Knowra Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad was an American religious leader who headed the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. He expanded its membership and institutions while teaching a distinctive Black nationalist theology.
Wallace Fard Muhammad : The founder of the Nation of Islam, who disappeared in 1934 after establishing its early teachings and institutions. Fard appointed Elijah Muhammad as his successor before disappearing.
Nation of Islam : A Black American religious and social movement founded in Detroit in 1930. It was the organization Elijah Muhammad led and expanded.
Sandersville, Georgia : A city in Washington County, Georgia, and the birthplace of Elijah Muhammad in 1897. His upbringing in the segregated South preceded his migration and religious leadership.
Black Muslim movement : A broad term for Black American Muslim communities and movements, including the Nation of Islam and Sunni Muslim communities. Elijah Muhammad’s leadership shaped one of its most influential American institutions.
Malcolm X : An African American Muslim minister and human-rights activist who became one of the Nation of Islam’s most prominent public figures. Elijah Muhammad mentored Malcolm X before their relationship fractured and Malcolm left the organization.
Black nationalism : A political and cultural movement advocating the self-determination, unity, and empowerment of Black people. Elijah Muhammad linked religious identity to Black economic independence and collective self-determination.
Great Migration : The mass movement of millions of Black Americans from the South to other regions of the United States during the twentieth century. Elijah Muhammad’s move from Georgia to Detroit followed this wider migration.
Black Power movement : A political movement advocating Black self-determination, pride, and control over community institutions. The Nation of Islam’s emphasis on self-reliance and racial pride intersected with Black Power politics.
Louis Farrakhan : An American religious leader who revived the Nation of Islam in 1977 after it had been reorganized as a Sunni Muslim movement. Farrakhan had been a minister under Elijah Muhammad and later restored his organization’s name and teachings.
Temple of Islam : A local Nation of Islam congregation and community center, commonly called a mosque in later usage. Temples gave Elijah Muhammad’s teachings a local institutional base.
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