African American Muslim Leaders

The prophet Fard’s mysterious vanishing, like his appearance, occurred in June 1934 and played a vital
role to the movement’s mythology, which said that his status was that of supernaturally endowed. The
holy status of Fard was reinforced by Elijah Muhammad, (Lincoln, 1988) who was one of Fard’s loyal
ministers. Following Fard’s disappearance, Elijah Muhammad became his successor, embracing the
leadership spot of the movement. He told the people of the Nation that Wallace D. Fard was the
manifestation of Allah and that he, Elijah Muhammad, was his messenger. While some people refused
to recognize his leadership a schism occurred and he took the organization to Chicago. The movement
stayed dominated in the late 1930s and 1940s till Malcolm X became part of the organization. Following
the repositioning of the movement’s headquarters, Elijah Muhammad started to restructure the
organization during his militant leadership. He shaped a ‘message to the Black man’ and educated the
Black masses the framework of that message; which included their background, history, the notion of
evil and the economic viewpoint of “Do for self”. Within his three major programs namely, The Message
of the Black Man in America, The Supreme Wisdom and The Fall of America, Elijah Muhammad gave his
description of the perceptive of Islam to the Islamic Nation, based on teachings of Fard.

Within the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the Black man’s history begins with the conception of the
earth. On the other hand, he claims that the Black man’s history is just 6,000 years long. He also taught
that the Black people were the Asian Black Nation descendents and of the Shabaz tribe which had
recognized the Holy City of Mecca in Arabia (Muhammad, 1965) The notion of evil and the evil attitude
of white people are assessed in relation to the myth of Yakub, who was said to be a wicked scientist who
formed a race of whites with the help of genetic engineering. As a result, the whites he had shaped out
to be devils. Allah permitted the race of white devils to regulate the world for 6,000 years, an episode
which will conclude with the devastation of the world in the “Battle of Armageddon”; subsequent to
this. a new world will be under nation of righteous Blacks ruling Elijah Muhammad made a thorough
programme, calling it “Economic Blueprints” (Muhammad, 1965) for the Nation; this incorporated Black
Muslim businesses to accomplish economic independence. Because of this reason, and also to produce a
separate character for the Nation of Islam members, he started up a sequence of ethical codes, some of
which prohibited Black Muslims alcohol, drugs usage, tobacco, pork, etc. He also educated them some
economic ideology like frugality, debt or credit avoidance and a conventional life-style.

Since their austere notion of life, the Black Muslims have been comprehended as “Black Puritans”
(Parent, 1964). The mythology, doctrines, and viewpoint of the Nation of Islam seem to be irrational and
unreasonable from the perspective of external and non-Blacks. Nonetheless, this education system
made sense to the Black masses. According to Mamiya and Lincoln “such myths and doctrines have
operates as a theodicy for the Black Muslims as an enlightenment for the pain and anguish inflicted
upon Black people in America” (Mamiya and Lincoln, 1988) Elijah Muhammad and his ministers
pertained every potential means and technique to stretch his ‘Message’ to the Black masses.
Muhammad’s approach was to employ African-Americans who were a part of the movement and to
fortify their socio-economic status. Moreover in addition to the commonplace they also targeted
uncommon places and people: prisons, penitentiaries, ghetto streets, bars and pool halls were all
employing grounds, with alcoholics, ex-convicts, deviants, pimps, prostitutes, and narcotic addicts being
projected converts. In the late 1940s, the Black Muslims exposed a very vigorous convert called Malcolm
Little, who was plateful a ten year prison expression for burglary in the Norfolk state prison. With his
brother’s aid and through communication with E. Muhammad Malcolm Little then converted. (Malcolm
X with Alex Haley, 1968)He rose to eminence as minister and the chief spokesman of Elijah Muhammad.
The aptitude of Malcolm X as a speaker and organizer made him able to take pleasure in great
reputation among Muslims and to expose some of the subterfuges endemic to American society, known
as the ‘myth of integration’. In a nutshell, Malcolm X was accountable for the growth of the
organization, for making the teachings of the Nation of Islam prominent, and for the membership
growth of the movement all the way through the country (1952-1963). By the late 1950s, the Nation of
Islam had covered extensive media attention (Curlew O. Thomas, Barbara Boston Thomas, 1986)
consequently of its speedy growth and the understanding of its teachings about race. Meanwhile the
civil rights phase Malcolm X had turn out to be one of the most eloquent critics of ethnic injustice in the
country. The speedy growth and glory days of Black Muslims stumbled in the early 1960s and the
movement became the focal point of controversy due to interior and exterior factors, such as the Elijah
Muhammad sex scandals and his secretaries, rivalry for power and leadership (Malcolm X with Alex
Haley, 1968)

