Founding of the Nation

Wallace Fard Muhammad founded the Nation of Islam in November of 1929. The origins of Wallace Fard Muhammad are just as mysterious as his life. Wallace Fard Muhammad is identical to a Wallace Dodd Ford, also known as Wallace Dodd, and according to FBI records, was born on February 25, 1891. Wallace Dodd Ford was a man of mixed New Zealand descent. Some sources say he had a Russian Jewish mother and a Polynesian father. His early life is not known, but what is known is that he was in the US in the early 1920’s. He was arrested for drug offenses and served three years in San Quentin. After his release, Ford joined the Moorish Science Temple, which stated that African-Americans were descendants of Moors thus they were originally Muslim. Ford changed his name to David Ford-el; this was probably his third of fourth name change. Soon Ford-el rose up the ranks until he became the leader of the Science Temple. Ford-el moved the temple to Detroit under the name Wallace D. Fard Muhammad and Wallace D. Fard, and renamed the temple the Allah Temple of Islam. Fard Muhammad started to preach to the black people of Detroit and converted many to Islam. In 1930, The Allah Temple was renamed the Nation of Islam. Fard Muhammad was asked to leave Detroit in 1933, but returned a year later and was arrested again. Before he departed from Detroit, Fard Muhammad gave control of the Nation to his most dedicated follower, Elijah Poole, now known as Elijah Muhammad. After his second departure, Fard Muhammad was never seen again. Some believe that Elijah organized that Fard be killed, others say that the government had a hand in it. What happened to Fard Muhammad will never be known for sure, but what is known is that Elijah Muhammad would make the Nation a modern organization of Black Nationalism.

Islam vs. the Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam is like traditional Islam in many ways. They believe that Allah is the one and only God, and that Muhammad was his prophet. They believe that the Qur’an is the book of God, and that Allah sent all of the prophets, Abraham, Moses, Jesus. They believe in the Bible, but that it has been changed and tampered with so many times that one cannot take all of it as the word of God. These are the few similarities between the two, the differences on the other hand, are numerous. For starters, the Nation of Islam believes that Fard Muhammad was theMahdi, the Messiah, the redeemer of Islam. The Nation also says that Fard Muhammad was Allah in human form. Traditional Islam says that it is blasphemous to say that Allah would reveal himself in human form. Traditional Islam also states that Muhammad was the last prophet of Allah; the Nation believes that Elijah Muhammad was a prophet and was taught by Allah himself. The big difference between the two is that the Nation of Islam does not view race like traditional Islam does. Sunni and Shiah Muslims believe that everybody is born Muslim, but some people are taken from the true path. They also believe that Allah made all people. The Nation of Islam believes that Allah made the black race first, and that the white race and all other races of the world came from the black race. The present leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, has argued this idea of the Nation numerous times. Fard Muhammad believed that an evil scientist named Yakub created the white race in ancient times. Yakub wanted to make a race that would eventually rise up and control the world for 6,000 years. Yakub taught the race trickery and how to lie, and through his teaching, the white race lied and cheated their way to the top. The Nation has made their beliefs clear, in the“What the Muslims Want” statement. Some of their wants are the complete separation of the black and white race, the stopping of interracial marriage, the creation of an independent nation for descendants of African slaves and numerous other things.

Morals

The moral system of the Nation of Islam is very clear. The use of alcohol and drugs is shameful not tolerated at all by the Nation. The only reason why black men and young men turn to drugs is to find an easy escape from the hell that the white man has trapped black people in. The use of drugs endangers the ethics of healthy living, and should never be used. For sexuality, they believe that women are the mothers of civilization and as such, they should be treated with the best respect. Women should not dress inappropriately, young girls are taught a dress code of modesty. Sex outside of marriage is a terrible thing to do, for only in marriage will a couple get the full blessings of Allah. Sex outside of marriage is wrong for it breaks the promise that was made to the spouse and to Allah. Muslims should not lie against Allah for this is the worst type of lie. Elijah Muhammad believed that all Muslims should give money to those who are poor, and that as Muslims, they should help their fellow black man. Muslims in both traditional Islam and the Nation of Islam believe that Muslims should give a certain amount of their money to the poor. Materialism can only do one thing, bring a person further from Allah. If one only cares about material goods, he or she will not receive the true message of Allah. The Nation of Islam’s views on the human condition and the cause of our problems are a little different than most. The Nation believes that all people have the potential of doing well, but most are lied to and they do wrong and go down the wrong path. They believe that most people have been deprived of a righteous way of life. As Louis Farrakhan stated in his speech at Malcolm X College in 1990, “People will try to undermine and destroy what they do not like.” The cause of this lying and our problems can only come from one person, the white man or as Malcolm X said, “the white devil.” According to the Nation, the white man has tried to undermine black people, they have tried to undermine all people who are not white; they have even tried to undermine their own people. White people have spread to every single livable continent on Earth, and the only thing that they have spread is death, destruction of entire cultures, hate, and war. The solution for our problems and our human condition is not to kill all white people, for that would make the Nation just as bad as them, instead to spread the love and light of Allah to all people of Earth. For Allah is the only light in this dark world and if you do not turn to him, then you will always be in the darkness.

Nation of Islam Facts

The Nation of Islam is not totally a bad religion. The basic beliefs of Allah which is being the light of the world and the ideas of having a strong universal community are not bad. The Nation has done many good things for the United States, and for of course African-Americans. The Nation does not preach about the destruction of the white race, nor do they preach about the superiority of the black race. The only thing that they do preach is that the black race came first, and that all races are connected through Allah. One thing that many people do not realize is that there are two different sects of the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam led by Elijah Muhammad split after his death.  The present day Nation of Islam led by Louis Farrakhan tries to follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, but also the early teachings of Malcolm X, who was thought to be a traitor to some when he spoke against Elijah Muhammad. The other group was actually the main group after the death of Elijah. The son of Elijah, Warith Deen Muhammad, was considered the next in line to be in charge of the Nation, but soon he started to move away from his father’s Black Nationalist ideals, and started to allow whites into the Nation. Farrakhan and others split formed the Nation of Islam and Warith Deen Muhammad and formed his own group. The name has changed several times over the years, but is now known as theMosque Cares. Even though the Nation does have some good qualities, there are still some aspects of their beliefs that are extreme to many. This in turn leads to a great misunderstanding of the Nation of Islam, but if one looks deeper into the Nation they could see that they are similar to other religions

Elijah Muhammad

 

The Nation of Islam picture of Fard Muhammad

 

FBI picutre of Fard Muhammad