Nation of Islam to open doors to whites, other races

CHICAGO (NNPA) - As the message of "change" resonates throughout America, the African-American Muslim community may be in line for a change of its own.That's when the Nation of Islam (NOI) will reportedly extend its membership to Whites, Hispanics, Asians and other ethnic groups under the leadership of Minister Louis Farrakhan. The announcement was made last Sunday when the NOI leader hosted a special dedication service at his South Side worship center.

The move comes six weeks after the Sept. 9 death of Imam Warith Deen Mohammad, who denounced the teachings of his famous father, Elijah Mohammad, when he took over the helm of the organization in 1975. The reforms, which included renaming it the World Community of Al Islam in the West (and later American Muslim Mission), relaxing its dress code, removing its paramilitary infrastructure and renouncing Whites as "blue-eyed devils," were replaced with efforts to move the faith toward orthodox Islam. The measures angered some converts of the man they called "The Messenger," and according to a 1996 NOI press release "disoriented many of the followers and lead to the Nation's financial ruin."

In 1977, Farrakhan - the former national spokesman for Mohammad - reestablished the traditional NOI and began reuniting disillusioned members. His passionate rhetoric of Black self-help and resistance to White supremacy enamored him in the eyes of many African Americans, including many who were not members of his group.

The Muslim leader's rebuilding efforts flew under the radar of those who would become his staunchest critics - Jews and the American government - until he drew national media attention for comments made in reference to attacks against Rev. Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign.

Ironically, 20 years later, the corporate media took complementary remarks Farrakhan made about Illinois Senator Barack Obama at his international Savior's Day in what some viewed as an effort by the media to sabotage the Democrat's historic presidential run by linking him to the controversial Muslim.

Today, the man once known as "The Charmer," will not talk about the race for the White House for fear his words will be distorted and used by Sen. John McCain as a disruptor. Using guarded language, he would only talk about his plans to expand the NOI's vision, the loss of Mohammad and the legacy of his mentor. He did not indicate he would implement any other reforms or details about plans about wooing non-Blacks to his faith community.

"I hope people will see the growth of the Nation not as abandonment but as moving us toward our place as truly universal people," Farrakhan explained.

The organizer of the historic Million Man March, which reportedly drew nearly two million Black men to the nation's capital, also expressed deep-rooted sadness as the death of Mohammad, who once took great lengths to distance himself from Farrakhan. However, in 2000, marking the 70th anniversary of the NOI's founding, the two held a public reconciliation.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a former NOI member told this reporter, "We don't know what anyone's intentions and what the true impact will be on the masses, if any. If this happens then what the Minister is doing is exactly with the Imam attempted in '75," he said referring to Mohammad, who drew tens of thousands of people to his funeral.

"I think the Imam worked hard to reverse the image of the Black Muslim in America. With what's going on with Obama, and how he's changing the face of how we look at race, it's probably the right move - politically and otherwise.