Editing Nation of Islam (section)

== Practices ==

=== Services, prayer, and celebration ===

[[File:20051030-161112-08-E-Nation-of-Islam-mosque.jpg|thumb|A Nation of Islam [[mosque]] in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], United States, 2005]]
During the 1960s, the NOI's places of worship were called both temples and mosques.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=10}} As well as serving a religious function, these can also be used as a community center, bank, school, and child-care facility.{{sfn|Akom|2007|p=722}} The figure leading a temple is called the captain and will be a member of the Fruit of Islam subgroup.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=57}}

Those attending meetings will sometimes [[Body search|be searched]] by members of the Fruit of Islam or the Muslim Girl's Training group, who look for weapons and for objects like cosmetics and cigarettes which are disapproved of.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=173}} After this, attendees are seen to their seats,{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=173}} usually rows of benches.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=191}} The sexes are segregated during worship; women on the right and men on the left.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=191|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=879}} The tone of Nation services is sombre and quiet.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=173}} Services typically begin with the statement "[[As-salamu alaykum]]" (peace be upon you), with the congregation responding "Wa 'alaikum As-salam" (and also upon you).{{sfn|Fishman|Soage|2013|p=65}} Meetings at the mosque are both opened and closed with prayers,{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=173}} and the Nation's "national anthem" may be played.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=191}} A lecture is provided by a minister,{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=174}} who may also read verses from either the Bible or Qur'an.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=173}}

In the late 1950s, Elijah Muhammad published a prayer manual outlining how his followers should pray five times a day.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=183}} This involved an ablution beforehand,{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=183}} typically involving washing the hands, face, and ears, symbolically associating physical cleanliness with the purification of the body more broadly.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=58}} Women are expected to cover their heads while praying.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=58}} Elijah Muhammad stipulated that these prayers should be in English, although commented that in future he would explain how to do so in Arabic.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|p=183}} In later articles, he explained that his followers should face towards Mecca as they pray, symbolising their journey toward the restoration of black greatness.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|pp=183–184}}

The most important date in the Nation's year is February 26, [[Saviours' Day]], which is believed to be the birthday of Fard Muhammad.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=63|2a1=Fishman|2a2=Soage|2y=2013|2p=60}} This is the date on which the organization holds its annual national convention.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=63}} Under Farrakhan, the Nation has also held a second Saviour's Day each year, on October 7, to mark the birth of Elijah Muhammad.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=137}} In addition to marking festivals, NOI members are encouraged to make the [[Hajj]] pilgrimage to Mecca;{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=192}} Elijah Muhammad himself did so three times.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=189–190}}

=== Lifestyle ===

The Nation requests that, as a declaration of mental emancipation, new members change any names inherited from slave-owners who owned their ancestors.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=54|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=886}} This is not considered necessary if the new member has a name that is already African in origin.{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=886}} In the NOI's early years, Wallace Fard Muhammad bestowed new names on followers for a $10 fee.{{sfn|Gibson|2012|p=18}} During the mid-20th century the Nation began encouraging the use of "X" as a surname, symbolising what they regarded as the African-American's identity as an "ex-slave" and also as a marker for their lost ancestral name.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=64}} As this results in many individuals having the same name, numbers are added before the X to differentiate members (i.e. "Charles 2X", "Charles 3X").{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=64}}

[[File:Bean pie recipe.jpg|thumb|left|Bean pies are associated with the Nation and Elijah Muhammad encouraged their consumption.{{sfn|Potorti|2017|pp=79, 80}}]]

The NOI encourages its followers to live highly disciplined and structured lifestyles;{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=883}} this conservative and ascetic approach has led to followers being called "Black Puritans".{{sfn|Tinaz|1996|p=197}} Nation members are encouraged to obey the law,{{sfnm|1a1=Colley|1y=2014|1p=405|2a1=Curtis IV|2y=2016|2p=17}} to seek gainful employment,{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=17|2a1=Curtis IV|2y=2016|2p=18}} to always be punctual,{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=18}} to avoid buying on credit,{{sfn|Lincoln|1961|p=17}} and to never gamble.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=17|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=61}} 

Male members typically cut their hair short, sometimes shaving the head entirely, and do not usually wear beards.{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=888}} This signifies their willingness to abide to the Nation's strict rules and reflect their renunciation of much personal choice.{{sfn|Barnett|2006|pp=888–889}} They are expected to wear suits with either ties or bowties;{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=61|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=889|3a1=Finley|3y=2022|3p=55}} those who are part of the Fruit of Islam wear military-style uniforms,{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=889}} sometimes accompanied by a [[Fez (hat)|fez]].{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=64}} Women are commanded to dress modestly;{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=61|2a1=Finley|2y=2022|2p=54}} they are not permitted to wear trousers,{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=889}} are expected to wear long sleeves,{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=54}} and are encouraged to cover their heads.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnett|1y=2006|1p=889|2a1=Finley|2y=2022|2p=54}} Cosmetics and the chemical or heat-based straightening of hair is also discouraged.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=54}}

