MASTER FARD MUHAMMAD

Master Fard Muhammad was born on February 26, 1877 in the Holy City of Mecca. He studied for 42 years to prepare him for his mission among the Lost-Found Original Blackman in America. He was in and out of America for 20 years before he began his mission. Master Fard Muhammad taught at Berkeley University in California from 1910 - 1930. He started selling silk door to door in Detroit Michigan, teaching Islam in the homes of his customers.

On July 4, 1930, Allah, who came in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad established the Nation of Islam in America. In 1931, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad heard the teachings of Master Fard Muhammad for the first time and accepts Islam as the true nature and religion of the Blackman. The Saviour taught the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad intensely for 3 ¹/2 years (1931 - 1934) on the Theology of Time, God, the devil, the knowledge of self and others, the origin of life and the creation of the universe, the period of time of the rule of the White race, the coming of Allah, the resurrection and the judgment.

Master Fard Muhammad gave the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad the Maulana Muhammad Ali and the Yusef Ali translations 'of the Holy Qur'an to read and study. He also recommended 104 books for him to read out of the Library of Congress to help prepare him for his mission. Master Fard Muhammad appointed the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad as the head or leader of the Nation of Islam in 1934 and leaves him to begin his phase of the mission.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad

A Man Who Raised A Nation: By the grace and permission of Allah (God)

Nearly three decades after President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was born on or about Oct. 7, 1897. Mr. Muhammad was born the 7th child of 12 to William (later named Wali) and Marie Poole, in Sandersville, Ga. Due to poor record keeping by government officials, the exact date of his birth remains unknown, according to historians and family members. Nevertheless, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said his birth took place some time between the first or second week of October 1897 and established Oct. 7 as the anniversary date of his birth. His life’s accomplishments and achievements have made a major impact on both Black and white America.

Like few other figures in American history, he quite simply reconstructed society like no one else. The accomplishments of the Muslims, under his direction, achieved dramatic, never before seen results in the areas of religion, politics, social interaction, economic development, and international affairs for the so-called American Negro at that time. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in the dawning of the 21st century, remains a pivotal world policy maker and key figure whose program and position will shape the destiny of the new century and millennium, his supporters have determined.

THE HONORABLE MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN

The Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is the catalyst for the growth and development of Islam in America. Founded in 1930 by Master Fard Muhammad and led to prominence from 1934 to 1975 by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam continues to positively impact the quality of life in America.

Minister Louis Farrakhan, born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933, in Roxbury, Massachusetts was reared in a highly disciplined and spiritual household. Raised by his mother, a native of St. Kitts, Louis and his brother Alvin learned early the value of work, responsibility and intellectual development. Having a strong sensitivity to the plight of black people, his mother engaged her sons in conversations about the struggle for freedom, justice and equality. She also exposed them to progressive material such as the Crisis Magazine, published by the NAACP.

Recognizing her son's artistic talent, young Louis was given a violin before his sixth birthday and began years of formal training financed by his mother's hard work as both seamstress and housekeeper. By age 13, he had played with the Boston College Orchestra and the Boston Civic Symphony. The talent of young Louis was given national exposure at age 14 when he won the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. He was also one of the first blacks to appear on the popular show.

Graduating from high school at age 16, he earned an athletic scholarship for his prowess as a track sprinter and attended Winston-Salem Teachers' College in North Carolina, excelling in the study of English.

During his senior year in September 1953, he married his childhood sweetheart. Shortly thereafter, he left college to begin a family, making a living by using his talent as a performing artist. Popularly known as "The Charmer," he achieved fame in Boston as a vocalist, calypso singer, dancer, and violinist. However, February 1955 marked a turning point in the life of Louis Walcott. While headlining a show in Chicago entitled "Calypso Follies" the young virtuoso received rave reviews. During this engagement one of his friends from Boston invited him to attend the Nation of Islam's Saviours' Day Convention, to be held at the newly purchased Muhammad's Temple No. 2 at 4335 S. Greenwood Avenue.

Minister Malcolm X was informed that the popular musician would attend the convention. While listening to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad from his balcony seat, Louis thought to himself, "This man can't speak," referring to Mr. Muhammad's grammar. As these thoughts crossed the future leader's mind, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad looked up in the balcony and said, "Don't pay no 'attention to how I say it. Pay attention to what I say, then take it and put it into that fine languag e that you know."

Although music had been his first love, within three months after joining the Nation of Islam in 1955, Minister Malcolm X told the New York Mosque and the new convert Louis X that Elijah Muhammad had said that all Muslims would have to get out of show business or get out of the Temple. Most of the musicians left Temple No. 7 but Louis X, later renamed Louis Farrakhan, chose to dedicate his life to the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

After moving to Boston at the request of Malcolm X, Louis X proved himself a capable, disciplined, and a well-mannered soldier and eventually rose to the rank of Minister. He worked faithfully from 1956 as the Minister of Muhammad Temple No. 11 in Boston, Massachusetts, building it to become one of the strongest Temples in the Nation.

In May of 1965, three months after the death of Malcolm X, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad appointed Minister Farrakhan to Temple No. 7 in New York City. When he arrived in New York the atmosphere was very hostile because of allegations of Muslim involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X.

Minister Farrakhan worked night and day in the Harlem community and around New York restoring respect for the Nation.

The departure of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1975 and the assumption of leadership by Wallace D. Muhammad (now known as Imam Warrithuddin Mohammed) brought drastic changes to the Nation. After approximately 3 years of wrestling with the changes to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Minister Farrakhan, after a re-appraisal of the condition of black people and the program of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, decided to return to the teachings and program with a proven ability to uplift and reform blacks.

His tremendous success is evidenced by mosques and study groups in over 80 cities in America, Great Britain and a mission in Ghana devoted to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Minister Farrakhan has renewed respect for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, his teachings and program, in rebuilding the Nation.

Literally millions of listeners have attended his lectures and he has been welcomed in church after church, sharing pulpits with Christian ministers from a variety of denominations showing the power of the unity of those who believe in the One God. The father of 9, with 23 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren, Minister Farrakhan still maintains a grueling work schedule.

He has addressed diverse organizations, been received in many Muslim countries as a leading Muslim thinker and teacher, and been welcomed throughout Africa, the Caribbean and Asia as a champion in the struggle for freedom, justice and equality.