Preview

Nation Of Islam

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1378 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Nation Of Islam
“Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” Muslims are greatly misunderstood in the U.S. and they are generally portrayed in the media as terrorists.The Nation of Islam was the biggest movement during the 1950s to 1980s that pioneered an interest in black history, emphasized black pride, and practiced black entrepreneurship and self-reliance.

During the 7th century, Islam was developed in Saudi Arabia and was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. According to Islam’s teachings Muhammad was the last prophet sent by Allah, “the one and only true merciful God” with no partner or equal. Just as Islam taught, many other prophets that came before Muhammad which included: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, and additional prophets. Those who followed these prophets became followers of Islam, better known as Muslims. Islam has several branches but despite the varieties within the branches, there are a few things that all of the branches believe and
…show more content…
Muhammad moved a group of followers to Chicago, where he established Temple of Islam No. 2, Mosque Maryam, as the new headquarters of the religion. There he began to spread his controversial yet empowering word of the NOI to other African American men and women slowly but steadily attracting new members. In 1948, Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, became interested in the Muslim ideology and from prison began a correspondence with Muhammad. In 1952, he visited Elijah Muhammad in Chicago, and soon afterward he converted to Islam. Over the next decade, Elijah Muhammad built the religion into a large and complex organization that attracted controversy along with its new prominence. Being the fearless critic of white America, he continued to preach financial independence for black Americans, racial separation rather than integration, and a strict code of moral

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nurse in Vietnam

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As a young troubled maker doing prison time, it was during his ten years in prison that he educated himself as well as introducing himself to the Nation of Islam teachings. After serving a couple of prison stints he even became a minister of numerous temples in Boston, Philadelphia and New York. He also started a newspaper titled “Muhammad Speaks” which touched on controversial views about his idea that blacks were superior. He became second in command to Elijah Muhammad but they butted heads and ended up going their own ways. Elijah stuck to his ideas of Nation of Islam, while Malcolm X focused on what true Islam taught.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Malcolm X Characteristics

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Malcolm X converted to the Nation of Islam in 1948 after a lot of correspondence and visitation from his siblings. It was in Norfolk Prison Colony that he was first introduced to the philosophy of the Nation of Islam, which touched so close to home because of the Black Nationalist message of racial pride that he had once heard when he was a little boy. Malcolm X was one of the last members of family to join the Nation of Islam, but his dedication to the NOI and to Muhammed was like no other person. Malcolm experienced a transformation when he immersed and dedicated himself to the NOI. Equally important was the transformation that the Nation of Islam experienced from Malcolm’s leadership. From 1948 to 1964, Malcolm X increased the membership…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Islam was founded by Muhammad, in 622 CE. The people that believe in Allah (their God) are called Muslims. They also believe that Muhammad was a prophet or a messenger from God. Muslims worship the Koran (a Book) and Allah (a God). This religion is an Abrahamic religion, which means it is a monotheistic religion. Muslims pray facing Mecca, to worship Muhammad's birth place. They also celebrate a world wide holiday called Ramadan, where they fast for a month. The large populations of Muslims are located in North Africa, Indonesia, and South western part of Asia.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world 's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events which have come to be associated with their faith. Islam has common characteristics with other religions. Muslims are monolithic, believing in one God. Christians are also monolithic believing in one divine deity. Together with Judaism, they go back to the prophet and patriarch Abraham, and their three prophets are directly descended from his sons Muhammad from the eldest, Ishmael, and Moses and Jesus…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Islam arose in the early seventh century B.C. in the settled desert community of Saudia Arabia. It developed from both the Judeo-Christian tradition and the cultural values of the nomadic Bedouin tribes of Arabia. Mohammad was very important to the Islam’s as well as Abu Bakr.…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Islam Change over Time

