Nation of Islam

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Nation of Islam
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Nation of Islam

• Founded 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad believed
  to be the long-awaited messiah
• Elijah Poole was disciple, renamed Elijah
  Muhammad- he preached that WFM was literally God
  in person
• Beliefs
• 85 of the world's people of all races and faiths
  are the deaf, dumb and blind masses of the people
  who are easily led in the wrong direction and
  hard to lead in the right direction
• These 85 of the masses are manipulated by 10,
  referred to as the rich slave-makers of the
  masses of the people, manipulate through
  ignorance, the skillful use of religious doctrine
  and the mass media.
• The third group the 5 poor righteous teachers,
  know the truth of the manipulation of the 85
  masses of the people by the 10
• The 5 righteous teachers are at constant
  struggle and war with 10 to reach and free the
  minds of the masses of the people.

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Prophecy black slavery

• Black people constitute a nation
• Atlantic slave trade systematically denied
  knowledge of their past history, culture,
  language and religion
• Experience of slavery fulfillment of Bible
  prophecy
• And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that
  thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is
  not theirs, and shall serve them and they shall
  afflict them four hundred years And also that
  nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge and
  afterward shall they come out with great
  substance.
• And God spake on this wise, That his seed
  should sojourn in a strange land and that they
  should bring them into bondage, and entreat them
  evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom
  they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God
  and after that shall they come forth, and serve
  me in this place.

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Separatism

• Purportedly four steps in the programme
• Freedom
• Justice under the law, applied equally to all
• Equality
• Separation (although, if above three can be
  reached within economic, political and social
  system no need for fourth step)

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Race

• Taught that black people were the original
  humans
• "The Blackman is the original man. From him came
  all brown, yellow, red, and white people. By
  using a special method of birth control law, the
  Blackman was able to produce the white race. This
  method of birth control was developed by a Black
  scientist known as Yakub, who envisioned making
  and teaching a nation of people who would be
  diametrically opposed to the Original People. A
  Race of people who would one day rule the
  original people and the earth for a period of
  6,000 years. Yakub promised his followers that he
  would graft a nation from his own people, and he
  would teach them how to rule his people, through
  a system of tricks and lies whereby they use
  deceit to divide and conquer, and break the unity
  of the darker people, put one brother against
  another, and then act as mediators and rule both
  sides. Louis Farrakhan, minister

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Race

• Malcolm X preached that black people were
  genetically superior to white people but
  dominated by a system of white supremacy
• Thoughtful white people know they are inferior
  to Black people. Even Senator James Eastland
  knows it. Anyone who has studied the genetic
  phase of biology knows that white is considered
  recessive and black is considered dominant. ..The
  entire American economy is based on white
  supremacy. Even the religious philosophies, in
  essence, white supremacy. A white Jesus. A white
  Virgin. White angels. White everything. But a
  black Devil, of course. The "Uncle Sam" political
  foundation is based on white supremacy,
  relegating nonwhites to second-class citizenship.
  It goes without saying that the social philosophy
  is strictly white supremacist. And the
  educational system perpetuates white supremacy.

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Disagreements with Islam

• Gods incarnation
• Did not appear in W. Fard Muhammad as its
  heretical and blasphemous to believe God would
  manifest Himself in human form
• Relation with whites
• Yakub not taught in traditional Islam
• Status of prophet Muhammad
• Muhammad was last of messengers that Allah sent
  to mankind, NOI believes Alijah Muhammad for all
  to follow

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Action

• What did the Nation Of Islam do?
• Hard to point to specific actions in civil rights
  movement
• Similar to Harlem Renaissance sought to change
  attitudes of blacks about themselves and their
  place in society
• In 2005 listed at a hate group by the Southern
  Poverty Law Center
• One campaign example
• Blacks miseducated by public schools with intent
  preserving white domination
• Established independent, parochial schools
  calling each the University of Islam
• Led to confrontations with authorities e.g.
  Detroit 1934, a squad of police officers raided
  the NOI school and arrested 12 teachers for
  contributing to the delinquency of minors. As
  students were not enrolled in a state-accredited
  school, legally, they were considered truants

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Malcolm X

• Born Malcolm Little 1925, Nebraska
• Father suspicious death 1931
• Graduated junior high school top of his class,
  dropped out, series of foster homes, moved to
  Boston, became involved underworld
• Drug dealing, gambling, robbery, pimping jailed
  1946
• In jail introduced to Nation of Islam
• Became firm supporter, had regular contact with
  Elijah Muhammad in final years
• Upon release visited Chicago, changed surname to X

