Sultan Almosbeh
Dr. Sharon Albert
Islam In America
13 April 2025
Faith Reimagined: Islam and the Nation
People who feel they have nothing will seek out anything, and that is precisely what occurred in the late 1960s and early 70s in the United States as whole communities of Black Americans shifted their beliefs to the preachings of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam: a radical and racially charged Afro-centric religious movement that drew from Islam but differed from global orthodoxies, borne out of American racial struggle. Islam as a religion is unchangeable, yet the Nation’s variants of Islam’s teachings were deeply problematic, as were the beliefs of the Nation’s leader, Elijah Muhammad. As the main mouthpiece for the Nation, Malcolm X preached the teachings of Elijah and contributed to the conflation of Islam with the Nation, presenting Islam through a radicalized and politically charged lens. Although this presentation did not reflect the global faith of Islam, it contributed significantly to the average American’s association of Islam with racial tensions and radicalism, creating a lasting legacy of mysticism and confusion around Islam that still exists today
The Nation of Islam, in their presentation of Islam, altered the fundamental message of the faith from the earliest days, sending resonant waves of inconsistency of Islam and its position as a faith in the United States. The chief of the Nation, Elijah Muhammad, was not a born Muslim, and was instead given the message by a man named “Fard Muhammad’s [whose] message would resonate fiercely and profoundly with Elijah Poole, who felt an immediate connection with the speaker. … Elijah quickly became Fard’s most ardent follower and best pupil, and soon Fard gave him the name Elijah Karriem, which he later changed to Elijah Muhammad. During the next three years, Elijah became Fard’s chief minister of Islam, and when Fard mysteriously disappeared in 1934, Elijah oversaw the organization that was now named the Nation of Islam” (Chan-Malik 82) To be born Muslim is certainly no prerequisite to embrace Islam: Elijah’s birth religion is of no significance, rather his mentor’s origins are what need be called into question and examined very carefully. In a conversation between the two “Elijah declared, ‘I know who you are, you’re God himself,’ to which Fard replied, ‘That’s right, but don’t tell it now. It is not time for me to be known.’”(Chan-Malik 82) Troubling as it may be for the mentor who sowed the seeds which grew into the Nation of Islam to claim to be God, especially in such a clearly and steadfast monotheistic religion, the true travesty lies in Elijah’s later years: as he maintained these strange inconsistencies and carried them into his public presentation of Islam. Throughout his adult life, “Elijah Muhammad would lead the NOI to be the nation’s preeminent and best-known Muslim organization until his death in the 1975. … the Messenger of Allah, as he was known” (Chan-Malik 82). This title, “Messenger of Allah” is wholly reserved for Muhammad, Islam’s final prophet (Peace be upon him), and one of the literal conditions for anyone to call themselves a Muslim is to acknowledge this: further emphasizing the shaky foundation upon which the Nation of Islam presents itself, and consequently introduces Islam as a faith to the American public. The optics of Islam in the United States were shaped not by a formal and studied understanding of the faith, but by the average American’s perception of the theological inconsistencies introduced by the Nation of Islam.
The Nation of Islam may have had a problematic and theologically questionable leader firmly at its helm, but the American public knew nothing about Elijah Muhammad in comparison to the incredibly famous Malcolm X. Charismatic and media-savvy, Malcolm was a keystone figure of the American civil rights movement and did so through his teachings as the mouthpiece of the Nation of Islam, and by extension, the face and voice of “Islam” for millions of Americans. The Nation of Islam presented the faith in an inherently politically and divisive light as “…Malcolm X, or El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, who, until his break with the group in 1963 (followed by his assassination in 1965), was the group’s most prominent spokesperson. For example, [Elijah] Muhammad would permit only Black journalists, photographers, and writers to cover the NOI, owing to his distrust of having white journalists among his community. Muhammad was keenly aware that who was telling their story mattered, as did Malcolm X … Their awareness of the media’s power consistently guided the NOI’s engagements with the press and other media outlets” (Chan-Malik 77) Before even looking into the message the Nation gave to the media, one must look at how this situation appears before a hopelessly uninformed third party (the average American in this time) as they see simply a group that openly refuses to communicate with any white reporter; presenting an inherently racially charged message before this message is even spoken. Among the largest media personnel of the day, CBS’s Mike Wallace was “Aware that most people in the country knew little to nothing about the difference between the Nation of Islam and “orthodox” Islam, Wallace described the “Black Muslims”—a term advanced by the CBS report and rejected by NOI members themselves, who preferred to be referred to as simply “Muslims” ”(Chan-Malik 89) The Nation of Islam was nothing if not media technical, it is completely illogical to assume they knew not of the impact their refusal to communicate with white reporters had on Americans, yet they could have kept their distinct beliefs to themselves under their own “sect” of Islam: they chose not to do so however, and fervently declared themselves Muslims. The optics are clear, but the words of the Nation themselves do nothing to clear itself of the racially divisive message it presents. “Perhaps most captivating, and terrifying, to the program’s viewers was Malcolm X—handsome, articulate, and unrelentingly critical of the ‘white devils.’ ” (Chan-Malik 90) While Malcolm X’s message was fundamentally justified, even agreeable, but his message was conflated with the Nation of Islam’s beliefs, which they neglected to explain do not agree with the universal messages and themes present in Islam, the Quran, and the teachings of the prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him), and cemented these divisive themes as Islamic to many Americans.
Malcolm X and The Nation were incredibly aware of media and optics in their day, and so they utilized a magazine they produced and edited to spread their message on their terms under the name The Messenger (though this was quickly altered to Muhammed Speaks). “The Messenger introduced the NOI to the general public on its own terms, and it was meant to operate as a recruitment tool while also educating and fostering pride among its existing members. Two names appear on the publication’s masthead: Malcolm X, listed as “Editor,” and the renowned Black photographer Lloyd Yearwood (who was not a Muslim), who is credited with “All Photographs and Layouts.” Malcolm X worked closely with Yearwood on the layout, which he felt was crucial. In the opening editor’s note, X states: “This first edition of The Messenger magazine is designed not only to give us a broader view of the Messenger’s [Elijah Muhammad’s] works and his accomplishments, but, the results of his teaching upon his followers” (Chan-Malik 93) The editorial choice is deliberate: Malcolm X, a master of media and the public eye, allowed the Nation (which he knew was synonymous to Islam to most Americans) to be presented in a magazine that elevated Elijah Muhammed to the level of the prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him). Opening not with a verse from the Quran, or a reminder of God, but clarification that the Nation of Islam revolves around the beliefs and teachings of a central holy figure, not Allah, but Elijah. The Nation’s ability to produce educational material gives it a unique advantage enjoyed by few marginalized groups, yet its use of that power highlights the fundamentally un-Islamic beliefs. Ideas that were attributed to all Muslims through the Nation’s negligence to differentiate, and the American public’s unknowing ignorance.
The Nation of Islam was born out of difficult racial struggle, but its origins point to an organization with a foundation that is theologically inconsistent and fundamentally distinct from traditional Islam. While troubling, the tragedy stems from how the Nation presented itself to the American public as indistinguishable from Islam, despite the clear religious inconsistencies. When given the rare opportunity to clear any outside contamination of their message by third parties, they doubled down on their un-Islamic ideals and knowingly contributed to the lasting legacy of Islam in the United States not as a universal faith for all, but as a divisive and racial religion practiced by others.
Works Cited:
Chan-Malik, Sylvia. Being Muslim : A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam, New York University Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/muhlenberg/detail.action?docID=5103974. Created from Muhlenberg on 2025-04-14 02:23:33.
