Nation of Islam: Encyclopedia II - Nation of Islam - Divergence from mainstream Islam

Nation of Islam - Divergence from mainstream Islam

NOI is viewed by some Muslims as deviant. The reason cited is that the NOI has taught that God would manifest himself in a human being (Fard Muhammad) -- in Islam, the most central article of faith is the statement, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet". Some Muslims have used the pejorative term Farrakhanism to express redicule of the organization.

Like mainstream Islam, the Nation of Islam preaches adherence to the "five pillars of the (Islamic) faith": salat, or prayer, five times daily facing due East, toward the holy city of Mecca; zakat il-fitr, charity to the poor; fasting during the holy month of Ramadan; and that every Muslim who is physically and financially able must make Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in his or her lifetime. The NOI also teaches morality and personal decorum, emphasizing modesty, mutual respect and discipline in dress and comportment. NOI adherents do not consume pork, stress a healthy diet and physical fitness, and the consumption of alcohol and tobacco is frowned upon. In these respects, the NOI is in general agreement with mainstream Islamic tradition. However, the Nation of Islam argues that because of the unique experience of the oppression and degradation of slavery, Elijah Muhammad used unique methods for introducing Islam to his people.

In other matters, NOI teachings diverge markedly from mainstream Islam.

• God's incarnation
  • NOI: Teaches that "Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited Messiah of the Christians and the Mahdi of the Muslims."
  • Mainstream Islam: Teaches that it is heretical and blasphemous to believe that God would manifest Himself in human form (or any material form).

• Resurrection of the dead
  • NOI: Teaches the resurrection of the dead—not in physical resurrection—but in mental resurrection. They believe that the black man and woman of America are most in need of mental resurrection; therefore they will be resurrected first.
  • Mainstream Islam: teaches that there will literally be a physical resurrection of the billions of physically dead people worldwide, and that resurrected souls (or bodies) will be sent to paradise or hell.

• Relations with Caucasians
  • NOI: Teaches that the black man is the original man of the planet Earth and that Caucasians were created by a grafting (selective breeding) process devised by a scientist called Yakub and allowed by God to dominate and rule all people of the world for a period of 6,000 years. They teach that as Muslims, Caucasians are their brothers in the faith of Islam and should be honored as such.

• • Mainstream Islam: Teaches that all races are created equal in the eyes of God. People of all races must convert to Islam and are not accepted unless they are converted. Islam recognizes a biblical and Quranic figure, the patriarch Jacob, but this Jacob is viewed by Muslims as a prophet, and is not connected to the Yakub of the NOI. Mainstream Islam does not teach the existence of Yakub.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Divergence from mainstream Islam", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki