by James Ogunyele

LONDON (FinalCall.com)�A London High Court judge will soon render a decision in a suit filed on behalf of the leader of the Nation of Islam that challenges the legality of a British government exclusion order which prevents him from entering the United Kingdom.

Justice Turner, the presiding judge, made the ruling in London after hearing arguments by attorneys from both the British government and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Justice Turner said he would give his ruling on the Nation of Islam application "before the end of term"�meaning before July 31.

The court hearing, which took place on July 12-13, had been billed a fight of titanic proportions�and rightly so. Min. Farrakhan was represented by a team of top attorneys, led by Nicholas Blake, while David Pannick, represented the UK government.

Opening the legal salvo, Mr. Blake condemned the 16 year-old exclusion order on the popular Muslim leader as unjust, "unlawful and disproportionate interference." He argued that a recent decision by Jack Straw, the then Home Secretary, to renew the exclusion order has made the UK�despite its often-mouthed commitment to civil liberty�appear as "an over-protective nanny state."

Mr. Blake described the popular Black leader as a man of exemplary and impeccable character and an acknowledged spiritual leader in America and throughout the world. He argued the UK government exclusion order was not only a slap in the face to its Black citizens, but also showed total disrespect for the dignity of the Black community.

The court was told that it was not only Min. Farrakhan�s rights to freedom of expression as enshrined in UK common law and the country�s Human Rights Act that the exclusion order trampled upon, but also the rights of British Blacks to decide for themselves who they should or should not see and hear speak. Mr. Blake said the Black community certainly wants to hear what the Nation of Islam leader has to say about issues that are affecting their community. The same issues, he told the court, that are "of value to the African American community" in the United States.

The lawyer also debunked the time-worn insinuation of anti-Semitism, which has often been made against the leader of the Nation of Islam, noting that the Minister speaks regularly to the concern of his people and that his comments were often taken out of context.

Mr. Blake said that Min. Farrakhan remains free to enter any country in the world, including the Jewish state of Israel, while urging the court to overturn the exclusion order. "The Home Secretary did not show any substantial and compelling evidence to justify his decision to renew the exclusion order," Mr. Blake argued.

Earlier in a two-day hearing, Mr. Blake had extolled the virtues of Min. Farrakhan, including the historic Million Man March and the Million Family March. He said the Muslim leader wants to bring to his people in the UK a message of self-reliance, dignity and self-discipline.

In his submission, Mr Pannic, who is Jewish, shed light on the UK government�s reasons for imposing the ban. He said Mr. Straw, like all his predecessors, had "reasonable grounds" to believe that the Minister�s presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good."

When asked by Justice Turner why the original reasons for issuing the exclusion order in 1986 were still relevant today given that Minister Farrakhan has "moved on," Mr Pannic offered a new reason. He said the Minister�s presence in the UK would "damage community relations" and that the "risk to others outweighs the interest of his (the Minister�s) UK followers."

He admitted, however, that the Minister was never a violent man and has never been charged with any offense in America in his 68-years of life. Mr. Pannic implied Min. Farrakhan might have been kept away from the British shores for his own safety. His presence in the UK "might provoke violence from his opponents," Mr Pannic told the court.

Overturning an exclusion order of this kind is a two-way process�to get court permission to challenge the exclusion order and to get the court to overturn the ban. In May, the UK Nation of Islam won the right to challenge the ban, thus paving the way for the latest High Court hearing.

Min. Hilary Muhammad, UK representative, who had led a team of Muslims to the courthouse throughout the two-day hearing, said he was pleased at the quality of Mr. Blake�s presentations. "I am pleased at the manner in which the arguments were presented. We were able to get across all the points we wanted to get across," he told The Final Call in an exclusive interview shortly after court on July 13.

He added: "Throughout this proceeding I have always known and believed the case to be in the hands of Allah (God). So, whatever Allah decides or determines, that we will accept. Our hope and desire, obviously, is to be able to host the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and we are optimistic that the ban will be lifted�but the final decision and determination is with Allah."

Min. Hilary said the ban should not have been imposed in the first place and questioned why any right-minded individual would want to deny British Blacks the rights to see and hear Min. Farrakhan speak.

The UK representative thanked the Black community and the supporters of Min. Farrakhan worldwide for their continuing support. "The lesson that has been learnt over the years is that nobody is willing to do anything of significance for us (as a people) if we are not willing to do it for ourselves. It is incumbent upon us to draw from the resources that we have at our disposal, to pull ourselves up and out of our existing condition," he said.

Earlier on July 8, the UK Nation of Islam had organized a rally in South West London, as part of its campaign against the ban. The rally, which attracted hundreds of people, was attended by Min. Akbar Muhammad, Nation of Islam international representative, as well as leaders from the Black Christian and the nationalist community.

"The UK ban, that�s silly, that�s stupid," said Lennox Lewis, former heavyweight boxing champ in a June 13 exclusive Final Call interview at the Hip Hip Summit in New York. "England doesn�t really have too many Black leaders that it can really look up to. The Minister is definitely someone they can look up and learn from, and I think they should lift that ban. It�s only for politics," he said.