Nation of Islam-Historical Background

[Douglas D. Anderson]

The NOI was created by Wallace D. Fard, also known as Wallace Fard
Muhammad. Fard claimed to come from the Islamic city of Mecca. He
began a mosque in Detroit in 1930. He taught that Christianity should be
rejected since it was the "slave-master's religion."

In 1934 Fard disappeared and was neither seen nor heard from again.
Fard was succeeded by Elijah Muhammad (Elijah Poole).

Elijah Poole was born in Sandersville, Ga. on October 7, 1898. He
changed his name to Elijah Muhammad after joining the NOI. After
Fard disappeared, Elijah took over the leadership of NOI.

Malcolm Little was born in 1925. He joined the NOI and changed
his name to Malcolm X. He achieved fame in the early 1960s as the
spokesperson for Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm was removed as
spokesperson because of an inappropriate remark about the
assassination of President Kennedy and was severed from the
NOI because of his accusations of sexual misconduct between Elijah
and female staff members (C. Eric Lincoln, The Black Muslim in
America, 3d. ed. [Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1994], 258). After he left the NOI, Malcolm began the Muslim
Mosque, Inc. in 1964. Less than one year later, on February 21,
1965, Malcolm X was killed by assassins.

Warith Deen Muhammad became the new leader of the NOI after
his father, Elijah Muhammad, died on February 25, 1975. Warith
eliminated from NOI teaching that Fard was Allah. Warith led the
NOI to adopt beliefs compatible with traditional Islam. He changed
the name from the NOI to the World Community of Islam. Later, he
altered the name to the American Muslim Mission but eventually
disbanded the organization and his followers became part of traditional
Islam. The NOI was resurrected by Louis Farrakhan.

Farrakhan was born Louis Eugene Walcott in New York City on
May 11, 1933. He attended college for two years in North Carolina,
but left to begin a career as an entertainer. He sang in nightclubs until
he joined the NOI. Louis Farrakhan separated from Warith Deen
Muhammad in 1978 because of doctrinal disagreements.

Farrakhan formed a splinter group using the original name--the Nation
of Islam. He reestablished the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and also
reinstated the movement's security force known as the Fruit of Islam (FOI).