CIM Briefing Papers

C.I.M. Outline #53

                       The Nation of Islam

I.  Introduction

    A.  On Jan. 26, 1996, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation
        of Islam, announced that Moammar Gadhafi, Libyan leader
        and financier of international terrorism, had pledged to
        support the Black Muslim movement in America at the sum
        of $1 billion dollars.  (Imagine what Christian missions
        could do with a billion dollars!)  WASHINGTON POST
        (1/26/96).  (Note:  In 1985 Gadhafi also gave Farrakhan a
        five million, interest-free loan.)

    B.  In Oct. of '95, Farrakhan and his organization staged a
        "Million Man" march of black men on Washington, D.C. 
        Many black Christian ministers and leaders claimed they
        endorsed what he was trying to do (in the march) but were
        not endorsing the man.  The purpose of the march was
        billed as a "day of atonement," for black men with
        support for economic and social justice, individual
        responsibility, and political empowerment.

    C.  The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a growing phenomenon in
        America and is currently sending missionaries to Africa.

        Who is Louis Farrakhan?  and What is the Nation of Islam,
        or the Black Muslim Movement as it is sometimes called? 
        With few exceptions (the CHICAGO TRIBUNE is one) the
        mainstream media, fearing charges of racism, rarely
        investigate this strange movement.

II.  The Origins of the Nation of Islam

     A.  The NOI came into being in the 1930's.  Its acknowledged
         early leaders were an enigmatic man by the name of
         Wallace Fard, and Elijah Poole, the son of a Baptist
         preacher.  Fard, possibly a white man (records are
         sketchy), was a merchant who claimed to have Turkish or
         Arabian origins, supported himself by importing and
         selling African clothing.  He notwithstanding tried to
         convince African Americans that they ought to wear
         African clothing and take muslim names.  Elijah Poole,
         an early convert of Fard's was soon convinced to
         renounce his Christian faith and later was given the
         name Elijah Muhammad.

     B.  Not much is known about Fard's early life nor why he
         loathed the traditional Christian church.  At some point
         he embraced the teachings of the Watchtower Society
         (Jehovah's Witnesses), a Christian cult that departs
         from most of the cardinal doctrines of historic
         Christianity.  Going from house to house in black
         neighborhoods, Fard knocked on doors, handed out tracts
         and tried to convince blacks to leave the church.  As he
         gained a following he took his new converts from the
         Watchtower to Islam and from the Bible to the Quran.

     C.  When Fard mysteriously disappeared in 1934, Elijah
         Muhammad, his early convert, quickly gave evidence of
         his leadership skills by taking over the movement.  

     D.  Malcolm X, one of Elijah's M's brightest and most
         charismatic converts rose quickly in the ranks of
         leadership.  He was responsible for many converts and
         the subsequent growth of the Black Muslim movement. 
         However, he dared defy the authority of Elijah M. and a
         rift developed that resulted in his assassination in
         1965.  Malcolm had become disillusioned by the high
         living and immorality of Elijah M.  When he made his
         pilgrimage to Mecca in 1959 he was shocked to find
         little resemblance between the teachings of Elijah M and
         orthodox Islam.  Following Elijah M's death in 1975, the
         mantle of leadership fell on his son, Wallace D.
         Muhammad who tried to take the movement into the
         mainstream of Islam.  Enter one Louis Gene Walcott
         Farrakhan, one of the up and coming leaders who
         organized a rebellion and splintered the movement. 
         Farrakhan eventually gained control of the Elijah
         Muhammad faction, reorganized the movement, and moved it
         back to its original roots in the teachings of Fard and
         Elijah M.

III.  The Teachings of the Nation of Islam

      A.  Though the leaders of the NOI often allude to muslim
          beliefs they adhere to very little of historic Islam. 
          Official agencies of Islam have issued many disclaimers
          about the teachings of NOI.  One such source says: 
          "...there is no ideology on the face of this earth
          which could be farther from Islam than that of Louis
          Farrakhan.  NONE! (Emphasis theirs)."

      B.  As we noted earlier the movement began with a mixture
          of the teachings of the Watchtower Society mixed with
          some Islam and a lot of originality from Elijah M. who
          is believed to be Allah's modern-day prophet.  He is
          called the "Messenger." and sometimes "the Savior." 
          The core beliefs of NOI are therefore, in large part
          based on those taught by its greatest leader, Elijah M.
          and more recently on a variety of visions and mystical
          musings of its current leader, Louis Farrakhan.  Some
          of these beliefs are:

          1.  Classic Islam believes that Allah (God)was
              uncreated, is entirely spirit and has never been
              seen by man.  In contrast, the NOI teaches that
              Allah created himself out of dark matter called
              "electricity."  He is a black man of flesh and
              blood.  In their own creed they say: "We believe
              that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master
              W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited
              "Messiah" of the Christians and `Mahdi' of the
              Muslims."  After Fard died Allah was manifested in
              Elijah Muhammad.  On Feb. 26, 1991 (Savior"s Day,
              the day NOI celebrates the coming of Wallace Fard),
              Louis Farrakhan was proclaimed as "The child who
              would be born, the Son who would be given."  It was
              said that he was "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty
              God, the Prince of Peace...," a fulfillment of Isa.
              9:6-8.  (Note: Farrakhan has since changed the
              celebration of Saviour's Day to Oct 7, to
              commemorate the birth of Elijah M.)  

          2.  Although the NOI teaches that there is one god,
              they also teach that the 24 elders of Revelation 5
              are also gods.  Twelve of these elders were "major"
              scientists!  One of these gods is the supreme god
              who is over this particular time period.  Another
              of these gods created the moon by blowing up the
              earth (we are not making this up!).  

          3.  The Bible is "pure poison" because it was corrupted
              by white man.  Elijah M. believed that the Quran
              was far superior.  Louis Farrakhan, however, quotes
              from the Bible in his sermons far more that the
              Quran.  Indeed, his speeches are filled with
              biblical imagery.

          4.  According to Elijah M. Jesus was a black African
              and only a mortal man like the Prophet Muhammad of
              Islam.  He also taught that Jesus was the product
              of sexual intercourse between Mary and Allah (who
              is a black man).  Louis Farrakhan said:  

                "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I am here to
                declare, is risen.  The Jesus you have been
                seeking and waiting for His return has been in
                your midst for 40 years, but you knew not who He
                was.  A Holy One was working among us, and it is
                only now, after He is gone, that we realize who
                He was."

          5.  The NOI teaches that the black race is actually
              God's chosen race and that the original black man
              was created during the Big Bang 66 trillion years
              ago.  On the other hand, the white race was created
              by an evil black scientist (a god, and one of the
              24 elders) by the name of "Yakub" who created white
              man out of his evil side.  This creation process
              took 600 years!  

          6.  In apparent agreement with the Jehovah's Witnesses
              and in contradiction to the belief of orthodox
              Islam, Black Muslims deny the existence of hell or
              any kind of physical existence after death.  Elijah
              M. believed the teaching of hell was originated by
              whites to enslave blacks.  The reasoning being that
              they could endure slavery knowing that they would
              be free in the life hereafter.

          7.  Just as the Jehovah Witnesses taught that the world
              would end in 1914, Black Muslims believe that 1914
              was the beginning of the end for the white race. 
              Whites have reigned for 6000 years but 1914 was the
              beginning of the end.  Elijah M. prophesied that
              Allah would intervene in the 1970's and destroy the
              white race in the battle of Armageddon and put
              blacks in control.  Louis Farrakhan currently
              teaches that armageddon is near for the white race
              and that a UFO in the shape of a wheel is waiting
              in space to destroy white man.  In his discourse on
              numerology in Washington (Oct.'95) he may have been
              indicating that this event could be in '96. 
              Farrakhan is known for his rather quaint
              conclusions drawn from numerology (the mystical use
              of numbers).

          8.  Louis Farrakhan spoke of his UFO encounter in a
              sermon on Saviour's Day, 1991.  He stated that he
              was taken on board and spoke with Elijah Muhammad
              who had built the space ship.  This wheel-shaped
              craft is currently in orbit 40 miles above the
              earth.  He also claimed that there are 1500 little
              space ships that issue out from this mother ship
              which follow him every where.  

          9.  The Nation of Islam does not teach equality of the
              races or integration as other Black civil rights
              groups, but rather endorses policies of racism,
              even militarism toward non-black races.  The
              leadership of the NOI believes that white America
              owes reparation to the blacks for slavery, and that
              this reparation should be in the form of their own
              state which they envision becoming an independent
              country with its own black army and justice system. 
              

IV.  The Message and Appeal of The Nation of Islam
    
     A.  Louis Lomax, a prominent black journalist seemed to sum
         up the core message of the black muslims:

           "The Black Muslims have but one message: The white man
           is by nature evil, a snake who is soon to be
           destroyed.  Therefore, the black man, who is by nature
           divine and good, must separate from the white man as
           soon as possible, lest he share the white man's hour
           of total destruction."

     B.  The main appeal seems to be its socio-economic message. 
         The NOI stresses pride, self-esteem, independence, self-
         help, and entrepreneurship.  No one of conservative
         political values can argue against this message.

     C.  The reason for the growth and success of the NOI does
         not appear to based on the rather arcane religious views
         of Elijah M. or Louis F., but rather to their appeal to
         the hurt and despair of the black man.  They follow
         these charismatic leaders despite their craziness
         because they are not afraid to say what many of them
         think should be said.

V.  Conclusion

    A.  There is every reason to believe that the leadership of
        the NOI is one of demagoguery in that it preys on the
        legitimate needs of black men.  It teaches racism, hatred
        and violence, all of which can be documented.  (Farrakhan
        once said "I am tried of hearing that people will die for
        Islam; I am looking for people who will kill for Islam."
        1991 Saviour's Day speech)

    B.  There are reasons to be concerned about a movement that
        can attract one million black men (even if it was only
        500,000) to march in Washington and raise one billion
        dollars if its followers succumb to the negative message
        of the leaders of NOI.

    C.  The Christian Church can rightly be blamed for not
        filling this vacuum by applying the Gospel to all areas
        of life.  When John 3:16 says "For God so loved the
        world..." we believe this means all races and peoples. 
        The church in the U.S. must become missionaries to a
        large segment of its own people.

FOR FURTHER READING:

Lincoln, C. Eric.  THE BLACK MUSLIMS IN AMERICA.  Third Edition.
    It's old but good for early history of the movement.  See
    especially the Postscript which was added in 1994.
Morey, Robert.  ISLAMIC INVASION:  CONFRONTING THE WORLD'S 
    FASTEST GROWING RELIGION.  See Chapter 11.
See also C.I.M. Outline #21 "THE RELIGION OF ISLAM"  for a review
    of the beliefs of classic Islam.   
 
Christian Information Ministries is a non-profit ministry and is 
dependent on gifts from God's people in order to operate.  If you 
receive a benefit from our materials would you consider giving a 
tax-deductible gift to CIM.  We suggest $25. a year minimum.  
Send to:  Christian Information Ministries 
          2050 N. Collins Blvd. #100 
          Richardson, TX  75080 

Top of Page