Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (abbreviated NOI ), also known as Black Muslims ("Black Muslims"), is a religious-political organization founded in 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad of Afro-Americans outside of Islamic orthodoxy.
The name indicates the founding separatist goals, including the establishment of a separate homeland in the United States. Until the 1970s, the organization represented the ideology of Black Supremacy , which was briefly abandoned by his son Warith Deen Mohammed in 1975 after the death of Elijah Muhammad . The ideological differences led to the split into the moderate American Society of Muslims under Mohammed and the radical "new" Nation of Islam, which carried on the racist tradition of Black Supremacy (black supremacy). According to the Anti Defamation League , the movement also takes anti-Semitic positions to this day .
Louis Farrakhan , the current leader of the organization, has been recommending members to study Dianetics since 2010 . Today it has 1,055 trained auditors. The inventor of Dianetics, L. Ron Hubbard , sold the rights to the name and method in 1951 before founding the Scientology organization.
ideology
The belief practice of the Moorish Science Temple formed the basis of the Nation of Islam, but this organization was not based on a nation-state idea. Neither were whites there equated with the devil. However, the connection between "pseudo-Islamic" belief and the idea of addressing and improving the social situation of the Afro-American population was adopted.
After WD Muhammad took over the leadership of the "original" Nation of Islam in 1975, he led the organization to Orthodox Islam, which many did not like. Those who remained faithful to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad resigned from the nation, some of them establishing independent organizations and teaching the teachings of the late leader Elijah Muhammad. The first to do this was Silis X or Silis Muhammad, who called his organization the Lost Found Nation of Islam. Most famous, however, is Louis Farrakhan , one of the most important preachers in the nation during the lifetime of Elijah Muhammad. His organization is called the Nation of Islam. The organizations do not teach the same thing, there are deviations in both beliefs and religious practices. So z. B. the Yacub story continues to be taught by all organizations, and the demand for a separate state still exists, but z. B. When it comes to prayer and belief in Fard Muhammad there are serious differences. The original Nation of Islam no longer exists under the name since 1976, it has been renamed several times. Today it is known as The American Society of Muslims. Elijah Muhammad's son WD Muhammad resigned as leader on August 31, 2003 and passed away on September 9, 2008.
Whites as devils
The emergence of the white race has been explained as the result of centuries of “breeding” by an “evil” black scientist (Yacub). According to this genesis, the indigenous people are said to be the Shabazz tribe, from which the Afro-Americans (and all dark-skinned people) descend directly. Yacub is said to have "cultivated" on the Greek island of Patmos , known from the Revelation of John , where he went with 59,999 followers from Mecca. On Patmos he is said to have gradually bred the brown, the red, the yellow and finally the white race, which represents absolute evil and the devil (Adam and Eve are said to have been the first whites) and in the texts of the Nation of Islam is also referred to as the "bleached race". As a result, the whites are said to have managed to escape from the island to which they were exiled. They subjugated and enslaved the Shabazz tribe (the black Africans), but also the "browns, reds and yellows". Moses is said to have been sent by God to civilize the whites, which was unsuccessful.
Only through the Nation of Islam and Master Fard Muhammad as “God” is it possible to free the blacks from their oppression.
Nation idea
The demand for a separate state for Afro-Americans in US territory was based on this view of the white race. This idea is based on the basic assumption that the US blacks are direct descendants of the named Shabazz tribe or that their actual “nationality” is “Asiatic Black” (“Asian Black”). The own state is not only founded on this idea of nationality or ancestry, but also on the assumption that an American black would never receive the same privileges as an American white. In addition, there is the historical fact that the US blacks were not brought to the US voluntarily, but as slaves.
For this reason, the lack of “real” identity, the lack of knowledge of the actual past and, as the most obvious sign, the lack of one's own surname, the “X” was used as a substitute for the “slave name” (the surname that Africans gave to their slave owners takeovers).
Muslim program
Further principles and demands were formulated in the so-called “Muslim Program”. In the form mentioned, this corresponds to the "Muslim Program" under Elijah Muhammad (1897–1975; leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death). The points are formulated in the name of “the Muslims”, but have a certain binding force only for followers of the doctrine of the Nation of Islam and (to this day) represent an ideological guide for the Nation of Islam.
What Muslims Want:
- We demand freedom, unrestricted freedom.
- We demand a just justice under the sovereignty of the law, regardless of belief, class and skin color.
- We demand equal opportunities.
