He was in prison at the time. Umar, the 29-year . The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. [65], The Nation teaches that the first humans were the "Original" or "Asiatic" race, whom it describes as members of the Tribe of Shabazz. After Fard disappeared in June 1934, the Nation of . The afterlife. [33], The group's recruitment efforts have proved particularly effective among drug addicts and incarcerated criminals,[405] operating in areas where the African American Christian churches lack a strong presence. During the 20th century, most studies on the NOI relied on secondary sources due to the group's general unwillingness to open itself up to study. You sleep more deeply & peacefully. [329] In 1985, Wallace Muhammad disbanded the organization, telling his followers to affiliate instead with their local mosques. He produced a new sacred text, The Holy Koran, that bears little resemblance to its namesake and was based on his limited knowledge of Islam and on spiritualist teachings. The only hell-raiser on the earth. [45] Each god has different abilities and degrees of power. [161] Concerned about obesity and diabetes among African Americans, Elijah Muhammad urged his followers to restrict their caloric intake, ideally by eating only one meal a day. [174] Services typically begin with the statement "As-salamu alaykum" (peace be upon you), with the congregation responding "Wa 'alaikum As-salam" (and also upon you). Burying the dead is the method prescribed. These two sins are forbidden by Allah because they sow enmity, evil and discord among people and lead to destruction. [391], Like Garvey's UNIA before them, the Nation has also built links with white nationalist and other far-right white groups on the basis of their shared belief in racial separatism. Deeming it a threat to domestic security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked to undermine the group. [402] Although originating as a largely lower-class movement, over the course of the 20th century it became increasingly middle-class. His wisdom is infinite; capable of accomplishing anything that His brain can conceive. [305][306][307][308] There was press speculation that the Nation's leaders were complicit,[305] something which damaged the group's reputation;[297] recruitment declined in the latter half of the 1960s. At age 16 I was born again, and one year later I was already preaching the gospel. [255] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later noted that Fard Muhammad's fingerprints matched those of Wallie D. Ford, a white man who had a record of arrests and had served a three-year sentence in San Quentin Prison for drugs charges. Provides a sociological and religious context of the movement, as well as a theological analysis of its teachings from a Christian perspective. While Fard retired into obscurity, Elijah taught that Fard was a Prophet (in the Muslim sense) and a Saviour (in the Christian sense) and the very presence of Allah. [172] As well as serving a religious function, these can also be used as a community center, bank, school, and child-care facility. Looking back, I can see that the Nation of Islam got some things right. 1. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African Americans. And you damn sure are. [124] Scholar of religion Mattias Gardell commented that the idea of black unity is "at the very core of the NOI ideology. Islam Past and Present. [210] It also seeks the collective economic advancement of African Americans through individual achievement;[211] various women members created their own businesses, sometimes run from the home. [318], He increasingly aligned the group with Sunni Islam, rejecting many of the Nation's idiosyncratic teachings,[319] including its claim that Fard was God, that Elijah Muhammad had been a prophet, the Myth of Yakub, and the claims about the Mother Plane. [279] His wife Clara took on the identity of Khadija. T he year I was born, my father joined the Nation of Islam. [177] Meetings at the mosque are both opened and closed with prayers,[174] and the Nation's "national anthem" may be played. "[102] It is regarded as having perpetuated white domination and furthered the oppression of the African diaspora in the Americas;[103] it is also associated with slavery and colonialism in the Nation of Islam's discourse. [97] Both Farrakhan and senior NOI spokesperson Abdul Alim Muhammad have claimed that the white establishment created the AIDS virus to exterminate black people. [218], In 1991, the Nation launched its Three Year Economic Savings Plan, asking followers to send them $10 a month over the three years, money that would collectively allow the group to buy more farmland. An import from the USA in the 1990s, the Nation of Islam is an organisation preaching self-reliance for black people within an Islamic framework and has been praised for its work in inner city areas. [271] In 1933, Elijah Muhammad then set up a new temple on Chicago's South Side. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. In the 7th century A.D., Islamic faith was charging through the Middle East. Born to Mary and Elmer Craft in Mariana, Pennsylvania. [205], Espousing economic nationalism,[206] the Nation follows the ideas of earlier thinkers like Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey in emphasizing the construction of black infrastructure as a means of community empowerment. [46], The Nation holds that the moon was created when one of the scientists tried to destroy the Earth with explosives, resulting in a chunk of the Earth's mass being forced into orbit. In Islam, Allah decides when a person dies. After marital discord caused my parents to separate, my mother moved us from New York City to Florida, where we encountered a Southern Baptist childrens evangelist. [27] Unlike most forms of Islam, the NOI does not teach that the 6th/7th century Arabian religious leader Muhammad was the final nor the most important messenger of God,[28] instead treating its first two