"The Black Muslims learned much from Marcus Garvey and Noble Drew Ali. Like those earlier prophets of black nationalism, they capitalize on the lower-class Black Man's despair and reservations about the white man, and they have developed black consciousness into a confession of faith. The Black Man, they teach, has a manifest destiny, and the white man is the personification of the evil that separates the Black Man from his freedom, his moral development, and his God. . . .For the black nationalist, the Black Man's Zion is where the white man is not."[1]

Introduction

The Nation of Islam (NOI) was a religious separatist organization whose founder, W.D. Fard, believed that the African population in America would never achieve freedom, justice and equality as US citizens.[2] The solution was a separate black nation where black people would govern their own affairs of state.[3] Elijah Muhammad was the frail and aged yet charismatic leader of the Black Muslims who advanced a black nationalist agenda under the guise of Islam for more than 40 years.[4] After Muhammad's death in 1975, his legacy was restored by Louis Farrakhan who created a new Nation of Islam.[5] This paper focuses on the laws and operations of the NOI during the tenure of Elijah Muhammad, 1934-1975. Less has been documented about the Nation since his death but, where possible, updates of changes to any policies under Farrakhan have been included.

Most of the main sources used for this paper are books written in the early 1960s. During that period, Muhammad gave permission to C. Eric Lincoln and E. U. Essien Udom, both black social scientists, and Louis Lomax, a black journalist, to conduct case studies of the Nation.[6] These authorized studies appear to be the only ones ever permitted and most other books on the subject rely quite heavily on them.

Lincoln's work started as his doctoral thesis and evolved into his book The Black Muslims in America. He was considered a trusted ally and good friend of both Muhammad and Malcolm X.[7] Reportedly, Muhammad was hoping a positive light would be shed on the movement to counterbalance the mainstream media's negative and inaccurate portrayal, but Lincoln was not opposed to providing his own views as a sociologist of religion.[8] It was this author who coined the term "Black Muslim," thus distinguishing them from orthodox Muslims who he called "moslems".[9] He characterized the NOI as primarily a social protest movement rooted in the discontent of black lower-class migrants in the northern industrial cities.

Essien Udom was a Nigerian political scientist at Harvard. He also characterized the NOI as "a special type of political behavior" instead of a religion due to its focus on race.[10] In his book, Black Nationalism, Essien Udom details the difficulty of studying the Nation and attributes it mainly to a deep-seated suspicion of the outsider.[11] As he describes in the book, "The Muslims' sense of persecution and fear of the so-called 'enemy' thus makes their cooperation difficult to secure. Sometimes, they simply do not know what information is permissible from the point of view of those in authority. Suspicion, fear, and the apparent atmosphere of secrecy which surrounds the movement made it difficult for the writer to secure exact data . . .."[12] And this was an author who was given permission to do the research!

Louis Lomax produced a book, When the Work is Given . . ., that focuses on black consciousness, the Nation as a religion, and Malcolm X's role in the movement. His account provides an inside report on his observations after spending four years as an embedded journalist. Malcolm X's autobiography, co-authored by Alex Haley, was completed in 1965 after Malcolm had been suspended from the Nation in 1963 and just before his death. During his final editing phases, he was subject to harassment and death threats that he believed were ordered by Elijah Muhammad. Thus, while his perspective can be characterized as being "top-down," it is certainly tempered by his position as a rejected outsider.

History & Development

In order to understand the NOI it's best to look at the social environment of blacks in the US at the time the movement began. Between 1900 and 1930, 2.25 million blacks left the South with most of them moving to urban areas in the North such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit.[13] These departures were motivated by floods, crop failures, boll weevils, and the revival of the Ku Klux Klan.[14] Also between 1900 and 1930 more than one thousand African Americans were lynched, mostly in the south, by white mobs.[15] The NAACP reported that blacks were being lynched an average of every other day during this period.[16] The summer of 1919 alone saw twenty-six race riots.[17] Between 1918 and 1921 records show that 28 blacks were burned alive.[18] It is no surprise then that the black American population would be open-minded to a new religion when Christianity was the faith of the lynch mobs.

