Nation of Islam

During the early 1960s, Malcolm X (left) and Muhammad Ali (right) helped raise the profile of the Nation.

The Nation of Islam is a Black nationalist religious movement.

History

The Nation of Islam (NOI) was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1930 by Master Farad Muhammad and re-founded in 1977 under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan. The original group founded in the 1930s changed its name to American Society of Muslims, which rejected many of its original beliefs, including black separatism.

NOI's main goal is to bring back the spiritual, mental, social and economic condition of Black people in the United States. Since 1981, the group has been led by Louis Farrakhan. Malcolm X was also a member until March 8, 1964, a year before his assassination.[1]

Current status

The headquarters of the Nation of Islam is located in Chicago, Illinois. The Nation of Islam is currently led by the "Honorable Minister" Louis Farrakhan through the teachings of the "Most Honorable" Elijah Muhammad. Elijah Muhammad met Master Farad Muhammad and was directly given lost knowledge to rebuild the children of slavery and bring them back to their original selves.

Flag

The NOI's flag has the symbols of the Sun, Moon and the stars. It reportedly represents the universe and a banner of universal peace and harmony.

Beliefs and practices

The Nation of Islam combines a number of doctrines, primarily Islam and Dianetics. In their literature, they profess their belief in the oneness of Allah (tawhid) and the Qur'an.[2] They celebrate Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Unlike orthodox Islam, they celebrate Ramadan in winter.[3] Their places of worship are called mosques. They are also different from orthodox Islam in that they pray five times a day in English, not Arabic. [4]

In addition to these Islamic beliefs and practices, the theology Nation of Islam also promotes and includes non-traditional religious beliefs. Although their contemporary website highlights their belief in the oneness of God, other sources produced by the Nation of Islam highlight their beliefs in many Gods as well.

For instance, Master Farad, the founder of the Nation of Islam is also considered "God in person".[5] This is a belief that contradicts Islamic teachings. They also believe that Allah is a Black man and that each cycle of history is ruled by a different God, who dies once his cycle is over.

Racism

The NOI has long been criticized for promoting racism, especially antisemitism.[6][7] In the 1960s, the NOI partnered with Neo-Nazi groups due to their mutual support for racial separatism.[8]

Elijah Muhammad

In the 1960s, NOI's leader Elijah Muhammad worked with the KKK to buy farmland in the Deep South with a view to building Black-only colonies,[9] one of which was founded as the Temple Farms, now called the Muhammad Farms, in Terrel County, Georgia.[10]

In the following 10 years, Elijah received huge funding from White supremacist Texas oil baron H. L. Hunt, which was used by Elijah to build luxurious homes for his own family.[11] George Lincoln Rockwell, American Nazi Party's founder, praised Elijah Muhammad as "the Hitler of the Black man".[12]

Malcolm X

Malcolm X was an NOI member until March 8, 1964.[13] Malcolm X had made a series of antisemitic speeches,[6] which promoted The Protocols of the Elders of Zion among Black Americans.[6] He accused Jews of being "bloodsuckers [...] perfecting the modern evil of neocolonialism".[6] He also engaged in Holocaust denial by blaming Jews for having "brought it upon themselves", based on his distorted view of certain events.[6] In 1961, he spoke at an NOI rally along with George Lincoln Rockwell, the leader of the American Nazi Party, who claimed that Black nationalism and White supremacy shared a common vision.[14]

Louis Farrakhan

Main article: Louis Farrakhan

NOI's leader Louis Farrakhan is well-known for his antisemitic and anti-White views,[6][7] despite his and his group's denial.[7] Many believed Farrakhan to have been involved in the assassination of Malcolm X because Malcolm X reportedly abandoned his racist views about those he considered White. In 2020, Louis Farrakhan was classified by the American civil rights group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as "the most popular antisemite in America".[15]

1980s

In June 1984, Farrakhan went to Libya to visit her dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Upon return, Farrakhan smeared Judaism as a "gutter religion [...] structured on injustice, thievery, lying and deceit" that "abused" God's name for self-defense.[16] In 1985, at an NOI meeting, Farrakhan said that the Jews deserved the Holocaust by screaming that "And don't you forget, when it's God who puts you in the ovens, it's forever!"[17]

1990s

In 1995, Farrakhan accused Jews of causing the Holocaust themselves, a false claim common among antisemites,[18][19] by alleging that "German Jews financed Hitler right here in America [...] International bankers financed Hitler and poor Jews died while big Jews were at the root of what you call the Holocaust".[20] In October, he mobilized 440,000 men to attend the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.,[21] the tenth-largest march in American history,[21][22] when he called himself "a prophet sent by God to show America its evil".[23]

Similar movements

New Black Panther Party (NBPP)

The New Black Panther Party (NBPP), a Black nationalist successor to the Black Panther Party (BPP), is also known for sharing similar ideas as the NOI.[24] Before a 2006 Democratic primary runoff in Georgia, the NBPP made an antisemitic public speech:[25]

So-called Jews in Israel in what's really Palestine [...] who the Book of Revelation […] calls the Synagogue of Satan.

When the NBPP-backed candidate Cynthia McKinney lost to her rival Hank Johnson, NBPP's members claimed that it was caused by "Jewish electoral domination".[26]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nation of Islam.

References

  1. ↑
    • Southall, Ashley; Bromwich, Jonah E. (November 17, 2021). "2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2025. Updated June 22, 2023
    • McKevitt, Greg (February 17, 2025). "'He meant a great deal to me and my people': How the assassination of Malcolm X shook the US 60 years ago". BBC News. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
    • "Remembering the legacy of Malcom X, 60 years after his assassination". USA Today. February 20, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
    • Contreras, Russell (February 21, 2025). "In photos: Marking 60 years since the assassination of Malcolm X". Axios. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
    • "Malcolm X - Civil Rights, Activism, Legacy". Britannica. February 23, 2025.
  2. ↑ "The Muslim Program". NOI.org Official Website. 2013-10-08. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  3. ↑ "Nation of Islam (NOI)". crcc.usc.edu. 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  4. ↑ Curtis, Edward E. (2002). "Islamizing the Black Body: Ritual and Power in Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam". Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation. 12 (2): 167–196. doi:10.1525/rac.2002.12.2.167. ISSN 1052-1151.
  5. ↑ Gardell, Mattias (1996). In the name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the nation of Islam. The C. Eric Lincoln series on the Black experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-1845-3.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2
  8. ↑ Malcolm X, February 1965, The Final Speeches, Pathfinder Press, 1992, pp. 146–147; Herbert Berg, Elijah Muhammad and Islam, NYU Press, 2009, p. 41.
  9. ↑ Evanzz, Karl, The Judas Factor, The Plot to Kill Malcolm X, pp. 205–206, Thunder's Mouth Press, NY, 1992; Marable, Manning, Along the Color Line Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, reprinted in the Columbus Free Press, January 17, 1997.
  10. ↑ Rolinson, Mary, Grassroots Garveyism, p. 193, UNC Press Books, 2007.
  11. ↑ Washington Post, May 6, 1967, p. E-15, July 2, 1967, January 30, 1975, p. B7; Hakim Jamal, From the Dead Level, pp. 247–48; Louis Lomax To Kill a Black Man, pp. 108–09; Karl Evanzz, The Judas Factor, pp. 284–86, The Messenger, p. 303.
  12. ↑ "The Messenger Passes", Time, March 10, 1975.
  13. ↑ Handler, M. S. (March 9, 1964). "Malcolm X Splits with Muhammad". The New York Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ Heer, Jeet (May 11, 2016). "Farrakhan's Grand Illusion". The New Republic. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Farrakhan Remains Most Popular Antisemite in America". Anti-Defamation League. July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  16. ↑ Shipp, E. R. (June 29, 1984). "Tape Contradicts Disavowal of 'Gutter Religion' Attack". The New York Times. pp. A12. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  17. ↑ Hitchens, Christopher (2007). God Is Not Great. London: Atlantic Books. p. 219. ISBN 9781843545743.
  18. ↑
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ "Farrakhan In His Own Words" (PDF). The Anti-Defamation League. March 20, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "The 3 to 5 Million Man March". January 16, 2009.
  22. ↑ Agrawal, Nina (January 21, 2017). "Before the Women's March on Washington there was the Million Woman March…and the Million Man March". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  23. ↑ Wilgoren, Debbi (October 22, 1995). "Farrakhan's Speech: Masons, Mysticism, More". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  24. ↑ "New Black Panther Party". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2019. The New Black Panther Party is a virulently racist and antisemitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers.
  25. ↑ "New Black Panthers Exploit Gaza Conflict To Promote Anti-Semitism". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022.
  26. ↑ "Panthers Blame Jews for Congresswoman's Defeat". Anti-Defamation League. 25 August 2006. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013.
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