The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Islam, Nation of S 225

later by Martin Luther K ING Jr. It stressed black separatism as the only viable means to a thriving African-American community. The Nation of Islam began in Detroit in the early 1930s. A man named Wallace D. Fard, also known as Wali Farrad Muhammad, began preach ing. He claimed to bring a message to African Americans from Mecca, the town in Saudi Arabia associated with the life and activities of the prophet M UHAMMAD . Fard disappeared in 1934. His chosen successor, Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Poole), proclaimed him the promised M ESSIAH and Mahdi, or bringer of divine justice. Until his death in 1975, Elijah Muhammad directed the community from Chicago. In the 1950s, a convert to the Nation, M ALCOLM X, became its best known spokesperson. However, Malcolm left the Nation to found his own organization in 1964. Among other things, he had made a PILGRIMAGE to Mecca ( see M ECCA , PILGRIMAGE TO ) that year, and he had been impressed by the universalism of S UNNI I SLAM . After Elijah Muham mad’s death, his followers split. Elijah Muham mad’s son, Warithuddin Muhammad, changed the name of the organization to the American Muslim Mission. He established it as a branch of Sunni Islam. Others, led by Louis Farrakhan, rejected this move and reorganized the Nation once again. The Nation of Islam has its own distinc tive mythology ( see MYTH AND MYTHOLOGY ). Eli jah Muhammad taught that originally all human beings were black and practiced Islam. The white race was created by an evil scientist named Mr. Yacub. Whites were inferior to blacks; they were also devils, and they taught Christianity. To test blacks, G OD had allowed whites to rule the Earth for a period of 6,000 years, but their rule was about to end. At that point blacks would once again assume their rightful place. This mythology helps Black Muslims understand the African-American experience and gives them hope for the future. In keeping with such views, the Nation of Islam rejected any attempts at integration with whites. It advocated black separatism and urged African Americans to establish their own busi nesses. Indeed, it demanded that the United States government establish a separate state for

as education for girls and women, equal access to health care, adequate nutrition, and equal treat ment before the law. SIGNIFICANCE Since the time of the prophet Muhammad Islam has been one of the world’s major religions. At the beginning of the 21st century roughly one-fifth of the world’s population practiced it, including more than four and a half million North Americans. In addition, Islam has given the world rich cultural traditions, including art and architecture, litera ture, and philosophy. Further reading: Ahmed Ali, trans., Al-Qur’an: A Contemporary Translation, (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988); Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (New York: Modern Library, 2002); Lawrence Davidson, Islamic Fundamentalism (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1998); John L. Esposito, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992); John Esposito, ed., The Iranian Revolution (Miami: Florida International University Press, 1990); John L. Esposito, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003); Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002). Islam, Nation of An important African-Ameri can religion that derives from the teachings and activities of Elijah Muhammad. Members of the Nation of I SLAM are known as Black Muslims. The Nation of Islam was founded in the 1930s. It was not the first manifestation of Islam among African Americans. Muslims were among the Afri cans brought to North America as slaves. But the Nation of Islam inherited two other, more recent traditions of African-American thought. The first advocated Islam as the appropriate religion for African Americans. It rejected C HRISTIANITY , the religion of the slave-owners, as an instrument of oppression. The second tradition rejected the ideal of integration advocated by W. E. B. DuBois and