The word Islam is defined as submission to God. The beginning of Islam was in Arabia and it’s messenger to humanity is the Prophet Muhammad. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Islam is a monotheistic religion, and the muslim belief is that there’s one God, and his name is Allah. According to Muslims, Allah sent his messenger’s or Prophets to mankind to teach them obedience to him and only him. There are five pillars in the Islamic religion: declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving money to charity, fasting usually during the holy month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. Today Islam is the second largest religion in the world behind Christianity with a number of 1 billion followers. The two main sects of Islam are Shia …show more content…
Muslim presence in lands that helped form the United States goes back to beginning arrivals of Europeans in the America’s. Muslims were a minority with a small population and had no influence or role in the colonization of the America’s. Most Muslims that arrived in the America’s were slaves from North and West Africa who were part of a triangle that started because of the colonization of Americas, which would connect the Atlantic world. During the start of the twenty-first century, the number of Muslims in the United States increased due to the immigration of people of war torn countries in the Middle East and the huge conversion rate of African Americans, Europeans particularly France(home to about 20 million muslims), Latin and Native Americans. This is an important fact, because the conversion of African Americans in the time of social unrest and racial bias in the United States started a number of new religious movements in Islam, that support the black population in their pursue of civil rights. Religious movements such as the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of …show more content…
Noble Drew Ali was born Timothy Drew, January 8, 1886 in rural Simpsonbuck County, North Carolina. He was regarded as the bridge over which the Muslim legacies of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries crossed over into the Muslim communities of the twentieth and twenty-first. His expressions and ideology is vital to the foundation of black Muslim movements targeting African Americans. The central belief of the followers of the Moorish Science Temple was that African Americans are descendants of the Moors which means they were originally Islamic. The main mission of the Moorish movement is to uplift African Americans, and dismiss the stereotypes that were labeled on them by the white majority and provide them with an identity in the Western world by distancing themselves from words such as negro, in short it was a movement to stop the white authority on the black population. The original temple was built in Newark, New Jersey, but Ali faced difficulties and then moved to Chicago, where the movement gained momentum and gained a huge number of followers during the 20’s. The practice and beliefs of members including adding suffixes Ali, Bey, or El to distance themselves from their ancestral slaves and create a new identity. The expansion of the temple meant that Drew Ali could no longer lead alone, which brought in conflict between him and his
Also rural areas of the south that were densely populated with African Americans adopted Garveyism as well (Rollinson, 2012). The Nation of Islam was a group that is recognized for its considerable role in the Black Nationalism movement. This group was introduced to the American public on television through the Mike Wallace television series. It was introduced by Wallace as, “A black organization whose members had abandoned Christianity, rejected the goal of integration, and believed white people were the devils” (Rollinson, 2002). The adoption of Islam would seem to further create a barrier between the African American population and the white society based on predominantly Christian ideals.
Race and religion are two concepts in American culture that can really tie people together, or clearly separate them apart. A group forged by strong common roots in both race and religion can be a powerful societal force, if it wants to be. The Nation of Islam is a small but growing religion in America that has become somewhat of a social movement because of its strong and radical ideas on race. In this paper, I will try to explore the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, and the ramifications it could and has had on racial relations in America. The Nation of Islam, or NOI, is a relatively new religion. The first temple of Islam was established in Detroit by Master Fard Muhammed in 1930. Much of the theology was based on the simple facts that: "Allah is god, the white man is the devil, and the so-called Negroes are the Asiatic black people, the cream of the earth."(1) And, in accordance with their bizarre view of creation, involving a mad scientist creating the white race from the black race, the twentieth century represents the time for black people to regain their rightful position as god¹s chosen people. (1) The Nation of Islam was spawned from Orthodox Islam, an age-old religion. However, Orthodox Islam has openly denounced the NOI as a heretic sect for three main reasons: the NOI¹s rejection of the belief in an afterlife, its tendency to view human leaders as deified figures, and its strong racist attitudes. (2) For a brief time, during the seventies, Wallace Deen Muhammed became the leader of the NOI and tried to take it in a new direction, more conforming to "true Islamic beliefs." This group is now called the American Muslim Mission and still exists in small numbers today. (1) ...
Religion appears to be one of the vital sources of identity” (Tinaz 153). The Nation of Islam sought out African-Americans to converge together and create their own national identity (Tinaz 152). “Rather it acts as a ethno-religious movement and attempts to contend with global forces by constructing its own interpretations of that development, in terms of its own local communities of resistance” (Tinaz 152). Blacks looking for a new identity which needed to start with a religion to call their own which was Islam (Tinaz 152). One of the main
Islam is a monotheistic religion which is originated from the Middle East or more specifically in the Arabian Peninsula early in the 7th century. This religion was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed who named this religion after the Arabic word acceptance. Islam has 2 major sects the Sunni and Shi’a. This split occurred when Mohammed died. The Sunni believed that the new leader of Islam should be determined through election but the Shi’a thought that the new leader should be Imam Ali a cousin and son in law of Mohammed. Another branch of Islam is Druze but only a small minority of Muslims who live in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are followers of this sect (3 Faiths with One God - Islam, Arab American National Museum).
