Featured Article Summary #144

The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a U.S.-based religious organization founded in 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad. It is organized in a centralized, hierarchical way and centers its message on black nationalism and the experiences of African Americans and the wider black African diaspora. Although it uses Islamic language and describes itself as Islamic, many scholars say its beliefs differ from mainstream or orthodox Islam, and they classify it as a new religious movement. The NOI teaches that several “mortal gods” appeared over time, describes a dark-skinned original people, claims that a scientist created the white race, and argues that white people eventually gained power through violence; it also predicts the return of Fard Muhammad to destroy the current white-dominated world. After Fard Muhammad disappeared in 1934, Elijah Muhammad led and expanded the group, gained wider attention in the late 1950s and 1960s, and built a business empire; later, the organization shifted toward Sunni Islam under Wallace D. Muhammad, though a separate NOI was re-established under Louis Farrakhan in 1977. The NOI operates in the United States and abroad, has influenced other movements, and faces criticism from Muslim and civil-rights groups that accuse it of racism and antisemitism, as well as anti-LGBT views. Religious scholars generally describe the Nation of Islam as a new religious movement, with many also viewing it as an African American, black nationalist, and religious nationalist faith. Because of its focus on extraterrestrial themes, some have compared it to UFO religions, and sociologist Susan J. Palmer places it within a wider “black cultic milieu” alongside groups like Rastafari and the Black Hebrew Israelites. The movement has existed in two main organizational forms—one founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad in the 1930s and one later developed by Louis Farrakhan—with differences such as more involvement for women; it is also highly centralized, hierarchical, and authoritarian, with members generally showing strong uniformity in practice. The Nation of Islam does not have its own holy book and instead uses the Bible and Quran with interpretations that differ sharply from both Christianity and mainstream Islam. It presents itself as “Islam,” framing Islam as the natural religion of Black Americans and using Islamic practices such as Arabic, daily prayers, and a flag linked to Turkey, while rejecting Christianity as tied to white supremacy. However, mainstream Muslims say the NOI’s beliefs about God, the afterlife, and the final messenger differ so much that it is not truly Islamic, and some scholars describe it as “quasi-Islamic” or “pseudo-Islam.” Islam was present in North America before the United States was formed, carried by African Muslims in early Spanish exploration and later through the Atlantic slave trade. After Islam declined among African Americans following the American Revolution, this history helped shape later Black religious and nationalist movements like the Nation of Islam in the early 1900s. The NOI was influenced by earlier groups such as Black Christianity and Freemasonry, but scholars say it mainly came from a mix of Garveyism and the Moorish Science Temple—Garveyism stressing Black nationalism and self-sufficiency, and the Moorish Science Temple teaching an “Islam-like” identity connected to the Moors of North Africa. The Nation of Islam was founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad, who began preaching to African Americans in Detroit in July 1930. He claimed he was an Arab from Mecca sent to restore their original faith, and later NOI teachings said he was the newest manifestation of Allah; he wrote key manuals and built the group’s institutions, including schools and male and female programs. His movement grew quickly, but early on it drew police attention, leading to arrests and raids, and Fard Muhammad later disappeared in 1934 without explanation or a successor.