The Relationship Between Religion and Black Nationalism:The Nation of Islam

Chapter 1

 

The Relationship Between Religion and Black Nationalism:

The Nation of Islam

 

            This chapter discusses the story behind The Nation of Islam.  It tells the tale of its birth, its beliefs, practices, goals and the reasons for their existence.

 

Brief History of The Nation of Islam (NOI)

The first person to appear on the modern American scene as the "savior" of Blacks from an oppressive White system was Timothy Drew. In 1913 he left his native North Carolina for Newark, New Jersey, took the name Noble Drew Ali, and founded the Moorish Science Temple of America. His primary philosophy of salvation for Blacks was through discovering their "national origins."

After Noble Drew Ali died, Wallace Fard broke with the Moorish Science Temple and founded a group called the Temple of Islam. Although he was not a Black American himself, Fard took his religion door-to-door to Blacks in Detroit, claiming to be Ali's reincarnation, but born in Mecca.  Fard's mission to America was to set the "captives" (Black Americans) free from "Caucasian devils" and the "White man's religion" (Christianity).

Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Poole) was a disciple of Fard and became a leader in the Temple of Islam. When Fard left the organization in 1935, Elijah Muhammad assumed leadership and changed the name of the sect to the Nation of Islam, which he led until his death in 1975. One of the young men who embraced the religion during that time was Malcolm Little. Like Elijah Muhammad before him, Little was born into the home of a Baptist preacher. But as a young man in prison for theft, Little adopted Elijah Muhammad's teachings through an intensive discipleship program. When released in 1952, Little went to Detroit, took the name Malcolm X, and eventually became one of the chief disciples of Elijah Muhammad. Most of the growth of NOI during that time - to an estimated 40,000 members - is attributed to the efforts of Malcolm X.

Louis Farrakhan (born Louis Eugene Walcott) left college to pursue a career as "Calypso Gene," a nightclub entertainer. However, his life changed in 1955 when he met Malcolm X. He assisted Malcolm at the Harlem mosque for about a year before he was sent to be the minister of the Boston mosque. After Malcolm's death, Farrakhan returned to Harlem to replace Malcolm and remained there until Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975.

Wallace Deen Muhammad, the son of Elijah, then assumed leadership of the Nation. He began to transform the sect into a Sunni (orthodox) Muslim community and took it through a series of name changes. He also began letting Whites join and denounced his father's teachings as racist and not truly Islamic. A dissatisfied Farrakhan broke away from Wallace's group in 1977 and founded the "Original Nation of Islam", now simply known as the "Nation of Islam", and based it on a revised version of Elijah Muhammad's traditional teachings. Today at least seven distinct Black Nationalist groups call themselves "Nation of Islam."  (Muhammad, 1996). 

Some of the more troubling views of Elijah Muhammad that are evident in current Nation of Islam rhetoric are well summarized by Sidney Ahlstrohm:

[Their] eschatology teaches that God has come; there is no life after this life; heaven and hell are only two contrasting earthly conditions; the hereafter (which will begin to appear about A.D. 2000) is but the end of the present "spook" civilization of the Caucasian usurpers, including the Christian religion. It will be followed by the redemption of the Black Nation and their glorious rule over all the earth (1972, p. 1068).   (Apologetics Press, 1996)

 

Beliefs and Practices of the Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam deviates considerably from the teachings of orthodox Islam. Their idea of black racial superiority and whites as evil is contradictory to the teachings of racial equality found in Orthodox Islam. Although the title of this group seems to infer that they are part of the Orthodox Islam religion, this is not the case. There are significant differences ranging from interpretation of the Five Pillars to the perception that the members of the NOI have in regards to our diverse culture. The NOI is much more inclusive and politically radical than Orthodox Muslims. Two of the Black Muslims' doctrines are at the heart of the controversy: their insistence that blacks must separate themselves from the abhorrent and doomed race and their belief that it is the manifest destiny of the Black Nation to inherit the earth. These doctrines are in flagrant contrast to orthodox Islamic ideals of an all-embracing unity of mankind. (Marsh, 1996)

Lincoln (1994) pointed out that the followers of the Nation of Islam have the following beliefs: they follow the Holy Qu'ran; they believe in the Scriptures and in the truth of the Bible but see that its truth has been skewed and misinterpreted; they believe in the Judgment, but that the first judgment will take place in the United States.  Furthermore, NOI followers see themselves as God's chosen people who can mentally be resurrected. (Lincoln, 1994)

   Black Muslims are expected to pray five times daily: morning, noon, mid afternoon, sundown, and before bed. These prayers must be made facing east (towards Mecca) only after one thoroughly cleanses the body. They are required to attend at least two temple meetings per week. Black Muslims are also forbidden from eating certain foods such as pork and corn bread, not only because they contribute to a "slow death," but that they are unclean or foods that constituted part of a slave diet  (Marsh , 1996)

