Read complete books and articles on: The Nation of Islam

Black Muslims - African-American religious movement in the United States, split since 1976 into the American Muslim Mission and the Nation of Islam. The original group was founded (1930) in Detroit by Wali Farad (or W. D. Fard), whom his followers believed to be "Allah in person." When Farad disappeared mysteriously in 1934, Elijah Muhammad assumed leadership of the group, first in Detroit and then in Chicago. Under his leadership, the black nationalist and separatist sect (then called the Nation of Islam) expanded, mainly among poor blacks and prison populations. Although the group numbered only about 8,000 when Muhammad took over, it grew rapidly in the 1950s and 60s, particularly as a result of the preaching of one of its ministers, Malcolm X. Tension between Muhammad and Malcolm developed, however, and Malcolm's subsequent suspension (1963) and assassination (1965), possibly by Muhammad's followers, caused great dissension in the movement. When Muhammad died in 1975, his son, Wallace D. Muhammad (later Warith Deen Mohammed) took over, preaching a far less inflammatory version of Islam. He aligned the organization with the international Islamic community, moving toward Sunni Islamic practice, and opened the group (renamed the World Community of Islam in the West and later the American Society of Muslims) to individuals of all races. In 1977 a group of Black Muslims, led by Louis Farrakhan, split off from the organization, disillusioned by the son's integrationist ideals and lack of allegiance to his father's brand of Islam. They named themselves the Nation of Islam and sought to follow in the footsteps of Elijah Muhammad. In the late 1990s the Nation of Islam began to embrace some traditional Islamic practices, and Farrakhan and Muhammad publicly declared an end to the rivalry between their groups in 2000. W. Deen Mohammed resigned as head of the American Society of Muslims in 2003.

See L. E. Lomax, When the Word Is Given (1964, repr. 1979); C. Eric Lincoln, The Black Muslims in America (1973, repr. 1982); C. E. Marsh, From Black Muslims to Muslims (1984).

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: The Nation of Islam

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam » Read Now
by Mattias Gardell. 484 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam Mattias Gardell DUKE UNIVERSITY...Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam by Duke University Press and...Armageddon: Louis...
2.

Black Political Organizations in the Post-civil Rights Era (Chap. Six "'You're Not Ready for Farrakhan': The Nation of Islam and the Struggle for Black Political Leadership, 1984-2000") » Read Now
by Karlin L. Stanford, Ollie A. Johnson III. 263 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Not Ready for Farrakhan : The Nation of Islam and the Struggle for Black Political...Racial Equality (CORE) and the Nation of Islam accentuate the fundamental role...in the...
3.

Prophet of Rage: A Life of Louis Farrakhan and His Nation » Read Now
by Arthur J. Magida. 270 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

This is the biography of Louis Farrakhan, one of the most controversial leaders of our era. He stands out as a highly principled man who opposes everything that Martin Luther King Jr stood for.
4.

The Muslim Community in North America ("Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Final Call: Schism in the Muslim Movement" begins on p. 234) » Read Now
by Earle H. Waugh, Baha Abu-Laban, Regula B. Qureshi. 316 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...possess to bring Islam to the nations of Canada and the...of this form of Islam. Some flavor of the key position...Lovells overview of national organizations...Nasir Islam...
5.

Integration or Separation? A Strategy for Racial Equality (Chap. 9 "The Nation of Islam") » Read Now
by Roy L. Brooks. 364 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Roy L. Brooks, a distinguished professor of law and a writer on matters of race and civil rights, says with frank clarity what few will admit - integration hasn't worked and possibly never will. Equally, he casts doubt on the solution that many African Americans and mainstream whites have advocated:...
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Roy L. Brooks, a distinguished professor of law and a writer on matters of race and civil rights, says with frank clarity what few will admit - integration hasn't worked and possibly never will. Equally, he casts doubt on the solution that many African Americans and mainstream whites have advocated: total separation of the races. This book presents Brooks's strategy for a middle way between the increasingly unworkable extremes of integration and separation.
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6.

