| Aims | Establish a separate nation and homeland for African Americans • Economic, political, and social empowerment of the black community |
| Name | Nation of Islam |
| Type | Black nationalist social movement |
| Impact | Significant influence on the Black Power movement |
| Founding | Late 19th century |
| Ideology | Syncretistic blend of Islam • Black pride ideology • Pseudoscientific racial theories |
| Position | Controversial and fringe for much of its history |
| Leadership | Charismatic leaders |
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a black nationalist and social movement founded in the 1890s, with the ultimate aim of establishing an independent nation or homeland for African Americans. Drawing from a unique syncretic blend of Islam, black supremacy ideology, and pseudoscience, the NOI has been a major force in the struggle for black self-determination and liberation in the 20th century.
The origins of the NOI can be traced to the African Methodist Episcopal Church and other early black churches in the late 19th century. In 1893, a mysterious figure known as "Prophet Drew Ali" established the "Moorish Science Temple of America" in Newark, New Jersey, which taught that African Americans were in fact "Moors" - the indigenous Muslim inhabitants of North Africa. This racial and religious idea was a key precursor to the NOI's later theology.
In 1913, Wallace Fard Muhammad, a traveling salesman and preacher, began spreading his own unorthodox version of "Islam for the Black Man" in the African-American neighborhoods of Detroit, Michigan. Fard Muhammad claimed that the white race was created by an evil scientist named Yakub to oppress the original black peoples. He preached the need for black Americans to "return to Islam" and establish their own sovereign nation.
After Fard Muhammad's mysterious disappearance in 1934, his protégé Elijah Muhammad took over leadership of the movement, which became known as the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad further developed the NOI's theology and expanded the organization across the United States, establishing temples and schools in major cities.
The central tenet of the NOI's beliefs is the idea that African Americans are the original, God-chosen people - the "Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the West" - who were exiled and oppressed by the white race. The movement teaches that whites were created by the evil "Yakub" to rule over and subjugate the black race, and that the ultimate goal is to establish a separate nation or homeland for African Americans.
Other key beliefs of the NOI include:
The NOI has also historically promoted controversial racial eugenics theories and anti-Semitism. Its theology and worldview has been widely criticized as pseudohistory and pseudoscience by mainstream scholars.
Under Elijah Muhammad's leadership, the Nation of Islam experienced dramatic growth throughout the mid-20th century. The organization established mosques, schools, businesses, farms, and other institutions across major cities with sizable African American populations.
Prominent converts to the NOI during this period included renowned athletes like Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, who became a powerful orator and spokesman for the movement. The organization's aggressive stance and rejection of nonviolent civil rights tactics made it controversial, but also drew attention and new followers.
As the Nation of Islam grew in size and prominence, it also became increasingly politically active. Elijah Muhammad and other leaders frequently criticized the U.S. government, calling for the establishment of a separate black state or homeland. The NOI also took confrontational stances against police brutality and racial injustice, sparking conflicts with law enforcement.
In the late 1960s, the rise of the Black Power movement amplified the NOI's influence and message. Splinter groups like the Black Panther Party adopted the Nation's rhetoric and militancy. Elijah Muhammad's son Louis Farrakhan emerged as a charismatic and controversial leader, taking over the NOI in the late 1970s after a period of internal turmoil and division.
Though the Nation of Islam has remained a relatively small movement compared to the mainstream civil rights struggles, its impact on African American politics, culture, and identity has been profound. The NOI's revolutionary black nationalist ideologies, confrontational tactics, and eccentric theology have continued to captivate, inspire, and unsettle both supporters and critics.
The NOI's lasting legacy includes:
Even as the Nation of Islam's membership has declined in recent decades, its ideas and influence remain a potent and ongoing force within African American politics and culture.
