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he founder of the Nation of Islam, an African American man named Wallace D. Fard who is believed to be of Arabian ancestry though not documented anywhere, used to be a salesman wondering door to door trying to sell goods during which he occasionally had the chance to lecture about what was to come as his fundamental doctrines to his costumers’ eager ears.
There is an evolutionary journey in his teachings; that is to say he, at first, set out to talking about black history, culture, traditions, and origin then slowly mingling it with political and religious color. It took the disciples a little bit when they finally were introduced to the Holy Quran. The final move was that his teachings became anti-white racist oriented beliefs. A hall was rented and named "The Temple of Islam." This is how the movement which calls itself "The Nation of Islam" and is called by detractors, "Black Muslims," came into being.
Among the initiatives Fard started were founding a university, that was in reality a secondary school which emphasized the teaching of math and astronomy, a Muslim Girls Training Class, that continues to today and still teaches the principles of home economics and how to be proper wives and mothers, a para-military unit called "Fruit of Islam" (FOI) to teach military tactics and the handling of firearms against the predicted day that whites would not tolerate their growth and prosperity, the office of The Minister of Islam which, with the aid of a well trained staff, ultimately ran the whole organization.
With the Fard’s disappearance in June 1934 that directed the leadership to Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam lost some of its extreme hostile aggressiveness toward whites. Its focus became centered upon black social and economic advancement. The Nation of Islam still maintained its black supremacy theology; however, implementing black supremacy as a political reality was not part of their program. That was to be left in the hands of Allah. One commentator writes, "The Black Muslims have come far under Muhammad. He has given them temples and schools, apartment houses and grocery stores, restaurants and farms. Most important of all, he has given them a new sense of dignity, a conviction that they are more than the equals of the white man whose tricknology is a constant threat to their well-being."[1]
As time elapsed, Elijah Muhammad's theology changed and lifted Fard to the level of Allah incarnate, and himself to the level of the Prophet of Allah.
Biography inspired from http://www.noi.org/history_of_noi.htm, Retrieved at 12/17/2009.
One of the Nation of Islam’s most famous individuals was Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little.
New converts to the Nation of Islam were told to stop using their slave master name and apply to have an ethnically appropriate name given to them.Until it was given, they were referred to as "X." The X had a double meaning. It first indicated that their original name was still unknown. There was also the idea of "ex" incorporated in the name as well.
In November of 1963, after Malcolm X made his famous "chickens come home to roost" statement in regard to the assassination of JFK, Elijah Muhammad suspended him from all duties for a period of 90 days. This was the beginning of a rift that ended in the defection of Malcolm X in March of 1964. Malcolm X formed his own organization called The Muslim Mosque, Inc. and a secular counterpart, Afro-American Unity. He was assassinated February 21, 1964.
After the death of Elijah Muhammad his followers mostly divided into two major groups. The first that comprised 90 percent of the black Muslims followed Elijah’s son, Warith Dean Muhammad who in 1985, disbanded the Nation of Islam, and led them into authentic Islam. However, a minority of about ten percent maintained their original doctrines and became known as "Ten-Percenters." The Ten-Percenters still call themselves The Nation of Islam and still hold to the teaching of W. D. Fard and Elijah Muhammad. They are basically a militant black supremacy movement.
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he teachings of Fard and Elijah Muhammad differ substantially from that of traditional Islamic sects that exist in different parts of the world. “According to the Nation of Islam, Allah, (God) created man, and the man he created was black. They believe that Allah himself is the original and supreme black man. He is the supreme being among a mighty and powerful race of black men. In this The Nation of Islam differs strongly with the monotheism of traditional Islam. The black race is thus divine and superior to all other races. Modern day blacks came into existence some 66 trillion years ago when a great explosion ripped the moon from the earth. These people were black and called the tribe of Shabazz. They explored the earth and settled the better places to live, two of which are the Nile Valley and Mecca. W. D. Fard taught that the white man is the result of genetic manipulation by an evil black scientist named "Yakub." Through a special method of birth control, Yakub bred the black out of his experimental creatures until they were white. This took about 600 years to accomplish. According to the theology of Elijah Muhammad, black really is the symbolic color of good and white symbolic color of evil. His reasoning is that all colors are present in black, and all colors are taken out of white. His conclusion is that the whiter Yakub's creatures became, the less good there was in them and the more evil there was in them. The final product was so evil, they became devils. Black Muslims call the white man Blue Eyed Devils and blame all of the suffering in the world upon them. The creation of the white man occurred some 6,600+ years ago.”[1]
1. Ney Rieber, available at: http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-nation-of-islam.htm, Retrieved at 12/17/2009.
With all being said, the Nation of Islam stands for hope to millions of people in America and around the globe who have been deprived of the high standards of a righteous way of life.
Among the founding beliefs upon which the organization called the Nation of Islam was built are “peace, learning the knowledge of the oneness of God, eat and to prepare the best of foods for the longevity of life, respect and protect our women who are the mothers of civilization, respect the laws of the land, never to carry arms, family as the back bone of society, cleanliness inwardly and outwardly with the practice of good manners and respect to one and all, divine unity and the universal brotherhood of Islam.”[1] “The Flag of Islam with the symbols of the Sun, Moon, and the Stars, represent the Universe and is also a Banner of Universal peace and Harmony.”[2]
References:
1. Lomax E., 1963, When the Word Is Given: A Report on Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and the Black Muslim World, World Publication Company.
2. Karim B., 1971, the End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches by Malcolm X, NY: Monthly Review Press.
3. Natambu K., 2001, Malcolm X: Critical lives, Alpha.
4. Perry B., 1989, the Last Speeches, NY: Pathfinder Press.
Notes:
1. http://www.noi.org/history_of_noi.htm
2. http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-nation-of-islam.htm
1 & 2. Tynetta Muhammad, available at: http://www.noi.org/history_of_noi.htm, Retrieved at 12/17/2009.
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