- We demand a separate state within the USA for the descendants of slaves.
- We want freedom for all “believers of Islam” who are now in federal prisons
- We demand an immediate end to police brutality and violent attacks by citizens against "so-called Negroes" ("the so-called Negroes") across the United States.
- As long as we are not allowed to establish our own state, we not only demand equal, fair justice, but also equal opportunities on the labor market.
- We call on the government to release our people from all tax obligations as long as there is no equal and fair judiciary.
- We demand the same education - but separate schools up to 16 for boys and up to 18 for girls on condition that girls are sent to women's colleges and universities. We want all black children to be taught by their own teachers.
What Muslims Believe:
- We believe in God Whose Real Name is Allah.
- We believe in the holy Quran and the writings of the prophets.
- We believe in the veracity of the Bible, but it needs to be reinterpreted in order to save humanity from the falsehoods that have been added to it.
- We believe in Allah's prophets and the scriptures that they brought to people.
- We believe in the resurrection of the dead - not in a physical resurrection, but in a spiritual one. "We believe that the so-called Negroes are most in the need for mental resurrection. Therefore, they will be resurrected first. ” (“ We believe that the so-called negroes need the spiritual resurrection most. That is why we will be resurrected first. ”) Furthermore, we believe that we are God's chosen people. ( Ethiopism )
- We believe in divine law. This will take place the first time when God is revealed in the United States.
- “We believe in justice for all, whether in God or not; we believe as others, that we are due equal justice as human beings. ” (“ We believe in justice for all, whether in God or not; we believe like others that we are entitled to equal justice as human beings. ”) We believe in equality - as a nation - of equals. We do not believe that as "freed slaves" we are the same as our slave owners. We respect American citizens, recognize them as an independent people, and respect their laws.
- We believe that the offer of integration is hypocritical. That this offer is formulated by those who try to deceive the blacks and make them believe that their 400-year-old enemies of freedom, justice and equality are suddenly their “friends”.
- We believe that we, who consider ourselves righteous Muslims, should not take part in wars when they cost human lives.
- We believe that our women should be respected and protected, as should women from other nations.
- We believe that Allah (God) appeared in Master W. Fard Muhammad in July 1930, as the long-awaited Messiah of Christians and the Mahdi of Muslims.
history
Moorish Science Temple (1913-1929)
The " Moorish Science Temple ", the predecessor organization of the "Nation of Islam", was founded in 1913 by Noble Drew Ali (Timothy Drew) in New Jersey. The ideology was not based on pan-Africanism (i.e., unlike Marcus Garvey , not on emigration to Africa), but on the fight against social injustice and racial discrimination. This struggle is based on two central points: The knowledge of one's own “Moorish” descent and the turning away from Christianity or turning to Islam. The basis for this was the Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America (“Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America”) or, Circle Seven Koran (“Circle Seven Koran”), the Noble Drew Ali from the “Aquarian Gospel “By Levi H. Dowling , a guide to the way of life of the Rosicrucians and some self-written thoughts. At the time of Noble Drew Ali's death in 1929, the movement had about 30,000 members in ten cities from Chicago and split after his death. Some saw Edward Mealy El (1870-1935) as the rightful successor, others Drew Ali's driver John Givens El or Fard Muhammad ("Nation of Islam").
Fard Muhammad (1929-1934)
The name "Nation of Islam" was introduced by Wallace Fard Muhammad (1877-1934). He is known by many alternate names, including WD Fard, David Ford-el, Wali Farad, Farrad Mohammed, and F. Mohammed Ali. Within the Nation of Islam he is commonly called "Master Fard Muhammad".
In 1934, Fard Muhammad disappeared and Elijah Muhammad took over the leadership of the Nation of Islam. There are rumors surrounding the disappearance. The official version of the Nation of Islam is that he disappeared in the direction of Mecca , but there are also claims that it was an escape from the FBI and that until recently he was still living in the United States. Voices about the place of birth, whose parents etc. differ widely (among other things, it is claimed that he had a Jewish mother, was not from Mecca, but was of Pakistani or New Zealand descent).
The sociologist Erdmann Doane Beynon published a report in the American Journal of Sociology in 1938 on interviews with about 200 families in the state of Michigan . From this it emerged that from 1930 to 1934 Fard had visited black families in Detroit who had moved to Detroit in the course of the Great Migration from the southern states . As a peddler, he first sold silk fabrics and told his listeners that the silk came from their homeland. At his suggestion, he gave his clients religious instruction, initially based on the Bible , but shocked his audience when he increasingly viewed the whites in a bad light. With the help of money collections, a hall could be rented and used as a temple, which is named Temple No. 1 received. At this place, Fard used the Koran as the final valid basis for his written statements, which his followers learned by heart word for word.
Tensions arose between the new religious group and the police when parents refused to send their children to public schools. 1932 some group members were accused in the course of exorcisms in human sacrifices to have been involved.
The basis of Fard's teaching was described by Beynon as follows:
“The black men in North America are not negroes, but belong to the lost Shabazz tribe, stolen from the holy city of Mecca by traders 379 years ago. The Prophet came to America to find and bring back to life his long-lost brothers from whom the Caucasians had stolen their language, nation and religion. Here in America they couldn't live by themselves. They must learn that they are the original, noblest people on earth. The Caucasians are colored because they have lost their original color. The original people need to regain their religion, this is Islam, their language, this is Arabic, and their culture, this is astronomy and higher mathematics, especially calculus. You must obey Allah's Law and avoid all meat from 'poisonous animals': pigs, ducks, geese, possums and catfish . You must completely give up the use of stimulants, especially spirits. They need to purify themselves - both their bodies and their homes. If they obey Allah in this way, He will lead them back to the paradise from which they were stolen - the Holy City of Mecca. "
Elijah Muhammad (1934-1975)
Elijah Muhammad took over the leadership of the Nation of Islam in 1934. Various sub-organizations (“University of Islam” and “Fruit of Islam”) and an economic program were introduced under him. Still, the Nation of Islam faced some problems during World War II . Elijah Muhammad and members of his family were arrested for refusing to do military service. During this time the Nation of Islam was continued by Clara Muhammad (Elijah Muhammad's wife). There were only four temples at the time (Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC, and Milwaukee), which changed radically in the 1950s, largely due to the public created by Malcolm X , who joined the nation in 1952 after serving in prison. Another prominent member was Muhammad Ali . The boxer announced his membership in the Nation of Islam in 1964, shortly after he first won the world heavyweight title. He then changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali.
Between 1950 and 1970, the Nation of Islam achieved its first real relevance as a large African American opinion-forming organization. During this period, new temples opened across the United States, increasing membership (the estimate varies) from 70,000 and 250,000 in the late 1950s to 1 million (according to the organization) in the 1970s. About a quarter of them would have actively participated.
Malcolm's break with the Nation of Islam
In the 1960s, a conflict developed between Malcolm X and other members of the Nation of Islam, on the one hand, and their ideological leader, Elijah Muhammad, on the other. Malcolm X was accused of forcing a change of power and wanting to head the Nation of Islam. He then tried to avoid public appearances or rather asked journalists who wrote about the Nation of Islam not to use his picture, but that of Elijah Muhammad. There were public allegations against Elijah Muhammad of alleged sexual assault on secretaries and illegitimate children. The final break came when Malcolm's statement on the assassination of John F. Kennedy (November 22, 1963) was partially published. He was quoted as “a case of 'chicken coming home to roost'” (loosely translated: one reaps what one sows) without publishing the postscript in which he shared the murder of Patrice Lumumba , Medgar Evers and Ngô Đình Nhu compared.
He was then banned from public appearances and had to resign from Temple No.7 in New York. He announced his resignation from the Nation of Islam on March 8, 1964 and founded the organization "Muslim Mosque, Inc".
In July 1964, Time magazine summarized these turbulent times as follows:
"The Black Nationalists, too, are split every which way. Spiritual heirs of that flamboyant fake Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican Negro who paraded through Harlem under a banner with a black star in the 1920s calling for a return to Africa, scores of outfits exist. There are Elijah Muhammad's Black Muslims and Malcolm X's offshoot Organization of Afro-American Unity, the Ethiopia Coptic Orthodox Mission and the House of Common Sense and Home of Proper Propaganda, which displays a sign advertising the book The God Damn White Man. All told, they probably have no more than 5,000 members. "
It has not yet been clarified whether the murder of Malcolm X on February 21, 1965 in the Audubon Ballroom was actually, as initially assumed, the Nation of Islam or a government agency. The lawyer for one of the arrested assassins described the FBI and the New York police as masterminds of the murder. After Malcolm X's assassination, his followers raided temples and other facilities of the Nation of Islam.
