PD Dr.

Britta Waldschmidt-Nelson

November 2007

The Nation of Islam (NOI): History and Significance of a Religious Black Separatist Movement
I. Roots

- Black slaves from Africa brought to America by white Christians; slaves usually forced to accept Christianity - Black Nationalism/Separatism (Delany, Walker, Turner, Garvey) + Black Islam (Moorish Science Temple) Nation of Islam

II.

Religious Doctrines of the NOI

1. Image of God - God is Allah, personal and omnipotent God - Allah is black and Islam is the only true religion of Allah (Christianity is the white man's religion and bad for all blacks) 2. Image of Man - The black man is essentially good and divine by nature - The white man is essentially evil and non-divine by nature ("blue eyed devil"!) 3. Genesis and Doctrine of Salvation - 66 billion years ago: moon separated from earth, beginning of life; first people were all black; the tribe of Shabazz settled in the most fertile places of the earth, e.g. in Mecca and the Nile Delta - Dr. Yakub Myth: 6600 years ago, Dr. Yakub, an evil scientist, who had been expelled from the tribe of Shabazz, did secret genetic experiments on an island. He created the "blue-eyed devil"; 600 years later the "blue-eyed devil" assumed rule over the earth; the white race became "a curse on the superior black race" - 1914 (WWI) is the beginning of the end of the rule of the "blue-eyed devil" - 1930-34: Allah revealed himself to chosen blacks through the person of Wali Fard Muhammad - New Millennium (around 2000): Begin of the "Battle of Armageddon" on American ground; Allah will destroy the "blue-eyed devil" and restore rule over the world to his black children

III.

Rules of Conduct

- Certain foods and drinks are prohibited (e.g. pork and full wheat bread, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs); only one main meal a day - Strict dress code (for women incl. head scarf and long dresses) - Man is head of family, women are to obey men at all times (no equality of sexes!) - Strict prohibition of all "fornication" (including premarital sex, gay sex or any sexual relationship with whites) i.e. no interracial marriages!) - 10% to 30% of income as regular contributions to the NOI (plus other donations) - Five prayers a day; twice a week temple meeting; missionary duties - Economic self help, support of black business ("buy black"), strict work-ethic - Divine permission to self defense ("no more turn-the-other-cheek") - Obligation to learn as much as possible about black history, culture and tradition

IV. Rites and Terminology - Arabic greeting gestures and use of Arabic language in religious ceremonies (English is "bastard language" of the "blue-eyed devil") - Change of name: former surname, i.e. "slave name" is replaced by "X" upon entry in the NOI until it can eventually be replaced by an African, i.e. "original" name (e.g. Malcolm Little Malcolm X El Hajji Malik El Shabazz).

V. Organizational Structure - Temples (hierarchical order of the ministers) - Fruit of Islam (paramilitary internal police force, enforces code of behavior) - "University of Islam" (separate school system) - Publications: Muhammad Speaks (until 1975), The Final Call (since 1978), also numerous brochures and leaflets by the various temples and some books by Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan - Economic "empire" (separate, all black businesses; goal of complete economic independence from whites, including independence from government social programs)

VI. Selected Outline of NOI-History - 1930: first temple of the Nation of Islam founded by Wallace D. Fard ("Wali Farad Muhammad") in Detroit; second temple organized by his follower Elijah Poole ("Elijah Muhammad") in Chicago - 1934: death of Fard; Elijah Muhammad becomes sole leader of NOI; institutionalization of the organizational structure, theological doctrines and rules of conduct; slow growth until 1950's - 1949: Malcolm Little ("Malcolm X)" joins NOI while serving jail sentence in VA state prison; works for NOI full-time after his release (1952); close relationship to Elijah Muhammad; becomes "national minister" (1963); his talent as a charismatic speaker contributes to significant increase in NOI membership - 1955: Louis Eugene Walcott ("Louis X"), former night-club singer, joins NOI - 1964: after second journey to Mecca, Malcolm X rejects moral double standard of Elijah Muhammad as well as racist doctrine of NOI; adopts name "El Hajji Malik El-Shabbaz"; leaves NOI and founds the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAUJ) as well as the new Muslim Mosque Inc. in New York City. Louis X denounces Malcolm's "treason" and states he deserves death as a punishment - 1965: assassination of Malcolm X, three members of the Fruit of Islam convicted for the crime but deny to have acted on any official NOI order for the murder - 1965-75: decline in NOI membership (partly result of Malcolm's departure as well as the successes of the integrationist civil rights movement, e.g. CRA of 1964 and VRA of 1965) - 1975: death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975; his son Wallace ("Warith Denn Muhammad") moves Black Muslims toward mainstream Islam - 1978: Louis X adopts name Farrakhan; denounces Warith's approach and starts a new NOI organization, adhering to the old separatist teaching of Elijah Muhammad - 1984: Farrakhan supports Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign, but his racist remarks and open antisemitism forces Jackson to distance himself from NOI support - 1993: Farrakhan attempts reconciliation with CBC, NAACP and other black groups by toning down his anti-semitic rhetoric, but his aides don't (e.g. extremely racist speech by his aide Khalid Abdul Muhammad at Kean College in New Jersey in 1993). - 1994: Farrakhan invited to speak at the NAACP's African American Leadership Summit. - 1995: Malcolm X's daughter arrested in January for plotting to kill Farrakhan in retaliation for what she believes was his role in her father's assassination.