The NOI teaches that practitioners should keep fit and maintain a healthy diet,{{sfnm|1a1=Barnett|1y=2006|1p=877|2a1=McCutcheon|2y=2013b|2p=574}} as part of which it espouses strict dietary rules.{{sfn|Potorti|2017|p=70}} [[Vegetarianism]] is encouraged among members, although not obligatory,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=62}} with Elijah Muhammad writing that "meat was never intended for man to eat".{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=62}} In ''[[How to Eat to Live]]'', Elijah Muhammad urged his followers to subsist primarily on fruit, vegetables, and certain grains, and to choose lamb if they must eat meat.{{sfn|McCutcheon|2013|p=65}} Discouraged foods include dried fruits,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=62}} white flour,{{sfnm|1a1=Curtis IV|1y=2016|1p=18|2a1=Potorti|2y=2017|2p=83}} additives,{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=18}} and [[fast food]].{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=62}} Although its own produce is not wholly [[Organic product|organic]], the Nation is supportive of organic food and the avoidance of [[genetically modified crops]], [[insecticide]]s, and pesticides.{{sfn|McCutcheon|2013b|p=575}}

The NOI also encourages followers to avoid foods associated with the slave culture of the U.S., such as [[cornbread]], [[catfish]], and [[collard greens]], deeming this cuisine to be undignified.{{sfnm|1a1=Curtis IV|1y=2016|1p=18|2a1=Potorti|2y=2017|2pp=75, 85|3a1=Finley|3y=2022|3p=51}} Concerned about obesity and diabetes among African Americans, Elijah Muhammad urged his followers to restrict their caloric intake, ideally by eating only one meal a day.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=62|2a1=Curtis IV|2y=2016|2p=18}} He claimed that this would extend the human lifespan and that those who ate only once every 24 hours would live for 150 years and that those who ate once every seven days would live for 1,050 years.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=18}} Members are also encouraged to conduct regular three-day fasts,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=62}} and to fast during the daylight for the entirety of December.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=62}} The NOI also [[Teetotalism|prohibits the use of alcohol]],{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=61|2a1=McCutcheon|2y=2013b|2p=575|3a1=Colley|3y=2014|3p=400|4a1=Curtis IV|4y=2016|4p=18}} tobacco,{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=17|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=61|3a1=McCutcheon|3y=2013b|3p=575|4a1=Colley|4y=2014|4p=400|5a1=Curtis IV|5y=2016|5p=18}} and other recreational drugs,{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=61|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=883|3a1=Colley|3y=2014|3p=400}} and has recommended the [[Vaccine hesitancy|avoidance of vaccines]] for children.{{sfn|Knight|2000|p=153}}

=== Economic and educational independence ===

[[File:YBMB2.jpg|thumb|right|The interior of a Nation-owned bakery in Oakland, California]]
Espousing [[economic nationalism]],{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=884}} the Nation follows the ideas of earlier thinkers like [[Booker T. Washington]] and Marcus Garvey in emphasizing the construction of African American infrastructure as a means of community empowerment.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=318}} The Nation has created many companies,{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=884}} including the Salaam restaurant chain, the Shabazz bakeries, the Fashahnn Islamic clothing range, the Clean 'N Fresh skin and haircare products, and Abundant Life Clinics.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=318}} It also owns a mall in [[Chicago]] and clothing stores and food markets.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=318}} These businesses provide income for the NOI and help tackle African American unemployment.{{sfn|Potorti|2017|pp=76-77}}

Since the 1980s, the Nation has also sought government contracts,{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=19}} and in 1988, it established the Security Agency Incorporated to provide FOI patrols for clients.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=304|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2pp=202–203}} In 1985 it launched its POWER (People Organized and Working for Economic Rebirth) project, designed to redirect black [[purchasing power]] toward black-owned businesses.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=319|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2p=201}} It also seeks the collective economic advancement of African Americans through individual achievement;{{sfn|Akom|2003|p=307}} various women members created their own businesses, sometimes run from the home.{{sfn|West|1996|p=45}}
Some of its African-American [[Anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] critics have derided the Nation's economic approach as [[black capitalism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=321|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=884}} Farrakhan has responded that while [[socialism]] appeals to him, capitalism is the only feasible road to economic empowerment for African-Americans.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=321}}

