The Rev. Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, denounced the U.S. war on terrorism in a speech at a weekend conference in Los Angeles, and suggested that President Bush should be tried for war crimes in a court like that at Nuremberg which sentenced several Nazi leaders to be hanged after World War II.
"There's a lot of ugliness in America the beautiful," he said, "ugliness that can be turned into beauty."
Mr. Farrakhan encouraged Americans to criticize U.S. policy in Afghanistan and its war on terror and said a "shadow government" was readying a war on Iraq.
"True patriots," he said, should speak out against bad policies.
"If the truth were known, there would be a Nuremberg trial for American presidents. I cannot allow them to use the American soldier, black, brown and poor white, to fight a war that is unjust and wrong."
He suggested that the president is provoking Muslims worldwide and said Mr. Bush's actions "can summon the whole Muslim world against the West by how you prosecute this war [in Afghanistan]."
Mr. Farrakhan's remarks were included in a 2½-hour speech that closed a four-day "Saviour's Day" celebration.
It marked the birthday of Elijah Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam, the largest Islamic group in America.
The conference drew an estimated 20,000 people to the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and included speeches by Rep. Maxine Waters, California Democrat; former pro basketball star Magic Johnson; and the Rev. Al Sharpton of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Giant video monitors displayed images meant to illustrate how U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts - including the war on terrorism in Afghanistan - is hinged on America's "insatiable appetite" for oil.
In recent years Mr. Farrakhan, who fought a successful battle with prostate cancer, appeared to tone down his fiery rhetoric, which had been aimed at whites, whom he once called "subhuman," and Jews, whom he called followers of a "gutter religion."
But since September 11, he has on several occasions criticized U.S. policy on terrorism.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.