Nation of Islam

Nation of Islam, religious movement based on black separatism, founded in approximately 1930 in Detroit, Michigan. The Nation of Islam (NOI) was established in Detroit, at the beginning of the Great Depression, by Wallace D. Fard (pronounced Farood), a door-to-door silk salesman. In addition to selling his wares, he spread his message of salvation and self-determination throughout Detroit's black neighborhoods. He held the first meetings in people's homes, but the movement soon grew big and Fard rented halls for his gatherings. Far from adhering to strict Islamic law, the Nation under Fard was an eclectic mix of philosophy that borrowed from earlier black Muslim movements, Christian scripture (largely to debunk Christianity), and Fard's Afrocentric interpretation of the story of Origin. The organization attracted many followers because of its angry rejection of white society.

Fard wrote two manuals, The Secret Ritual of the Nation of Islam, which is still used as a blueprint for oral instruction, and Teaching for a Lost-Found Nation of Islam in a Mathematical Way, written in a coded language that a select few are able to decipher. He also established the University of Islam, the Muslim Girls Training Corps—an instruction center that trained females to follow the tenets of proper Muslim womanhood—and the Fruit of Islam, a militaristic unit that served as Fard's bodyguard faction and enforced the Nation's laws.

When word reached white authorities that Fard was preaching about the Western "blue-eyed devil" whose civilization would soon perish, the Nation was deemed subversive; the hostile relationship between the movement and law enforcement (including ultimately the FBI) would continue for the next several decades. In 1931 Fard was investigated and detained by the Detroit police department for endorsing a sacrificial killing performed by a fringe member of the movement. There is no evidence to indicate that Fard was involved in the murder. Despite the fact that the victim was black, the charge against Fard was exacerbated when authorities found a pamphlet calling for the annihilation of "white devils" in his possession. Fard apparently had the foresight to know that his presence in the Nation would potentially lead to its demise. In 1933, months before he was told to leave Detroit or face incarceration, Fard began preparing his young right-hand man, Elijah Muhammad, for leadership. Fard's departure and his replacement with Muhammad led to internal strife within the movement. The Nation of Islam splintered and within a couple of years Muhammad's trusted circle, including his family, moved to Chicago. The Temple of Islam No. 2 was built and later became the national headquarters of the Nation.

Under Muhammad, the Nation was able to put into practice the concept of black economic self-sufficiency, a premise that Fard envisioned but never fully realized. Because of their highly disciplined lifestyle, Muslims were hired more readily than other blacks. A good portion of their salary went into the Nation's coffers. One decade later, in 1945, members had pooled enough earnings to invest in 140 acres of farmland in rural Michigan. In subsequent years, over 100 temples flourished nationwide, and Muslim-owned bakeries, grocery stores, and other small businesses were opened in African American communities.

During its early days, the Nation tended to attract Southerners who had migrated north and had little formal education. The appeal of the movement was not just self-sufficiency but the structured lifestyle, with its emphasis on marriage, family, strict diet, and hygiene. In particular, the image of womanhood in the Nation was acclaimed for "purity, domesticity, and piety." Muhammad carried on Fard's program of providing female members with an education that included nursing classes, gymnastics, cooking, sewing, child rearing, and the proper approach to gender relations. While its women seemed to be put on a pedestal, the Nation has nevertheless been criticized over the years for being ambiguously caught between glorification and objectification of females.

By the 1950s the Nation did begin to resemble a nation. Complete with its own national flag and anthem, militaristic marches and salutes, the movement was, in essence, a military theocracy. The structure and ritual, and the promise of salvation from the "grave," the soulless, dog-eat-dog world outside the Nation, appealed to many poor blacks, particularly convicts in jail. One of those recruited from prison was a young man named Malcolm Little. Like all inductees into the movement, Little discarded his "slave" surname and became known as Malcolm X. Recognized as a brilliant orator, Malcolm X quickly rose through the ranks of the Nation. He had arrived at an opportune time. The early rumblings of the Civil Rights Movement were beginning as a result of the government's failure to satisfy African American demands for equality. The Nation would soon be competing with other black movements for members. Malcolm's charisma and the advent of television brought the movement greater visibility than ever before. The Nation actively began to recruit black, middle-class professionals. Not only was Muhammad interested in incorporating their skills for the betterment of the Nation, but he was also adamant that their expertise not be wasted in "the white man's world."

By the late 1950s, the Nation's separatist beliefs stood in contrast to the growing Civil Rights Movement, which sought integration. The primary focus was on economic self-sufficiency and by the early 1960s some, including Malcolm X, criticized the interest in financial gain and the money-and-wealth fixation among the upper ranks of the movement. In 1964, discontented with Muhammad's political philosophy and allegations that the leader had fathered several illegitimate children, Malcolm broke away from the Nation to form his own religious organization. One year later he was assassinated. Critics of Muhammad claimed that his violent denunciation of Malcolm X in speeches and in the Nation's newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, incited the murder. The Nation has continued to prosper economically but there has not been another surge in membership since the 1960s. In 1975, after Elijah Muhammad's death, his son Wallace Deen Muhammad was named supreme minister. However, two months into his leadership he declared that whites were no longer viewed as evil and would be allowed into the movement. This shift, as well as a move toward the more orthodox Sunni Islam, shocked and alienated a large group of followers. The Nation splintered into several alliances and by 1978 national spokesman Louis Farrakhan led a group that resurrected the original Nation of Islam teachings of Black Nationalism and separatism.

Despite his controversial persona, Farrakhan in the 1990s has been credited with reaching out to non-Muslim black religious leaders and activists in order to effect positive change in inner cities. In 1995 he successfully orchestrated the Million Man March, an event that brought together many people and organizations of opposing political viewpoints.

There is no official information on the size of the Nation’s membership as of 1998. Various sources estimate that it numbers between 10,000 and 20,000.