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Malcolm X

• 1953 FBI opened a file on him after described
  himself a Communist
• Concluded he had an asocial personality with
  paranoid trends
• Malcolm X used to his advantage
• 1954 became leader of Temple No. 7 in Harlem
  expanded membership, became national figure
  through television interviews, print media and
  radio often asked for his opinions
• Referred to whites as devils created by a black
  scientists breeding programme (Yakub), and
  predicted inevitable and imminent return of
  blacks to their natural place at the top of the
  social order

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Impact on NOI

• Credited with increasing membership of NOI. 1952,
  500 members 1963, 30,000
• Converted Cassius Clay to NOI (Muhammad Ali)
• Three separate trips to Africa met officials,
  spoke on public radio and television
• Primary role as minister to temples, and
  successful in setting up a number of temples in
  the country

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Split with the NOI

• Disillusioned with rumours of Elijah Muhammads
  extra marital affairs. 1963 spoke directly to him
  about it confirmed
• Criticised the March on Washington said it was
  organised by whites, in front of a dead white
  leader
• Caused public outcry when asked about JFKs
  assassination it was a case of the chickens
  coming home to roost. He added that Chickens
  coming home to roost never made me sad. It only
  made me glad.
• Elijah Muhammad censored him from public speaking
  for 90 days
• Officially split 8 March 1964, founded Muslim
  Mosque four days later
• Explicitly advocated political and economic black
  nationalism, as opposed to the Nation of Islam's
  religious nationalism

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Post-Nation Of Islam

• Converted to orthodox Islam
• Made pilgrimage to Mecca
• Visits to Africa had solidified view that
  Africa-Americans right to defend themselves from
  their aggressors
• The time for you and me to allow ourselves to
  be brutalized nonviolently has passed. Be
  nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to
  you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent
  racist, bring me a nonviolent segregationist,
  then I'll get nonviolent. But don't teach me to
  be nonviolent until you teach some of those
  crackers to be nonviolent. 28 June 1964
• However, by 1965 these views had softened

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Change of opinion?

• I realized racism isn't just a black and white
  problem. It's brought bloodbaths to about every
  nation on earth at one time or another. Brother,
  remember the time that white college girl came
  into the restaurant the one who wanted to help
  the Black Muslims and the whites get together
  and I told her there wasn't a ghost of a chance
  and she went away crying? Well, I've lived to
  regret that incident. In many parts of the
  African continent I saw white students helping
  black people. Something like this kills a lot of
  argument. I did many things as a Black Muslim
  that I'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then
  like all Black Muslims I was hypnotized,
  pointed in a certain direction and told to march.
  Well, I guess a man's entitled to make a fool of
  himself if he's ready to pay the cost. It cost me
  12 years. That was a bad scene, brother. The
  sickness and madness of those days I'm glad to
  be free of them.
• He later stated My mind is wide open to anybody
  who will help get the ape off our backs.

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International figure

• Late 1964 visited France with Jamaican officials,
  and spoke in Paris in a series of discussions and
  debates on Rastafarian ideas
• Participated in a debate at the Oxford Union, 3
  December 1964
• 12 February 1965 visited Smethwick, near
  Birmingham, as it had been an area of racial
  tension in the 1964 election when the
  Conservative Party won the seat after rumours
  that their candidates supports had used the
  slogan If you want a nigger for your neighbour,
  vote Labour.

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Assassination

• Increased tensions between NOI and Malcolm X
• In autobiography claimed members of Temple No. 7
  admitted to orders to kill him
• Malcolm declared he would defend himself from
  daily death threats he and his family received
• 21 February 1965 assassinated in Manhattan as he
  was delivering a speech

20 March 1964, Life magazine article
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Response to assassination

• Martin Luther King, Jr. sent a telegram to Betty
  Shabazz expressing sadness over the
  assassination
• While we did not always see eye to eye on
  methods to solve the race problem, I always had a
  deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a
  great ability to put his finger on the existence
  and the root of the problem. He was an eloquent
  spokesman for his point of view and no one can
  honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern
  for the problems we face as a race.
• Elijah Muhammad told the annual Saviors Day
  convention
• Malcolm X got just what he preached.
• The international press, particularly in Africa,
  was sympathetic. The Daily Times of Nigeria
  wrote
• Like all mortals, Malcolm X was not without his
  faults ... but that he was a dedicated and
  consistent disciple of the movement for the
  emancipation of his brethren no one can doubt.
  ... Malcolm X has fought and died for what he
  believed to be right. He will have a place in the
  palace of martyrs.
• Kwangming, published in Beijing, stated that
• Malcolm was murdered because he fought for
  freedom and equal rights.