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The spread of Islam throughout the world was among the most significant worldwide movements in history. Beginning as the faith of a small community of believers in Arabia in the seventh century, Islam rapidly became one of the major world religions. The core beliefs and culture of this faith is the belief that Muhammad (570-632), a respected businessman in Mecca, a commercial and religious center in western Arabia, received revelations from God that have been preserved in the Qur'an. The core of Islam remains the same today after 1396 years. Islam still translates to “submission” and Muslims still live by the Qur’an and follow the 5 Pillars of Islam. However, throughout the Pre-Islamic, Umayyad, and Abbasid eras, the political structure that governed the societies that followed Islam differed over the years with some minor continuity.…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    We are Muslims because we practice the religion of Islam. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that there is but one God, the creator and sustainer of the entire universe, the all-wise, all-powerful Supreme Being. The great God whose proper name is Allah. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad also teaches us that Islam is an Arabic word that means "complete submission to the will of Allah, or obedience to the God of truth, God of peace, the God of righteousness, the God whose proper name is Allah." And he teaches us that the word Muslim is used to describe one who submits to God, one who obeys God. In other words a Muslim is one who strives to live a life of righteousness. You may ask what does the religion of Islam have to do with American so-called Negro's changing attitude toward himself, toward the white man, toward segregation, toward integration, and toward separation, and what part will this religion of Islam play in the current black revolution that is sweeping the American continent today? The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that Islam is the religion of naked truth, undressed truth, truth that is not dressed up, and he says that truth is the only thing that will truly set our people…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Middle East is a main region where it served as the origin for many societies and religions such as Christianity and Islam. As they lengthened from this region, both of these religions had extensive influence on the route of times gone by. The Christians instituted new churches in cities and this made the expansion of Christianity through the first two centuries a fundamentally metropolitan occurrence. Since the Arabia had extremely little cities Islam was expanded considerably through villages and countryside parts. Islam was based on the teachings of Muhammad, who was called the Prophet. One who practices Islam is a Muslim. Muslims follow the Koran, the written revelation brought by Muhammad. Islam was the quickest growing religion. Judaism is one of the world 's oldest religious traditions. Judaism originated in the Middle East.…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    He was lost on the streets on Boston and became familiar with the underworld of crime; soon he was selling drugs, gambling and into burglary. In 1946, at the age of twenty, he was sentenced to prison for ten years for burglary. In prison his brother Reginald visited him and informed him about the Black Muslims led by Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm was so inspired by the teachings of Elijah Muhammad (leader of the organization) and converted to Islam. He was released from prison in 1952 and later became the spokesman of the Nation of Islam organization due to his skills in speaking. In a strange set of events, conflicts grew between Elijah and Malcolm and in 1964 Malcolm realized Elijah was a hypocrite and didn’t follow the Islamic teachings himself. He publicly announced that he was no longer a member of Nation of Islam group and founded his own organization; the Muslim Mosque Inc. Days later; Malcolm went for pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and understood the real teachings of Islam. When he returned back to America, his views and beliefs had changed and he was no longer supporting the saying “whites are evil”, he believed in…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dropping out of school at 15, he moved to Boston to live with a sister; he soon became active in the underworld in Boston and Harlem, in the areas of drugs, prostitution, and gambling. In 1946 Malcolm Little was sentenced to ten years in prison for burglary. While incarcerated he was converted to the Nation of Islam and became a disciplined adherent of that strict black separatist movement. He also developed an obsession for learning and read voraciously in the prison library. Upon his release in 1952 he moved to Detroit and soon was appointed assistant minister of the local mosque. By now he was known as Malcolm X, following the standard Black Muslim practice of giving up one's "slave" name for the initial X. After other assignments he was dispatched to Harlem in 1954 to lead the important mosque there. Soon he was the most prominent spokesman of the Nation of Islam. During an era when the civil rights movement was promoting integration, he was a powerful advocate of racial separation and black independence, urging American Blacks to renounce nonviolence, Christianity, and the goal of racial integration. on February 21, Malcolm X was preparing to address several hundred of his…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Islam in America