The first American Black Islamic society was formed in New Jersey in 1913 by a man named Noble Drew Ali and was called the Moorish Science Temple Movement.[19] By 1920, there were 25,000 Moorish Scientists.[20] Unsettling for whites, some of the more outspoken members of the Movement took great pride in informing whites that they were devils and that Allah, through the Prophet Noble Drew Ali, was going to destroy white America.[21] By 1929, Ali was taken into custody by Chicago authorities and mysteriously disappeared.[22] Once their leader was gone, the Movement could not sustain itself and so ended.[23]

Overlapping somewhat with the efforts of Noble Drew Ali was the work of W. D. Fard Muhammad (known by many other aliases). Fard was a door to door peddler who sold his wares to the black community in Detroit between about 1914 and 1930.[24] Once he gained access to people within their homes, he claimed to be from Mecca with a mission to "wake the 'Dead Nation in the West'; to teach [them] the truth about the white man, and to prepare [them] for Armageddon."[25] He also preached the greatness of Africa as a place of art, culture, and science.[26]

Little is agreed upon about Fard's actual background. The NOI believed he was indeed from Mecca and was born of black and white parentage, explaining his light skin color and making his wisdom more valuable because he "knew the nature of both races."[27] According to FBI files, he had more than 50 aliases and may have been born in Portland Oregon, in 1811; Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 1873, 1877 or 1900; or New Zealand in 1894.[28] They listed his race alternately as black and white and his parents were said to have both been born in Hawaii.[29] The FBI listed some of his aliases as Wallace D. Fard, W.D. Fard, Farad Mohammed, F. Mohammad Ali, Professor Fard, Abdul Wali Farad Muhammad Ali, and Wali Farrad.[30] The litany of cryptic names he gave himself may have been to create an aura of mystery and spirituality for his followers.[31]

What seems certain is that Fard had sufficient charisma to entice blacks in Detroit to listen and start thinking about themselves and their destiny in a different, more liberating manner. In order to ease people into the ideas of Islam, he used the Bible.[32] Utilizing the only religious book people knew, he interpreted it carefully to serve as a bridge to the Koran.[33] Eventually, Fard wrote two manuals containing his doctrine, Teachings for the Lost-Found Nation in a Mathematical Way and Secret Ritual of the Nation of Islam.[34] Secret Ritual of the Nation of Islam is only transmitted orally; students in the movement's parochial schools learn it verbatim.[35] While Teachings for the Lost-Found Nation in a Mathematical Way was published in print, it was done in Fard's secret symbolic language and required his interpretation.[36] Neither of those sources was available for use in the research for this paper.

The first temple of the Nation of Islam was established in Detroit,[37] where between 1930 and 1933, 8,000 blacks had been recruited.[38] Around 1930, Fard met a special recruit named Elijah Poole who soon thereafter joined Fard's "Nation of Islam."[39] As Fard became more popular, he insisted that black converts replace their "slave names" with holy names.[40] "The true believer who becomes a Muslim was expected to cast off his old self and take on a new identity. He was no longer a Negro, so long despised by the white man that he has come almost to despise himself. Now he was a black man - divine ruler of the universe, different only in degree from Allah Himself. This rebirth was commemorated by a change in name."[41] He chose the name "Muhammad" for Elijah Poole who became Elijah Muhammad.[42] Fard trained Elijah Muhammad as one of the first ministers of this Nation and eventually elevated him to Chief Minister of Islam.[43] Fard himself was called The Prophet.[44]

In 1932, Elijah Muhammad moved to Chicago to establish Temple #2.[45] Meanwhile Fard was in and out of prison until he eventually disappeared in 1934 never again to resurface.[46] At this time, Elijah Muhammad assumed leadership of the NOI and named Temple #2 as the new headquarters.[47] As part of his development of the NOI's structure and history, Muhammad taught that Fard chose to suffer the abuse of whites by allowing himself to be placed in white jails.[48] Through this and other reasoning, Muhammad declared that Fard was actually "Allah", God himself.[49] As one who had served directly under "Allah", Muhammad then could assume the role and designation of "Prophet."[50] Eventually Muhammad became widely known as "The Messenger of Allah."[51]

One of Muhammad's most significant converts to the NOI was Malcolm X. Malcolm contributed greatly to the progress of the movement, drawing substantial interest by the mainstream press and attracting a large number of young educated blacks, previously untapped by recruitment efforts.[52] One of Malcolm's mentee's was Louis Walcott,[53] soon to follow as a national leader in his own right.[54] Muhammad led the organization for 41 years, until his death in February 1975.[55] Under his leadership, the NOI gained one million followers, 76 mosques, and assets estimated at $85,000,000 by the 1970's.[56]

After 1978,[57] the Nation split into two with Muhammad's son Wallace leading followers towards an orthodox form of Islam and Louis Farrakhan, formerly Louis Walcott, maintaining the hybrid form of black American separatist, nationalist Islam.[58] Farrakhan's faction retained the name "Nation of Islam" and sticks more closely to Elijah Muhammad's doctrines.

