Editing Nation of Islam (section)

== History ==

=== Background ===

[[File:Moorish Science Temple 1928 Convention.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Moorish Science Temple of America]], whose members are pictured here in 1928, was a key influence on the Nation of Islam]]
Islam had a presence in [[North America]] prior to the formation of the United States. [[African Muslims]] were among the [[Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest|Spanish expeditions]] that explored the continent during the [[early modern period]], and were also among the many enslaved people transported there via the [[Atlantic slave trade]] of the 16th to 19th centuries.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=32|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2p=2}} It is estimated that, at the time of the [[American Revolution]] in the 1760s–80s, approximately 15 percent of enslaved Africans and African Americans in the new United States were Muslim.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=32}} Although Islam probably died out among the African-American community over subsequent generations,{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=35|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2p=1}} the notion that Islam was a religion historically associated with African Americans influenced the emergence of groups like the NOI in the early 20th century.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=35|2a1=Tinaz|2y=2006|2p=153}}

The Nation formed in the 1930s, when large numbers of African Americans were [[Great Migration (African American)|migrating from southern states to northern cities]],{{sfn|Tinaz|1996|p=194}} and most of its early members were southern migrants who had settled in Detroit.{{sfn|Lincoln|1961|p=21}} The early NOI's outlook was informed by various sources, including older forms of black nationalism, [[Garveyism]], the [[Moorish Science Temple of America]], the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and [[Black Freemasonry]].{{sfnm|1a1=Soumahoro|1y=2007|1p=40|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2p=17|3a1=Finley|3y=2022|3p=63}} In particular, the scholar Dawn Gibson characterised the Nation as having been "born out of a fusion" between the ideas of Garveyism and the Moorish Science Temple.{{sfn|Gibson|2012|p=13}}

A major influence on the NOI's ideas was the Jamaican black nationalist [[Marcus Garvey]], who lived in the U.S. from 1916 to 1927 and who formed the [[Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League]] (UNIA).{{sfnm|1a1=Tsoukalas|1y=2004|1p=451|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=879|3a1=Acevado|3a2=Ordner|3a3=Thompson|3y=2010|3p=138}} Garvey's economic nationalism and calls for black self-sufficiency and enterprise were a particular influence on the Nation,{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=880}} with the scholar Zoe Coley commenting that "UNIA provided the cultural bedrock for the NOI".{{sfn|Colley|2014|p=393}} The Moorish Science Temple, an organization also promoting an idiosyncratic religion that described its teachings as Islam, would also be a key influence on the Nation.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=7|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=31|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=193}} This had been established by the [[North Carolina]]-born African American [[Noble Drew Ali]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]], in 1913.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=7|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=37|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=193|4a1=Berg|4y=2005|4p=689}} Drew Ali claimed that he was the reincarnation of both Jesus and Muhammad,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=38}} and maintained that African Americans should refer to themselves as "Moorish Americans", reflecting what he believed were their connections to the Islamic [[Moors]] of North Africa.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=37|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2pp=193–194}}

=== Wallace Fard Muhammad ===
[[File:W.D. Fard mugshot Detroit 1933 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Wallace Fard Muhammad in a 1933 [[mug shot]]]]
The Nation of Islam was founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad, who appeared in [[Detroit]] in July 1930, when he began preaching his ideas among the city's African Americans.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1pp=10–11|2a1=Allen|2y=1996|2p=8|3a1=Gardell|3y=1996|3p=50|4a1=Gibson|4y=2012|4p=13|5a1=Colley|5y=2014|5p=397}} Fard Muhammad claimed that he was an Arab from Mecca who had come to the United States on a mission to the African-American people, whom he called the "Nation of Islam", to restore them to their original faith.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=50–51}} The Nation has since taught that Fard Muhammad was Allah himself.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=53}} They have claimed that he was born in Mecca on February 26, 1877, the son of a black father and white mother,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=53, 155}} a woman from the [[Caucasus Mountains]] named Baby Gee.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=67}} Being half-white, the NOI maintain, was necessary for allowing him to move freely in white society.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=67}}

