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Elijah Muhammad
Elijah met Wallace D. Fard while in jail; around 1930 he became an assistant prime minister to Fard. He then became his successor in from 1934 until Fards death. Over the next 30 years Elijah built the organization into a more large and complex one; He preached financial independence for African Americans and racial separation instead of integration. -
Wallace D. Fard Muhammad founds the Nation of Islam
Wallace D. Fard Muhammad believed that Christianity was a religion that white people imposed on blacks in order to make them conform to white society. He thought that blacks should unite against whites to break free from whites' discrimination. Instead of supporting an integrated society, he was in favor of black superiority and the creation of a separate society from whites. -
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Nation of Islam Timeline
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Main beliefs of NOI and the difference from mainstream Islam
NOI believe that the leaders of the group like Fard and Elijah Muhammad are incarnations of god; While mainstream Islam believes that there is only one god, Allah. The Quran states that all people should be at peace and know each other not despise each other. The NOI says that African Americans and all non whites are superior to whites. -
Malcolm x begins preaching for the Nation of Islam
After getting out of jail in 1952 he joined the NOI;
He worked with the founder Elijah Muhammad and helped found new temples all over the country.
He also helped to create the groups newspaper “Muhammad speaks”.While in the organization he made it clear that he really disliked white people and preached that if necessary it was okay to use violence to get rid of white racism. -
Malcolm X breaks ties with the Nation of Islam
When traveling to Mecca in the 1960s, Malcolm X learned that the Islamic faith does not uphold the idea of racial superiority; in Mecca, there were people of multiple races (including white people) who followed Islam. Therefore, he lost faith in the Nation of Islam. Although he separated from the Nation of Islam, he continued to believe that blacks should unite as a racial group. -
Louis Farrakhan helps lead the Nation of Islam (and another organization)
When Elijah Muhammad died, his son Warith Muhammad was chosen as the leader of the Nation of Islam. Louis Farrakhan (minister of NOI mosque in Boston) was in favor of Warith Muhammad until he started including white people in the NOI. After Farrakhan separated from the NOI, he created another organization (about 10,000 people) to oppose it. -
Problems that the NOI faces today
1) The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that supports equality and combats racism, accused the Nation of Islam of being a racist group because of Farrakhan and various other leaders' opinions toward white people and those who identify as LGBTQ.
2) Many Muslims do not view the NOI as following the Islamic faith because Islam does not condone racism or violence rooted in racist beliefs. -
Accomplishments of the movement
1) Created unity within the black community
2) Gave black people faith in the civil rights movement after nonviolence ceased to be effective
3) Created pride in black people through beliefs of black superiority