Structure

Elijah Muhammad ran the Nation of Islam with absolute authority on all matters of ideology, theology, and policy.[59] The temples were not autonomous, as orders had to first be cleared through Muhammad.[60] He appointed Ministers of each temple as well as a "captain" for each to lead the Nation's secret army.[61] Each temple had an officer cadre called the Fruit of Islam (FOI) that was a unit of men who were trained to protect and enforce the rules of the Nation.[62] Each temple also had a head (captain) for the women's unit, known as the Moslem Girl's Training and General Civilization Class (MGT).[63] The captain of each unit reported primarily to the appropriate male or female Supreme Captain, not the local minister.[64] On local matters where there was a clearly defined doctrine, the FOI and MGT did work under local ministers, but for national matters that affected the movement as a whole, the minister had to get clearance from Chicago before he could issue orders.[65]

The Supreme Captains that served directly under Muhammad were Muhammad's own son-in-law, Raymond Sharrieff,[66] and Muhammad's second daughter, Sister Lottie.[67] Sharrief was the chief liaison officer between Muhammad, the ministers, and the followers and served as the Messenger's "eyes and ears."[68] He was the only officer of the Nation that had full knowledge of all of its day-to-day activities.[69] Muhammad's son, Elijah Jr., was second in command and served as the captain of the FOI in Temple #2.[70] This section of FOI was responsible for providing Muhammad's own personal security force.[71]

The ministers had heavy workloads and were in charge of their temple's operation and management.[72] Some of their specific duties included presiding and teaching at religious meetings, attending all temple activities and, at times being delegated to represent the Messenger at other temples and public functions.[73] Besides the captains and ministers, the other main officers at the temples were the secretaries, treasurers, and investigators.[74]

Secretaries were either male or female full-time employees who assisted the captains and ministers while serving as the official recorders.[75] Each temple had two treasurers, one in charge of the general income and ordinary expenditures of the temple, the other functioned as the "Poor treasurer" and managed funds for the assistance of the sick and needy and for funerals.[76] Temples also had two investigators, one man and one woman, who were responsible for the general welfare and conduct of the members.[77] Their job was to determine the material needs of members and to make recommendations for assistance.[78] Furthermore, they investigated family conflicts and problems between members and proceeded to settle the disputes or to refer them to the appropriate officers.[79]

The first three temples (Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee) were established in the early 1930's during the reign of Fard.[80] The first temple in a prison was created in 1942, when Muhammad and his son Emmanuel were arrested for refusing to comply with the Selective Service Act.[81] They served four years in a federal penitentiary in Michigan where they established the temple, made many converts, and held services 3 times per week.[82] While they were inside, Muhammad's wife, Clara, ran the organization and passed down her husband's orders from the prison to the ministers and captains.[83] She communicated with him by correspondence and through prison visits.[84] By the time Muhammad and his son were released Temple #4 had been founded in Washington, D.C.[85] Once Malcolm X got involved as a dynamic minister of the NOI in the early 1950's there was an explosion of new temples established around the country.[86] By the end of 1959, fifty temples were reported in 22 states and the District of Columbia and this number would grow to 76 in the 1970's.[87] In 1961, Muhammad visited the Muslim countries and, upon his return, directed that the NOI temples would now be called "mosques."[88]

Purpose & Goals

Elijah Muhammad published a book in 1965, Message to the Blackman in America, where he explained the essential doctrines of the NOI as taught to him by Fard, with his own elaborations.[89] One of the chapters of this book details "The Muslim Program" with a list of relatively simple statements detailing what Muslims want and what they believe. (See Appendix 1). The main goals are unification of black people, racial separation, economic separation, and some quantity of land.[90] These goals were to be furthered through Islamic-based education of blacks.