Outside of the Nation, various theories have been proposed as to Fard Muhammad's true identity.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=51}} The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) later noted that Fard Muhammad's fingerprints matched those of Wallie D. Ford, a white man who had a record of arrests and had served a three-year sentence in [[San Quentin Prison]] for drug charges. Ford had been released in May 1929, a year before the appearance of Fard Muhammad.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=53|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2p=23}} The NOI reject the identification of Fard Muhammad as Ford, claiming that the FBI forged the fingerprint evidence.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=53}} There have also been suggestions made that, on his release from prison, Fard had joined the Moorish Science Temple of America and subsequently forged his Nation as a breakaway faction.{{sfn|Gibson|2012|pp=22-23}}

{{Quote box
| quote = My name is W. D. Fard, and I come from the Holy City of Mecca. More about myself I will not tell you yet, for the time has not yet come. I am your brother. You have not yet seen me in my royal robes.
| source=A message from Fard Muhammad, as reported by an early follower{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=11|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2p=18}}
| width = 25em
| align = left
}}

Fard Muhammad's following grew rapidly.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=54}} He held meetings three days a week which attracted 7,000 to 8,000 people,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=54}} some of them former members of the Moorish Science Temple.{{sfn|Lincoln|1961|p=13}} Fard Muhammad wrote two manuals, the ''Secret Ritual of the Nation of Islam'' and the ''Teaching for the Lost Found Nation of Islam in a Mathematical Way''.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=14|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=54}} He also urged his followers to listen to the radio sermons of the Watch Tower Society and Baptist fundamentalists.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=13|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=54}} He established a bureaucratic administration within the Nation, its own system of schools, and the [[Fruit of Islam]] (FOI) paramilitary wing for men and the Muslim Girls Training School for women.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=14|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2pp=54–55|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=195|4a1=Gibson|4y=2012|4p=19}}

In 1931, an African-American man named Elijah Poole became a disciple of Fard Muhammad.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=50}} He had been born to a poor family in [[Bold Springs, Georgia]] in 1897; his father was a sharecropper and Baptist preacher.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=47}} In 1923, Poole and his wife Clara relocated to Detroit, where they settled in the black ghetto of [[Paradise Valley, Detroit|Paradise Valley]].{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=48–49}} There, he joined Garvey's UNIA,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=49}} and worked in industrial plants before becoming unemployed amid the [[Great Depression]].{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=50}} On joining the Nation of Islam, Fard Muhammad gave Poole the new name of Elijah Karriem.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=15|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=54}}

In 1932 the Detroit Police Department arrested an NOI member for [[Killing of James J. Smith|a murder]] which they claimed was a [[human sacrifice]], generating growing press coverage.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=55|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2pp=19-20|3a1=Boaz|3y=2018|3p=17}} The police then raided the Nation's headquarters and arrested Fard Muhammad. He was soon released; the killer was declared insane.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1pp=55–56|2a1=Boaz|2y=2018|2pp=23–24}} After this incident, Fard Muhammad gave Elijah Poole increasing powers, declaring him Supreme Minister of the Nation and renaming him Elijah Muhammad.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=57}} In 1933, Elijah Muhammad then set up a new temple on Chicago's South Side.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=58}} Fard Muhammad was arrested several further times; in September 1933 he was arrested for disorderly conduct in Chicago, which is his last known verified whereabouts.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=58}} In 1934, Fard Muhammad disappeared without notifying his followers or designating a successor.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=15|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=58|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=195}} Rumours spread that he had moved to Europe or that he had been killed, either by the police or by former followers.{{sfn|Lincoln|1961|p=15}}

=== Elijah Muhammad's leadership ===

[[File:Elijah Muhammad NYWTS-2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Elijah Muhammad]], who formulated many of the Nation's key ideas]]
With Fard Muhammad gone, Elijah Muhammad became head of the Nation.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=58|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2p=195|3a1=Fishman|3a2=Soage|3y=2013|3p=60}} It was under his leadership "that the NOI's theology crystallized".{{sfn|Fishman|Soage|2013|p=60}} Elijah Muhammad claimed that Fard Muhammad had been the latest Allah and that he had now returned to his own realm, with Elijah Muhammad remaining on Earth as his messenger.{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=16|2a1=Allen|2y=1996|2p=10|3a1=Gardell|3y=1996|3p=58|4a1=Tinaz|4y=1996|4p=195}} His wife Clara took on the identity of [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadija]].{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=58}} Elijah Muhammad relocated the NOI's headquarters to Chicago,{{sfnm|1a1=Lincoln|1y=1961|1p=16|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=58|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=195}} and embarked on seven years traveling the US to promote his religion, especially along the East Coast.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=58}}

