Wallace Fard Muhammad (born circa 1891 – year of death unknown) was a preacher and founder of Faradian Islam, the Black-nationalist movement called the Nation of Islam (NOI), establishing its first mosque in Detroit, Michigan. He preached his distinctive religion there for three years before mysteriously disappearing in 1934 and subsequently being deified by Elijah Muhammad. Preacher is a term the for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. ... Faradian Islam is a African-American social and religious movement based on teaching elements from W.D. Fard, Elijah Muhammad, Nation of Islam and The Nation of Gods and Earths. ... Black nationalism is a political and social movement prominent in the 1960s and early 70s among African Americans in the United States. ... The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and social/political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930 with the self-proclaimed goal of resurrecting the spiritual, mental, social, economic condition of the black man and woman of America and belief that God will bring... The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... Detroit redirects here. ... Missing persons redirects here. ... Apotheosis - the posthumous transformation of a Roman emperor into a god, Theosis - being unified with God in East Orthodox theology of salvation, Assigning divine qualities to any mortal and, usually, worshipping that person as if they were a supernatural being. ... Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (October 7, 1897 - February 25, 1975) is notable for his leadership of the Black Muslims and the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. ...

Alternative names on record are numerous, among them David Ford-el, Wali Farad, Farrad Mohammed, W.D. Fard, and F. Mohammed Ali. Within the NOI he is generally known as Master Fard Muhammad.

Controversy over identity

The FBI's photograph of Wallace Dodd Ford

The NOI's acknowledged photograph of Wallace Fard Muhammad

According to FBI records, Fard (pronounced fuh-RAHD) Muhammad is identical to one Wallace Dodd Ford, also known as Wallace Dodd, whose birth is recorded by the FBI as February 25, 1891, of mixed European and Polynesian parentage. It is uncertain whether he was born in New Zealand or in Portland, Oregon, of parents who came from Hawaii. A recent researcher believes that Dodd was a New Zealander of half-Indian descent, born in 1893. ^[1] Dodd was certainly in the United States by the 1920s, when he was arrested and imprisoned for drug offenses, serving three years in San Quentin between 1926 and 1929. Photographs and fingerprints of both men exist. Image File history File links Doddford. ... Image File history File links Doddford. ... Image File history File links Mfm2. ... Image File history File links Mfm2. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ... Nickname: Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: , Country State Counties Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Mayor Tom Potter[1]  - Commissioners Sam Adams Randy Leonard Dan Saltzman Erik Sten  - Auditor Gary Blackmer Area  - Total 376. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Categories: Buildings and structures stubs | US geography stubs | Prisons in California ...

The NOI rejects this identification of Wallace Dodd with Wallace Fard Muhammad, interpreting it as part of a smear campaign. They also say that he was born in 1877 (which would put him in his 50s when photographed), and that he came from Mecca. Elijah Muhammad — Fard Muhammad's student and successor — had this to say about his teacher, in his book, Message to the Blackman: Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      This page is about a political tactic. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ...

"Allah (God) came to us from the Holy City Mecca, Arabia, in 1930. He used the name Wallace D. Fard, often signing it W.D. Fard. In the third year (1933), He signed His name W.F. Muhammad, which stands for Wallace Fard Muhammad. He came alone. He began teaching us the knowledge of ourselves, of God and the devil, of the measurement of the earth, of other planets, and of the civilizations of some of the planets other than earth." Allah is the Arabic language word for God. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ...

Elijah Muhammad also challenged the Hearst press, which had publicized the story, and offered US$100,000 to anyone who could prove Wallace Fard was an alias of Wallace Dodd Ford. Wallace Dodd's former common-law wife, Hazel Dodd, stepped forward with what she claimed was proof that Fard and Dodd were indeed the same person.^[2] She also claimed to have a child fathered by Dodd/Fard. The money was never placed in escrow and the matter was dropped. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (843x1125, 684 KB) Summary Nation of Islam offers $100,000 to anyone who could prove Wallace Fard was an alias of Wallace Dodd Ford Licensing This image is of a magazine cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (843x1125, 684 KB) Summary Nation of Islam offers $100,000 to anyone who could prove Wallace Fard was an alias of Wallace Dodd Ford Licensing This image is of a magazine cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned... For other people named William Randolph Hearst, see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation) William Randolph Hearst I (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper magnate. ... Common-law marriage (or common law marriage), sometimes called informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute is, historically, a form of interpersonal status in which a man and a woman are not legally married. ... This article is about the legal arrangement. ...

