Editing Nation of Islam (section)

=== Cosmogony and the Tribe of Shabazz ===
{{Main|Tribe of Shabazz}}

The Nation teaches that in the beginning there was nothing but darkness. Then, 76 trillion years ago, the first Allah willed himself into being, taking 6 million years to form into his desired appearance: that of a black man,{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=144|2a1=Finley|2y=2022|2pp=22-23}} in reference to the blackness from which he had emerged.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=144}} The first Allah then created the Sun and the planets,{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=144|2a1=Finley|2y=2022|2p=23}} as well as fellow black gods, who lived predominantly on the Earth but also on [[Mars]].{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=23}} Of these, the first Allah and 23 others formed a council of ruling imams: 12 greater and 12 lesser.{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=10|2a1=Gardell|2y=1996|2p=144}} Each of these imams would take a turn being the ruling Allah for one cycle each.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=145}} 

[[File:NATIONOFISLAMSF1994photobyNancyWong.jpg|thumb|left|Young male members of the Nation of Islam in San Francisco, California in 1994]]

The NOI refers to these early individuals as "god-scientists".{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=24}} They are part of what it calls the "Original" or "Asiatic" race,{{sfnm|1a1=Allen|1y=1996|1p=10|2a1=Austin|2y=2003|2p=56|3a1=Soumahoro|3y=2007|3p=42}} a people who were divided into 13 tribes.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=25}} The Nation labels these people "black",{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=876}} describing them as having dark skin as well as smooth, straight hair, closely resembling dark-complexioned Arabians or South Asians rather than Sub-Saharan Africans.{{sfn|Austin|2003|p=57}} In portraying humanity as the creation of the first Allah, rather than a product of [[evolution]], the Nation endorses a unique form of [[creationism]] and believes [[dinosaurs]] to be a hoax created by white scientists.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|pp=175–176}}

According to Nation teaching, one of the god-scientists was a renegade and, 66 trillion years ago, tried to destroy the Earth with explosives. The resulting explosion forced a chunk of the Earth's mass into orbit, where it became the moon.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=145|2a1=Fishman|2a2=Soage|2y=2013|2p=63|3a1=Finley|3y=2022|3p=25}} One of the 13 tribes was trapped on the moon, where they died due to lack of water.{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=25}} The Nation also maintains that 15,000 years ago, the god-scientists wrote down knowledge of the future in a text, the Mother Book, parts of which have passed down in the [[Torah]], [[Gospels]], and Quran.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=146}} 

Of the twelve tribes that remained on Earth, the most resilient was the Tribe of Shabazz;{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=25}} they settled in Egypt's [[Nile Valley]] and the area around Mecca in the Arabian peninsula.{{sfnm|1a1=Austin|1y=2003|1p=57|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=882|3a1=Soumahoro|3y=2007|3p=42|4a1=Fishman|4a2=Soage|4y=2013|4p=63|5a1=Finley|5y=2022|5p=25}} The Nation calls this region "East Asia",{{sfn|Finley|2022|p=25}} reflecting its belief that Asia and Africa were once a single continent.{{sfn|Barnett|2006|p=882}} It was because they moved into the "jungles of East Asia" (i.e. Africa), Elijah Muhammad claimed, that members of this Original Asiatic Race developed [[Afro-textured hair]].{{sfnm|1a1=Curtis IV|1y=2016|1p=14|2a1=Finley|2y=2022|2p=26}} The Nation teaches that the Original Race were Muslims by their intrinsic nature, but that many created heretical deviations such as [[Hinduism]];{{sfn|Austin|2003|p=58}} some of those who broke Islamic rules were exiled to North America, where they became the continent's native population.{{sfn|Gardell|1996|p=153}}

For the Nation, everyone not of West European genetic origin is a descendant of the Original Asiatic Race.{{sfnm|1a1=Austin|1y=2003|1p=57|2a1=Barnett|2y=2006|2p=878}} In contrast to understandings of race held by most Americans,{{sfn|Austin|2003|p=57}} for the Nation, "black" does not simply mean those of Sub-Saharan African genetic descent, but all [[people of color]], including Asians, North Africans, and Native Americans.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=1996|1p=7|2a1=Austin|2y=2003|2p=57}} Even some Eastern Europeans, such as [[Albanians]], are considered descendants of the Original Asiatic Race.{{sfn|Austin|2003|p=63}} Elijah Muhammad for instance referred to "black, brown, yellow [and] red" people as collectively constituting "black mankind", which he then juxtaposed against the "white race".{{sfn|Austin|2003|p=57}}