Malcolm’s fame challenged Elijah Muhammad’s place - and Malcolm’s intolerant statement relating to
the assassination of president John F. Kennedy; as a result, Malcolm X left the movement. All such
factors were a reason for the split and breakdown within the movement. Three major factors for the
breakdown were listed by Mamiya: firstly, the fight back for the leadership of the movement, secondly,
serious arguments over teachings and thirdly, the altering socio-economic circumstances of members of
the movement (Mamiya and Lincoln, 1988) The first two reasons had already given rise to the case of
the Nation of Islam and were the main reasons of the split.After Breaking away from the Nation of Islam
in 1964, Malcolm performed his pilgrimage to Mecca; where it came to his noticed the racial
cosmopolitanism ,open-mindedness of Islam and reached a conclusion that the teachings of the Nation
of Islam were mismatched with his new understandings of the religion To continue his understanding of
Islam, he came up with two organizations; one was in the religious dominion, The Muslim Mosque Inc.,
while the second was secular and related to the politics, the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Briefly
after founding these organizations, Malcolm X was killed on February 21.The assassination of Malcolm X
began some unanswered questions, and led to internal breakup within the movement. The life and
death of Malcolm X played a role to the rise of attention in orthodox Islam among Black Americans.
(Mamiya and Lincoln, 1988)

By mid-1975 Elijah Muhammad had slightly altered his policies and adapted his teachings by toning
down his anti-white rhetoric. (Lee) After his death on the 25th of February, 1975, the Nation’s policies
and doctrines went through modifications; changes in racial observation and absolute reversals
accordingly with the accession of his son, Wallace Muhammad. Wallace Muhammad began the
decalcification of the followings inherited from Elijah Muhammad. He persuaded the members of the
movement toward embracing orthodox Islam. He said the teachings of Wallace D. Fard and Elijah
Muhammad were to be understood symbolically, not literally. He welcomed the Nation to white people
and told his followers to take part in the civil and political life of the US. Wallace Muhammad fulfilled the
Islamisation of the Nation of Islam, changed ministers to imams, and temples to mosques and later
masjids. His name also became Imam Warith Deen Muhammad. (Ibid, 1991) Nevertheless, these
changes were unacceptable by some Black Muslims who united under the leadership of Minister Louis
Farrakhan, National Spokesman of the movement after Malcolm X`s death. This group split apart the
World Community Al-Islam in the West, in 1978, coming back to the original teachings and principles of
Elijah Muhammad, and readopting the old name, the Nation of Islam.
Bibliography
Curlew O. Thomas, Barbara Boston Thomas. (1986). Natural History of the Transformation of the Black
Muslim Movement. Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology , p. 73.

Ibid. (1991). The False Prophet I: The Rise of Louis Farrakhan. (pp. 54-55). The Nation.

Lee. The improvement of relations between the Nation and Muslim Countries might be one of reasons
and the white relations as well. In The Nation of Islam (pp. 73-74).

Lincoln, L. H. (1988). Black Militant and Separatist Movements. In C. H. Williams, The Encyclopedia of
American Religious Experience (pp. 765-66). Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Malcolm X with Alex Haley. (1968). The Autobiography of Malcolm X. (p. 256). London: Penguin Books.

Mamiya and Lincoln. (1988). “Black Militant and Separatist Movements. In The Black Muslims as a New
Religious Movement (p. 211).

Muhammad, E. (1965). Supreme Wisdom. In The Message to the Blackman in America (pp. 130-132).
Chicago.

Parent, M. (1964). The Black Muslims: From Revolution to Institution. In Social Research (pp. 184-185).