      The teachings proclaim that the black man is the original man, ancestor to the entire human race, and that the white race is the result of an experiment of an evil scientist named Yacub. Approximately six thousand years ago Yacub used a recessive gene in the Black race to create the biological mutated Caucasians. These mutated Blacks were "bleached of the essence of humanity [and] were without soul."  (Lincoln, 1994, 74) 

   To NOI members, "the white man is a devil by nature, absolutely unredeemable and incapable of caring about or respecting anyone who is not white [and] is the historic, persistent source of harm and injury to black people" (Prince-A-Cuba, 1992, 58).  Because of Yacub's malicious mischief, Whites would rule humanity for an extended period of time until the black race once again gains control. They believe the coming of Farad is the beginning spark to the black race regaining control.  (Mimiya, 1998)

Members of the Nation of Islam see themselves as "Asiatic," the direct descendants of the black nation of Asia part of the continent of Africa (Alexander, 1998).  Within the Asiatic Nation is the "Tribe of Shabazz," those of direct African descent and earth's original people, who were enslaved by whites for hundreds of years. It was Fard and Elijah Muhammad who were sent to find this lost nation and relocate them into an independent state. This separatism was based, in part, on the idea that "Blacks" were never Americans by nature or race and therefore renounces their citizenship as Americans and denounce their loyalty to the United States (Lincoln, 1994).

As a social movement, the Nation of Islam primarily has three main goals: the United Front of Black Men, racial separation, and economic separation  (Lincoln, 1994).  The idea behind the United Front of Black Men is Black unity, i.e. to have all Black men in America reunited with his own; to have all Black men join together under the umbrella of the Nation of Islam to achieve their goals together for there is strength in numbers.   The second goal, racial separation,   states that there is complete separation of the Black and White races. "Only with complete racial separation will the perfect harmony of the universe be restored." (Lincoln, 1994, 68)  Finally, the third goal, economic separation, means having complete economic withdrawal from the White community because white economic dominance gives them ultimate power over blacks. The key to black economic separatism and security lay in five steps labeled the "Economic Blueprint", which are as follows: recognize the necessity for unity and group activities, pool all resources, physically as well as financially, stop wanton criticism of everything that is black-owned and black operated, keep in mind that jealousy destroys from within and to work hard in a collective manner (Marsh, 1996).

Chapter 2

Media and Public Responses to the Nation of Islam

          This chapter aims to reveal the different reactions and responses of the people of the United States, both black and white to The Nation of Islam and its programs.  It presents the image it bears to the public brought about by advertisement and the media in general.

SENTIMENT TOWARDS THE NATION OF ISLAM

When most Americans (that is, white Americans) think of the Nation of Islam, the image that strikes them is one of an organization that is racist, anti-white, and anti-American that is now headed by Louis Farrakhan, a "anti-Semite, racist, sexist, homophobe, and looney." (Alexander, 1998, 37).

The image white American has of the Nation of Islam comes not from first hand interaction with its members, but from media portrayals of the NOI and its leaders such as Louis Farrakhan. Black Nationalism is often interpreted in the popular media as being anti-white "and is uniformly portrayed as being bad for American race relations."  (Alexander, 1998)  They see people like Farrakhan and the NOI as damaging: hindering and destroying racial tolerance in the United States.

What seems to be the real negative feelings behind white America's sentiment against the NOI is fear: fear of the NOI's message of being angry and fed up with white America's treatment of the black man. Their fear can also be seen as fear of the unfamiliarity, not only with the organization but also with the potential power (against whites) that it is capable of yielding. When a young member of the NOI was invited to a college class room many white students were not only stunned by him being there but they also "said they had felt scared speechless in his presence...they assumed that [he] hated them because he was a member of the Nation of Islam."  (Alexander, 1998, 84).  Much of their reaction to the young NOI member was limited to the media portrayal of the NOI and it's leader Farrakhan.

Farrakhan has received more press coverage than any other African American, with the exception of Jessie Jackson. The coverage of his statements and beliefs however anti-Semitic and anti-white they may be, have ironically made him more sympathetic to blacks. "The irony is this: the more the media portray Farrakhan as a menace to society, the more sympathetic he seems to African Americans." (Alexander, 1998, 92)  What happens is that the media tends to focus on white reactions to Farrakhan, as well as issues dealing with race relations. Since often time the white reaction to Farrakhan is negative, this causes backs to side with or sympathize with Farrakhan.

Farrakhan and the NOI in general, have had a profound impact on the black youth. According to Alexander (1998), no leader has had more of an impact on the Hip-Hop Generation than Louis Farrakhan.  Few leaders and organizations make themselves accessible to the youth. On the other hand, Farrakhan has a unique ability to reach deeply into the souls of black youth.   When he speaks he seems to be able to talk to young blacks in a way that makes them listen even when he puts them down (Alexander, 1998).

