Nation of Islam

• Nation of Islam

  • Established in 1930 & led from 1934-75 by Elijah Muhammad- self-styled prophet of Allah
• The Nation of Islam differed from orthodox Islam- believing that:

  • Allah originally created black people
  • The evil scientist Yakub created other races
  • Whites would rule the world several thousand years until Allah returned & ended their supremacy
• Temples in black ghettos- Detroit, New York & Chicago- NOI offered black Americans an alternative to the white man's Christianity- The NOI urged:


  • Separation of blacks & whites
  • Black economic independence through growing food, producing manufactured goods & owning stores
  • The development of an independent black nation
  • Pride in black culture & history in the schools it established in cities- Detroit
  • Religious commitment & a puritanical lifestyle without alcohol or extramarital sex
• • Religious teachings of the NOI impressed Malcolm- taught him the white man was the devil
  • Emphasis upon the importance of black culture & history gave him the sense of racial pride & identity that he needed
• • After-release from jail- Malcolm became minster in the NOI & by 1950's he was the most effective preacher & recruiter+
  • He & the NOI first gained national attention through TV documentary- The Hate that Hate produced (1959)- introduced white Americans to Malcolm's bitter characterisation of them as the enemy