Islam in the African diaspora

Black Muslims may refer to a number of different religious and ethnic groups.

Black nationalist movements

Some use the phrase to describe any person who is both Black and a Muslim, but Muslims are unlikely to do the same. Within Islam, race-based distinctions are supposed to be irrelevant. The Nation of Islam preaches the divinity of Black people. This group's ambiguous relationship with traditional Islam necessitates distinguishing phraseology.

For example, Black Muslims is a phrase often used in the United States of America to denote members of Louis Farrakhan's separatist Black-nationalist movement, the Nation of Islam.

Other Black nationalist movements trace their origins to the Nation of Islam. The term Black Muslim is derived from a manuscript turned book published by Dr. C. Eric. Lincoln in 1959, which analyzed the growing influence of the Nation of Islam in the United States of America.

The Nation of Islam never appreciated being labeled "Black Muslims" and years afterward publicly denounced the title but as Malcolm X (the head preacher of the New York mosque) stated, "the name stuck."

Mainstream Muslim movements

After the death of his father, Warith Deen Muhammad broke away from the nationalist teachings of the Nation of Islam.

However, other groups have also appeared, such as the Black Muslim group formed by Yusuf Bey in Oakland, California, in the 1960s. Bey also founded Your Black Muslim Bakery, which is associated with his group. Bey died on September 30, 2003.

Today, the vast majority of Black Muslims are not members of the Nation of Islam. Rather, many Black Muslims follow a number of local religious leaders who may or may not be Black, such as Siraj Wahaj.

List of Black Muslims

The following is a list of some Black Muslims. Note that some follow traditional Islam, while others follow Faradian Islam:

• Dr. Sherman Jackson, scholar
• Siraj Wahaj, preacher
• Warith Deen Muhammad, leader, American Society of Muslims
• Zaid Shakir, scholar associated with the Zaytuna Institute
• Elijah Muhammad, co-founder, Nation of Islam
• Malcolm X, Minister, Founder of Muslim Mosque Inc., Civil Rights Activist
• Louis Farrakhan, current leader, Nation of Islam
• Freestyle Fellowship, several members are so-called Black Muslims
• Keith Ellison (politician), American lawyer and politician from Michigan who became the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress
• Akon, R&B singer
• Lupe Fiasco, hip-hop emcee
• Mike Tyson, Professional Boxer
• Ice Cube, hip-hop emcee
• Dave Chappelle, stand-up comedian, satirist, and actor.
• Muhammad Ali, Professional Boxer
• Chamillionaire, hip-hop emcee
• Q-Tip, hip-hop emcee
• Rasaq, hip-hop emcee
• Scarface, hip-hop emcee
• Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Professional NFL football player
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Professional basketball player and coach
• Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Professional basketball player
• Jermaine Jackson, Former member of The Jackson 5 and brother of American pop star Michael Jackson
• Hasim Rahman, Heavyweight Boxer

See also

• Islam in the United States
• Latino Muslims
• Lists of Muslims
• Black Jews

External Links

• An Oral History of Islam in Pittsburgh
• Black Youth Empowerment