In addition, the youth are drawn to Farrakhan because like their predecessors, they too face economic hardships and Farrakhan's message of economic empowerment via economic separation is a welcome remedy to their financial problems.

Illustrating Public Responses to the NOI

            Probably, one good way of showing public responses to the NOI can be illustrated with their reaction, both black or white, man or woman to the Million Man March. 

The Million Man March was an event planned and headed by Louis Farrakhan and Rev. Benjamin Chavis Jr., former executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  Its primary goals are for Spiritual and Social Transformation; a holy day of atonement and reconciliation for black men, plus a political agenda or manifesto to advance the cause of blacks (Hoversten, 1996). 

The following are the results of a CNN / Gallup / USA Today poll on 323 African Americans conducted on October 1995.

Eleven percent of the African-American men surveyed said that they intended to personally attend the Million Man March. With the population of adult black men at approximately 11 million, that works out to about 1.2 million African-American men expected to attend the march. Another 5% of black men, and 7% of black women, said they planned to observe the occasion by refraining from shopping, working, or sending their children to school. But a large portion of the African-Americans interviewed had not heard of the march.

African-American men's plans for march Planned to march     Would not work or shop Would not participate Not heard of march    Sampling error: +/-8% pts	11% 5 % 30% 42%
African-American women's plans for march Would not work or shop Would not participate Not heard of march Sampling error: +/-8% pts	7% 28% 61%
African-Americans who have heard of Million Man March Under 30 Over 30 Sampling error: +/-8% pts	37% 63 %
African-Americans who plan to march or boycott Under 30 Over 30	17% 9%

Table 1.  Summary of the Interview

Table 1 summarizes the results of the survey. Only 37% of blacks under the age of 30 had heard of the march; while 52% of blacks over 30 were familiar with it. But the number of blacks under 30 who planned to personally attend the march or observe the event by boycotting work and shopping was almost twice as high as the number of blacks over 30 who will do so. Seventeen percent (17%) of younger African-Americans said they would participate in the day's activities by marching in Washington or refraining from shopping and working. Only 9% of African-Americans over the age of 30 said they planned to do so.

            Hoversten (1996) said that some whites were skeptical about the Million Man March's positive effects.  Some said they didn't believe Farrakhan really represented mainstream blacks. Furthermore, Hoversten's interviews with white people revealed that they think of it as a 'waste of time' and that it only deepens the hate between black and whites.  Respondents said that the black men were just setting themselves apart from the rest by flocking to Farrakhan.  Many white people feared that Farrakhan had created a level of hate that no other person in the United States has.

            Interestingly, some whites did attend the event, but there were different reactions to it.  Among those reactions include the thought that the march was a historical occasion.  Other reactions were more mundane – people wanted to see something so big and so close. There were also critical reactions, with some respondents saying that Farrakhan's message was one of separatism, racism and hypocrisy.  However, not everyone had such skeptical and critical views on the March.  Some respondents, including some white folks, welcomed the march and doubted it would further divide the races.

In the end, Farrakhan's group did not achieve its goal of a million participants, for which only 400,000 attended.  Although it was twice the number who walked with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, (Apologetics Press, Inc., 1996), it was nevertheless successful.  Moreover, the NOI, through the Million Man March, was able to generate a healthy discussion of the issues being raised by the NOI, thus making the March an effective tool in using the media in pushing forth the objectives of the organization.

Bibliography:

Alexander, Amy. ed. (1998). The Farrakhan Factor: African-American Writers on Leadership, Nationhood, and Minister Louis Farrakhan. New York: Grove Press.

 

Apologetics Press, Inc. (1996). "Black Muslims and the Nation of Islam" Reason & Revelation, February 1996, 16[2]:14-16.

 

Cable News Network, Inc., 1995 "Poll shows Million Man March may meet its goal" Available: http://www3.cnn.com/US/9510/megamarch/million_man_poll/index.html

           Accessed: April 4, 2003

Hoversten, Paul. 1996, "Million Man March – Some whites are skeptical of March's positive effects". Available: http://www.usatoday.com/news/index/nman012.htm     Accessed: April 4, 2003

Lincoln, Eric C. (1994). The Black Muslims in America: 3rd edition. Michigan: William B. Edmunds Publishing Company.

 

Marsh, Clifton. (1996). From Black Muslims to Muslims: the Resurrection, Transformation, and Change of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in America, 1930-1995. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc.,

 

Mimiya, Lawrence H. and C. Eric Lincoln. (1998). "Black Militant and Separatist Movements." Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience Volume II, Charles H. Lippy and peter W. Williams, eds. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Muhammad, Poure. (1996). Chronology of the Nation of Islam. Honorable Elijah Muhammad Educational Foundation: Los Angeles.

Prince-A-Cuba. (1992). "Black Gods of the Inner City". Gnosis Magazine Fall 1992. 

 

 

 

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