A Brief History on the origin of The Nation
of Islam
in America A Nation of Peace and Beauty
Written in Phoenix, Arizona, March 28, 1996 for presentation
at the International
Symposium on Sufism in San Francisco, California, March 29-31, 1996 On July the Fourth, the day of America's Independence
celebration, He announced the beginning of His mission, which was to restore
and to resurrect His lost and found people, who were identified as the original
members of the Tribe of Shabazz from the Lost Nation of Asia. The lost people
of the original nation of African descent, were captured, exploited, and dehumanized
to serve as servitude slaves of America for over three centuries. His mission
was to teach the downtrodden and defenseless Black people a thorough Knowledge
of God and of themselves, and to put them on the road to Self-Independence
with a superior culture and higher civilization than they had previously experienced.
He taught us the ways of love and peace, of truth and beauty. We are being
led into the path of a new spiritual culture and civilization of complete
harmony and peace, one of refinement in the pursuit of happiness and eternal
joy in the Supreme Knowledge of God and the Science of everything in life. IN
1931, The Master was preaching this Great
Truth of salvation when He met a man named Elijah Poole in Detroit, Michigan.
He chose him to be His Divine Representative in continuing this most difficult
task of bringing truth and light to His lost and found people. For 3 1/2 years
He taught and trained the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad night and day into the profound Secret Wisdom of the Reality
of God, which included the hidden knowledge of the original people who were
the first founders of civilization of our Planet and who had a full knowledge
of the Universal Order of Things from the beginning of the Divine Creation.
Upon the Master's departure in 1934, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad labored
tirelessly to bring life to his mentally and spiritually dead people until
his return to the Master in 1975. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad identified
the Master as being the answer to the one that the world had been expecting
for the past 2,000 years under the names Messiah, the second coming of Jesus,
the Christ, Jehovah, God, and the Son of Man. When the Honorable Elijah Muhammad
asked Him to identify Himself He replied that He was the Mahdi. He signed
His name in 1933 as Master Wallace Fard Muhammad to express the meaning of
One Who had come in the Early Morning Dawn of the New Millennium to lay the
base for a New World Order of Peace and Righteousness on the foundation of
Truth and Justice; to put down tyrants and to change the world into a Heaven
on Earth.
During the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's initial 44
years, he suffered persecution and rejection from the very people among whom
he was appointed as a Servant of God. He was rejected and despised by the
10 percent leaders of America and the world because he revealed a Greater
Truth and Wisdom that would end the old world of Satan's rule and dominion.
He was not self-taught or self-made but ONE MIGHTY IN POWER had taught him
what he knew not. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad had never received any more
than a fourth grade education, yet his heart was true in what he saw and he
saw the greatest of the Signs of his Lord. The more converts that he made
in the cities, in the by-ways, and in the highways of this land, along with
receiving honor and fame abroad, the powerful leaders and rulers of this world
grew in opposition. As the baby Nation of Islam came to birth in America,
the world rulers were shaken in their foundation to learn of this miraculous
achievement, and are today frustrated in plans to prevent our survival. The
theme of the Holy Qur'an and Bible that most clearly defines this struggle
is revealed in the history of Pharaoh's opposition to Moses and Aaron in the
delivery of Israel in bondage in Egypt.
The Nation Of Islam was founded on the basis of peace and as an answer to a prayer of Abraham
to deliver his people who would be found in servitude slavery in the Western
Hemisphere in this day and time. The Flag of Islam with the symbols of the
Sun, Moon, and the Stars, represent the Universe and is also a Banner of
Universal peace and Harmony. Our Holy Temples of Islam were established
in America as sanctuaries of peace and higher learning into the Knowledge
of the Oneness of God. Our schools are called Universities of Islam and
teach the higher meaning of Islam, which is Mathematics. We have always
been taught to respect the laws of the land.