Though it was never reached, the NOI had a goal of five million members by 1965.[91] Ultimately, they wanted "every Black Man in America be reunited with his own."[92] Muhammad preached, "In unity, we can accomplish much."[93] In espousing the need for unity, Muhammad proclaimed, "We are trying to reach all black men, those in the colleges and those in the jails. We need leaders at every level to challenge the lies of the white man. We need scholars to search out the truth independently of what the white man has written."[94]

Note that within the Nation, the term "Black" was used "both as a national/racial concept and as a theological one, signifying the Original People, goodness, and Godliness, and, as such, transcends the color of skin. A Native American, a Native Hawaiian, a Hispanic, and an African American are all 'black' at this level of meaning."[95] In Muhammad's Message to the Blackman, he explicitly includes "the brown, red and yellow races" in his references to Black Men.[96] Muhammad himself was a light-skinned black man and the movement did not seem to create a hierarchy based on tones of brown. One drop of "black" blood served as enough to identify as a black person.

Even junkies, in fact, many junkies, were brought into the Muslim fold by the NOI. The regeneration of criminals and other fallen persons was regularly undertaken by the Nation and with great success.[97] They employed a "6 point therapeutic process" to cure addicts:[98]

· Help addict admit to himself that he was an addict.

· Teach him why he used narcotics.

· Show him that there was a way to stop addiction.

· Build up addict's shattered self-image and ego until he realized that he had, within, the self-power to end his addiction.

· Addict undergoes a voluntary cold turkey break with drugs. Ex-addict Muslims arrange to spend the necessary days in around-the-clock shifts attending to him.

· Finally cured, an ex-addict completes the cycle by "fishing" up other addicts whom he knows, and supervising their salvation.

One of the most controversial aspects of Muhammad's plan, and one that Malcolm X grew hesitant about after his trip to Mecca, was complete racial separation. Muhammad declared that whites are a race of devils and were created by an evil scientist 6,000 years ago to hate blacks who are the "Original Race."[99] Following the teachings of Fard, Muhammad espoused this non-orthodox version of human history as a reaction to white American supremacy. Separation was necessary, as blacks are a superior race that will fall ill if diluted by the white devil.[100] With the eventual destruction of the white world, blacks must disconnect.[101] One author suggested that the doctrine of racial separation filled another practical role. He points out that blacks traditionally have used separate forums such as black churches as a place to release pent-up feelings of frustration and anger toward the injustices of white society and for the shortcomings of their own community.[102] As things work out, excluding whites from the forums where this venting takes place saves both races from direct confrontation and reduces the occasion for violent conflict.[103]

Economic separation goes hand-in-hand with racial separation. Elijah Muhammad understood that the white man's economic domination gave him a lot of power over blacks, too much.[104] Muhammad focused on the need for blacks to trust each other, work together, and to be thrifty for their own success. "On matters of economics there is entirely too much distrust among us. We trust everyone but ourselves. We, therefore, have to build or produce trust in ourselves in order to do something for self and kind. We cannot depend upon the white man to continue to care for us and build a future of good for us and our children."[105]

There are five propositions for the black man to solve his own economic problems called the "Blueprint": [106]

1) Recognize the necessity for unity and group operation (activities);

2) Pool your resources, physically as well as financially;

3) Stop wanton criticism, of everything that is black-owned and black-operated;

4) Keep in mind - jealousy destroys from within; and

5) Observe the operations of the white man. He is successful. He makes no excuses for his failures. He works hard - in a collective manner. You do the same.

As an organization, the Nation also planned to start its own banking system,[107] and did establish black businesses to create jobs for blacks, including farms to provide food.[108]

Education of the general black population took place wherever blacks could be found including the streets, prisons, barbershops, and temples through discussions, open meetings, and the press.[109] Muslims were out daily "fishing for the dead", trying to recruit newcomers.[110] Every Wednesday, each temple held "Student Enrollment," where the basic issues of Islam were discussed by members; this was similar to Catholic "catechism" classes.[111] On Mondays, the temples held classes to teach the men to be men and on Thursdays, the women and girls were taught to be proper wives.[112] Fridays were devoted to "Civilization Night" where classes were taught to both sexes on the subject of domestic relations, emphasizing how both husbands and wives had to understand and respect each others' true natures.[113]

For the Muslim children, there was the "University of Islam" which provided all the education for elementary to high school.[114] School was in session 50 weeks per year and had few vacations.[115] The academics were the same for boys and girls (African and African-American history, language skills, math, science, and Islamic relations).[116] Supplemental gender-based education for the girls took place in "Muslim Girls in Training" courses and for the boys in the Fruit of Islam training.[117]