- 1995: NOI is main organizer of the "Million Man March" in Washington D.C. (Oct. 16; white people and women not invited; among the speakers apart from Farrakhan were Jesse Jackson and CBC chairman Kweisi Mfume). - mid 1990s-2000: Farrakhan continues his new policy of outreach to other black and Islamic organizations; there are even moves towards forms of political participation (e.g. voting) of NOI-members and a reevaluation of the role of women within the organization (e.g. in 1998 Farrakhan surprised many by appointing his legal advisor Ava Muhammad as the first female national spokesperson of the NOI and installing her as minister of the Atlanta Mosque No. 15). - 1998 After three months of international travel (visiting 38 nations) Farrakhan (sponsored by Lybia) delivers a two-hour address at the United Nations in March 1998. - 2000: Farrakhan participates in the Second International Islamic Conference in Chicago and declares I love every Muslim on this earth, no matter where they are, or what their color is (Feb.25). Farrakhan also participates in the Million Family March in Washington D.C., which was partially supported by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church (Oct. 2000). - 2002: Farrakhan delivers the keynote address at the second National Hip-Hop Summit in Los Angeles, sponsored by hip-hop millionaire Russell Simmons and organized by former NAACP Chair and new NOI-member Benjamin Chavis. - turn of the century to present: Farrakhan continues outreach policy and appears as a frequent guest on talk-shows and interview partner for national and international TV-stations (incl. ABC Nightline, CNN and Al-Jazeera)

VII. Selected Bibliography

1. Primary Sources Breitman, George, ed. By Any Means Necessary: Speeches, Interviews and a Letter by Malcolm X. New York: Pathfinder, 1970. Breitman, George, ed. Malcolm X Speaks. New York: Grove Press, 1965. Farrakhan, Louis. A Torchlight for America. Chicago: FCN Publishing, 1993. Malcolm X with Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York Grove Press, 1965. Muhammad, Elijah. Accomplishments of the Muslims. Chicago: Muhammads Mosque No. 2, 1974. Muhammad, Elijah. Message to the Blackman in America. Chicago: Muhammads Mosque No. 2, 1963. Muhammad, Elijah. The Supreme Wisdom: Solution to the So-CalledNegores Problem. 1957. Reprint, Newport News, VA: National Newport News and Commentator, 1992. Muhammad, Wallace D. An African American Genesis. Chicago: Progressions Publishing, 1986. Muhammad, Wallace D. Focus on al-Islam. Chicago: Zakat Publications, 1988. Nation of Islam. The Final Call: A Message Dedicated to the Resurrection of the Black Man and Woman of America and the World. FCN Publishing, since 1978. Nation of Islam. Official Website: http://www.noi.org 2. Secondary Sources Archer, Jules. They Had A Dream: The Civil Rights Struggle from Frederick Douglass to Marcus Garvey to Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X. New York: Viking, 1993. Asante, Molefi K. Malcolm X as Cultural Hero and other Afrocentric Essays. Trenton, NJ: African World Press, 1993. Austin, Allan D. African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and Spiritual Struggles. New York: Routlege, 1997. Baldwin, Lewis. V. und Amiri YaSin Al-Hadid. Between Cross and Crescent: Christian and Muslim Perspectives on Malcolm and Martin. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 2002. Beacon Press, 1995 Blyden, Edward W. Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race. Edinburgh 1967. Bracey, John H., August Meier, and Elliott Rudwick. Black Nationalism in America. New York: The BobbsMerrill Company, 1970. Breitman, George, Herman Porter and Baxter Smith. The Assassination of Malcolm X. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1991. Clarke, John Henrik, ed. Malcolm X: The Man and His Times. Trenton, NJ: African World Press, 1990.

