Nation of Islam

The term Black Muslims refers to the Blacks in America who belong to the Lost and Found Nation of Islam in the West. The Nation of Islam, or NOI, as it is popularly known, was founded July 4, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan, upon the appearance of a man identifying himself as W. D. Fard. The importance of this topic for race and crime lies in understanding the phenomenal growth of Islam, particularly in the Black community, as well as Islam's widespread presence in the penal institutions of North America.

The term Black Muslim was popularized after the publication of C. Eric Lincoln's book Black Muslims in America in 1960. However, even though others use this name, members of the Nation of Islam do not describe themselves in this way, and they see themselves simply as Muslims. Members of the Nation of Islam describe themselves as lost members of a worldwide “nation” of Islam that had been founded in the west by their “Savior” W. D. Fard after a period of prophesized enslavement. Fard was reportedly born in Mecca on February 26, 1877, the son of a Black father and White mother. He studied for 42 years in preparation for his mission of deliverance and had been in and out of the United States for 20 years before making himself known in Detroit. He produced thousands of converts to his brand of Islam in the city of Detroit. Adherents to the NOI creed joined the ranks through a process of acceptance, filing a form, reciting, and registering. Members who are registered are given an X or a Muslim name in place of the “slave names” they inherited from the period of slavery. In the third year, W. D. Fard identified himself as W. F. Muhammad. He taught one of his converts, Elijah Poole, night and day for 40 months, naming him his supreme minister and assigning 104 books to read on the life of Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the prophet of Islam. He gave him the surname Elijah Karriem and eventually Elijah Muhammad.

Early NOI involvement with the criminal justice system included the arrest of W. D. Fard in Detroit and Chicago. Elijah Muhammad was arrested for refusing to enroll the Muslim children in public schools. Upon W. D. Fard's departure in 1934, internal dissention over doctrine and succession forced Elijah Muhammad to flee for his life for 7 years to Chicago, Milwaukee, and the eastern seaboard. He was arrested by the FBI on May 8, 1942, for sedition and not registering for the draft during World War II. Since Elijah Muhammad was too old for the draft, he argued he was arrested to silence his opposition to Black participation in [Page 571]the war effort. Many of his male followers were arrested also. They were refused the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an, and were not allowed to follow Muslim dietary laws while incarcerated. On August 24, 1946, Elijah Muhammad was released from FCI Milan, Michigan, and began rebuilding the remnants of the movement. The Muslim presence in the federal system was the genesis of Islam in the criminal justice system.

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