Last years under Elijah Muhammad
The next decade was characterized primarily by two aspects:
On the one hand, temples were opened in Bermuda, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, Ghana, Great Britain, Trinidad and Central America. On the other hand, the affiliated agricultural and livestock farms as well as refrigerated and department stores, the Muhammad Speaks newspaper and two banks (Guaranty Bank and Trust Company) achieved great economic success.
Within the organization, this time is characterized by the follow-up discussion about Elijah Muhammad, who was in poor health. Wallace Muhammad, the son who was to succeed him (according to a prophecy by Fard Muhammad), belonged to the group around Malcolm X, which brought Elijah Muhammad into serious trouble regarding his sex affair and his interpretation of Islam. Wallace Muhammad was first excommunicated, then reinstated, but prohibited from speaking. In 1974 the ban on speaking was lifted and he himself was assigned to a temple where he was supposed to preach. After hearing the recording of a sermon by his son, Elijah Muhammad is said to have been convinced of his change - his move back to the Nation of Islam - and his loyalty. Thus the succession according to the will of Elijah Muhammad was secured. The nation's longtime leader died on February 25, 1975.
By the time he died, the Nation of Islam is said to have opened 75 temples across America.
World Community of Al-Islam in the West
Under the leadership of WD Mohammed , the organization's ideology was profoundly changed. The racist genesis was reinterpreted to the extent that Yacub would have brought “evil” into the world, but that it would not only be linked to white skin, the practice of faith was more oriented towards Sunni Islam, the demand for its own national territory was given up - the members were even given up encouraged to take part in elections, in addition, the "nationality" - in order to build a bridge to orthodox Islam - was changed to " bilalians ". Fard Muhammad was no longer seen as the incarnation of God but only as a "wise man" and Malcolm X was no longer ostracized as an apostate. The mosques were "orientalized", i. In other words, the anti-Christian and anti-American slogans that were attached to the mosques were replaced by Arabic ornaments and lettering and the five pillars of Islam became a central part of the faith. The subordinate status of women was abolished and girls were given the right to the same education as boys. In the economic area, the operations of the former Nation of Islam were separated from religious work (i.e. farms were also leased to non-Muslims). Wallace Muhammad resigned as a religious leader soon after it was founded and acted as "ambassador at large". The leadership was then taken over by a group of six imams, who were elected by the believers in six areas.
Not everyone agreed with these radical changes, and a group was formed around Louis Farrakhan, spokesman for the Nation of Islam or the WCIW, who wanted to follow the path that Elijah Muhammad had taken and who wanted to "orientalize" the Organization as a departure from the real goal of the earlier Nation of Islam. In December 1977 he announced his resignation from the WCIW and formed a "new" Nation of Islam on the doctrine of Elijah Muhammad, on the "old" dogmas .
Louis Farrakhan (since 1977)
Louis Farrakhan led the organization's ideology back to its political, black-nationalist core. Instead of following the religious movement with emphasis on a corresponding doctrine of an American version of Sunni Islam, he wanted to continue the traditional political-propaganda struggle of the Nation of Islam. The return to principles of Elijah Muhammad was explained on the basis of seven points in a 1978 New York Amsterdam News article.
- The loss of some of the accomplishments of past black leaders.
- The change in America "from benign neglect to a malignant neglect" with regard to the real problems of American blacks (jobs, police attacks, social benefits, housing situation etc.)
- The emergence of fascist ideas within white society ( Nazis , Ku Klux Klan etc.)
- The lack of public and private business initiatives.
- The moral decline within black society (prostitution, drugs, etc.)
- The violence (assaults, murder, etc.) against the elderly and the disrespect for women.
- The loss of moral strength among black Muslims or the lack of discipline.
The African American scientist and author Clifton E. Marsh writes in his book "The Lost-Found Nation of Islam in America":
"The American Muslim Mission, formerly WCIW, does not represent the ideas of the Hornorable [sic] Elijah Muhammad or the founding fathers of this race conscious ideology. Minister Louis Farrakhan, however, continues a legacy of African nationalist thought, which calls for black Americans to 'rise up you mighty race'. "
In the 1980s, the Nation of Islam (apart from the ideological-religious dispute with the American Muslim Mission) made headlines primarily through the support of the Christian black preacher Jesse Jackson in his candidacy for the presidential candidate for the Democrats in 1984. Time magazine wrote the following under the title "Farrakhans fulmination":
"He [Louis Farrakhan] is a bit player who won't get offstage. Minister Louis Farrakhan, the black-separatist leader of the Nation of Islam movement and a supporter of Jesse Jackson, has threatened a black newspaper reporter with death and called Hitler a 'great man', albeit a 'wicked' one. His latest provocation is to embrace Muammar Gaddafi. After returning from a visit with the Libyan dictator this month, Farrakhan reportedly told a congregation in Boston, 'America, you should be ashamed of yourself. [...] It is you who are the outlaw. How can a leader of a little country like Libya terrorize the world? ' He told the Boston Herald, 'Since it is not divinely backed […]. the state of Israel is an outlaw state. '"
After public criticism of Farrakhan's statements, Jesse Jackson tried to distance himself from Louis Farrakhan in the course of his election campaign - without actually parting with his supporter. He lost the primary elections and was only third.
In the primaries for the 2008 presidential elections , the Nation of Islam did not have a clear position, but there should have been tendencies towards Barack Obama . For example, Barack Obama was given a relatively large spot in the Final Call newspaper . A critical view of Obama is only made subliminally clear in the reports, for example in an article from January 14, 2008:
"Our hope is that America will take the best of the Obama message, commit herself to and begin the long and arduous journey to reverse her present course, which cannot be done without justice for the children of her ex-slaves and all who still yearn to breathe free. "
reception
The Nation of Islam is categorized as racist by critics , partly because of its view of whites. Increasing integration through the rise of members in the middle class and creativity reminiscent of the Calvinist spirit have taken some of the radicalism of Black Muslims away. Estimates of membership vary between 20,000 and 50,000.
literature
- Gardell, Mattias: In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam , Duke University Press: 1996, ISBN 978-0822318453 .
- Marsh, Clifton E .: The lost-found Nation of Islam in America , Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland, London, 2000, ISBN 1-57886-008-3 .
- Walker, Dennis: Islam and the search for African-American nationhood. Elijah Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan, and the Nation of Islam , Clarity Press: Atlanta, 2005, ISBN 0-932863-44-2 .
Web links
- Homepage The Nation of Islam (NOI)
- Homepage The Nation of Islam of Canada (NOIC)
- "Finalcall.com News"
- "Mystery man"
- FBI Logs on Fard ( Memento August 10, 2004 on the Internet Archive )
- Muslims distance themselves from the NOI
Individual evidence
- ↑ AP / MSNBC : Former Nation of Islam leader dies at 74
- ^ Anti Defamation League : Nation of Islam Leader Reprises "Vintage" Anti-Semitism; ADL Says Farrakhan's Racism 'As Ugly As It Ever Was' ( Memento of the original from January 20, 2013 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Southern Poverty Law Center : Nation of Islam
- ↑ Asahed Mohammed: Nation of Islam auditor graduation held for third Saviors' Day in a row . Final call. February 28, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ Liane von Billerbeck , Frank Nordhausen , The Sect Group , Scientology on the advance, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-426-80051-9 , p. 35
- ↑ cf. Marsh, Clifton E .; The lost-found Nation of Islam in America; Lanham, Maryland, London; 2000; P. 41f
- ↑ cf. Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 31f
- ^ Muslim Program
- ^ Translation (and quotations in English) from: Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 46f
- ↑ cf. Kavanaugh, Kelli B .; Mystery man; At the root of the Nation of Islam, a cipher and a controversy. ; 2003; (Accessed August 22, 2006)
- ↑ cf. Haley, Alex; The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley; New York; 1973; P. 195 ff.
- ↑ cf. The Black Supremacist , Time magazine August 10, 1959; (Accessed September 2, 2007)
- ↑ cf. Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 68
- ↑ cf. Haley, Alex; ibid. p. 296ff
- ↑ Haley, Alex; ibid. p. 307
- ^ No Place Like Home , Time Magazine, July 31, 1964; (Accessed September 2, 2007)
- ↑ cf. Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 68f
- ↑ Muhammad's Temple of Islam , Information taken from October 4, 1974 edition of Muhammad Speaks Newspaper
- ↑ cf. Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 69ff
- ↑ cf. Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 73
- ↑ cf. Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 97
- ^ Translated from Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 97f
- ↑ Marsh, Clifton E .; ibid. p. 98
- ↑ a b Farrakhans fulminations , Time-Magazine on July 2, 1984; (Accessed September 9, 2007)
- ↑ FCN Editorial - Is America's attitude changing? , FinalCall.com on January 14, 2008; (Accessed March 2, 2017)
- ^ New York Times : Nation of Islam at a Crossroad as Leader Exits , published February 26, 2007
