J F E I Understanding the NOIs Beliefs The movements doctrine cannot be truly understood without studying the sociological and cultural soil from which the NOI grew. ~ The Nation of Islam: Understanding the Black Muslims by Steven Tsoukalas Also, the NOIs basic beliefs cannot be understood without mention of slavery among certain black people or without a study of a few black leaders who promoted black nationalism and those that preceded the rise of the NOI. Black Nationalism Black Nationalism: Consciousness of who blacks are as a people; knowledge of their true origin (knowledge of self); a sense of their ultimate purpose or destiny; in some cases a desire to set up an independent state in Africa for the emigration of African Americans, with an independent economy, commerce, and political power. Black Nationalist Credo: Red for the blood of the race, black for the color of the race, and green for an independent homeland.
Forerunners of the NOI The 19 th centurys cultural, political, and religious soil produced two early 20 th century black nationalist activists - Marcus Garvey and Noble Drew Ali, who in turn influenced the social and religious belief system of the NOI. Marcus Garveys Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and the Moorish Science Temple of Noble Drew Ali were, in essence, the political and religious forerunners of the NOI. Some scholars believe that Garveys movement emphasized more the political and social, while Alis group was largely religious and esoteric. Marcus Garvey The Black Moses (1887-1940) Marcus Garvey, who was born on August 17 th, 1887 in St. Anns Bay, Jamaica, is most known as the man who had fashioned the largest mass movement in the history of the African American. In 1914, he founded the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to help bring millions of lower-class African Americans to a sense of racial pride and self containment both commercially and educationally. Though Garvey did not possess a theology that identified with his movement, his goal was to ally himself with theologians of different faiths who shared his view that anything white was no good for blacks. He joined and practiced Prince Hall Freemasonry (masonry for blacks) which played an important role in molding his organization of the UNIA. Garveys vision was to move African Americans back to their homeland of Africa in a fifty-year time span. He firmly believed in One God! One aim! One destiny! and that all Africans were the true heirs of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Of all the black leaders, Marcus Garvey would be the most influential upon leaders of the NOI. His independent commerce and industry, his desire for a separate state, his ideology that saw white Europeans as an inferior race, and his support of a black God were all to become trademarks of the NOI.
Noble Drew Ali - The Prophet (1886-1929) Timothy Drew was born on January 8 th , 1886 in Clinton, Sampson County, North Carolina. Accounts of Drews ancestry describe him being the adopted son of a tribe of Cherokee Native Americans. In 1902, during his early teenage years, he became a merchant sea mariner and traveled to Egypt where he became known as The Prophet. He also traveled to Saudi Arabia and Morocco to study mystical Islam among the great Imams of North Africa. Tradition has it that on a visit to North Africa, Timothy Drew received a mission from the King of Morocco to teach Islam to the Negroes in the United States. In 1913, the Moorish Science Temple of America was established after Ali moved to Newark, New Jersey. In the late 1920s, it was estimated to have over 35,000 members with 17 temples in cities across the Midwest and upper South. Considering numbers alone, the Moorish Science Temple was not as influential as the Garveyite movement. Early on, Ali was obsessed with the esoteric philosophies of the East. He was initiated into Freemasonry, ascending past the 33 rd Degree to become an honorary member of the Shriners and the Rosicrucians. According to Ali, Morocco was the place of origin for all blacks, who he called Asiatics, and that all white people were of European decent. He taught that blacks were, in reality, the Moors - a tribe of Africans (Moabites) that inhabited the north and south western shores of Africa. In the 8 th century C.E., they conquered Spain and brought with them the religion of Islam to the West. He taught that the Moors were tasked with being the custodians of African culture and the ancient Egyptian mysteries. Noble Drew Alis institution of a Moorish heritage for blacks, separation in the context of religion, and the ultimate destruction of the oppressors were all answers to the fundamental problem facing black people in his time. Through his movement, he went on to give thousands of African Americans identity, social and religious adhesion, and hope for the future. He is known by the Moorish Science Temple and latter-day members of the NOI simply as The Prophet of Allah. Moorish Science Temple Of America: Beliefs & Practices that influenced the NOI The Moorish Science Temple did not teach classical Islam, but instead mixes the Islamic expressions of Ismailiyya, Ahmadiyya, and