During the [[Second World War]], the FBI started monitoring the Nation;{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=69|2a1=Colley|2y=2014|2p=401}} FBI informants reported pro-Japanese sentiment being expressed at its meetings.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=70|2a1=Colley|2y=2014|2p=401}} Many Nation members refused the military draft and in September 1942 the FBI arrested 65 NOI members, including Elijah Muhammad, for doing so.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1pp=58–59, 70–71|2a1=Colley|2y=2014|2p=401|3a1=Vaught|3y=2017|3p=49-50}} Elijah Muhammad was released in August 1946,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=59, 71}} at which point he found the Nation's membership had declined.{{sfn|Colley|2014|p=401}} He lived at a villa named The Palace in [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Chicago's Hyde Park]] area, and in winter moved to a large ranch outside Phoenix, Arizona.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=63}} Increasingly exposed to Sunni Islam, Elijah Muhammad drew more elements from it into the Nation,{{sfn|Allen|1996|pp=12–13}} and also undertook the [[hajj]] pilgrimage to Mecca three times, in 1959, 1967, and 1971.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=189–190}}

The group's membership grew during the latter part of the 1950s.{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=12}} In 1959, the FBI encouraged the media to attack the Nation, hoping to discredit it.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=73}} It was in this year that a documentary about the group, ''[[The Hate that Hate Produced]]'', was screened.{{sfnm|1a1=Curtis IV|1y=2002|1p=181|2a1=Curtis IV|2y=2016|2p=17}} This press criticism backfired, giving the group significant attention and assisting its recruitment.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=63, 73}} The NOI became a foil for the [[civil rights movement]], which presented the group as evidence for the harmful effect that poor race relations were having in the U.S.{{sfnm|1a1=Curtis IV|1y=2002|1p=182|2a1=Curtis IV|2y=2016|2p=17}} In 1962, Los Angeles police raided one of the Nation's temples; one member was killed and seven injured, attracting national press attention.{{sfn|Knight|1994|p=183}} In 1963, a schism in the Nation's Temple Number 7 in Harlem led to the creation of a new group, the [[Five-Percent Nation|Five Percent Nation of Islam]].{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=3|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=224}}

{{multiple image
| align    = left
| image1   = Malcolm X NYWTS 2a.jpg
| width1   = 160
| caption1 =
| image2   = Muhammad Ali NYWTS.jpg
| width2   = 175
| caption2 =
| footer   = During the early 1960s, [[Malcolm X]] (left) and [[Muhammad Ali]] (right) helped raise the profile of the Nation.
}}

One of the Nation's most significant members at this time was [[Malcolm X]]. Born Malcolm Little, he discovered the Nation while in prison; following his release in 1952 he rose swiftly through its hierarchy.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=11|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=65|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=197|4a1=Taylor|4y=2005|4pp=59–60}} In 1960, he launched the newspaper ''Muhammad Speaks'', which reached a circulation of over 600,000.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1pp=63–64|2a1=Haywood|2y=2017|2pp=9, 10}} In 1963, he became the Nation's first National Representative.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=66}} He also travelled internationally; in Britain, he met with [[Michael X|Michael de Freitas]], who converted to the Nation and created a British branch.{{sfn|Tinaz|2006|p=155}} Another prominent NOI member was the boxer [[Muhammad Ali]]. Born Cassius Clay, he encountered the Nation in 1961 and received significant media criticism after announcing his membership of the group in 1964.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=67–68}}

