The Nation of Islam, founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad, presented a competition among people seeking to join the movement. Since its start and prevalence as a movement, it has continuously gained a large following of people who not only live by the rules and policies of the movement but also support its growth. On the other hand, the Moorish Science Temple of America was founded by Prophet Noble Drew Ali, and its members believed in the Everlasting Gospel and Old Time Religion of Islam. The two movements, the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple, which emerged in the societies in the 20th century, each present varied perspectives and approaches to race that differ from those of the contemporary world. In essence, it is essential to explore how adherents of the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple movements conceptualize and address race by analyzing their historical background, social conflicts, intersections with other social issues, and sources of religious authority.
The Nation of Islam has Elijah Muhammad, who led the movement towards advocating and speaking up for the Black race while criticizing the racial oppressions that existed in society. He dedicated his time and fought against white supremacy while also advocating for the growth and expansion of the movement. As a leader, his teachings emphasized that white individuals were created as devils, with their specific goal and objective being to oppress the Africans and the Blacks, and the movement gained attention and supremacy in the United States of America. Muhammad Speaks is the Nation’s newspaper, which gave the Nation of Islam a platform to criticize white America and spread the movement’s theology while also acting as a source of income for the female members who often sold the newspapers on the streets (Clark and Stoddard, ch. 13, p. 123). The Nation of Islam incorporated the rituals, texts, and beliefs linked to traditional approaches of Islam and spread their theologies and norms to Black Americans in the urban spheres.
On the other hand, the Moorish Science Temple presents its primary facets, which include the belief that Black Americans are of “Moorish” descent, especially those that arise from the “Moroccan Empire.” Prophet Ali explained to his members of the Moorish Science Temple how Allah initially created all Moorish individuals as Muslims. However, their enslavement by the Europeans and the slavery caused the separation of the Moors from their historical past personal, authentic identity (Clark and Stoddard, ch. 11, p. 101). The extensive claim of the Moorish Science Temple members of their transnational identity enabled them to seclude themselves and their personalities from Jim Crow racism by furthering their belief and identity outside the American’s white-over-black authority. The norms of the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple concur in some aspects. Whereas the Nation of Islam movement advocates for the supremacy and power of the Black people, the Moorish Science Temple challenges their members to value the Moorish historical aspects and norms.
Ethnic identity is an approach that is crucial in determining and adopting cultural norms, preferences, and values among the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple members. Therefore, the connection suggests a significant link between culture and ethnicity despite the difference that emerges when exploring the ethnic fractionalization and cultural fractionalization of the two movements. The intertwining of races coerced numerous individuals into the prevalence of racial equality, which was a challenge of miscegenation (Park 194). The norms of the Moorish Science Temple members challenge the contemporary aspects and approaches of race based on their historical and spiritual perspectives. Even so, the two movements, the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple, all call for change in the ways that people and nations address the aspects of race. The call for change can not only result in the transformation of the people within specific societies but can also be fundamental in guaranteeing the transformation of societies through fostering collective action among individuals.
Humanity can be made general to guarantee that the world, to attain a peaceful state, has the prevalence of harmony and makes it better than it is today. The Moorish emphasis on the empowerment of Black authority as they openly claimed a lack of dignity in black pride as the human race was not attached to colored, negro, or black people (Abdat 687). Therefore, racial approaches can be used to shape and maintain a state’s political, economic, and social aspects. Both members of the Nation of Islam and Moorish Science Temple are based on the structural norms and values to foster changes in racial approach through the use of the spiritual and historical contexts. Numerous governments often come out to criticize the efforts of such movements in protecting their misguided prejudices. However, the norms and beliefs can be used to eradicate ignorance and cultivate a society in which race is not used as a determinant of the success of humanity.
In conclusion, the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple both provide critical approaches and lenses through which individuals can comprehend aspects of race. The two movements advocate for the eradication of racial baselines in order to guarantee the transformation of the people, societies, and states. The norms of the religious movements can still be applied in the contemporary world to ensure a just and equal society.
Works Cited
Abdat, Fathie Ali. “The Moorish Science Temple of America.” Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements. Brill, 2021. 673–693.
Clark, Emily Suzzanne, and Brad Stoddard. RACE and NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS in AMERICA: A Documentary Reader. 2019.
Park, Benjamin E. “Early Mormon Patriarchy and the Paradoxes of Democratic Religiosity in Jacksonian America.” American Nineteenth Century History, vol. 14, no. 2, June 2013, pp. 183–208, https://doi.org/10.1080/14664658.2013.785194. Accessed 14 Oct. 2020.
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