Sufism with Freemasonic symbolism, the Gnosticism of Eliphas Levi, the curriculum of the ancient Egyptian mystery system, Buddhism, Taoism, Rosicrucianism, and black nationalism. Members of the Moorish Science Temple believed that Noble Drew Ali was the 3 rd reincarnation of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, who was a reincarnation of Jesus. They also believed that Marcus Garvey was a forerunner to plant the seed in the people and prepare them to be received by Noble Drew Ali. They call themselves Moors (of Moorish Nobility) and reject labels they conside derogatory, such as Black, colored, and Negro. For Ali and his followers, the white man is the Devil (one cannot read material from the NOI for long and not find this teaching). Interracial marriages are forbidden. Women are separated from men during worship services and prayed 3 times a day while facing Mecca. Newly initiated members are given I.D. cards with new names (one of the 99 names of Allah), usually a suffix attached to their surnames like Ali, El, Karriem, Abdul, Shabazz, Muhammad or Bey (The same thing is done today in the NOI). The Grand Sheikh or Governor of the temple wore a black fez on their heads symbolizing that they were of the highest rank. Males also wore the fez (color variations indicated other meanings and social order positions). Females would wear turbans with clothing that covered up their bodies. Members must abide by a strict moral code and dietary sanctions (infidelity, slothfulness, alcohol, meat, and eggs are taboo). Sacred Text: The Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America (not to be confused with the orthodox Islamic Quran), also known as Circle 7 Koran because of its cover design. Made in 1927, the Koran is a work of more than 60 pages containing the core teachings of Noble Drew Ali. Its philosophy is much akin to gnostic, esoteric thought. Wallace D. Fard The Stranger of the East (1877-1934) Wallace D. Fard (pronounced Farrad) is the founder of the Nation of Islam. Very little is actually known about his life; there are many theories and speculations. According to the NOI, he was born February 26 th , 1877. Because he born half- black and white, his followers believed that he had mastered the two opposing natures found in people. Fard arrived in Detroit, Michigan on July 4 th , 1930 with a mysterious background and used several different aliases. He set up the first Temple in Detroit where it is said he had as many as 8,000 followers between 1930-34. He disappeared in 1934 under unknown circumstances. During his first appearance in 1910, before coming to Detroit, he most likely came under the influence of Marcus Garvey and was in direct contact with Noble Drew Ali (Fard claimed to be a reincarnation of Ali). To some, he was a charlatan who capitalized on the absence of Garvey and Ali. To others, he was a messenger sent by Allah to continue the work of these two men (The NOI held the latter view). Fard said that he was a descendant from the Quaryish tribe in the holy city of Mecca and that he came among the blacks of Detroit as a messenger of Allah to set his people on the road to freedom, and newfound identity. Contrary to popular belief, not all blacks were supportive of Fards NOI. Black leaders from other organizations saw Fard as a cult leader who was dangerous to the well-being of society. They encouraged the Detroit police to keep pressure on him and his movement. Whatever may be said of W. D. Fard, one thing is for certain he started a massive black nationalist movement from the humble beginnings of a silk peddler and became a Christ figure of the black community in the span of a few years. To the post-Fardian NOI, he is Master Fard Muhammad, Allah in person, God in the flesh. Teachings of W. D. Fard Marcus Garvey and Noble Drew Ali had a profound impact upon Fards Nation of Islam. He incorporated their biblical prophecies, various books on Freemasonic symbolism, mystical Islam, the Jehovahs witness writings of Judge Joseph Rutherford, and Christian Baptist fundamentalism through the preacher Frank Norris into his theological framework. His message was characterized by his ability to utilize to the fullest measure the environment of his followers. Their physical and socio-economic difficulties alike were used to illustrate a new teaching that, in their opinion, came directly from the divine. Fard taught that blacks are actually a lost Asiatic tribe, wandering in the wilderness (hells) of North America. To him, they are the original people of the Earth and are ontologically superior to the white European devils who he thought to be an inferior race that had been grafted from the black man and lost their original color. He believed the original homeland of black people was Mecca and taught that Arabic was their native language with Islam as their true religion. Fards controversial remarks about white people are grounded not only in the influence of Noble Drew Ali and Marcus Garvey. There is an interesting history of the white race in the doctrinal annals of W. D. Fard that is the central concept of the NOI the creation of the white race by the evil scientist Yakub.