Malcolm X went on the [[hajj]] pilgrimage to Mecca, where he came across white Muslims, an experience that shifted him from his total hostility to white people.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=80|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2p=199|3a1=Fishman|3a2=Soage|3y=2013|3p=63}} In light of these experiences, in March 1964 he left the Nation and became a Sunni Muslim.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=14|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=80}} He began denouncing Elijah Muhammad for his extramarital affairs and accused the Nation of holding back the revolutionary potential of African Americans.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=80–81}} In February 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in New York.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=76|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2p=199}} The following year, three members of the NOI were convicted of the killing.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=77}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buckley |first=Thomas |date=March 11, 1966 |title=Malcolm X Jury Finds 3 Guilty |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/11/archives/malcolm-x-jury-finds-3-guilty-2-black-muslims-and-3d-man-convicted.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 2, 2014 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619215830/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/11/archives/malcolm-x-jury-finds-3-guilty-2-black-muslims-and-3d-man-convicted.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Jack |date=April 15, 1966 |title=3 Get Life Terms in Malcolm Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/15/archives/3-get-life-terms-in-malcolm-case-sentenced-for-1965-murder-of-black.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 2, 2014 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619215828/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/15/archives/3-get-life-terms-in-malcolm-case-sentenced-for-1965-murder-of-black.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Quotes: Half a century after his death, Malcolm X speaks |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/02/21/malcolm-x-anniversary-death/23764967/ |website=USA Today |access-date=2017-09-21 |archive-date=2018-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716114654/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/02/21/malcolm-x-anniversary-death/23764967/ |url-status=live }}</ref> There was press speculation that the Nation's leaders were complicit,{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=77}} something which damaged the group's reputation;{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=66}} recruitment declined in the latter half of the 1960s.{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=14}} As the [[Black Power movement]] emerged in the late 1960s, many observers saw the Nation as its forerunner and a vanguard,{{sfn|Haywood|2017|p=16}} with the Nation claiming that it had inspired the movement.{{sfn|Haywood|2017|p=17}}

In 1972, the NOI bought the St. Constantine Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago and transformed it into their headquarters temple, [[Mosque Maryam]],{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=63}} and by 1974 it had either temples or study groups in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=63}} Relations with law enforcement remained strained; in 1972, a New York City policeman [[1972 Harlem mosque incident|was shot and killed during a search of a NOI Mosque in Harlem]].<ref name="ANNE BARNARD">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/12/nyregion/harlem-split-on-plan-to-honor-officer-killed-in-72.html?_r=1&ref=annebarnard |title=Harlem Split on Plan to Honor Officer Killed in Mosque in '72 |author=Anne Barnard |date=11 May 2012 |work=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=15 May 2012 |archive-date=30 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830114931/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/12/nyregion/harlem-split-on-plan-to-honor-officer-killed-in-72.html?_r=1&ref=annebarnard |url-status=live }}</ref> It had continued to face opposition from the FBI, who engaged in a renewed counterintelligence project to destabilise it from the late 1960s.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=86–89}} This included sowing discord between the Nation and the [[Black Panther Party]], encouraging several incidents in which Black Panthers attacked NOI newspaper sellers.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=90}}
The NOI also engaged in recurring conflicts with other Islamic groups that had predominantly black memberships.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=189}} It argued with [[Hamaas Abdul Khaalis]]' [[Hanafi]] Muslim group, and in 1973 [[1973 Hanafi Muslim massacre|a group of Nation of Islam members killed seven Hanafi Muslims]], five of them children. The Nation's leadership denied sanctioning this attack.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1pp=15–16|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=189}}

=== Wallace Muhammad and the NOI's transition to Sunni Islam ===

In 1975, Elijah Muhammad died and was succeeded by his son, [[Warith Deen Muhammad|Wallace Muhammad]].{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=16|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=101|3a1=Gibson|3y=2012|3p=71|4a1=Curtis IV|4y=2016|4p=24}} Wallace Muhammad had had a strained relationship with his father and his father's teachings; while imprisoned in the early 1960s he had moved closer to [[Sunni Islam]] and had left the Nation on several occasions during the 1960s and 1970s, only re-joining in 1974.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=102|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2pp=72–74}} As leader, Wallace Muhammad launched what he called a "Second Resurrection" in the movement.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=25}}

