Black Muslims
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General Information
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Black Muslims is a widely used name for the adherents of
an American black nationalist religious movement whose self
designation changed in 1976 from "The Lost - Found Nation of
Islam" to "The World Community of Islam in the West." The
movement traces its beginnings to the enigmatic figure of
Wallace D Fard (Wali Farad), known as "Prophet Fard,"
"The Great Mahdi" or "The Savior," who attracted 8,000
followers in the short period between his appearance in
Detroit in 1930 and his disappearance in June 1934.
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The movement, with its present headquarters in Chicago, gained
ground significantly under Fard's successor, Elijah Muhammad,
who exercised strong leadership until his death in 1975. He
saw himself as the "prophet and apostle of Allah," claiming
that God had appeared in the figure of Fard. Preaching an
anti integrationist message, Elijah Muhammad frequently voiced
warnings about "the human beast. . . the people or race
known as the white." He called "every Black Man in America to
be reunited with his own" and urged a sense of black self
reliance and separation from the white society, even
economically. One of the best known Black Muslim ministers during
this period was Malcolm X, converted while he was in prison in
1947, who broke with the movement in March 1964 and was assassinated
11 months later.
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A radically different phase began under Elijah Muhammad's son
and successor, Warith Deen (or Wallace D) Muhammad. He called
for a new sense of patriotism, urging blacks to "identify with
the land and flag." Advocating the "religious unification of
the world's Muslims," W D Muhammad abandoned unorthodox
notions and expressions that had presented obstacles for many
other Muslims' recognition of this movement as being authentically
Islamic. In May 1985 he announced the dissolution of the
American Muslim Mission to unify its members with the worldwide
Muslim community.
A splinter group led by Louis Farrakhan, however, retains the
earlier separatist principles and the name "Nations of Islam."
During the 1984 presidential campaign Farrakhan's racial comments
stirred controversy. In subsequent years, he repeated anti-Semitic
remarks at large rallies, but he did not inject himself
into the 1988 presidential campaign.
Willem A Bijlefeld
Bibliography:
J R Howard, Becoming a Black Muslim: A Study
of Commitment Processes in a Deviant Political Organization (1965);
C E Lincoln, The Black Muslims in America (1973); L E Lomax, When the
Word is Given: A Report on Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and the Black
Muslim World (1963); C E Marsh, From Black Muslims to Muslims:
The Transition from Separatism to Islam, 1930 - 1980 (1984);
E Muhammad, Message to the Blackman in America (1965).
Also, see:
Islam, Muhammad
Koran, Qur'an
Pillars of Faith
Abraham
Testament of Abraham
Allah
Hadiths
Revelation - Hadiths from Book 1 of al-Bukhari
Belief - Hadiths from Book 2 of al-Bukhari
Knowledge - Hadiths from Book 3 of al-Bukhari
Times of the Prayers - Hadiths from Book 10 of al-Bukhari
Shortening the Prayers (At-Taqseer) - Hadiths from Book 20 of al-Bukhari
Pilgrimmage (Hajj) - Hadiths from Book 26 of al-Bukhari
Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihad) - Hadiths of Book 52 of al-Bukhari
ONENESS, UNIQUENESS OF ALLAH (TAWHEED) - Hadiths of Book 93 of al-Bukhari
Hanafiyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Malikiyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Shafi'iyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Hanbaliyyah School Theology (Sunni)
Maturidiyyah Theology (Sunni)
Ash'ariyyah Theology (Sunni)
Mutazilah Theology
Ja'fari Theology (Shia)
Nusayriyyah Theology (Shia)
Zaydiyyah Theology (Shia)
Kharijiyyah
Imams (Shia)
Druze
Qarmatiyyah (Shia)
Ahmadiyyah
Ishmael, Ismail
Early Islamic History Outline
Hegira
Averroes
Avicenna
Machpela
Kaaba, Black Stone
Ramadan
Sunnites, Sunni
Shiites, Shia
Mecca
Medina
Sahih, al-Bukhari
Sufism
Wahhabism
Abu Bakr
Abbasids
Ayyubids
Umayyads
Fatima
Fatimids (Shia)
Ismailis (Shia)
Mamelukes
Saladin
Seljuks
Aisha
Ali
Lilith
Islamic Calendar
Interactive Muslim Calendar
The individual articles presented here were generally first published
in the early 1980s. This subject presentation was first placed
on the Internet in May 1997.
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