We are taught never to carry arms, to make war or to be the aggressor, for
this is against the nature of the righteous. We are taught the Principles
of Divine Unity and the Universal Brotherhood of Islam. We are taught cleanliness
inwardly and outwardly with the practice of good manners and respect to
one and all. We are taught that the family is the back bone of society and
that our children must be reared to reflect the highest morals and training
to perfect our society. We are trained to eat and to prepare the best of
foods for the longevity of life, without the use of alcohol, smoking and
substance abuse, which endangers the ethics of healthy living. We are taught
to respect and protect our women who are the mothers of civilization. Our
women are taught a dress code of modesty that will lead to the practice
of high morality. We are trained to be an exemplary community expressing
the highest spiritual goals for the reform of ourselves and others based
on wisdom, knowledge and beauty.
Contrary to the inflammatory rhetoric
that has been utilized by the news media and some community leaders to condemn
the positive effects of Islam's influence in today's modern society, just
the opposite is being proven true. The Nation of Islam (The Nation of Peace)
represents hope to millions of our people in America and around the globe
who have been deprived of the high standards of a righteous way of life.
This unity and love so sorely absent from our communities was genuinely
exemplified by the millions of participants on the day of the Million
Man March held in Washington, D.C., October
16, 1995. The exemplary Spiritual Leadership of Minister Louis Farrakhan
in the rebuilding of the Nation of Islam in America is showing the way in
the breaking down of barriers of communication throughout the society regardless
to one's religious, racial, or ideological beliefs and views.
Through God's Divine Guidance, we are
extending this Divine Work of moral and spiritual reform throughout the
Western Hemisphere. God's Light and Truth will prevail against the darkness
and falsehood of all opposition. In spite of the controversy and clamor
surrounding the Nation of Islam and it's Divine Leader, Minister
Louis Farrakhan, we are forging ahead in the Spirit of Almighty God,
Allah, to unite with all of humanity in the Oneness of God, where all people
of goodwill of every Race and of every Nation may participate in the Universal
Expression of the Principles of Peace and the Brotherhood of man. This is
the Beautiful Community of the Nation of Islam that is coming to birth in
America on this Farthest Western Horizon in fulfillment of the Prophecy
that God would meet with Muhammad for a second time and reveal to His servant
What He Revealed. Thus the world is witnessing the Sun of Islam arising
in the West. Praise the Holy Name of Allah, the Beneficent,the Merciful.
Where do we go from here in the remaining four years
of the twentieth century? Will we continue to argue, to condemn, to fight
and kill one another; or will we sit down and counsel with one another in
seeking a just solution to the problems that beset us in America and in the
world? Wisdom decrees that in counsel and in dialogue is the way to peace.
Foolishness decrees that if we ignore the warning signs, we will fall into
the deeper abyss of Hell. God is the Judge today; and most surely upon Him
do the Believers rely!
Document written by Minister, Writer, Music Composer
and wife of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad
Mother Tynetta Muhammad
March 28, 1996
The National Center
And
Headquarters For The Nation of Islam
Originally a Greek Orthodox church, the mosque was purchased in 1972 by the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. The mosque was repurchased
and rededicated by Minister Louis Farrakhan in 1988 through efforts and sacrifices
of the Nation of Islam, sympathizers and supporters worldwide.
 The mosque is
named Maryam after the mother of Jesus, Maryam (Mary). This is to identify
it as a holy place from which men and women come forth reborn and transformed
with a renewed mind in service of God to fallen humanity.
The distinctive architectural design of Mosque Maryam further identified
the spiritual significance of this house. You will notice in the dome, placed
in four directions, the words written in Arabic, "There is no God but
Allah." In the center of the dome is written, "Allah is the Greatest."
Surrounding the dome, in beautiful Arabic text is the 24th Surah (chapter),
verses 35-40 of the Holy Qur'an entitled, "Al-Nur (The Light)".
Mosque Maryam serves as the headquarters and National Center for the Nation
of Islam. Adjacent to the mosque is Muhammad University of Islam, an educational
institute for boys and girls from pre-school through 12th grade.
Pictures: The Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan's Million Man March Address
1995. (Center) Mosque Maryam, Chicago, Illinois, (LEFT) Center of dome, inside
is "Allah is the Greatest," in Arabic calligraphy. (RIGHT) Surrounding
the dome, in four directions, the words written in Arabic, "There is
no God but Allah."
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