Despite the controversial nature of Conrad Muhammad's visit and the anticipation that the speech may have contained anti-Semitic remarks, the leader in the Nation of Islam began and ended his speech Saturday night with a message of peace.

Muhammad, also aide to Louis Farrakhan, energized a crowd of more than 1,000 people when he spoke on "Keys to Survive on a Predominantly White Campus." His speech was part of the University's celebration of Black History Month. The atmosphere in Eisenhower Auditorium was one of discourse, thought and energy, rather than one of tension and hatred, as the metal detectors at the entrance may have suggested.

Although the metal-detecting gates at the entrance may have implied a suspected threat, Dave Stormer, assistant vice president for safety and environmental services, said they were requested by the speaker himself.

"We had a number of officers there," he said, "but they were necessary to secure the facility." Stormer added that recent violence against representatives of the Nation of Islam may have prompted the precautions.

Muhammad addressed the controversy sparked by his visit to the University, including a rally protesting his appearance.

"Being prejudice is to prejudge, isn't it?" he said. "If you prejudged me or if you said 'Conrad Muhammad is a racist, bigot, anti-Semite, are you not jumping out a little too fast?"

Muhammad addressed all races and religions during his speech, urging everyone to break from the errors of the past and make a better tomorrow for America.

"If you are to represent a better tomorrow than the today or the yesterday, then you must be courageous enough, you must be truthful enough, to break from the past if the past is wrong," he said.

And the past is wrong, he said, because it was filled with discrimination, oppression and slavery.

"It was an appropriate message for college students," said Leon Caldwell (graduate-counseling psychology). "His speech raised black consciousness and black pride."

But some students were concerned that Muhammad had skirted the issues that had caused the controversy about his visit.

"He kind of ended up twisting the whole rally issue," said Erica Schwarz, co-president of Yachad -- Penn State Friends of Israel.

Schwarz said Muhammad may have altered his speech to address certain issues or avoid others after he heard about the questioning atmosphere. She added that the speech seemed to advocate separatism of and blacks instead of bridging their differences.

"He had this underlying message that white people are not to be trusted," she said.

But Christopher Atkinson, Black Caucus president, said Muhammad did not chang his speech.

"The Nation will not change for anybody," he said.

Atkinson said he has heard other representatives in the Nation of Islam speak, and said their messages are similar to what Muhammad offered. He added that the media often colors perceptions of the Nation's leaders, creating pre-conceptions.

"People come out to hear him speak . . . and they often get a different idea than they hear in the media," he said.

Muhammad said he came to Penn State on behalf of Farrakhan, his leader, to lift black students up and make them see potential in themselves. He urged them to study, to remain sober, to become scholars and to take their knowledge and wealth back to the black communities that made them who they are.

Muhammad began his speech by citing influential black scholars and achievers to show black students that they come from greatness.

"You have been reduced from pyramids to projects," he said.

Black people have been slaves, shoe shiners and cooks, he said, and the time has come to return to that greatness from which they came.

The black race is the chosen race, said Muhammad, who cited the Bible and the Koran throughout his speech. Blacks are chosen, he said, because their race has endured and suffered the most.

"You -- yes, you -- are the chosen people of God," he said, pausing. "Now the audience gets quiet. The whites obviously have a hard time with this because they've been deceived, too."

The speech ended two-and-a-half hours later with a question-and-answer session.

Students asked Muhammad about the Nation's relationship with Muslims outside of the United States. Muhammad said relations are very good, but the Nation concentrates its energies more on the plight of black America.

One student questioned Muhammad's comment that the black race is the chosen race. He responded by saying that blacks will no longer be the chosen race when they are no longer oppressed.

Collegian Staff Writer Chad Weihrauch contributed to this report.