While the question of Fard's identity is controversial, the current NOI leader, Louis Farrakhan, does accept that Fard was imprisoned, insisting that this was because his preaching threatened the racial status quo, not because of any criminal acts. However, the most zealous followers of these movements refuse to even consider this possibility. Louis Farrakhan (born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933), is the acting head of the Nation of Islam (NOI) as the National Representative of Elijah Muhammad. ... This article is about the English rock band. ...

Life

Taking the view that Fard and Dodd/Ford are one and the same individual, his biography can be partially reconstructed up to 1934. His distinctive mixed parentage allowed him at various times to claim to belong to several different races, often either African or Arab. This may have influenced his later doctrine of the Asiatic Blackman [sic] and to his emphasis on Islam as the authentic Black religion, though he did not originate these ideas. World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ...

Involvement with the Moorish Science Temple

In spring 1929, after his release from prison, he joined the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded by Timothy Drew, where he was renamed David Ford-el. Timothy Drew, by then known as Noble Drew Ali, needed someone capable of overseeing his organization while he was awaiting a trial being held on suspicion of accessory to the murder of his rival Sheik Claude Greene, and put David Ford-el in charge of the Chicago Temple. The Moorish Science Temple of America is a religious organization founded in 1913 by Noble Drew Ali, is a sect of Islam, Gnosticism and Taoism. ... The Moorish Science Temple of America is a religion founded in the early 20th century claiming to be a sect of Islam, but having equal influences in Buddhism, Christianity, Freemasonry, Gnosticism and Taoism. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City 234. ...

On July 20, 1929, less than a month after he named David Ford-el acting head of Chicago mosque, Drew Ali was found dead in his home. David Ford-el claimed Drew Ali had left him in charge, and declared himself the reincarnation of Noble Drew Ali. Arguments erupted over the issue of successor. Those who had been loyal to Greene argued that David Ford-el had not been with the MSTA long enough to succeed Drew Ali, and insisted that Charles Kirkman Bey[1], one of Greene’s closest allies, had the authority to assume the mantle of leadership. Another faction, headed by Ira Johnson Bey, claimed that Kirkman Bey was unfit. On September 25, 1929, four of Johnson Bey’s lieutenants went to Kirkman Bey’s home and kidnapped him. Police were called and a shootout with police occurred. One month after the shootout, the stock market crashed, and Ford-el claimed that the crash proved he was the reincarnation of Noble Drew Ali; Drew Ali’s followers swore allegiance to him. is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the theological concept. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Black Friday may refer to: Black Friday (shopping), the day after Thanksgiving Day in the United States, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. ...

Founding of the Nation of Islam

In November 1929, Ford-el moved from Chicago to Detroit, Michigan. Using the names Wallace D. Fard and Wallace D. Fard Muhammad, he renamed the faction he controlled the Allah Temple of Islam, established the University of Islam, a group of male security guards called the Fruit of Islam, and other Black Muslim organizations. From Drew Ali's ideas he developed his own idiosyncratic theories, mixing aspects of theosophy and traditional Islam, preaching his new gospel among African Americans. Detroit redirects here. ... Fruit of Islam, Chicago, March 1974 The Fruit of Islam (FOI) or Fruit for short, is the name given to the military training of the men that belong to the Nation of Islam in North America. ... The phrase black Muslim is a term used mostly in the United States. ... Theosophy is a word and a concept known anciently, commonly understood in the modern era to describe the studies of religious philosophy and metaphysics originating with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky from the 1870s. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

Fard's activities were brought to wider public notice after a major scandal erupted involving an apparent ritual murder in November 1932, reportedly committed by one of Fard's early followers, Robert Karriem; he later said he had committed the murder "to bring himself closer to Allah." Karriem had quoted from Fard's booklet titled Secret Rituals of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam: "The unbeliever must be stabbed through the heart." This quotation, as well as stating that "every son of Islam must gain a victory from the devil. Four victories and the son will attain his reward," convinced the Detroit police to seek out Fard in connection with the murder. Ritual murder is murder performed in a ritualistic fashion or on a basis of rituals. ...