    • 2034 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Islam is one of the world’s greatest religions, numbering nearly a fifth of the world’s total population. The immortalized stereotype produced by the media has resulted in a negative connotation for Muslim American’s, leaving many American’s with an anti-Muslim attitude. The tendency for American’s to misunderstand Islam can be attributed to two factors: media and the Muslim desire to keep a low profile. Muslims are convinced that the views against them are due to the negativity displayed in the news, as American’s have continued to demoralize them over the past century. The fear for the Muslim population began centuries ago, but grew rapidly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The question that arises: Is it possible for American’s to separate terrorist thoughts with Muslim culture to approach religious acceptance in America?…

    • 2034 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Malcolm X tried to recruit many others by speaking out on the street and eventually became an assistant minister in 1953 for Elijah. A confrontation between a practicing member fell victim to police brutality and elevates the Nation of Islam to the media. This allows Elijah, Malcolm X, and the NOI to receive plenty of publicity. Later on, it is revealed that Elijah Muhammad is guilty of adultery and this huge scandal leaves Malcolm astonished since he loved his leader. In addition to the scandals, JFK is assassinated abruptly, and Muhammad demands Malcolm X to not say word on the topic. Nonetheless, X did give his opinion claiming that this casualty was a case of “the chickens coming home to roost,” Malcolm was silenced for 90 days, but basically excommunicated from the organization in all. Weeks later after being shunned from the only community he felt a part of, he decided to make a pilgrimage to Mecca; turning out to be an enlightening experience. Malcolm saw people of all races and colors coming together as one would have a radical alteration in his outlook of the “white man.” He even adopts the name El-hajj Malik El-Shabazz once he departs from the Nation of Islam. The last few years of his life upon return were tragic, conversely. Upon his return from visiting Mecca and other nations meeting with world leaders, reporters overwhelm him with questions that suggest a connection between him and race riots erupting across the nation. Moving on, Malcolm holds meetings for his new organization for Afro-American Unity in Harlem. Approaching the end of the book, he confesses to feeling stifled in his endeavors by his reputation and predicts that he won’t be alive to witness the publication of his…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1948 he was transferred to Concord Prison, while there his brother Philbert introduced him to the Nation of Islam (NOI) (Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley, p. 158, ph. 3). He later began correspondence with the leader Elijah Muhammad, and through these correspondences he a later became a Minister for the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Malcolm X. He started making speeches to the public to recruit members and with his increased popularity in the NOI Elijah Muhammad made him the national spokesman for the…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Malcolm X

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebr., he was one of eight children. The family moved to Lansing, Mich,.in 1929. His father, a Baptist preacher and activist who supported Marcus Garvey’s separatist “back to Africa” movement, was run over by a streetcar in 1931, in what many believed was a murder by white supremacists. With his mother institutionalized after an emotional breakdown, Malcolm lived in foster care; he eventually left school, took up odd jobs, and became involved in drugs and street crime. Convicted of burglary at the age of 20, he became attracted to the Black Muslim Nation of Islam movement while in jail. After he was released in 1952, he met the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and studied his teachings, which emphasized black pride, opposed integration, and portrayed white people as evil. Taking the name Malcolm X, he adopted the group’s tight discipline and soon became its best-known spokesperson, as he traveled widely and helped establish mosques in various cities. His fiery rhetoric caused him to be regarded by many as a fanatic, and he was not embraced by black civil rights leaders. After 1958, when he married Betty Sanders (1936–97; later, Betty Shabbaz), he…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Islam Ahmadiyyat

    • 5985 Words
    • 24 Pages

    The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat is a divine community established by God Almighty in 1889 and it is the only community, with a Khalifa (spiritual leader) appointed by God Almighty. It is the revival of the True Islam that was brought by the Holy Prophet s.a.w, the Seal of the Prophets. It is that community which has accepted the call of the Holy Prophet s.a.w, when he had instructed the Muslims, “If you find the MAHDI, take bait on his hands even if you have to crawl on your knees over ice” (Ibne-Maja Kitabul Fitan). We have accepted the Second Coming of the Messiah, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian a.s, which was promised by God Almighty to come in the latter days to bring back the true picture of Islam.…

    • 5985 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays