Elijah Muhammad taught that Master Fard Muhammad is the 'Son of Man' of the Bible, and after Fard's disappearance in 1934, Muhammad assumed control over Fard's former ministry, formally changing its name to the "Nation of Islam".
37 Facts About Elijah Muhammad
2.
Elijah Muhammad was unique in his embrace of both black nationalism and pan-Africanism, with traditional Islamic themes.
3.
Elijah Muhammad promoted black self-sufficiency and self-reliance over integration, and he encouraged African Americans to return to their African homeland.
4.
Elijah Muhammad rejected the civil rights movement for its emphasis on integration, instead promoting a separate black community.
5.
Elijah Muhammad has been variously described as a black nationalist, a black supremacist, and a religious leader who fought for the rights of African Americans.
6.
Elijah Muhammad died on February 25,1975, after a period of declining health.
7.
Elijah Muhammad was succeeded as head of the NOI by his son, Wallace Muhammad, who renamed the organization as the World Community of al-Islam in the West.
8.
Wallace Elijah Muhammad later changed his name as part of his own transition to Sunni Islam and is known as Imam Warith Deen Mohammed.
9.
Elijah Muhammad was born Elijah Robert Poole in Sandersville, Georgia, the seventh of thirteen children of William Poole Sr.
10.
Elijah Muhammad's education ended at the fourth grade, after which he went to work in sawmills and brickyards.
11.
Elijah Muhammad later recounted that before the age of 20, he had witnessed the lynchings of three black men by white people.
12.
Elijah Muhammad said, "I seen enough of the white man's brutality to last me 26,000 years".
13.
Elijah Muhammad assumed leadership of the Nation's Temple No 2 in Chicago.
14.
Elijah Muhammad succeeded him in Detroit and was named "Minister of Islam".
15.
Elijah Muhammad was put on probation, but the university remained open.
16.
Elijah Muhammad took control of Temple No 1, but only after battles with other potential leaders, including his brother.
17.
In 1935, as these battles became increasingly fierce, Elijah Muhammad left Detroit and settled his family in Chicago.
18.
Still facing death threats, Elijah Muhammad left his family there and traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he founded Temple No 3, and eventually to Washington, DC, where he founded Temple No 4.
19.
Elijah Muhammad spent much of his time reading 104 books suggested by Wallace Fard at the Library of Congress.
20.
On May 8,1942, Elijah Muhammad was arrested for failure to register for the draft during World War II.
21.
Elijah Muhammad was arrested there, charged with eight counts of sedition for instructing his followers to not register for the draft or serve in the armed forces.
22.
Elijah Muhammad preached his own version of Islam to his followers in the Nation.
23.
Elijah Muhammad preached that the Nation of Islam's goal was to return the stolen hegemony of the inferior whites back to blacks across America.
24.
Much of Elijah Muhammad's teachings appealed to young, economically disadvantaged, African-American males from Christian backgrounds.
25.
Elijah Muhammad purchased land and businesses to provide housing and employment for young black males.
26.
In 1972, Elijah Muhammad told followers that the Nation of Islam had a net worth of $75 million.
27.
On January 30,1975, Elijah Muhammad entered Mercy Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, suffering from a combination of heart disease, diabetes, bronchitis, and asthma.
28.
Elijah Muhammad died there of congestive heart failure nearly one month later at age 77 on February 25,1975, the day before Saviours' Day.
29.
Elijah Muhammad was survived by many children, including his two daughters and six sons by his wife, most notably future leader Warith Deen Muhammad.
30.
Elijah Muhammad was buried alongside Clara at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South in Glenwood, Illinois.
31.
Elijah Muhammad's letters revealed what he knew of Fard, alleging he was John Walker of Gary who had come to America at 27 from Greece, had served prison time for stealing, and raping a 17-year-old girl, and had died in Chicago, Illinois, at 78.
32.
Elijah Muhammad confirmed the rumors in 1963, attempting to justify his behavior by referring to precedents set by Biblical prophets.
33.
Elijah Muhammad met with leaders of the Ku Klux Klan in 1961 to work toward the purchase of farmland in the Deep South.
34.
The money helped Elijah Muhammad to acquire opulent homes for himself and his family and establish overseas bank accounts.
35.
Elijah Muhammad eventually established Temple Farms, now Muhammad Farms, on a 5,000-acre tract in Terrell County, Georgia.
36.
Many in the audience booed and heckled him and his men, for which Elijah rebuked them in the April 1962 issue of Muhammad Speaks.
37.
Elijah Muhammad was portrayed by Clifton Davis in the series Godfather of Harlem.