Although not charged with any crime, Fard was asked to leave town in early 1933 and to never return. Fard complied, but returned secretly to Detroit the next year. Fard was arrested and again asked to leave Detroit.

One of Fard's first followers had been Elijah Poole, who later changed his name to Elijah Muhammad. Elijah began preaching that Wallace Fard Muhammad was the Mahdi, and even deified Fard as the True and Living God. Shortly before he departed Detroit for the last time, Fard had conferred leadership of the Nation of Islam on Elijah Muhammad. ^[3] Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (October 7, 1897 - February 25, 1975) is notable for his leadership of the Black Muslims and the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Muhammad al-Mahdi. ...

Disappearance

In 1934, Fard left Detroit for Chicago and then disappeared without a trace. When nothing further was heard from him some supporters came to believe that he had been killed by police. Others asserted that he had returned to Mecca to prepare for his eventual return. The later official view of the NOI was that he was in Mecca. Others believe he had been killed by Elijah Muhammad (who was also suspected of ordering influential NOI dissident Malcolm X assassinated in February 1965).^[4] Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ...

There is some evidence that Fard lived at least until the 1960s; his alleged lover stated that he had returned to New Zealand. The FBI maintained an open file on Fard Muhammad up until as late as 1960, according to documents published through the Freedom of Information Act. Nearly sixty countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation, which sets rules on governmental secrecy. ...

Warith Deen Muhammad claimed that Fard had returned to the United States under the name Muhammad Abdullah and in 1976 appointed Abdullah as imam of Muhammad's Mosque #77 in Oakland, California. The November 26, 1976, issue of the NOI journal Bilalian News reports Muhammad Abdullah's first khutbah at the mosque and shows a photo. ^[5] W.D. Mohammad did not state that Muhammad Abdullah was Fard until after Abdullah's death in 1992, and Abdullah himself never publicly claimed to be Fard. Warith Deen Muhammad The Honorable and Eminent, al-Imam Warith Deen Mohammad (born Wallace D. Muhammad on October 30, 1933) is an influential American Muslim leader. ... Oakland redirects here. ... Muhammad Speaks was one of the most widely-read newspapers ever produced by an African-American organization. ... Khutba is an Islamic sermon delivered after or before Salah. ...

Ideology

Fard claimed that armageddon was imminent. His doctrine maintained that black people in America had duty to discover their origins and purpose. Out of all the nations of the Earth, diasporic Africans, particularly those in "the hells of North America," were the only nation without any knowledge of their history, no control of their present lives, and without any guidance for their future. Black people had been systematically denied knowledge of their true history by their white oppressors. Christianity was a religion of the slave owners that had been forced on enslaved or subordinated black peoples. He claimed that Islam was the original faith of black people prior to slavery, and that the original peoples of the world were black. He called white people "a race of devils" created by a scientist named Yakub on the island of Patmos. He also claimed that black people were divine by nature, created by Allah from the dark substance of space, and that a spacecraft was waiting to destroy all white people when the appointed time came. For other uses, see Armageddon (disambiguation). ... The African diaspora is the diaspora created by the movements and cultures of Africans and their descendants throughout the world, to places such as the Americas, (including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America); Europe and Asia. ... North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Slave redirects here. ... According to the Nation of Islam (NOI), Yakub (also spelled Yacub or Yakob), was an evil scientist responsible for creating the white race — a race of devils, in their view. ... Skala viewed from the Monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos, one of the UN World Heritage Sites. ... The Space Shuttle Discovery as seen from the International Space Station. ...