Clegg III, Claude Andrews. An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad. New York: St. Martins Press, 1997. Cone, James H. Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993. Curtis, Edward E. Black Muslim Religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960-1975. Chapel Hill: Universit of North Carolina Press, 2006. Curtis, Edward E. Islam in Black America: Identity, Liberation, and Difference in African-American Islamic Thought. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. De Caro, Louis A. Malcolm and the Cross: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Christianity. New York and London: New York UP, 1998. Essien-Udon, E.U. Black Nationalism. A Search for an Identity in America. Chicago 1962. Estes, Steve. I Am a Man: Race, Manhood and the Civil Rights Movement. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Evanzz, Karl. The Judas Factor: The Plot to Kill Malcolm X. New York: Thunders Mouth Press, 1992. Evanzz, Karl. The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad. New York: Vintage Books, 2001. Frederickson, George M. Black Liberation: A Comparative History of Black Ideologies in the United States and South Africa. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Durham: Duke UP, 1996. Goldman, Peter. The Death and Life of Malcolm X. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. Haddad, Yvonne Y., ed. The Muslims of America. New York: Oxford UP, 1991. Haddad, Yvonne Y., and Jane I. Smith, eds. Muslim Communities in North America. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994. Jenkins, Robert L. and Mjanya D. Tryman. The Malcolm X Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. Johnson, Timothy. Malcolm X: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1986. Joseph, Peniel E., ed. The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era. New York: Routledge, 2006. Kelleter, Frank. Con/tradition: Louis Farrakhans Nation of Islam, the Million Man March, and Amercan Civil Religion. Heidelberg: Winter, 2000. Lee, Martha F. The Nation of Islam: An American Millenarian Movement. Lewiston: E. Mellen Press, 1988. Lincoln, C. Eric. The Black Muslims in America (1961); Boston: Beacon Press, 1973 Marsh, Clifton E. From Black Muslim to Muslims: The Resurection, Transformation, and Change of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in America, 1930 1995. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 1996. OReilly, Kenneth. Racial Matters: The FBIs Secret File on Black America, 1960-1972. New York: Free Press, 1989. Ovenden, Kevin. Malcolm X: Socialism and Black Nationalism. London, Chicago: Bookmarks, 1992. Paris, Peter J. Black Religious Leaders: Conflict in Unity. Louisville, KT: John Knox Press, 21991. Perry, Bruce. Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America. Barrytown, NY: Station Hill, 1991. Piccoli, Sean. "Nation of Islam: By Word or Deed?" The Washington Times, Feb. 4, 1994. Probiesch, Kerstin. Louis Farrakhan und die Nation of Islam. Marburg: Africana Marburgensia, 2000. Raboteau, Albert J. A Fire in teh Bones: Reflections of African-American Religious History. Boston, Sales, William W. From Civil Rights to Black Liberation: Malcolm X and the Organization of AfroAmerican Unity. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1994. Scharenberg, Albert. Schwarzer Nationalismus in den USA: Das Malcolm X-Revival. Mnster: Westflisches Dampfboot, 1998. Tate, Sonsyrea. Little X: Growing Up in the Nation of Islam. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2005. Terrill, Robert E. Malcolm X: Inventing Radical Judgment. East Lansing: Michigan State UP, 2004. Turner, Richard B. Islam in the African-American Experience. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1997. Van Deburg, William L. New Day in Babylon: The Black Power Movement and American Culture, 1965-1975. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1992. Walker, Dennis. Islam and the Search for African American Nationhood: Elijah Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan, and the Nation of Islam. Gardena, CA: Clarity Press, 2006. Watson, Clifford. Educating African American Males: Detroits Malcolm X Academy Solution. Chicago: Third World Press, 1996. Wendt, Simon. The Spirit and the Shotgun: Armed Resistance and the Struggle for Civil Rights. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 2006. Wolfenstein, Eugene V. The Victims of Democracy: Malcolm X and the Black Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981.