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Jeremiah Wright’s chickens coming home to roost?

How about the Nation of Islam, decades before Wright?

Nation of Islam history. Another Muslim hate organization!

MEDIA & CULTURE
What Is The Nation Of Islam? History, Beliefs, Practices Of The Religious Movement
BY ZOE MINTZ @ZOEMINTZ ON 02/26/15 AT 11:39 AM

Every year, followers of the Nation of Islam celebrate the birth of its founder on Feb. 26. The holiday, known as Saviours’ Day, is commemorated by a three-day series of lectures, speakers and workshops in Chicago.

This year marks the 85th anniversary of the movement’s birth. Events were held on Feb. 20-Feb. 22, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the death of Malcolm X, the civil rights leader who was assassinated when he was 39.

Malcolm was largely known as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam, a religious movement based on Islam. He joined the group after he was released from prison in 1952 and ministered at several temples including the largest one in Harlem in New York City. His influence led the group to grow from 400 members in 1952 to 40,000 in 1960.

On Feb. 26, the Nation of Islam celebrates the birth of its founder on a holiday known as Saviours’ Day.PHOTO: FLICKR
He broke with the group shortly before his death on Feb. 21, 1965. Radical Nation of Islam members shot and killed Malcolm while he was speaking at a rally for Organization of Afro-American Unity, a more moderate group Malcolm X founded in 1964.

For those unfamiliar with the Nation of Islam and its beliefs, below are answers to four common questions about the organization.

1. What’s the history of the nation of Islam?

Wallace D. Fard, originally from Saudi Arabia, founded the Nation of Islam in 1930 in Detroit. He established a temple, the University of Islam and a corps of male guards called the Fruit of Islam that year.

According to the group’s website, Fard preached that African-Americans belonged to “the Tribe of Shabazz from the Lost Nation of Asia,” who had been enslaved in America for more than 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,” the website states.

The group mixed the belief systems of Islam — they read the Quran, worshipped Allah as their God and accepted Muhammad as their prophet — with Black Nationalism. Fard believed that African-Americans should prepare for a race war and Christianity was a religion for slave owners. Members’ given names, which he believed originated during slavery, should be replaced with Arabic ones.

In June 1934, Fard reportedly disappeared in the woods. His followers believed he was an incarnation of Allah. Today, they celebrate his birthday, known as Saviours’ Day, on Feb. 26.

The group was left to the leadership of Elijah Muhammad who advocated a more radical approach. He preached for the foundation of a separate state for African-Americans, advocated anti-white theology and called for adherence to a strict moral code.

At the time of Muhammad’s death on Feb. 25, 1975, the group had grown to 250,000 members. Afterward, the group fragmented. One faction was led by his son, Warith Deen Mohammed, who advocated for a more traditional approach to Islam. Louis Farrakhan, another Nation of Islam leader, did not like this direction and began his own version of the Nation of Islam based on Elijah Muhammad’s teachings.
Farrakhan remains the group’s leader to this day. He is a polarizing figure who comments on a variety of social issues, including the country’s government, educational system and urban communities.

One of his latest speeches, given on Dec. 1, encouraged his audience to “tear this goddamn country up,” referring to the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. “You may not want to fight, but you better get ready. Teach your baby how to throw the bottle if they can, bite. We’re going to die anyway, let’s die for something,” he said.

The Nation of Islam does not state how many members it has. In 2007, Lawrence A. Mamiya, a professor of religion and African studies at Vassar College, told the New York Times he estimates there are 50,000 members. There are strong followings among the American prison population. There are several smaller chapters outside of the U.S. in England and the Caribbean.

http://www.ibtimes.com/what-nation-islam-history-beliefs-practices-religious-movement-1829370