Wallace Muhammad increasingly aligned the group with Sunni Islam, rejecting many of the Nation's idiosyncratic teachings,{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=16|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2p=199|3a1=Gibson|3y=2012|3pp=76–77|4a1=Curtis IV|4y=2016|4p=25}} including its claim that Fard Muhammad was God, that Elijah Muhammad had been a prophet, and its belief in the Myth of Yakub and the Mother Plane. He retained the Nation's themes of black pride, healthy diets, sexual modesty, and economic self-determination.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=25}} "Temples" were renamed "mosques", while "ministers" were renamed "imams".{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=16|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2pp=110–111|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=200}} The FOI was disbanded, with Wallace calling it a "hooligan outfit".{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=16|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=109}} Black nationalism was abandoned,{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1pp=111–112|2a1=Fishman|2a2=Soage|2y=2013|2p=61}} and the ban on white people joining the Nation was lifted.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=16|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=109|3a1=Gibson|3y=2012|3p=78|4a1=Fishman|4a2=Soage|4y=2013|4p=61}}

In November 1976, the Nation was renamed the World Community of al-Islam in the West, and in April 1978 it became the American Muslim Mission.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1pp=2, 17|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=110|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3p=199|4a1=Gibson|4y=2012|4p=78|5a1=Curtis IV|5y=2016|5p=25}} Wallace Muhammad also renamed himself, first to Warith Deen and then to Warithuddin Muhammad.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=111}} Wallace Muhammad claimed that these changes were in accordance with his father's intentions;{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=102}} he claimed to be in contact with Fard Muhammad, and that the founder had established the NOI's idiosyncratic beliefs as a means of gradually introducing Islamic teachings to African Americans, with the ultimate intention of bringing them to Sunni Islam.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=106|2a1=Berg|2y=2005|2pp=696–697}}

Wallace Muhammad claimed that the Nation's old belief that the white man was the Devil referred to mental whiteness, a state that is rebelling against Allah, rather than light-skinned people themselves.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=104–105}} Most mosques remained with Wallace Muhammad during these reforms but some mosques rejected them, seeking to return to the group's original teachings;{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=25}} small splinter groups emerged in Detroit, Atlanta, and Baltimore.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=113|2a1=Tinaz|2y=1996|2pp=200–201}} In 1985, Wallace Muhammad disbanded the organization, telling his followers to affiliate instead with their local mosques.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=18|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=113}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Buursma |first1=Bruce |last2=Houston |first2=Jack |date=May 3, 1985 |title=Main Black Muslim Sect Dissolves As Leader Quits |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-05-03-8501270247-story.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=Chicago Tribune |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407104050/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-05-03-8501270247-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Louis Farrakhan's revival ===

[[File:Louis Farrakhan, smiling.jpg|thumb|right|[[Louis Farrakhan]], who re-established the Nation of Islam after leaving Wallace Muhammad's group in 1977]]
The leading figure in rejecting Wallace Muhammad's reforms was [[Louis Farrakhan]], who, with other disaffected members began to rebuild the Nation of Islam in 1977.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=123|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2pp=85–86|3a1=Curtis IV|3y=2016|3p=25}} Born in [[the Bronx]] to Caribbean migrants, Farrakhan had been a nightclub singer prior to joining the original Nation in 1955.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=119–120}} In 1964 he had become minister of the NOI's Harlem Temple and in 1967 a national representative of Elijah Muhammad.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=121}} Under Wallace Muhammad's leadership, Farrakhan was relocated to Chicago, widely seen as a demotion.{{sfn|Gibson|2012|p=81}}

Farrakhan presented himself as Elijah Muhammad's true successor;{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=126}} his followers described Wallace Muhammad's leadership as "the Fall".{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=99}} Farrakhan's NOI spent the first several years focusing on rebuilding;{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=135–136}} the Fruit of Islam was re-established.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=141–142}} In 1979, Farrakhan established a newspaper, ''The Final Call'',{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=140|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2p=88}} which by 1994 had a circulation of 500,000.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=140}} In 1981, Farrakhan's Nation held its first convention,{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=18|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=137}} and its membership began to increase rapidly in the mid-1980s.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=141}} It was able to buy much of the property owned by its predecessor, including the Chicago Palace and the Stoney Island Mosque.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=20|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=138|3a1=Gibson|3y=2012|3p=108}}

Farrakhan claimed that in 1985, at [[Tepotzotlán]] in Mexico, he was teleported aboard the Mother Plane and there was given advice on the future of the Nation.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=20|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2pp=131–132|3a1=Curtis IV|3y=2016|3pp=25–26}} Masonic elements and [[numerology]] came to play an important part in Farrakhan's speeches.{{sfn|Curtis IV|2016|p=25}} Farrakhan's Nation expanded its international network, including building links in Africa; particularly strong links were built between Farrakhan and Ghanaian President [[Jerry Rawlings]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=142|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2pp=97–98}} Under Farrakhan, the NOI adopted more elements of mainstream Islamic practice, although not to the extent of Wallace Muhammad.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=192–193}}

Although Farrakhan was critical of the heavy use of themes such as sex, violence, and drugs in [[rap]] and [[hip hop music]],{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=294|2a1=Gibson|2y=2012|2p=103}} during the 1980s and 1990s artists influenced by the Nation who were active in these genres played a role in spreading the Nation's message.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=295}} Farrakhan had grown concerned by the growth of gang violence, especially among African-American youths, and in 1989 launched his "Stop the Killing" campaign to combat it.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=288}} He played a key role in getting two of the country's largest gangs, the [[Bloods]] and the [[Crips]], to sign a ceasefire in May 1992.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=290–291}} Later in the 1990s, Farrakhan's NOI opened its first mosques in Britain.{{sfn|Tinaz|2006|p=159}}

Farrakhan organized the [[Million Man March]] through Washington DC in 1995 which united a range of African-American groups to counter negative portrayals of black manhood; it was the largest black demonstration in U.S. history.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1pp=23–24|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2pp=343–345|3a1=Tinaz|3y=1996|3pp=203–204|4a1=Fishman|4a2=Soage|4y=2013|4p=61}} During the 1990s, Farrakhan was also introduced to the ideas of the [[Church of Scientology]] and in 2006 he was honoured at the Church-sponsored Ebony Awakening Awards.{{sfn|King|2017|p=219}}
In 2010, Farrakhan announced his embrace of [[Dianetics]] and has actively encouraged NOI members to undergo [[Auditing (Scientology)|auditing]] from the Church.<ref name="Scientology">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Eliza |date=October 5, 2012 |title=The Mothership of All Alliances |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |url=http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/108205/scientology-joins-forces-with-nation-of-islam |access-date=November 19, 2012 |archive-date=October 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012004247/http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/108205/scientology-joins-forces-with-nation-of-islam |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Scientology1">{{Cite news |last1=Rossetter |first1=Shelley |last2=Tobin |first2=Thomas C. |date=October 18, 2012 |title=Louis Farrakhan renews call for self-determination among Nation of Islam followers |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/louis-farrakhan-renews-call-for-self-determination-among-nation-of-islam/1128781 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105093720/http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/louis-farrakhan-renews-call-for-self-determination-among-nation-of-islam/1128781 |archive-date=November 5, 2012}}</ref> Farrakhan praised [[L. Ron Hubbard]], founder of Dianetics and Scientology, stating that his ideas were "exceedingly valuable to every Caucasian person on this Earth",<ref name=Scientology/><ref name=Scientology1/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Farrakhan |first=Louis |date=March 11, 2011 |title=Preparation of the Mind and Qualifications to Act for Christ |url=http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Minister_Louis_Farrakhan_9/article_7648.shtml |access-date=April 22, 2012 |website=The Final Call |archive-date=July 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728073506/http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Minister_Louis_Farrakhan_9/article_7648.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-04-02 |title=The Troubling Connections between Scientology and the Nation of Islam |work=National Review |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/scientology-nation-of-islam-troubling-connections/ |access-date=2018-11-15 |archive-date=2018-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912194825/https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/scientology-nation-of-islam-troubling-connections/ |url-status=live }}</ref> presenting auditing as a method by which whites could purify themselves of their inherent badness.{{sfn|King|2017|p=228}} NOI Sister Charlene Muhammad received the "Dianetics Auditor of the Year" Award 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ortega |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Ortega |date=September 18, 2018 |title=Giving Scientology TV a run for its money |url=https://tonyortega.org/2018/09/18/giving-scientology-tv-a-run-for-its-money-its-the-premiere-of-the-bunker-network/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Underground Bunker |archive-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302230525/https://tonyortega.org/2018/09/18/giving-scientology-tv-a-run-for-its-money-its-the-premiere-of-the-bunker-network/ |url-status=live }}</ref>