THE NATION OF ISLAM.
Amanda
Royer, Andrew
Weissmann,
Lauren
Wathen
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
THE NATION’S BEGINNINGS
 In 1930, W.D. Fard Muhammad, an African American man,
founded Temple No. 1 in Detroit
 Fard’s followers called him Allah, God or The Great Mahdi
 This new religion taught that Christianity, the “white man’s” religion,
was the teachings of the devil
 Fard believed that a separate African- American homestead was
needed in America
 This “nation” was to be a “nation within a nation”
 Fard disappeared in 1934 and Elijah Muhammad, a leader of
another temple in Chicago, took the leadership position of the
Nation of Islam
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
 Elijah Muhammad continued to spread the message Fard
started
 Elijah was called the Messenger of Allah and Holy Prophet
 The Nation of Islam expanded to the North under the Elijah’s
leadership
 Under Elijah’s leadership, the Nation of Islam consisted of
mostly poor, urban African Americans
 Members of the society were required to live a moral life
 Moral life- no smoking, no drinking, treating members of their family and
neighborhoods with respect, holding a steady job and staying off
government assistance
MALCOM X
 Around the 1960s, Malcom X made a pilgrimage to Mecca and
met Muslims from every race and background
 Before Elijah was killed by a group of rivals of the Nation of Islam,
Malcom X challenged the beliefs of Elijah
 In 1975, Elijah Muhammad’s son, Wallace D. Muhammad
agreed with Malcom X
 The beliefs of the Nation of Islam were changed to reflect a more
universal, orthodox Islam
WALLACE D. MUHAMMAD
 After becoming leader of the Nation of Islam, Wallace
changed his name to Warith Din Muhammad
 Warith brought the Nation of Islam into union with Sunni Islam
 Warith made many other changes in the Nation of Islam
 The 5 Pillars of Islam were enforced
 Temples were renamed mosques
 Non- African American people were allowed to worship
 A group led by Louis Farrakhan did not agree with Warith’s
apology
 This group separated from the majority and started their own sect
LOUIS FARRAKHAN
 Louis purchased the main temple of the Nation of Islam
 This temple gave Louis a power base to work from
 Louis gained popularity quickly
 Some people felt betrayed by Warith after he allowed many changes
into the Nation of Islam
 Louis believed that race problems in the United States were a
problem faced by all American citizens
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE NATION
W. D. Fard Muhammad
• Founded the Nation
in 1903
• Believed that African
American Muslims
needed a special
group in America
• Disappeared in 1934
Elijah Muhammad
• Took over the Nation
in 1934 after Fard
• Was called the
“Messenger of Allah”
and “Holy Prophet”
• Required members
to live moral lives
Warith Din Muhammad
Louis Farrakhan
• Became leader and
changed his name
• Enforced the 5
pillars, called
temples mosques,
allowed non-African
American to worship
• Purchased the Main
Temple of Islam
• Allowed many
changes into the
Nation of Islam
• Believed that the
problems in America
faced by one person
were problems faced
by all people
• Follow him on Twitter
@LouisFarrakhan
BELIEFS AND
PRACTICES
BASIC BELIEFS
 The Nation of Islam believe in the oneness of God
 They follow both the Qur'an and the Bible
 There will be resurrection of the dead, but not in the
physical sense, instead they will be resurrected in the
mental sense
 The Nation believes that African Americans are God’s
Chosen People
 They should not participate in wars
 Allah appeared in W.D. Fard Muhammad
SACRED TIMES
There are 2 Savior’s Day Celebrations
Savior’s Day (February 26)- held to celebrate the
birth of their founder W.D. Fard Muhammad
 This year was their 84 th year celebrating this holiday
Savior’s Day (October 7)- started in 1985, this
holiday celebrates Elijah Muhammad’s birthday;
most people did not know W. Fard Muhammad
and have been transformed by Elijah Muhammad
SACRED ITEMS
 The Bible
 The Bible has been tainted and misinterpreted, in
order to gain truth the Bible must be reinterpreted
 The Qu’ran
 Prayer Rug
 Lapel Pin
 Small pin worn on a jacket to signify allegiance to the
religion
 Kufi (solid color only)
 Muslim “skull cap”
SACRED ITEMS
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMITTANCE
There are 2 requirements for entry into the
Nation of Islam
Must submit themselves to the beliefs of the
Nation of Islam
Must submit a basic pledge card to the
processing part of the National Center
Names of members must be written in the
“Lamb’s Book of Life”
NATION OF ISLAM VS
ISLAM
IN COMPARISON
Nation of Islam
 Believe that Elijah
Muhammad is a true
prophet
 Wallace Fard Muhammad is
Allah on Earth
 Believe that African
Americans are God’s
Chosen People
 Black supremacy
 White domination is considered
the devil
 Blacks are on the same level
as Allah
Islam
 The Nation of Islam is
not considered to be
part of Islam
 Believe that
Muhammad was the
last prophet
 Religion open to all
people
 Men are never on par
with God
IN COMPARISON…
Nation of Islam
 Newer religion founded
in 1930
 Believe in the Myth of
Yakub which states that
white people were
made not by God, but
by a black scientist
 Exists primarily in North
America
Islam
 Older religion founded
in 622
 God made ALL people
 Exists throughout the
world on every
continent; widespread
WORKS CITED
 "AsSalaam Alaikum - Welcome to Nation of Islam - Settlement
No. 1 ." AsSalaam Alaikum - Welcome to Nation of Islam Settlement No. 1 . Nation of Islam, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
 "Chart: Nation of Islam and Traditional Islam." Beliefnet. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
 Clemmons SNJM, Nancy. Exploring the Religions of Our World.
Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2008. Print.
 Julita. "Dif ference Between Islam and the Nation of
Islam." Dif ferenceBetween.net. May 19, 2011
 "Re: Yakub: The Scientist That Created the White Man." Web
log comment. - History Forum ~ All Empires. N.p., n.d. Web.
13 Mar. 2014.