Mamiya, Lawrence H., and Charles Eric Lincoln. “Nation of Islam.” Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 2nd Ed. Vol. 4. (2006): 1620-1624. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 24 Jan. 2011.
Many Muslim immigrants came to the United States of America as slaves from Africa during the 1500’s. Free Muslim immigrants started to arrive to the USA as early as the 16th century, more of them started to migrate to the United States after the Civil War. Many Muslims used refuge and education as an excuse to come to the United States and start a new life. The fact that dictators dominate most of the Muslim territories usually means that there is persecution, violence, poverty and even war. These events caused most of the Muslims to seek happiness and peace in the new world: the United States.
Of the several organizations that brought African Americans together during the 60’s were the Black Muslims. During this time, the Black Muslims preached hatred towards the “white devils” saying that the white man was doomed to failure. They also preached liberation from the white man and freedom from conformity of racial stereotypes. Along with fighting to stray away from these typecasts, the Black Muslims addressed self-help and promoted black business. Although the cry for a separate territory was never heard, one predominant voice stood out.
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
Marsh, Clifton E. From Black Muslims to Muslims: The Resurrection, Transformation, and Change of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in America, 1930-1995. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1996.
Islam is also a monotheistic religion that believes there is one God. Islam is based on the teachings and normative example of Muhammad, who is considered to be the last prophet of God . People who follow the Islam faith are called Muslims. The Qur’an is the central text of the Islam faith, and Muslims believe it to be a revelation from God. There are two main denominations of Islam. There is Sunni, which is the largest denomination making up 75-90% of all Muslims and Shia, which is the second largest branch with 10-20%.
There is little need to reiterate the long history of U.S. governments going wherever they have wanted and doing whatever they have wanted. The question is how Muslims navigate through the political and economic architectures that ensue. Certainly, Islam has long valued extending itself throughout the world. Travel is primarily a modality for accumulating knowledge, acting on the desire to know, and then, only secondarily, is that knowledge used as a means of imbricating the "presentation" of Islam within heterogeneous settings. The historical challenge for Islamic missions, armies, scholars, traders, and sojourners was how to maintain the coherence of the faith in foreign spaces simultaneously considered within and outside of the Islamic world.
Islam is a religion that is based on the submission oneself to the will of God, who is called Allah. Muslims are the people believe in that, regardless of their culture, background or ethnicity. It is believed that God’s prophets brought a message for the people to worship one God without intermediaries and that prophet Muhammad was the end of G...
In the early 1930’s, in Detroit, when the Nation of Islam was initially founded it was not really widely known. It was a very secluded and introverted religion and community. It was not until they came under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad that the Nation of Islam became a household name in the early 1960’s. The Nation of Islam, during the 60’s, was one of the forerunners for African American unity. They strove for a separate black community. They wanted to be completely separated from the white community only because, according to their beliefs, white people were all devils. Elijah Muhammad being influenced by many people and factors in his life led the Nation of Islam to the point where many blacks started to look toward Islam as a way out. The Nation provided an escape from the harsh racial treatment and discrimination that was going on during the time. The brutality of the police is a great example. Within the Nation, however, some political moves were also taken towards blacks acquiring their civil and human rights. The Nation’s efforts seemed to be at it’s all time high from 1960-1965 during the time Muhammad and Malcolm X, as his right hand man, led the Nation. After that time period however, the nation seemed to fall apart. Once Malcolm X was dismissed from the Nation, the Nation and it’s followers seemed to become a bit quieter. It was more than likely due to the fact that after Muhammad’s death, the Nation split into different paths and even in a new direction.
Islam is a major world religion. Its origin can be traced back to 610 CE in Arabia. The basis of this religion is the revelations to the prophet Mohammad. Dissatisfied with his life, he traveled to deserts, hills, and the wilderness surrounding Mecca, where he lived, to meditate and reflect. He became a new man through his revelations, which many of his followers believe Allah transmitted to him through his angel Gabriel. Islam was originally an Arab religion, but many different beliefs and practices were added to it, making it extremely popular and aiding in its rapid spread. This new religion spread to many different areas surrounding Arabia, both under Mohammad and after his death. The Muslim Empire grew to encompass Spain and the Eastern Roman Empire as well Persia and Africa. Many different practices and methods were used to spread Islam. The religion itself was appealing to, in addition to the inhabitants of Arabia, other people in the surrounding areas because of its distinct religious beliefs and practices, such as the five pillars, as well as the humility and prayerfulness of the Islamic people. They fought cruel, vicious wars with their enemies. Many different things motivated the warriors to expand, but above all, the riches they would gain from the people of the Fertile Crescent encouraged them to expand.
Islam is known as one of the fastest growing religions, in between the years of 622-750 B.C.E, they were able to expand from Arabia, to Persia, Egypt, Africa, and Spain. Muslims have established many methods to spread such an extraordinary religion. Although most people questioned Muhammad and his discovery of Islam, Muhammad, the Rashidun Caliphate, and the Umayyad Caliphate were still able to expand their empire from when the Muslims conquered land and when the Muslims put taxes and restrictions on resources that were vital to the non-Muslims. Due to the Muslims actions, over time they were able to expand the Islamic Empire.