Black Muslims

Black Muslims, popular name of a U.S. black nationalist movement (originally called the Nation of Islam) founded in Detroit in 1930 by Wali Farad, who rejected racial integration and advocated thrift, hard work, and cleanliness. Under Elijah Muhammad (1934–75), the Black Muslims became a major force in the African-American community, demanding the formation of an independent Black nation in the United States. In the 1960s a split between Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X, a Black Muslim minister and the group's most prominent leader, undermined the strength of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, and when Wallace Muhammad succeeded his father as leader of the group in 1975, he turned the organization into a non-political association whose beliefs are closer to those of orthodox Islam, changing its name to the American Muslim Mission. A splinter group bearing the original name, the Nation of Islam, continues to uphold Elijah Muhammad's teachings.

See also: Malcolm X; Muhammad, Elijah.