Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, publicly condemned the killing of Libyan leader Moammar Khaddafy, calling it an "assassination" during a two-hour interview with WVON-AM radio host Cliff Kelley.
"I know something of the good of Moammar Khaddafy that made me to love him as a brother and to feel a great sense of loss at his assassination," Farrakhan said Tuesday.
Rebel forces killed Khaddafy in his hometown of Sirte, Libya on Thursday after years of political unrest.
On Tuesday, his body was buried in an undisclosed location in the Libyan desert.
Farrakhan and Khaddafy had been allies for decades. The Chicago Tribune reported that the Chicago's Mosque Maryam, the Nation of Islam's international headquarters, was purchased 40 years ago with a $3 million loan from Khaddafy.
In the interview, Farrakhan referenced the two recent killings of Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki.
"You have made your president an assassin," Farrakhan said.
President Obama, who appeared Tuesday on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, said Khaddafy’s death sends a strong message to dictators around the world.
"Well, this is somebody who, for 40 years, has terrorized his country and supported terrorism," Obama said. "And he had an opportunity during the Arab spring to finally let loose of his grip on power and to peacefully transition into democracy. We gave him ample opportunity, and he wouldn't do it."
