Nation+of+Islam

[|Nation of Islam] The Nation of Islam is mostly a black nationalist religious group led by Louis Farrakahn. It promotes black self-sufficiency and family responsibility as well as obeying to a Islamic behavioral code. The group was founded by Farrakhan in 1978, but the group's originates in a movement known as the Black Muslims that began in Detroit in 1930 at the height of the Great Depression. The began when the followers of black door-to-door salesperson Wallace Fard proclaimed him the embodiment of Allah, the Islamic god. Fard's teachings were based on the work of Marcus Garvey, who had founded the Univerisal Negro Improvement Association in 1914. Fard labeled Christianity a slave religion and called for blacks to return to the Islam of their African ancestors. By the time he mysteriously disappeared in 1934, the Black Muslims group, also known as the Nation of Islam, had some 8,000 adherents.

In 1933, Elijah Muhammad, head of a Black Muslim mosque built in Chicago, took over leadership and moved the group's headquarters to Chicago. A self-proclaimed prophet of Allah, he urged black self-reliance in every aspect of American life, supporting blacks' total separation from the white race of "human beasts." While embracing a very orthodox Islam, Elijah Muhammad believed blacks were chosen by god. The movement expanded during the 1950s and 1960s, earning a membership of 150,000 to 200,000. Malcom X served as a minister for the Black Muslims in the When Elijah Muhammad died in 1975, his son, W. Deen Muhammad, assumed leadership. However, the organization faltered under W. Deen Muhammad, who called for "religious unification of the world's Muslims," yet urged American blacks to identify with the United States in a new patriotism. Non-blacks were allowed into the group, which began to splinter in 1976. Farrakhan led the dissident group to reorganize in 1978 while the Black Muslims under W. Deen Muhammad dissolved. The new group adopted the original name of Nation of Islam, heralding a return to the philosophy of Elijah Muhammad. Farrakhan called for strength, self-reliance, accountability, and responsibility within the black community. The Nation of Islam attracted new members from the black underclass of America's inner cities. With their trademark bow ties, members of the Nation of Islam's security branch (known as the Fruit of Islam) adhere to an Islamic code of behavior while they support schools, reach out to those in drug rehabilitation or prison, or personally patrol Crime-ridden inner-city areas. Farrakhan's outspoken racial and sometimes anti-semetic remarks have gained him high visibility. [|2] [|1]