Nation+of+Islam

= Nation Of Islam Hailey O'Neill

The Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam is a new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930. The Nation of Islam's stated goals are to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African Americans in the United States and all of humanity. Its critics accuse it of being black supremacist. After Fard's disappearance in June 1934, the Nation of Islam was led by Elijah Muhammad, who established Temples, a school named Muhammad University of Islam, businesses, farms and real estate holdings in the United States and abroad. There were a number of splits and splinter groups during Elijah Muhammad's leadership, most notably the departure of senior leader Malcolm X to become Sunni Muslim. After Elijah Muhammad's death, his son Warith Deen Mohammed changed the name of the organization several times and brought it into line with mainstream Sunni Islam. In 1977, Louis Farrakhan rejected Warith Deen Mohammed's leadership and re-established the Nation of Islam on the original model. He took over the Nation of Islam's headquarter Temple, which is located in Chicago. Its official newspaper is The Final Call. The Nation of Islam does not publish its membership numbers, membership was estimated between 20,000 and 50,000, but their following was believed to be larger. Most of the members are in the United States.

Malcolm X

During this time, the Nation of Islam attracted Malcolm Little. While in prison for burglary from 1946 to 1952, Little, joined the Nation of Islam. He was influenced by his brother, Reginald, who had become a member in Detroit. Little quit smoking, gambling and eating pork, in keeping with the Nation's practices and dietary restrictions. He spent long hours reading books in the prison library. Following Nation tradition, Elijah Muhammad ordered him to replace his surname, "Little", with an "X". Malcolm X rose rapidly to become the minister of Boston Temple, he was later rewarded with the post of minister of Temple. Elijah Muhammad named Malcolm X the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, his second in rank. Under Malcolm X's lieutenancy, the Nation claimed a membership of 500,000.

In March 1964, Malcolm X was forcibly removed and excommunicated from the Nation and, in the next month, founded Muslim Mosque Inc. After Malcolm X's break with the Nation in 1964, Farrakhan replaced him as head minister of Harlem's Temple and as the National Representative of the Nation, the second in command of the organization. [|Malcolm X Video]

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