leaders, Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad, as being more important. [45] In this account, this god chose his skin color in reference to the blackness from which he had emerged. Born Cassius Clay, he encountered the Nation in 1961 and received significant media criticism after announcing his membership of the group in 1964. [118] It will then use the baby planes to place bombs beneath the Earth's surface, which will explode and wipe out the old, white-dominated order. history. [165], Although Nation members are allowed to marry non-members,[162] the group stipulates that they should only marry other black people,[166] claiming that sex with white women emasculates black men. No other religion addresses cleanliness than Islam. [110] Elijah Muhammad described this as "a small human planet,"[20] claiming that it is half a mile by half a mile in diameter. Alternate titles: American Muslim Mission, Black Muslim movement, Muslim American Society, World Community of Al-Islam in the West, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Institute for Studies in Religion, Baylor University; Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion, Woodway, Texas. [125], The Nation prioritises land ownership to increase food production and autonomy for African Americans;[200] a commonly used slogan among the NOI is that "The farm is the engine of our national life. [76] He attracted a following but caused trouble, leading the Meccan authorities to exile him and his 6000 followers to Pelan, the Mediterranean island of Patmos. [179] He stipulated that these prayers should be in English, although commented that in future he would explain how to do so in Arabic. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Parts of this, the NOI claims, have been given to humanity as the Torah, Gospels, and Quran. [359], As of 2020, the Nation consisted of ten ministries: for Spiritual Development, Agriculture, Education, Information, Health, Trade and Commerce, Defense, Justice, Arts and Culture, and Science and Technology. October 1956 Issue. [455], The NOI has been the subject of much scholarly attention. Attracting growing attention in the late 1950s and 1960s, the NOI's influence expanded through high-profile members such as the black nationalist activist Malcolm X and the boxer Muhammad Ali. [122], Ideologically, the NOI is black nationalist,[123] and has sometimes been perceived as a Black Power political organization. The Nation of Islam or NOI is an African-American political and religious movement, founded in Detroit by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad on July 4, 1930. Most Christians strongly believe that death is not the end. [126] In the Nation's view, black liberation requires a religious dimension. [228], Edward E. Curtis IV stated that the Nation is "both highly religious and political at the same time",[229] while Gardell noted that it "formulated emphatic political demands". [382] His government gave the Nation a $3 million interest-free loan in 1972 to purchase its Chicago South Side centre,[383] and another $5 million interest-free loan in 1985 to fund its black enterprise program. [75], The NOI promotes a story called the myth of Yakub,[17] which received its fullest exposition in Elijah Muhammad's 1965 book Message to the Blackman. [192] In 1976, Wallace Muhammad estimated the Nation's net worth to be $46 million, although revealed it had a severe cash flow problem, owed millions in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, and was making a loss with its agricultural operations. [90] The Nation teaches that Allah allowed all this to happen so that the black race would realise humanity's inner potential for evil and discover how to defeat it, thus enabling them to realize their divine capacity and become Gods. These restrictions include alcohol and pork. [395] During the 1980s, the Nation also had a supportive relationship with the British National Front as the latter's Strasserite leadership were endorsing a united front against multi-racial society. [232] Elijah Muhammad refused to support any African Americans campaigning for election, although Louis Farrakhan backed Jesse Jackson's 1984 campaign to become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate,[233] and in 1990 three NOI candidates stood for election in the U.S.[234], Many people have presumed the NOI to be a revolutionary movement,[235] however, it has not sought to foment political revolution or violent social change, instead focusing its emphasis on shifting the consciousness of its members, encouraging them to focus on personal moral improvement, family building, and economic activity. Louis Farrakhan's Jesus Is Not Our Jesus. "[139] In contrast to King's calls for non-violent protest against segregation and racial violence, the Nation maintained it was a moral obligation for African Americans to defend their community from attack. [19], The religion promoted by the Nation has been described as "Fardian Islam,"[20] "nontraditional Islam,"[21] and "quasi-Islamic". [312] This included sowing discord between the Nation and the Black Panther Party, encouraging several incidents in which Black Panthers attacked NOI newspaper sellers. [134], It cites the formation of Israel as a state for the Jewish people in 1948 as a precedent for the establishment of such a state. [7] Scholars of religion have also classified it as resembling UFO religions,[8] with UFOs featuring in its ideas about the forthcoming end of the world. Muslim critics accuse it of promoting teachings that are not authentically Islamic. [45] As his helpers, he created more black men and took his place on a council of 24 imams; 12 greater and 12 lesser. Other memories are more pleasant. [244], The Moorish Science Temple, an organization also promoting an idiosyncratic religion that described its teachings as Islam, would also be a key influence on the Nation. [238] It is estimated that, at the time of the American Revolution in the 1760s80s, approximately 15 percent of enslaved Africans and African