Yakub: Creation of the White Race The story of Yakub is the central myth of the NOI. It explains the origin of the white race and offers the reason for its hateful and domineering nature. It also provides the theological ground for the NOI to state that Allah will one day destroy the whites in the battle of Armageddon. W. D. Fard taught Elijah Muhammad that the history of the gods and the black race goes back about 76 trillion years. Throughout this history there were experiments performed by rebellious gods and other personages. 66 trillion years ago, one of the gods attempted to destroy the Earth with a mighty explosion. The experiment failed but did crack off a huge chunk, which became the moon. During this time, taught Fard, the Asiatic black nation (called the Tribe of Shabazz) discovered the rich valley of the Nile River and settled there. According to Master Fard Muhammad, Yakub was born 6,600 years ago 20 miles outside of Mecca. Later on in his life, he became an evil scientist, who, in rebellion against his people, started a series of genetic experiments to create a new man from the original man. According to the story of Yakub, the first white man appeared only about 6,000 year ago on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea after a 600 year breeding and birth-control process called grafting. Supposedly, all black people have another nature along with their divine nature. This lower nature is in opposition to the divine nature and was grafted out from the original man (the black race) to produce the white race.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad The Messenger (1897-1975) Elijah Poole was born October 7 th , 1897, in Sandersville, GA as one of 13 siblings. Since both his parents were sharecroppers, he grew up during the oppression of blacks by whites. His formal education was minimal, only learning the bare rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic before he had to go to the fields to help his family earn a living. Since his father was a Baptist Minister, he grew up as the preachers son and received special treatment from people in the churches where his father preached. Elijah came to love the Bible through his fathers sermons and studied the Bible frequently, often to the point of despair for not being able to understand it as he would have liked. Occasionally, he and his father engaged in theological debates when Elijah discovered flaws in logic and biblical errors. He believed something was missing, from his fathers preaching, some hidden truth that had not been made clear. As a youth, Elijah exhibited a tell it like it is mentality when it came to Christianity. Theological disagreements with his father resulted in him not wanting to become a member of the church unless he fully understood the churchs doctrine. During this time Elijah grew up quickly, unfortunately being exposed to the evils of white society and its violent treatment of blacks, which played an important role in his view of Christianity and American society. These traumatic experiences produced psychological wounds on Elijah and did much to validate what his teacher, W. D. Fard, would later instill in him. After moving to Detroit, Michigan with his family in 1923, Elijah joined Garveys UNIA where he had found identity, purpose, and an avenue through which he could interpret his experiences in Georgia and Detroit. Sometime in 1924, He was initiated into the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge (many of the early converts to Fards NOI were either Black Masons or Moors). Elijah Muhammad is to all NOI members a human success story. He went from poor beginnings in Georgia to leading a mass movement in Chicago, Illinois. He would lead this movement until his death in 1975. Slavery, white racist violence, and an inherent desire to seek for truth brought him from Sandersville, GA, into the Lost-Found NOI of Master Fard Muhammad, who he recognized as Allah in person. Given the mysterious appearance and disappearance of W. D. Fard along with his relatively short time of leadership, the name of Elijah Muhammad has, in the eyes of many outside the movement, become synonymous with the NOI. His 40- year long ministry as head of the organization and his forthright style of oratory combined to make him a staple of the movement and popular in the media, which considered him to be the most powerful black man in America.
