Nation of Islam Min. Louis Farrakhan said the United States is a hypocrite for its current military action against Libya.

Calling Col. Muammar Qaddafi “brother leader,” Farrakhan said the embattled Libyan dictator has been a friend to him. He added that he doesn’t understand why President Barack Obama authorized military intervention in Libya.

“I love Muammar Qaddafi and I love our president. It grieves me to see my brother president set a policy that would remove this man,” Farrakhan said.

The minister made those remarks at Mosque Maryam, the headquarters of the Chicago-based Nation of Islam. Farrakhan says in 1972 Qaddafi lent the Nation $3 million to buy the mosque, a former Greek church.

In the early 1980s, Qaddafi lent $5 million to help Farrakhan start a line of black-owned personal care products.