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Chameleon: The True Story of W.D. Fard
Was the founder of the Nation of Islam a white man? Was his real name Wallace Dodd Ford? Was he actually born in Mecca on February 26, 1877? How did he arrive in the US and when? Was Elijah Muhammad really his chosen successor? Was he the same person as Imam Abdullah of Los Angeles? Was he murdered in 1934, as some believe? What do government records tell us about him? After more than 100 years, these and other tantalizing questions are answered about W.D. Fard, the mysterious founder of the Nation of Islam, one of the most controversial religious sects in America. Using declassified government files, genealogical and vital records, Arian reconstructs the life and times of a man whose real name is revealed for the first time. He also exposes shocking details about Fard’s life and origins. Chameleon also includes never-before seen photos of Fard, his first wife, and his only child. Autographed first edition! (limited time)
363 pages, Paperback
Published April 4, 2017
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December 2, 2024
A VERY CRITICAL STUDY OF THE BACKGROUND OF THE NOI “PROPHET”
The opening chapter of this 2016 book (by ‘Dr. A.K. Arian’) states, “In the spring of 1931, a traveling salesmen with Mediterranean facial features began making the rounds in Paradise Valley, and impoverished and predominantly black enclave in Detroit… The stranger used over a half-dozen aliases, telling some he was W.D. Fard or Professor Ford, others that he was Wallace Fard, and others still that he was Wali Ford or Wali Fard. The name he used most frequently was ‘W.D. Fard,’ with the surname pronounced as ‘Far-rod.’” (Pg. 1, 3)
He continues, “He discussed religion, science, mathematics, history---almost anything but himself… While craftily deflecting personal questions, ‘Professor Fard’ teased them witih an occasional biographic tidbit… He had come from the holy city of Mecca to carry out a special but secret mission, he added…For his customers… the professor’s claim of coming from the Middle East was entirely believable… a few customers opened their hopes at meeting halls once a week… he started holding meetings three to four times a week.” (Pg. 4-7)
He goes on, “One evening a young woman named Clara Poole attended. She was desperate for a change in her life because her husband, Elijah, was enslaved to liquor despite Prohibition… Elijah had become an embarrassment to Clara and his children… Clara left the meeting filled with hope that the stranger’s message would free her husband from his self-imprisonment… After weeks of procrastination, Elijah finally agreed to accompany her… Fard avowed, ‘Heaven and Hell are conditions right here on earth.’ … many were stunned when he called the ‘Holy Bible’ a ‘poison book.’ This was especially true of Elijah Poole, the son of a Baptist preacher. ‘The white man, who is really the devil in the flesh,’ Fard said, ‘has written the Bible … to keep you mentally enslaved to keep you working for him forever….’ … Elijah was enraptured by Fard’s radical gospel. When the sermon was over, he stood in line… ‘I know who you are!’ he said as he looked into Fard’s eyes… ‘You are the one called the Son of Man and the Second Coming of Jesus!’ Fard… smiled and leaned in close to whisper into his ear. ‘Yes,’ he began, ‘I am Madhi, but who would believe it but you? So be quiet about it for now.’” (Pg. 7-9)
Fard was soon leading a temple, but “the temple people were in trouble with the law. A follower murdered a man in his home during a ritual… [the follower] told police that he was following orders from his ‘gods’… Prosecutors told Fard to leave Detroit and never return or face criminal charges. He agreed and quickly left for Chicago… Fard designated Elijah as his successor. By that time, Fard was calling himself Wallace D. Fard Mohammed. He told Elijah to take the same surname… Things went well until September 1933, when Fard was arrested while preaching on a street corner in Chicago. He was charged with being a confidence man, but the charges were soon dropped in exchange for his agreement to … stay gone… In April 1934, Elijah Mohammed met him at a bus station and the two men bade farewell. Fard was never seen or heard from again.” (Pg. 12-13)
Arian asserts, “Contrary to popular belief, the Federal Bureau of Investigation never had Fard under surveillance. In fact, the FBI was unaware of him until the dawn of World War II, nearly seven years after his alleged disappearance.” (Pg. 16) He adds, “After reviewing the records, the Bureau concluded that Fard, Ford, and Farad were one and the same; they had identical facial features (including a mole near the left nostril), physiques and… fingerprint composition. The Bureau discovered that Ford was FBI Number 56062.” (Pg. 28)
He continues, “The most significant discovery for the FBI was the name of his former common-law wife, Hazel Barton Ford Osborne. The report noted that Osborne bore Ford’s child on September 1, 1920, in Los Angeles, and that the child was named after his father. Both parents were listed as Caucasian.” (Pg. 35)
He explains, “Fard rarely used the Holy Bible in his ministry, saying that it was so diluted from revisions that it poisoned the mind instead of purifying it. He did, however, use many of the stories that were familiar to Christians.” (Pg. 124) He suggests, “Fard’s appearance and census data strongly indicate that he was Pashtun, an ethnic group, it has been noted, that is ‘basically a Mediterranean variant of the greater Caucasian race.” (Pg. 130)
The last third of the book is devoted to Arian’s argument that “The evidence that Fred Dad, Fred Dodd, Wallie D. Ford, and W.D. Fard are all the same person is undeniable, but there are even more clues, and they come from Fard’s own testimony, direct and indirect.” (Pg. 215)
On the one hand, this book is very impressively documented, in terms of reproducing dozens of documents (birth certificates, marriage license, mug shots, newspaper articles, etc.) But it is also frustrating, to the extent to which a great many statements by the author do not list any purported ‘source.’ Due to the latter, this otherwise very informative book will be unlikely to persuade active members of the Nation of Islam.
