Mohammed, Warith Deen, << moh HAM ehd, wawr EETH deen >> (1933-2008), succeeded his father, Elijah Muhammad, as the leader of the original Nation of Islam in 1975. The organization, whose members called themselves Black Muslims, combined Islamic religious beliefs and black nationalism.
Mohammed brought significant reform to the Nation of Islam. He led his followers to Sunni Islam, a traditional branch of Islam practiced by many Africans. He abandoned the group’s previous policy of radical black nationalism, which had been supported by his father. This policy had called for racial separation and the establishment of a black nation in the United States. Mohammed also rejected his father’s belief that whites were evil, and he opened his group to people of all races. In addition, he raised the status of women in the organization. Under Mohammed, the organization changed its name several times and was eventually disbanded in the mid-1980’s. Mohammed later became head of the Muslim American Society, which was founded in 1992. He resigned from the position in 2003. He later became the director of the Mosque Cares, a charitable ministry.
In 1977, Louis Farrakhan, a high-ranking member of Mohammed’s organization, broke with him and reestablished the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan’s group embraced black nationalism and many of the other original Nation of Islam teachings that Mohammed had rejected. In 2000, after many years of hostility, Mohammed and Farrakhan declared their unity. However, they continued to lead separate movements.
Wallace Deen Muhammad was born on Oct. 30, 1933, in Hamtramck, Michigan. All of his elementary and secondary education took place within the Nation of Islam’s schools. After succeeding his father as leader of the Nation of Islam, he changed his first name to Warith. He said his new name meant Inheritor of the faith of Muhammad. Mohammed died on Sept. 9, 2008.
See also Farrakhan, Louis ; Muhammad, Elijah ; Nation of Islam .
