Black Muslims is a name that has been used for members of several related religious groups in the United States. Almost all the members have been African Americans. Two of the groups have been known as the Nation of Islam. They include the original Black Muslim organization, which operated from 1930 to 1975, and a group founded by American minister Louis Farrakhan in 1977. The name Black Muslims is widely used today even though members of the groups have rejected the name.
The original Black Muslims organization was founded in Detroit in 1930 by Wallace D. Fard (or Wali Farad), a silk salesman. He taught his followers that their “true religion” was not Christianity, but Islam, the “religion of the Black man” of Asia and Africa. Fard stressed “knowledge of self” as a requirement for achieving Black liberation. He established Temple of Islam No. 1 in Detroit.
Fard’s organization accepted only Black people as members. Its leaders taught that white people were “devils,” and they called for the separation of Black and white people. The organization combined some aspects of Islam with doctrines of Black nationalism.
After Fard mysteriously disappeared in 1934, his chief lieutenant, Elijah Muhammad (formerly Elijah Poole), became the Nation of Islam’s leader. In 1936, he established its headquarters at Temple No. 2 in Chicago. Muhammad claimed that Fard was Allah, and he was Allah’s messenger. He continued Fard’s teachings, which stressed three factors: (1) the need for Black Americans to establish a separate nation in the United States, (2) the need to recover an acceptable identity, and (3) the need for economic independence.
In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, Malcolm X was the most important spokesman for the Nation of Islam. He converted to the movement while in prison in 1947. The years from Malcolm’s release from prison in 1952 to his assassination in 1965 marked the Nation’s greatest growth and influence. Malcolm left the Nation of Islam in 1964 and converted to Sunni Islam, a traditional branch of Islam followed by most African Muslims.
After Elijah Muhammad died in 1975, one of his sons, Warith (formerly Wallace) Deen Mohammed (sometimes spelled Muhammad) was chosen as the next leader. He rid the group of its Black nationalistic characteristics, announcing that white people were no longer “devils” and could join his organization. He also worked to lead his followers toward Sunni Islam. The group’s name was changed from Nation of Islam to the World Community of Al-Islam in the West, then to the American Muslim Mission. The group was disbanded in the mid-1980’s. Warith Deen Mohammed later became the head of an organization known as the Muslim American Society, which was founded in 1992.
In 1977, Farrakhan led a group of discontented followers in reestablishing the Nation of Islam. The group continued the Black nationalist and separatist teachings of Elijah Muhammad. In 1997, Farrakhan began to move closer to orthodox Sunni Islam. He adopted the orthodox Friday worship service, prayer posture, and fasting. These measures helped end 25 years of separation and hostilities between Farrakhan and Mohammed. The two men declared their unity at the second International Islamic Conference in Chicago in February 2000. However, they continued to lead separate movements. In 2003, Mohammed resigned as leader of the Muslim American Society. Mohammed died in 2008.