Americans in the new United States were Muslim. [138] The Nation was critical of African American activists who promoted racial integration, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,[2] regarding them as "Uncle Tom Negroes. Experts say don't be misled by Nation of Islam's Christian referenceson Facebook or elsewhere. [399], The Nation's teachings have influenced other groups, such as the Ansaaru Allah Community, which formed in 1970,[453] and the Word of Faith movement, a type of Christianity which emerged in areas of the U.S. where the NOI had a pre-existing presence. Even the religious philosophies, in essence, white supremacy. It reemerged at the beginning of the 20th century as a result of the efforts of the Amadiyyah movement, an unorthodox sect founded in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c. 18391908), and of Shaikh Ahmed Faisal (18911980), the Moroccan-born leader of an independent Black Muslim movement. [76], There, the NOI claims, Yakub engaged in a selective breeding program to create the white race. [454] The Nation has also influenced a range of hip hop and rap artists, including Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Kam, The Skinny Boys, Sister Souljah, and Prince Akeem,[349] with various gangsta rap artists supporting the Nation. By the 1990s he had emerged as a prominent African American leader, as demonstrated by the success in 1995 of the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., which he helped to organize. [334] Under Wallace Muhammad's leadership, Farrakhan was relocated to Chicago, widely seen as a demotion. The Holy Qur'an states that Allah raised up prophets among the people of every nation, sending Divine . [344], Farrakhan claimed that in 1985, at Tepotzotln in Mexico, he was teleported aboard the Mother Plane and there was given advice on the future of the Nation. Christians speaking Arabic would say Allah for God. Of even greater significance were the actions of Louis Farrakhan (originally Louis Eugene Wolcott), the successor of Malcolm X as leader of the New York Temple and the Nations most prominent spokesman at the time of Elijah Muhammads death. [91], The subjugation of African Americans is thus seen as part of an ancient white conspiracy. The lineage for Jews and Christians comes under Isaac and for Muslims under Ismael. [422], The NOI has repeatedly been accused of antisemitism, an accusation that it has denied. [14] Its members have been called "Black Muslims,"[15] and its second leader, Elijah Muhammad, stated that "Islam is the natural religion of the Black Nation. [174], In the late 1950s, Elijah Muhammad published a prayer manual outlining how his followers should pray five times a day; this involved an ablution beforehand. [118], Once the Earth has returned to a habitable state, Allah will return the righteous to live there, in a new black paradise. [264] On joining the Nation of Islam, Fard Muhammad gave Poole the new name of Elijah Karriem. Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with about 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. I really was lost. (The nation thought of North America as a kind of wilderness from which Fard had come to rescue us.) In the 1970s Elijah Muhammad was succeeded by his son, Wallace D. Muhammad (1933-2008), who renamed . [300] Immediately prior to this, he also began ideologically distancing himself from NOI by declaring Black Nationalism his political philosophy. [295] In 1960, he launched the newspaper Muhammad Speaks, which reached a circulation of over 600,000. [259] Around 7000 to 8000 people attended his meetings, which were held three days a week. But he was both an eternal spirit and a manGods own Son, who came not to exalt one particular race but to gather a chosen people of sinners like me (1 Pet. [180], The most important date in the Nation's year is February 26, Saviours' Day, which is believed to be the birthday of Fard Muhammad. [457] How to sort out the many disparities between the genealogies of Matthew and Luke. It contains a lot of brief, yet informative articles about different aspects of Islam. [41] The Nation teaches that none of these gods are immortal, but all die,[42] at which a new god will take their place. [427][428][429] Accusations of antisemitism have also been levelled at Malcolm X[430] and Farrakhan. [182] Relations with law enforcement remained strained; in 1972, a New York City policeman was shot and killed during a search of a NOI Mosque in Harlem. [72] Elijah Muhammad for instance referred to "black, brown, yellow [and] red" people as collectively constituting "black mankind", which he then juxtaposed against the "white race". [218] It hopes to establish a system of black-owned farms through which to feed 40 million black people,[218] with the stated aim of providing at least one healthy meal a day for every African American. [139] Discouraged foods include dried fruits,[199] white flour,[161] additives,[161] and fast food. [105] You get more out of your work. [156], The group's leadership is overwhelmingly male,[149] although several women rose to senior positions during the 1990s;[157] in 1998 the Nation appointed its first woman minister, Ava Muhammad, as head of Mosque Number 15 in Georgia. [364], From its early days, the Nation used print media to promote its ideas, including the magazines Muhammad Speaks (196175) and The Final Call. Several prominent Democrats are likely to face renewed questions over their ties to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan after the suspect in Friday's Capitol attack, which left a police officer . [290] This press criticism backfired, giving the group significant attention and assisting its recruitment. It regards African Americans, or black people more broadly, as the Chosen People,[127] espousing a cosmology in which the black race is superior and the white race inferior.[128]. From Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students three days a.! 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