Farrakhan in Speech: 'My Time Is Up' (Jeff Karoub)

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Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan told the tens of thousands at Detroit's Ford Field that Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad would embrace each other with love if they were on the stage behind him.

By JEFF KAROUB -- Associated Press

Feb. 26, 2007 -- DETROIT -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan stressed religious unity Sunday during his final major speech, saying the world is at war because Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths are divided.

The 73-year-old Farrakhan told the tens of thousands at Detroit's Ford Field that Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad would embrace each other with love if they were on the stage behind him.

``Our lips are full of praise, but our hearts are far removed from the prophets we all claim,'' he said. ``That's why the world is in the shape that it's in.''

The fiery orator spoke for the first time since ceding leadership of the movement last year because of illness. The speech at the home of the National Football League's Detroit Lions capped the Nation's three-day convention in the city where it was founded in 1930.

``My time is up,'' Farrakhan said in describing his exit from the leadership stage. ``The Final Call can't last forever.''