. Muhammad has promoted the Nation's "Muslim Program," which prohibits interracial relationships, as the "ultimate solution" to America's "race problem."
Benson, who currently serves as Michigan secretary of state, has maintained close ties to Muhammad despite the antisemitic vitriol. She shouted him out during her primary victory speech this month. Muhammad said in an interview in August that he is longtime "friends" with Benson and that they have "developed a relationship outside of politics."
Muhammad said in the same interview that Farrakhan played a key role in his political career. He said Farrakhan pledged to be his "cornerman" in his run for Benton Harbor mayor and to "put the whole Nation behind [him]" in his political endeavors.
Farrakhan has been a significant influence on Muhammad's viewpoints toward Israel. In 2019, Muhammad said Farrakhan advised him to reject an invitation to visit Israel as part of a "peace mission" due to "the great dangers and hatred that exist." He also wrote that he declined the visit because of Israel's "vitriolic disposition toward Muslims."
Benson's office did not respond to a request for comment.
