Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam (NOI) is an African American religious and social organization founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad. From its earliest days, the NOI emphasized Black self-reliance, economic independence, clean living, and spiritual discipline as pathways to dignity and community strength. Under the long leadership of Elijah Muhammad (1934–1975), the organization grew into a nationwide movement with temples, schools, restaurants, and businesses in cities across the United States. The NOI operated its own educational institutions — the University of Islam schools — teaching academic subjects alongside principles of self-sufficiency and cultural pride. One of the most prominent figures to emerge from the organization was Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, who converted to the NOI while imprisoned and formally joined in 1952 after his release, rising to become its national spokesman. Malcolm X's fiery oratory and powerful call for Black self-determination brought the NOI to national attention in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He departed from the organization in 1964 and was assassinated on February 21, 1965. After Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975, his son Warith Deen Mohammed led a transformation of the group toward mainstream Sunni Islam. Louis Farrakhan revived the original NOI in 1977 and led the organization into the twenty-first century. In 1995, Farrakhan organized the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., which drew an estimated 400,000 to over 1 million men in a call for unity, atonement, and community responsibility. The NOI remains a significant chapter in the history of African American religious and social thought.