Teachings of Elijah Muhammad Elijahs experiences as a child at the hands of white racism, his economic and emotional suffering as a young man trying to support his family, his distaste for Christianity, and his meeting W. D. Fard, all contributed to his interpretation of the world around him. Most of his teachings were drawn from the doctrinal well of Noble Drew Ali (sometimes with variations) and his teacher, W. D. Fard. Elijah did not believe in the Allah of the Quran and traditional Islam. Additionally, he wasted no time in attacking Christianity. Elijah taught that Christianity is the white mans religion and that it only served the white mans oppression of so- called Negroes; justifying their brutality and violence of Allahs people. His temple speeches and books are filled with mockery of basic Christian doctrinal teachings, replacing Jesus with Fard, prophecies of his return, the destruction of the white race by the Mother Plane at the end of days, and the ressurrection of the mentally dead Asiatic black nation by Allah. Ultimately his teachings are neither Christianity nor traditional Islam.
Malcolm X El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (1925-1965) Malcolm Little was born May 19 th , 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His childhood was filled with misery as he and his 8 siblings suffered from abuse by their parents. At the age of 6, his father died in a streetcar accident. Four of his six brothers died violent deaths, three at the hands of white men. Malcolms childhood experiences played a profound part in shaping his ideology and preparing him for conversion to Elijah Muhammads Lost-Found NOI. Troubled by his experiences as a youth, he moved from foster home to foster home, finally ending up in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1941 where he became involved in underworld crime (he was known on the streets as Big Red). In 1946, he was sentenced to 6-10 years in prison. It was in prison in 1947-48 that he had come into contact with the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, studied widely in philosophy, Christian/Islamic theology, world religions, and Jehovahs Witnesses literature. While lying in bed in his cell on night, Malcolm had a vision of a spiritual presence. Someone, he claims, was sitting beside him in his cell. This man had on a dark suit and was Asiatic in appearance. Malcolm was convinced that it was the spirit of the deceased Master Fard Muhammad that appeared to him. For the next 3-4 years, Malcolm was instrumental in converting fellow inmates to Fards teachings. He utilized prison-sanctioned debate competitions to hone his skills toward one day becoming the premier spokesperson and apologist for the NOI. In August 1952, Malcolm received parole and traveled to Chicago to hear Elijah Muhammad preach. He changed his name to Malcolm X (the X meant he no long identified with his slave name). Two years later, he became the minister of Temple #12 in Philadelphia and Temple #7 in New York.
On June 5, 1959, Malcolm embarked on a Middle Eastern tour of the Muslim world. Evidencing his importance and rise to power within the NOI, he was treated as a dignitary while in Egypt. Malcolm moved to Saudi Arabia where he was rudely awakened by the first seeds of contradiction as he witnessed the legal enslavement of Africans by Saudis. The combination of putting up with contradictions between traditional Islam and the NOI, fighting the turmoil caused by Elijah Muhammads infidelity, his unsuccessful plea for reinstatement after he was suspended from his position in the NOI in 1963, and reports of threats on his life and family by members of the NOI left Malcolm with no choice but to leave the organization. After his departure, he formed two groups in response: The Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). On April 13, 1964, Malcolm set out to make the Hajj (sacred pilgrimage to Mecca). Not long after this, his name was changed to El Hajj Malik El Shabazz and converted from Fardian Islam to Sunni Islam, emphasizing that Islam embraced all people of every race and color. Teachings of Malcolm X As a temple speaker, Malcolm was explosive. His offensive remarks about white people and Christianity soon won him recognition as a leader. From Malcolms perspective, his prison-time study of religious text, especially the Bible, led him to believe that Jesus was a black man, Ezekiels Wheel is the Mother Plane (a half-mile-by- half-mile spaceship carrying bombs for Armageddon), and the Book of Revelation foretells the total destruction of white devils through Allahs (Fards) use of the Mother Plane. Malcolms social, political, and theological teachings continued throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. He rejected integration, ridiculed the white mans government, and attacked the central doctrines of Christianity. Likening the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to the biblical Moses, Malcolm praised him as the one who showed the way to freedom and deliverance, as well as the one who led them away from integrating with the white system. He taught that the three gods (the Trinity) of the Christian religion were an abomination in Allahs sight, and the Christian religion revered only the white mans desire to enslave the original man, the black Asiatic race.
Minister Louis Farrakhan Current Leader Of The NOI Malcolm X was assassinated when Farrakhan (at the time known as Louis X) was minister of the Boston Mosque and a rising star in the movement. In 1967, Elijah Muhammad made Farrakhan the national spokesperson for the NOI. Through Farrakhan, Elijah campaigned to attract the upper echelons of black society. As the NOI rose in land holdings, commercial businesses, and national-scale industries in the early 1970s, the image that Elijah Muhammad brought to his movement was even more appealing in the public eye than when the movement began to flourish from the mid-1940s into the 1950s. Farrakhans speeches and sermons were characterized by the usual rhetoric about white devils, their destruction in the coming war of Armageddon, the fall of America, the uselessness of the white mans religion, the teachings of Allah (Fard) and his chosen messenger (Elijah Muhammad), and the need of all NOI followers to live healthy and clean lives. Known today as Minister Louis Farrakhan, he continues his role as head of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, claiming to be divinely chosen to carry on the work of W. D. Fard and Elijah Muhammad.
Other Leaders & Splinter Groups of the NOI In the years when Elijah Muhammad was still alive and following his death, several splinter groups formed. The leaders of these sects, for one reason or another felt the need to break away from the Messengers teachings or to restore the Messengers teachings after his death. Under Warith Deen Muhammads leadership Fard was de-deified, whites were allowed to join, the Mother Plane did not exist, the Fruit of Islam was abolished, and the NOIs stand on racial separation was a thing of the past. He renamed the Nation of Islam the World Community of Islam in the West. His father, Elijah Muhammad, was no longer considered the Messenger of Allah. He auctioned off the movements newspaper, farming projects, and other properties to bring his fathers organization out of debt. John Muhammads Nation of Islam claims to be the original NOI. He states that since he is Elijah Muhammads brother, he therefor is the lawful heir and leader of Fards NOI. John Muhammad continues faithful to the Messengers teachings and claims to have seen Fard, who continues to speak through him. Silas Muhammad leads the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in Atlanta, Georgia. The group broke away from the NOI when Elijah Muhammad died. The Hanafi Muslims follow Sunni Islam, breaking away from Elijah Muhammads teachings while he was still alive. Clarence 13X broke away from the Messenger to form The Five-Percent Nation (also known as The Five Percenters or The Nation of Gods and Earths), which is probably the most popular among all the groups that split away from the NOI because its influence gave rise to the entire genre of Hip-Hop music and culture in the 1980s up until now. The United Nation of Islam was founded by a man named Solomon. It continues the Allah in the flesh theology but instead names Solomon as Almighty God in person. The Bible & Quran of the NOI The NOIs theology starts with the social condition in which its theology was birthed. It could be interpreted as an expression of protest against the white establishment. The NOIs theology is a mixture mainly of Christianity and Islam, but it is neither Christianity or Islam. It utilizes Christian and Islamic terms and draws from the Bible and the Quran, but its definitions of many of those terms are not those of the Bible or the Quran. For this reason, it is protested by Christians and orthodox Muslims. Elijah Muhammad and his disciples have no regard about the historical contexts of either the Bible or the Quran; the scriptures are not regarded as being literal or historical events of the past. They say the Bible is a corrupt and poison book, while the Quran is perfect and holy, but both can teach truth if interpreted by the Messenger (Elijah Muhammad), who in turn received proper interpretation from Allah (Fard). The Theology of Time: God(s) of the NOI Straying very far away from traditional Islam, the NOI claims that God is a finite being with human characteristics. In the beginning, the black God created himself out of total darkness. He/She was the only being in the universe. In Elijahs cosmology, the Earth was created about 76 trillion years ago. This is also around the time when the first atom that birthed God moved in time. God as the Original Man: The first God was a man he is the original black man, the first God and the first human being to ever exist. Alluding to Genesis 1:26, Elijah Muhammad reasons that since God created man in his own image and likeness, God must then be a man. Muhammad reasons further that in the scriptures God acts with all five senses. God, then, must be a human being. God as the Black Race: Allah is the Black Race in a collective sense. On the one hand, it refers to the first God, a black man who came into existence eons ago out of darkness. On the other hand, the original man is the black race. For this reason, all NOI followers believe themselves to be Gods. Fard as The Supreme God Allah: According to Elijah Muhammad, W. D. Fard is the present God. His wisdom is infinite and he came to end the 6,000 year rule of the white race. Todays NOI worships Almighty God, Allah, who appeared in the person of Master Fard Muhammad. The NOI draws parallels between W. D. Fards ministry and Jesus ministry. Any interpretations of Jesus being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies predicting his birth and ministry are removed and replaced with Fard.
