12 12 Born Elijah Poole, Elijah Muhammad (1897–1975) changed his name sometime around 1931, after he came under the influence of Wallace D. Fard, the founder and charismatic leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI). After Fard disappeared in 1934, Muhammad claimed leadership of the group and set up a new headquarters for the NOI in Chicago.
The NOI became the most prominent conservative black-nationalist formation from World War II until the emergence of Black Power. According to Muhammad’s teachings, black people were the descendants of the original race of humankind, and the white race was a genetic mutation created by an evil scientist named Yakub. The NOI preached strict standards of discipline, obedience of authority, and patriarchy. The Fruit of Islam, an internal security force within the sect, was fiercely loyal to Muhammad, who was termed the “Messenger of Allah.” The explosive growth of the NOI in the 1950s and early 1960s was chiefly due to Malcolm X, who at this time was the national spokesman of the religious sect and a devoted follower of Muhammad. After Malcolm X’s break with the NOI and his subsequent assassination, Muhammad’s influence among black nationalists sharply declined. Following Muhammad’s death in 1975, his son Wallace came into the leadership of the NOI and soon repudiated many of the central tenets and separatist policies of his father.
