(1897-10-07)October 7, 1897 Sandersville, Georgia, U.S.
Died
February 25, 1975(1975-02-25) (aged 77) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Spouse
Clara Muhammad
(m. 1917; died 1972)
Children
at least 23 (8 with Evans, 15 with others), including Jabir, Warith, and Akbar
Occupation
Leader of the Nation of Islam
Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1933 until his death in 1975.[1][2][3] Muhammad was also the teacher and mentor of Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Muhammad Ali, and his son, Warith Deen Mohammed.
In the 1930s, Muhammad formally established the Nation of Islam, a religious movement that originated under the leadership and teachings of Wallace Fard Muhammad and that promoted black power, pride, economic empowerment, and racial separation. Elijah Muhammad taught that Master Fard Muhammad is the 'Son of Man' of the Bible, and after Fard's disappearance in 1934, Muhammad assumed control over Fard's former ministry, formally changing its name to the "Nation of Islam".
Under Muhammad's leadership the group grew from a small, local black congregation into an influential nationwide movement. He was unique in his embrace of both black nationalism and pan-Africanism, with traditional Islamic themes. He promoted black self-sufficiency and self-reliance over integration, and he encouraged African Americans to return to their African homeland. Muhammad also rejected the civil rights movement for its emphasis on integration, instead promoting a separate black community.
His views on race and his call for blacks having an independent nation for themselves, made him a controversial figure, both within and outside the Nation of Islam. He has been variously described as a black nationalist, a black supremacist, and a religious leader who fought for the rights of African Americans.
Muhammad died on February 25, 1975, after a period of declining health. He was succeeded as head of the NOI by his son, Wallace Muhammad, who renamed the organization as the World Community of al-Islam in the West. Wallace Muhammad later changed his name as part of his own transition to Sunni Islam and is now known as Imam Warith Deen Mohammed.
^ abCorbman, Marjorie (June 2020). Fletcher, Jeannine H. (ed.). "The Creation of the Devil and the End of the White Man's Rule: The Theological Influence of the Nation of Islam on Early Black Theology". Religions. 11 (6: Racism and Religious Diversity in the United States). Basel: MDPI: 305. doi:10.3390/rel11060305. eISSN 2077-1444.
^Curtis IV, Edward E. (August 2016). Wessinger, Catherine (ed.). "Science and Technology in Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam: Astrophysical Disaster, Genetic Engineering, UFOs, White Apocalypse, and Black Resurrection". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 20 (1). Berkeley: University of California Press: 5–31. doi:10.1525/novo.2016.20.1.5. hdl:1805/14819. ISSN 1541-8480. S2CID 151927666.
^Berg, Herbert (2011). "Elijah Muhammad's Redeployment of Muḥammad: Racialist and Prophetic Interpretations of the Qurʾān". In Boekhoff-van der Voort, Nicolet; Versteegh, Kees; Wagemakers, Joas (eds.). The Transmission and Dynamics of the Textual Sources of Islam: Essays in Honour of Harald Motzki. Islamic History and Civilization. Vol. 89. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 329–353. doi:10.1163/9789004206786_017. ISBN 978-90-04-20678-6. ISSN 0929-2403.
ElijahMuhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed...
black population. In 1934, he disappeared from public record, and ElijahMuhammad succeeded him as leader of the Nation of Islam. Fard first appeared...
Fard Muhammad disappeared in 1934, the leadership of the NOI was assumed by ElijahMuhammad. He expanded the NOI's teachings and declared Fard Muhammad to...
disillusioned with the Nation of Islam, as well as with its leader, ElijahMuhammad. He subsequently embraced Sunni Islam and the civil rights movement...
Honorable ElijahMuhammad a Prophet. We recognize Prophet Muhammad, of 1400 years ago as the Last Prophet of Allah. The Honorable ElijahMuhammad is Allah's...
throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with ElijahMuhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni...
National Representative of the Nation of Islam by then-NOI leader ElijahMuhammad. He adopted the name Louis X before being named Louis Farrakhan. After...
thinker. He was a son of ElijahMuhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam from 1933 to 1975. In 1975, upon ElijahMuhammad's death, he became the Nation...
became his spiritual and political mentor. Ali first met Malcolm X, ElijahMuhammad's chief disciple at the time in Nevada in 1962. Malcolm X is credited...
The concept is found primarily in the writings of Wallace Fard Muhammad and ElijahMuhammad. According to the Autobiography of Malcolm X, all the races except...
legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. Muhammad was born in Detroit, Michigan, as the third son of the Nation of Islam leader, ElijahMuhammad. He served as a...
NOI and all others. It existed until the death of ElijahMuhammad in 1975. When Warith Deen Muhammad took control of the NOI he disbanded the FOI. The...
Ishmael Muhammad (born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1964) is an American member of the Nation of Islam, and son of ElijahMuhammad and Tynnetta Muhammad. He...
organization as well as speeches by ElijahMuhammad, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, and other ministers. Many of ElijahMuhammad's teachings may be found in Message...
from 1960 to 1975, founded by a group of ElijahMuhammad's ministers, including Malcolm X. After ElijahMuhammad's death in 1975, it was renamed several...
ElijahMuhammad, after Malcolm X's provocative remarks about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and also after Malcolm X condemned Elijah...
Larry Muhammad. Established in 1930, MUI is the first Islamic Black school system in America. The University of Islam was established by ElijahMuhammad. The...
Islam leader ElijahMuhammad. They married in Georgia in 1917, when she was 20 and he was 22 years old, before he changed his name from Elijah Poole. Between...
assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam upon the death of his father ElijahMuhammad. Warith Deen Mohammed changed the name of the Nation of Islam to the...
with and quoted many leaders of the Black separatism movement such as ElijahMuhammad and early Malcolm X. In his later years, Rockwell became increasingly...
history of the Nation of Islam.[vague] Akbar Muhammad was the youngest child of ElijahMuhammad and Clara Muhammad and the brother of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed...
suggestion of Malcolm X, ElijahMuhammad named Khaalis the National Secretary of the NOI, a position he held until 1957. Muhammad also sent him to Chicago...
top of the hierarchy of the MGT & GCC, were routinely monitored by ElijahMuhammad during the time of his life. Sister Captains are the primary figure...
Live is a series of two books published by Nation of Islam leader ElijahMuhammad in the 1960s, which are still in print. (ISBN 978-1884855160) The books...
columns for the Nation of Islam (NOI) newsletter Muhammad Speaks. She was one of ElijahMuhammad’s wives, and mother of four of his children. After Louis...
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