Nation of Islam Essay

Nation of Islam in the Light of Elijah Muhammad In 1961 James Baldwin met Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam movement at the time. The time Baldwin spent within the Christian Church prior to his meeting with Elijah helped him analyze what the Nation of Islam did for people. It allowed him to notice that everyone needed a gimmick to keep them out of the ghetto, “and it does not matter what the gimmick is” (Baldwin 301). Baldwin realized that the Christian Church was his gimmick

decisions and beliefs. While he subsided in the state prison, Malcolm experienced a spiritual and intellectual revelation. His family were the ones who introduced him to the Nation of Islam and sparked his interest in Islamic studies and Elijah Muhammad. While accepting Islamic beliefs, Malcolm traveled with the Nation of Islam leader, Elijah Muhammad, to black communities to preach their beliefs on their racial oppression. After experiencing several attacks from the media and betrayal from Elijah

dates May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965 Malcolm was able to play these different roles such as a minister, human rights activists, and a prominent black nationalist leader who played as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and the 1960s. When he was set free from prison Nation of Islam members increased 400 members in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. When Malcolm was still a kid, his dad was slain from the Klan- like Black Legionaries. They say he committed suicide from the damages of

The Nation of Islam On October 7, 1897 in Sandersville, Georgia, a woman named Marie Poole gave birth to a boy who she named Elijah. Elijah’s parents were sharecroppers, and this father was a Baptist minister (Black Supremacists, 25). After an eighth grade education, in 1931, Elijah Poole moved to Detroit where, he says, he met “Allah in person”. This was a man named Fard Muhammad—“The first and only man born in Mecca who came to America for the express purpose of teaching the so-called

In 1956 a woman named Betty joins the New York temple. For ten years, Malcolm was celibate and fully devoted to his work with the Nation of Islam. He was smitten by her and he approves of her from a distance. Malcolm introduces Betty to Elijah Muhammad, and then proposes marriage quickly from a payphone in Detroit. On January 14, 1958, Malcolm X was married to Sister Betty X (née Sanders) in Lansing, Michigan. She also had joined Muslim Temple Seven in the same year. From their union were born six

The Nation of Islam was founded by Wali Farad in Detroit, Michigan in 1930. While Farad is credited with the foundation, most of the teachings came from a different movement. It evolved from the Moorish Temple of Science founded by Timothy Drew (Source 1). Drew preached that Islam was the correct faith for African Americans. Drew also preached that African Americans were superior to Caucasians. The Nation of Islam, along with being a religious movement, was a movement for change. They wanted to raise

Nation of Islam Movement “God is black. All black men belong to Islam; they have been chosen. And Islam shall rule the world” (Baldwin 319). This is the principal message of the Nation of Islam movement. Although the movement has existed since the early 20th century, it gained a lot of momentum in America in the 1960’s, according to African-American essayist and novelist James Baldwin. In his essay, Down At The Cross, Baldwin conveys that the movement reached more blacks during

analyze Baldwin’s views and critiques of theses gimmicks, specifically in the Nation of Islam. In addition to this, the paper will cover Baldwin’s solution to racism. In the book, The Fire Next Time, one can see Baldwin believes the Nation of Islam is using gimmicks in order to avoid finding a way to extinguish racism in the world, which he believes can be accomplished through love. In The Fire Next Time, the Nation of Islam’s views surround the idea that all whites are the devil. It is believed

The Nation of Islam is a polytheism religion. It’s a messianic-nationalist; this is when one of the men acts as God, while the others do the work of getting the future together for the nation known as minsters. The Nation of Islam preaches racial supremacy and holy war against white people as a religious belief. They promote segregation and separation. They believe in the bible, but believe it has been tamper with. The nation believes that Allah (God) appeared in the person of Master W. Fard Muhammad

are many to choose from. In reflecting on this students beliefs, as well as the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, this student hopes to gain insight into a community that is part Atlanta’s patient population. Often times in caring for many in this patients population, there is an air of mistrust and hostility especially among the elderly. In exploring this student’s belief and that of the Nation of Islam, the three elements of religion that will be assessed are “sacredness”, “community”, and “central