Over the years, I’ve heard Arab Muslim acquaintances of mine (never friends, or I would have asked them to clarify) mention Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam with something approaching disdain. They seemed to regard the NoI’s followers as not being true Muslims and the NoI itself as some entirely different religion.
As this is the SDMB, I am virtually guaranteed a good answer to my question: what are some of the chief differences between NoI in America and mainstream Islam (Sunnis, Shi’ites, etc) in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa? I’d appreciate some clarification and possibly some insight as to why my Arab Muslim acqaintances were not convinced of the NoI’s sincerity.
On another tangent: I once met a man who claimed to be Muslim but must have followed some sect I’m unaware of. He said his church was called “Yahweh’s” and was a practicing vegetarian (something the Hindus seem to be more into than the Muslims). He also regarded white people as the spawn of devils and wouldn’t shake hands with me for fear of contamination. Not a pleasant fellow. I don’t think he was NoI, but could he have been part of some other American-based Islamic group?
I think that is far too charitable. More like th White Christian Identity Movements, which to my understanding have super divergent to the point of being unrecognizable doctrines (as comp. to Xtianity, whereas KKK is merely a nasty misreading of Xianity, and one quite widespread until mid century.)
Yahwehs were basically a cult of personality around Yahweh Ben Yahweh (i.e., Hulon Mitchell). Managed to kill a person or two in Miami in the '80s. Their “ideology” was some mishmash of black supremacy and standard “We’re the lost tribe of Israel and everyone else is the devil.”
I know that in Arab Christian churches, the Pope is known as Baba [name and number]. I don’t know if Islam has what we could equate with a bishop or pope as those titles tend to be handed out pretty freely to local leaders.
As for the OP, I have met numerouse NoI members who were clueless about Islam. I’ve never considered it a truly religious group–more of a racial identity group with religious themes. Have you ever read the newspaper they sell on the streets? This is not an organization that is devoted to religious pursuits.
I know many Muslims also who don’t consider NoI true Muslims although they probably would let them into Mecca.
has made as least a superficial change in their facade, getting rid of the more inflammatory or “Sci-Fi” elements of their theology. Farrakhan has made a great show of being a Sunni Muslim, and the rift between he and Warith Deen Muhammad has closed recently. Their rhetoric has a very Sunni tone.
However
Page 39 of the Final Call, (The NOI Newspaper), April 1, 2003, contains a very helpful list of twelve things “What the Muslims Believe”. For the sake of brevity I will only qoute # 12.
“WE BELIEVE that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited “Messiah” of the Christians and the “Mahdi” of the Muslims.”
No, he had a recently quit. He broke wqith the NOI in March, 1964 and went on pilrimage in April. It might be said he was more in a transitional phase at that point. He switched to orthodox Islam shortly thereafter.
However I do believe Louis Farrakhan has been allowed to make the Hajj to Mecca on multiple occasions.
Monty, I saw the claim that the Islamic authorities in Mecca refuse entry to Nation of Islam Members in a British national daily newspaper (in a news article when Farrakhan was refused entry into the UK as his prescence was deemed not conducive to the public good), but I suppose it could of been wrong.