The Nation prioritises land ownership to increase food production and autonomy for African Americans;{{sfn|McCutcheon|2013b|p=575}} a commonly used slogan among the NOI is that "The farm is the engine of our national life."{{sfn|McCutcheon|2013|p=61}} It established a farm in [[White Cloud, Michigan]] in 1947,{{sfn|Potorti|2017|p=76}} and by the early 1970s owned 20,000 acres of farm land in Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia.{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=14}} In 1994 Farrakhan's Nation purchased 1,556 acres of rural South Georgia near [[Bronwood, Georgia|Bronwood]], naming it [[Muhammad Farms]].{{sfnm|1a1=McCutcheon|1y=2013|1p=62|2a1=McCutcheon|2y=2013b|2p=572}} Much of the produce grown here is distributed to NOI mosques around the country.{{sfnm|1a1=McCutcheon|1y=2013|1p=65|2a1=McCutcheon|2y=2013b|2p=575}} NOI members also own urban gardens in various U.S. cities.{{sfn|McCutcheon|2013|p=62}}

In 1991, the Nation launched its Three Year Economic Savings Plan, asking followers to send them $10 a month over the three years, money that would collectively allow the group to buy more farmland.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=320}} For the Nation, acquiring land and growing food is regarded as a means of building [[self-determination]] for African Americans.{{sfn|McCutcheon|2013|p=62}} It hopes to establish a system of black-owned farms through which to feed 40 million black people,{{sfn|McCutcheon|2013|p=62}} with the stated aim of providing at least one healthy meal a day for every African American.{{sfnm|1a1=McCutcheon|1y=2013|1p=65|2a1=McCutcheon|2y=2013b|2p=575}}

The NOI is highly critical of the U.S. school system, believing that, by being [[Eurocentrism|Eurocentric]] in its focus and concealing the achievement of non-white societies, it perpetuates white supremacy. To this end, the Nation has established its own educational system.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1pp=61, 323|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=880}} Across the U.S. it has established Muhammad Universities of Islam; most of these are elementary schools, although a few also offer secondary education.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=323|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=880}} These emphasize science, mathematics, black history, Arabic, and NOI doctrine;{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=61}} Farrakhan has said that they need to provide black children with "an education to make them Gods".{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=322}} In these schools, boys and girls are taught separately;{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1pp=61, 324|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=880}} pupils are only given two weeks of vacation each year.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=61}} Combating the idea that academic achievement entails "acting white", the Nation has sought to associate hard work in school with pride in being black.{{sfn|Akom|2003|p=313}} As well as African-American pupils, some of these schools have also accepted students from Latino, Asian, and Pacific Island communities.{{sfn|Akom|2007|p=721}}

=== Civic engagement ===

The Nation has a longstanding record of involvement in civic, economic, and political activities.{{sfn|Akom|2007|p=722}} In some economically deprived areas, it has played a role in providing services that public institutions have not.{{sfnm|1a1=West|1y=1996|1p=45|2a1=Akom|2y=2007|2p=725}} In some areas with high African-American populations, the NOI has for instance engaged in door-to-door campaigns to raise awareness about local pollution,{{sfn|Akom|2007|p=723}} or used the Fruit of Islam to patrol neighborhoods as a community watchdog,{{sfn|Akom|2007|p=723}} especially to stop drug-dealing.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=302–303}} The Nation has also urged African Americans not to rely on state welfare payments, arguing that this undermines the community's ability to be self-sufficient.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=319}}

The scholar Edward E. Curtis IV stated that the Nation is "both highly religious and political at the same time",{{sfn|Curtis IV|2002|pp=167–168}} while Gardell noted that it "formulated emphatic political demands".{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=5}} However, the NOI has urged its members to avoid mainstream electoral politics;{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=17}} throughout most of his leadership, Elijah Muhammad instructed his followers not to vote.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=79}} Later, Farrakhan backed [[Jesse Jackson]]'s [[1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1984 campaign]] to become the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s presidential candidate,{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=4|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=250|3a1=Gibson|3y=2012|3p=89}} and in 1990 three NOI candidates stood for election in the U.S.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=313–314}} Although many outsiders have presumed the NOI to be a revolutionary movement,{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=891}} it has not sought to foment political revolution or violent social change, instead focusing its emphasis on shifting the consciousness of its members, encouraging them to focus on personal moral improvement, family building, and economic activity.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnett|1y=2006|1p=891|2a1=Curtis IV|2y=2016|2p=17}}