The idea that Islam is the original true religion is derived from mainstream Islamic theology, which claims that Judaism and Christianity are corrupted forms of God's original message that Muhammad merely reaffirmed. The presence of Islam in eastern countries such as Indonesia as well as the Middle East may have led Fard to conclude that it was the historical faith of Asian peoples as a whole. This theory was directly influenced by Drew, who had claimed that all non-Europeans are in fact part of a unified Asian race, which he called "Moorish." This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Christian missionary activity under imperialism may also have contributed to Fard's association of white supremacy with the attempted imposition of corrupted religious ideas.^{[citation needed]} The figure of Yakub is derived from the Biblical Jacob (Yaqub in the Qur'an), while his activities on Patmos recall St. John's revelations there. Thus, he combines central figures in the founding of Judaism and Christianity. For other uses, see Missionary (disambiguation). ... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... White supremacy is a racist ideology which holds the belief that white people are superior to other races. ... This article is about Jacob in the Hebrew Bible. ... Yaqub (in Syriac: ܝܰܥܩܽܘܒ) is a common Syrian name. ... The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... St John the Evangelist, imagined by Jacopo Pontormo, ca 1525 (Santa Felicita, Florence) John the Evangelist (d. ... The Revelation of St. ...

Fard's racializing of Islamic beliefs is part of the widespread preoccupation with racial theory and eugenics among many people from various backgrounds at the time. The common white supremacist idea that black people were somehow less evolved than whites is turned around so that black people become the original uncorrupted peoples of the world and whites are defined as a degenerate offshoot. According to Fard, Yakub's progeny were destined to dominate the world for 6,000 years, before the original black peoples once again assumed power. Fard said this process had begun in 1914, while his followers said he had been sent to proclaim it. This article is about race as an intraspecies classification. ... Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Eugenics Conference [7], 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ... White supremacy is the variety of white nationalism that believes the white race should rule over other races. ...

Fard's followers were given Arabic names to replace their given names. His birthdate is celebrated today by the Nation of Islam as Savior's Day. Arabic redirects here. ... Saviors Day is a holiday of the Nation of Islam (NOI). ...

References in popular culture

A reinterpretation of the historical Fard exists in Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel, Middlesex, winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. In the story, Fard's real name is Jimmy Zizmo, and he is a small time bootlegger, of rumored Greek-Turkish-Pontian decendency, who fakes his death upon suspecting that his wife is a lesbian. Having convinced everyone that he is dead, he assumes the Fard identity, apparently out of a desire to reaffirm his Turkish roots. Just as in real life, the Fard-Zizmo character disappears after the ritual murder scandal. Jeffrey Kent Eugenides (b. ... Middlesex (ISBN 0374199698) is a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... The Rum Runner nightclub was opened on Broad Street in the Birmingham city centre in 1979. ... Traditional rural Pontic house The term Pontic Greeks, Pontian Greeks, Pontians or Greeks of Pontus (Greek: Πόντιοι, Ποντιακοί or Έλληνες του Πόντου, Turkish: Pontuslular or Pontus Rumları) can refer to Greeks specifically from the area of Pontus on the Black Sea coast of Eastern Turkey, or in other cases more generally all Greeks from the... This article is about same-sex desire and sexuality among women. ...

See also

• Black-nationalist movement

Black nationalism is a political and social movement prominent in the 1960s and early 70s among African Americans in the United States. ...

Notes

External links

• Seventh Family of The Nation of Islam
• FBI Freedom of Information Act Files on Wallace Fard
• Nation of Islam official Web site
• The Immortal Birth Book, The Nation Of Islam
• Nation of Gods and Earths official Web site
• Article: The Greatness of Master Fard Muhammad
• Mystery man (Metro Times Detroit)
• (Muhammad Speaks Web site)
• (The Real Photograph of Wallace Fard Muhammad)
• Who is Master Fard Muhammad?
• Citations on the last month of Fard's activities before his disappearance
• Report from his common-law wife that he merely returned to New Zealand (unconfirmed)
• Muhammad's Temple of Islam #7