"Unveiling parallels between two self-proclaimed prophets"--Cover.

Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975) was one of the most significant and controversial black leaders of the twentieth century. His followers called him the Messenger of Allah, while his critics labeled him a teacher of hate. Southern by birth, Muhammad moved north, eventually serving as the influential head of the Nation of Islam for over forty years. Claude Clegg III not only chronicles Muhammad's life, but also examines the history of American black nationalists and the relationship between Islam and the African American experience. In this authoritative biography, which also covers half a century of the evolution of the Nation of Islam, Clegg charts Muhammad's early life, his brush with Jim Crow in the South, his rise to leadership of the Nation of Islam, and his tumultuous relationship with Malcolm X. Clegg is the first biographer to weave together speeches and published works by Muhammad, as well as delving into declassified government documents, insider accounts, audio and video records, and interviews, producing the definitive account of an extraordinary man and his legacy.

First published in 2009, this ground-breaking work introduced a new field in Africana studies and laid the groundwork for positioning the teachings of Elijah Muhammad in academia. Today, this work remains a rare opportunity for scholars and lay persons to a preview the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and its multifaceted, interdisciplinary scope. This book has the potential to change the philosophical and practical methods of education. In this revised edition, new terminology for Elijah Muhammad Studies is coined Elijahmatology. It additionally includes updated references and expanded discussion about the impact of Elijah Muhammad’s teachings in the 21st century. The book lays a foundation for situating the teachings of Elijah Muhammad in academia, identifying Africana Studies as the discipline from which it could develop into a field of study.

Kecia Ali delves into the many ways the Prophet’s life story has been told from the earliest days of Islam to the present, by both Muslims and non-Muslims. Emphasizing the major transformations since the nineteenth century, she shows that far from being mutually opposed, these various perspectives have become increasingly interdependent.

This book represents the early writings of Elijah Muhammad when he submitted hundreds of articles to news organs like the Herald Dispatch, Amsterdam News, The Chicago Crusader and the Pittsburgh Courier. These newspapers were circulated primarily throughout thethe black community. Schools of thought developed with notables like Elijah Muhammad, a staunch advocate of racial separation on one side, and Martin Luther King, a government sponsored poster boy for racial integration on the other. Elijah Muhammad writing challenged many white preachers openly and refuted their claim of divinity. He address what had come to be known as open conspiracy to destroy the black man and woman through Catholic sponsored birth control.

Almost four decades after his death Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975) remains by far the most influential African American Muslim. Leader of the Nation of Islam movement for over thirty years and a mentor to Malcolm X, Muhammad was responsible for introducing hundreds of thousands of African Americans to Islam. In this fascinating biography Herbert Berg assesses the impact of Muhammad’s unique and intriguing perspective on Islam, and seeks to understand why he formulated it. Careful to consider Muhammad’s career within the context of the significant racial tensions of his time, this volume investigates a figure whose formulation of Islam, however divisive, forced Muslims and scholars alike to evaluate their often normative definitions of this religious tradition.