It's interesting that Muhammad started these schools without any legal licensing.[118] In 1934, two years after founding the first and second University of Islam, he was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of minors, and a riot ensued when the Detroit Board of Education tried to close them down.[119] Afterward, the State Department of Public Instruction compromised and collaborated with the NOI to create a private school with a curriculum that was approvable.[120] By 1974, the University of Islam had schools in 46 cities.[121] Now, the institution is known as Clara Muhammad School.[122]

Laws/Rules

"God is very hard on those who disobey His Messenger. He warns in His Holy Qur-an not to quarrel and dispute or raise our voices above the Messenger's voice. Strict respect and honor is demanded for His Messengers. We should not take them lightly, we may underestimate them without knowledge."[123]

"Allah alone is the 'Author of Islam'" according to Elijah Muhammad.[124] All black men represent Allah and are divine.[125] Allah's coming had been predicted for 6,000 years and at his coming, the white race was to reach its end.[126] Muhammad said that America would be the place Allah would arrive.[127] After Fard disappeared, Muhammad proclaimed that Fard had been a human incarnation of Allah.[128] As the former Chief Minister to Fard, Muhammad took the title "Messenger of Allah" and gained full authority to interpret the laws of Islam in the Koran and to make the rules of the Nation.[129] He legitimized his own leadership based on the history, needs, and conditions of black Americans.[130]

Many of laws promulgated by Muhammad were passed to him directly from Fard and can be seen as a customization of the laws of Islam to fit the black nationalist perspective and the conditions of the black community in that era.[131] In order to create a unified community, Muhammad sought to provide blacks with a "spiritual and moral context within which shaken pride and confidence may be restored and unused or abused energies directed toward an all-encompassing goal; to heal the wound of the Negro's membership in American society."[132] Through his strict rules of order, Muhammad was questing for the respectability of his members, within and without the black community.[133] History shows us that the personal comportment and politeness of Black Muslims were noted and appreciated by the black community at large.[134] Members took great pride in this.

Certain areas were highly codified in the NOI. In order to achieve such high standards of behavior, Muhammad developed detailed rules of conduct and relatively severe punishments for infractions.[135] All meetings began promptly and members were expected to be punctual.[136] Muhammad was making an effort to "correct" tardiness that was a habit identified with the non-Muslim black community.[137] Rules for membership, naming, and morality (rituals, temple activities, eating, marriage & gender roles) were well defined. As a mass movement, the NOI was unified first by faith, then by its doctrines, held together by the glue of self-mastery and self-sacrifice.[138]

Gaining membership in the Nation was not made too difficult. Applicants were required to send a "Savior's Letter" to Chicago headquarters asking permission to join and to receive a holy name.[139] The letter (see Appendix 2) had to be copied by hand without any mistakes, often candidates just traced over a copy.[140] Once this procedure was completed and the letter accepted individuals were assigned their X to replace their "slave names."[141] The X represented the Muslim's unknown African surname and that he is no longer what he was.[142]

"The true believer who becomes a Muslim was expected to cast off his old self and take on a new identity. He was no longer a Negro, so long despised by the white man that he has come almost to despise himself. Now he was a black man - divine, ruler of the universe, different only in degree from Allah Himself. This rebirth was commemorated by a change in name."[143] Furthermore, a member's citizenship changed to Nation of Islam.[144] The Nation encouraged all Black Muslims to renounce their United States citizenship because "We (so-called Negroes) are not and cannot be American citizens, since we are not American by nature or race."[145]

If there was already someone with the same first name as a member of a given temple, such as John X, and another John was joining he would become John 2X, and so on.[146] This process changed after 1975 under Farrakhan; instead of writing a savior's letter, a person could just attend classes that taught the theology of Fard and Elijah Muhammad for 1-6 months to get the X.[147] At some point, after being granted the X, the believer would eventually be given a holy/Arabic name by Fard, Muhammad, or Farrakhan.[148]

Through 1975, very few divine names were granted. In 1975, the Nation had a membership of more than 300,000 less than 1 percent of who had an Arabic name.[149] Some of those include Muhammad Ali and Louis Farrakhan. Malcolm X as the Nation's Chief Minister and National Spokesperson never even received one from the Nation. It wasn't until he made his pilgrimage to Mecca that his Arabic name, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was presented to him by Middle Eastern Muslims.[150] Under Farrakhan, the tradition died and holy names were granted en mass to whomever he felt like some say cheapening their integrity.[151]

In day-to-day living, Black Muslims are governed by a strict code of morality focused on self-reliance and a sense of mutual responsibility.[152] This is not related to any doctrine of salvation, as the Muslims don't expect an afterlife, but instead represents the style of living appropriate for divine people on Earth.[153] Many of the rituals were only loosely based on orthodox Islam.[154] Some authors believe that the morality of the Black Muslims was more compatible with American Christian standards than with Islam.[155]

Rituals included praying toward east (Mecca) five times per day (and a 6^th time if he rises in the night) and pre-prayer washing rituals.[156] In addition to prayers, every Black Muslim was required to attend at least two meetings a week at the temple.[157] Outside of the temple, members were expected to recruit new members ("Fish for the dead") and to sell the NOI newspaper, Muhammad Speaks (or in the tenure of Farrakhan Final Call).[158]

Proper diet was considered an essential aspect of commitment so much that Elijah Muhammad wrote a book How to Eat to Live.[159] The short life expectancy and the poor standard of health of blacks were blamed on the soul and junk food that they consumed.[160] Foods that were prohibited included pork, corn bread, and most of the "slave diet" (aka "soul food").[161] Tobacco and alcohol were also forbidden, presumably as sins due to their harmful nature.[162] Additionally, one meal a day was considered sufficient "for such restraint eliminates physical and mental sluggishness and leaves more time for industry."[163] Regular three-day fasting was recommended.[164] Overeating was discouraged and being overweight was a punishable offense.[165]

Sexual morality was strictly enforced and the standards were ultraconservative.[166] All marriages were monogamous and Muslims were strongly encouraged to date and marry other Muslims only.[167] Non-Muslim spouses were pressured to convert.[168] Divorce was discouraged but allowed.[169] Interracial relationships were strictly forbidden and could lead to expulsion.[170]

Clear lines were drawn to designate the proper gender roles.[171] Elijah Muhammad taught that black women had to be loved and protected.[172] It was the man's duty to provide for the family.[173] A Muslim man was to dress in suit and bow tie, work hard, shun alcohol, gambling and other luxuries.[174] Women were expected to be good homemakers and to obey their husbands.[175] Women were to work at home if the family was able to survive on the man's salary alone.[176]

Muslim Girls in Training courses were held every Thursday night at the temples.[177] Muslim girls were given instruction in how to keep house, rear children, take care of husbands, sew, cook, proper hygiene, English, spelling, penmanship, refinement, beauty, and art.[178] All females over 13 years old had a monthly weight check and, in the early 1960's at least, they were fined a penny for every pound they were overweight.[179] They were also taught the following "Laws of Islam":[180]

· Do not use lipstick or make-up.

· Do not wear hair up unless wearing long dress.

· Do not smoke or drink alcohol.

· Do not commit adultery.

· Do not use pork in any form.

· Do not cook in aluminum utensils.

· Do not wear heels over 1.5 inches.

· Do not dance with anyone except one's husband.

As a part of the larger legal system of the United States, Black Muslims had to interface with "white" laws whether they wanted to or not. The most significant conflict for some high profile Muslims was the military draft. As the US entered World War II, Black Muslims wanted to have no part.[181] They were well aware of the irony that they were being asked to fight in a "war for democracy" when they didn't even have civil rights here.[182] Followers and leadership claimed NOI citizenship and refused to register for the draft as required by the Selective Service Act of 1940.[183] About this time, the FBI launched large-scale investigations into the NOI for possible anti-American teachings.[184] Eventually, they arrested 85 African-Americans from three pro-black organizations, including 65 from the NOI.[185] Fifty-six defendants received three-year sentences for failing to register for the draft.[186] Elijah Muhammad was sentenced to four years for evading the draft and influencing others to do so.[187]

In 1966, Muhammad Ali, Heavy Weight Champion of the World and Black Muslim since 1961, came under attack for refusing to serve in the US Army in Vietnam.[188] He made a claim that he was a conscientious objector due to his religion and thus entitled to exemption from military service.[189] "I am a member of the Muslims and we don't go to war unless they are declared by Allah himself. I don't have no personal quarrel with those Vietcong."[190] He further shared his feelings with the press, "Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisiana are treated like dogs?"[191] One hour after he refused his induction, authorities in the state of New York suspended his boxing license, all other jurisdictions followed suit, and he was stripped of his title.[192] He was also sentenced to five years in prison.[193] After six years of the appeal process, the Supreme Court let him off on a technicality.[194]

Enforcement

While the white press carried many stories over the years attributing violence to Black Muslims, Elijah Muhammad promoted its avoidance.[195] He urged his followers to never start a fight and carrying weapons was forbidden.[196] However, he also taught that Muslims should defend themselves, if attacked, and be willing to lay down ones life to defend a Muslim "brother."[197] Nevertheless, there is at least one story, under the reign of Farrakhan, where a minister was directed to use his martial arts to enforce rules and regulations at a temple with many rebellious members.[198] Furthermore, many theorists and even Malcolm X himself believed that Elijah Muhammad ordered the assassination of Malcolm X. This is one of many places where inconsistencies and contradictions show up between what Muhammad preached and what he practiced.

In a sense, the entire Nation of Islam is a kind of reserve fighting corps.[199] The vanguard of this force is the secret, militaristic unit called the Fruit of Islam.[200] The overall purpose of the FOI is 1) to protect organizational officials and property, 2) to reinforce the doctrine and objective of the organization, and 3) to prepare for the race war known as Armageddon.[201] As stated earlier, each temple had a unit with the local captain and lieutenants reporting not to the temple minister but to Elijah Muhammad through his Supreme Captain.[202]

Selection of the Fruit varied some depending on the size of the temple, but overall were the most physically and psychologically fit males in the movement.[203] In smaller temples, every male is eligible.[204] At larger temples, only the best qualified men under 30 years old would be admitted.[205] Some of these temples have 3 groups Junior FOI for males under 16 years, a prime group for men 16-35 years, and a third group for men over 35 years.[206] Recruits are screened for the highest standard of moral character and dedication.[207] All candidates are given oral exams where they must recite long passages verbatim.[208]

Every Monday night the FOI trained at the temple.[209] The training was both physical (weights, judo, karate, military drill) and mental.[210] They spent much time in lectures and discussions on men learning to be men, in so-called "Manhood training."[211] As Malcolm X described it, "They deal with responsibilities of a husband and father; what to expect of women; the rights of women which are not to be abrogated by the husband; the importance of the father-male image in the strong household; current events; why honesty, and chastity, are vital in a person, a home, a community, a nation, and a civilization why one should bathe at least once each twenty-four hours; business principles; and things of that nature."[212]

The responsibilities of the FOI could be grouped into two categories: security and discipline. Furthermore, they were rigorously held to the Muslim ideal and served as living models of the Black Nation.[213] They were expected to demonstrate self-reliance, ability to defend themselves, obedience to authority, promotion of harmony and complete unity, respect and protection of black womanhood.[214] In their role as security, they stood guard at temples, checked visitors at all meetings, and provided special guard for all ministers and traveling officials.[215] To enforce discipline, the FOI held hearings.[216]

Adjudication

As part of their disciplinary functions, the FOI supervised trials or hearings held at the temples.[217] Common violations seen at trials during the time of Muhammad include adultery, use of narcotics, misuse of temple funds, not attending meetings, sleeping during meetings, failing to bring "Lost-Founds" (visitors) to meetings, reporting temple activities to outsiders, using unbecoming language before female Muslims, eating or selling pork, failing to pay extra dues for being overweight, allowing anyone to enter the temple under the influence of liquor, or stating an unwillingness to die for Allah.[218]

It also appears that the FOI was involved with investigation of facts. This is an area that sources provided little information about although one testimonial was found that described the "interrogation" process to which a member was subjected. This particular member had voluntarily left the Nation, committed many sins while out, and then tried to return. His story also provides an example of how suspension is enforced. (See Appendix 3)

Once the facts were investigated, the hearing process began with the offending Muslim being put in custody of the FOI.[219] The proceedings are attended by all the FOI of the temple and, if it's a lesser infraction, all the temple members may be invited.[220] Conducting the hearings are the temple minister and the FOI captain.[221] The charges are read, the Defendant may not give any defense, and then a verdict is pronounced by the minister if it's a religious issue, or the FOI captain if it's anything else.[222] There is no appeals process; all verdicts are final.[223]

Author Vibert White, former NOI minister under Farrakhan, describes "hold-back" meetings where Muslims recite acts of hostilities by other Muslims; it was common for members to issue charges and countercharges.[224] Some of the accusations White reports seeing are embezzlement of temple's monies, fornication, adultery, and domestic issues of spouses refusing to be gainfully employed (who don't want to work for "white devils").[225] Unfortunately, White does not go into detailed descriptions of the "hold-back" meetings or even make clear whether these are a particular class of hearings or another name for "hearings."

There are at least three types of sentences possible based on the degree of the violation.[226] Minor violations carried a "Class C" sentence which involved performing labor at the temple or other location.[227] Larger violations carried "Class F" sentences which meant suspension.[228] (See Appendix 4 for list of violations.) There were varying degrees of suspension.[229] "Silencing" was part of the suspension punishment given to Malcolm X in 1963; he was forbidden from speaking with the press and even from teaching at his own Mosque where he was minister.[230] "Isolation" was a more restrictive degree of suspension; during this time, the offender is barred from all Muslim temples and businesses and other Muslims are forbidden to speak or associate with him.[231] Two former secretaries of Elijah Muhammad were isolated in 1962 after they reported that Muhammad had fathered their children.[232] Malcolm X's suspension also included isolation.[233] The most serious violations, such as interracial relationships,[234] resulted in formal and permanent expulsion from the NOI.[235]

One could argue that there was actually a fourth and more severe category of discipline by the NOI, death. In 1962, Elijah Muhammad warned Muslims that "'recalcitrant brothers [would] be killed' if they defied the Nation."[236] Louis Farrakhan spoke out after Malcolm was suspended and encouraged the killing of his mentor, "Malcolm's head should be cut off . . . his tongue should be pulled out of his mouth and mailed to Mr. Muhammad."[237] Of course, the NOI would not acknowledge this most extreme form of discipline, but it can be inferred to exist from both statements of leadership and history.

Suspension of Muhammad Ali

In March 1961, a young boxer named Cassius Clay was introduced to the NOI, became a follower, and 3 years later, as his career was on the upswing, was given the name Muhammad Ali.[238] As described above, he had been stripped of his Heavy Weight Champion title and sentenced to prison when he refused induction into the US Army in 1966.[239] Due to his fame, Ali became a high profile symbol for resistance and black revolutionary Islam.[240] His visibility and prominence were a great asset for the Nation.[241] He spent time, while suspended from boxing, lecturing at temples and on college campuses.[242] However, in 1969, while preparing for his comeback in the ring, Ali made a statement to the media that brought the wrath of Elijah Muhammad.[243] On television, he stated that he would return to boxing "if the money was right."[244]

This went over like a lead balloon with the leader of the Black Muslims. Muhammad's reaction was to issue a statement of suspension, "tell the world we are not with Muhammad Ali . . . in his desire to work in the sports world for the sake of a 'leetle' money."[245] Although Elijah Muhammad taught against all forms of sports,[246] Ali's sports career had been accepted.[247] However, after being suspended by the "Devil," it was seen as a disgrace for Ali to crawl back on his knees for the sake of money.[248]

After about 3 years, Herbert Muhammad, son of Elijah and former manager of Ali, convinced his father that Ali should be re-embraced by the Nation.[249] In welcoming Ali back to the fold, Elijah Muhammad proclaimed in his weekly newspaper that Ali was "a good believer [though] full of sport . . . [who has] done nothing that cannot be forgiven if he repents."[250] Ali then re-entered the Nation and continued to champion its growth.[251]

Suspension (and Execution?) of Malcolm X

Malcolm Little spent six years in prison for burglary and came out a converted Black Muslim in 1952.[252] For 12 years, he was totally devoted to Elijah Muhammad and the Nation and routinely worked 18 hours a day in the name of "The Messenger."[253] In 1953, Malcolm was appointed as Elijah Muhammad's "Prime Minister" for the Nation.[254] His recruitment efforts were highly successful and responsible for increasing membership by tens of thousands.[255] Over the 1950's and into the 1960's Malcolm X achieved great fame domestically and abroad.[256] Malcolm described his complete dedication to Muhammad: "I believe that no man in the Nation of Islam could have gained the international prominence I gained with the wings Mr. Muhammad had put on me--plus having the freedom that he granted me to take liberties and do things on my own--and still have remained as faithful and as selfless a servant to him as I was."[257]

Around 1961, Malcolm began experiencing jealousy and hostility from