Nation of Islam chief Farrakhan has surgery

Reuters/January 6, 2007

Chicago -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who gave up day-to-day control of his organization last year for health reasons, has undergone 12 hours of surgery, the Nation of Islam said in a statement on Saturday.

No reason for the surgery was given in the statement on the Nation of Islam Web site (http://www.noi.org), and a spokesman for the movement could not be reached for comment.

Doctors told Farrakhan's family they were pleased with the outcome of the surgery, the statement said.

In September, Farrakhan, 73, said he was suffering health problems following treatment for prostate cancer.

At the time, he said he was indefinitely postponing all engagements, meetings and appointments to concentrate on his health and wanted the organization's leadership to run things.

Farrakhan, who once called Judaism a "gutter religion" and later said his comments were simply misinterpreted street talk, was a driving force behind the 1995 "Million Man March" on Washington to promote black self-reliance and responsibility.