Biography

Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his death in 1975. Muhammad was also the teacher and mentor of Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Muhammad Ali, and his son, Warith Deen Mohammed.

In the 1930s, Muhammad formally established the Nation of Islam, a religious movement that originated under the leadership and teachings of Wallace Fard Muhammad and that promoted black power, pride, economic empowerment, and racial separation. 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".

Under Muhammad's leadership the group grew from a small, local black congregation into an influential nationwide movement. He was unique in his embrace of both black nationalism and pan-Africanism, with traditional Islamic themes. He promoted black self-sufficiency and self-reliance over integration, and he encouraged African Americans to return to their African homeland. Muhammad also rejected the civil rights movement for its emphasis on integration, instead promoting a separate black community.

His views on race and his call for blacks having an independent nation for themselves, made him a controversial figure, both within and outside the Nation of Islam. He has been variously described as a black nationalist, a black supremacist, and a religious leader who fought for the rights of African Americans.

Muhammad died on February 25, 1975, after a period of declining health. He 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. Wallace Muhammad later changed his name as part of his own transition to Sunni Islam and is now known as Imam Warith Deen Mohammed.