Islam in America ("Elijah Muhammed and the Nation of Islam" begins on p. 80) » Read Now
by Jane I. Smith. 234 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Most Americans are only vaguely aware of the Muslim community in the United States and know little about the religion itself, despite Islam's increasing importance in international affairs and the rapid growth in the number of Americans who call themselves Muslims. Now a foremost authority in the...
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Most Americans are only vaguely aware of the Muslim community in the United States and know little about the religion itself, despite Islam's increasing importance in international affairs and the rapid growth in the number of Americans who call themselves Muslims. Now a foremost authority in the field has crafted a richly textured portrait of the Muslim community in the United States today. Jane I. Smith introduces the basic tenets of the Muslim faith, surveys the history of Islam in this country, and profiles the lifestyles, religious practices, and worldviews of American Muslims. The volume pays particular attention to the tension felt by many in this community as they attempt to live faithfully, adhering to their traditions while at the same time adapting to an alien culture that appears to many Muslims to be excessively secular and materialistic. The book also covers the role of women in American Islam, the raising and educating of children, the use of products acceptable to Muslims, appropriate dress and behavior, concerns about prejudice and unfair treatment, and other issues related to life in a country in which Islam is often misunderstood.
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7.

African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness (Chap. 52 "Wallace D. Muhammad 'Self-Government in the New World'") » Read Now
by Milton C. Sernett. 598 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

...Segregation and Ground of Hope" 548 57 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BLACK CHURCHMEN, "Black Power" Statement, July 31...tenets of alternative religious cultures for example...
8.

Black Religious Leaders: Conflict in Unity (Chap. 5 "Malcolm X") » Read Now
by Peter J. Paris. 328 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

...Muslims as an important predecessor whose work the Nation of Islam understands itself to be continuing. Powell has written...public arena as a representative of an...
9.

Ministry of Lies: The Truth behind the Nation of Islam's "The Secret Relationship between Blacks and Jews" » Read Now
by Harold Brackman. 160 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

Ministry of Lies is a reasoned, scholarly response to Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam's inflammatory diatribe against Jews, the book The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews. Harold Brackman clearly dissects each assertion in a question-and-answer format, proving The Secret...
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Ministry of Lies is a reasoned, scholarly response to Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam's inflammatory diatribe against Jews, the book The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews. Harold Brackman clearly dissects each assertion in a question-and-answer format, proving The Secret Relationship is no more than recycled myths - hate-mongering falsehood and exaggeration.
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10.

Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism (Chap. 5 "The Proximate Other: The Nation of Islam and Judaism") » Read Now
by Yvonne Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch. 256 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

Black Zion explores the myriad ways in which African American religions have encountered Jewish traditions, beliefs, and spaces. The collection's unifying argument is that religion is the missing piece of the cultural jigsaw puzzle, that much of the recent turmoil in black-Jewish relations would be...
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Black Zion explores the myriad ways in which African American religions have encountered Jewish traditions, beliefs, and spaces. The collection's unifying argument is that religion is the missing piece of the cultural jigsaw puzzle, that much of the recent turmoil in black-Jewish relations would be better understood, if not alleviated, if the religious roots of those relations were illuminated. Toward that end, the contributors look a number of provocative topics, including the concept of the Chosen People, the typological identification of blacks with Jews, the actual identification of blacks as Jews, the sacredness of space and symbols, the importance of scriptural interpretation in creating theology and self understanding, the dialectic of exile and redemption in communal history, and the integration of ethnicity and religion in constructing group identity. Ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Hebrew Israelites and from Abraham Joshua Heschel to Martin Luther King, Jr., the book sheds light on a little examined but vitally important dimension of black-Jewish relations in America: religion.
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11.

American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists & Others (Chap. 22 "The Nation of Islam") » Read Now
by John George, Laird Wilcox. 456 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Literally an encyclopedia of hate, paranoia, & terror, this book closely examines the purposes & goals of each movement & debunks much of their racist & anti-government propaganda.
12.

Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe: Political Extremism in America (Chap. 33 "The Nation of Islam") » Read Now
by John George, Laird Wilcox. 548 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
13.

Glory Bound: Black Athletes in a White America (Chap. 8 "Victory for Allah: Muhammed Ali, the Nation of Islam, and American Society") » Read Now
by David K. Wiggins. 328 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Victory for Allah: Muhammad Ali, The Nation of Islam, and American Culture," in Muhammad...Victory for Allah: Muhammad Ali, the Nation of Islam, and American Society...
14.

Jesse Jackson & the Politics of Race (Chap. IV "The Black Muslims") » Read Now
by Thomas H. Landess, Richard M. Quinn. 292 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Conference. He was at that time the National Director of Operation Breadbasket, with...this position Jackson met the national leadership of the civil rights...
15.

When the Word Is Given: A Report on Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and the Black Muslim World » Read Now
by Louis E. Lomax. 236 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library