The Fruit of Islam (FOI) The Fruit of Islam is the name given to the military training of the men (predominantly young males) that belong to Islam in North America. It was created by W. D. Fard in 1933 to help defend the members of the NOI and all others. The FOI existed until the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975. When Warith Deen Muhammad took control of the Nation of Islam he disbanded the Fruit. The organization was then reorganized by Farrakhan when he reestablished the NOI. According to one Nation of Islam website: The responsibility of the FOI is that of head of the house: protection, provision and maintenance of the Nation of Islam (all original people). Saviours Day Saviours Day is a holiday of the NOI established by Elijah Muhammad to celebrate the birth and ministry of its founder, W. D. Fard. To members of the NOI, It symbolizes the beginning of black peoples independence from the rule of white civilization. Under Farrakhan's leadership, the annual commemoration has become a three-day gathering with speakers, seminars and workshops. Over the years, the event has showcased prized items such as a Holy Quran owned by Elijah Muhammad, historic photos, old organizational uniforms and garments, paper documents and expensive collectables that were given to the NOI by leaders of foreign countries. When Elijah Muhammad started the celebration, he called it Saviour's Day. Farrakhan moved the apostrophe, changing it to Saviours' Day to add Elijah Muhammad as a saviour along with Master Fard Muhammad. The Million Man March The Million Man March was a massive gathering of African Americans in Washington D.C. on October 16, 1995. The National African American Leadership Summit and the Nation of Islam worked in conjunction alongside local chapters of the NAACP to make the March a reality. This assembly of black men was organized and hosted by Farrakhan who called for all able-bodied African American men to come to the nations capital to address the problems of the black community and call for unity and revitalization of African American communities. Besides the keynote address by Minister Farrakhan, several prominent speakers addressed those that gathered at the Washington Mall including civil rights activists and musicians. The message of most of the speeches called for black men to "bring the spirit of God back into your lives. These marchers were also encouraged to register to vote to build black political power.
Sources The Supreme Wisdom: Solution To The So-Called Negroes Problems by Elijah Muhammad Yakub: The Father of Mankind by Elijah Muhammad The Theology of Time by Elijah Muhammad The Fall of America by Elijah Muhammad The Secrets of Freemasonry by Elijah Muhammad The God Tribe of Shabazz - The True History by Elijah Muhammad The Mother Plane by Elijah Muhammad The True History of Master Fard Muhammad by Elijah Muhammad The Golden Age of the Moors by Ivan Van Sertima The Sufis by Idries Shah The Five Percenters: Islam, Hip-Hop and the Gods of New York by Michael Muhammad Knight Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey by Marcus Garvey By Any Means Necessary (Malcolm X Speeches and Writings) by Malcolm X Servants of Allah: African Muslims enslaved in the Americas by Slyviane A. Diouf