The opening chapter of this 2016 book (by ‘Dr. A.K. Arian’) states, “In the spring of 1931, a traveling salesmen with Mediterranean facial features began making the rounds in Paradise Valley, and impoverished and predominantly black enclave in Detroit… The stranger used over a half-dozen aliases, telling some he was W.D. Fard or Professor Ford, others that he was Wallace Fard, and others still that he was Wali Ford or Wali Fard. The name he used most frequently was ‘W.D. Fard,’ with the surname pronounced as ‘Far-rod.’” (Pg. 1, 3)
He continues, “He discussed religion, science, mathematics, history---almost anything but himself… While craftily deflecting personal questions, ‘Professor Fard’ teased them witih an occasional biographic tidbit… He had come from the holy city of Mecca to carry out a special but secret mission, he added…For his customers… the professor’s claim of coming from the Middle East was entirely believable… a few customers opened their hopes at meeting halls once a week… he started holding meetings three to four times a week.” (Pg. 4-7)
He goes on, “One evening a young woman named Clara Poole attended. She was desperate for a change in her life because her husband, Elijah, was enslaved to liquor despite Prohibition… Elijah had become an embarrassment to Clara and his children… Clara left the meeting filled with hope that the stranger’s message would free her husband from his self-imprisonment… After weeks of procrastination, Elijah finally agreed to accompany her… Fard avowed, ‘Heaven and Hell are conditions right here on earth.’ … many were stunned when he called the ‘Holy Bible’ a ‘poison book.’ This was especially true of Elijah Poole, the son of a Baptist preacher. ‘The white man, who is really the devil in the flesh,’ Fard said, ‘has written the Bible … to keep you mentally enslaved to keep you working for him forever….’ … Elijah was enraptured by Fard’s radical gospel. When the sermon was over, he stood in line… ‘I know who you are!’ he said as he looked into Fard’s eyes… ‘You are the one called the Son of Man and the Second Coming of Jesus!’ Fard… smiled and leaned in close to whisper into his ear. ‘Yes,’ he began, ‘I am Madhi, but who would believe it but you? So be quiet about it for now.’” (Pg. 7-9)
Fard was soon leading a temple, but “the temple people were in trouble with the law. A follower murdered a man in his home during a ritual… [the follower] told police that he was following orders from his ‘gods’… Prosecutors told Fard to leave Detroit and never return or face criminal charges. He agreed and quickly left for Chicago… Fard designated Elijah as his successor. By that time, Fard was calling himself Wallace D. Fard Mohammed. He told Elijah to take the same surname… Things went well until September 1933, when Fard was arrested while preaching on a street corner in Chicago. He was charged with being a confidence man, but the charges were soon dropped in exchange for his agreement to … stay gone… In April 1934, Elijah Mohammed met him at a bus station and the two men bade farewell. Fard was never seen or heard from again.” (Pg. 12-13)
Arian asserts, “Contrary to popular belief, the Federal Bureau of Investigation never had Fard under surveillance. In fact, the FBI was unaware of him until the dawn of World War II, nearly seven years after his alleged disappearance.” (Pg. 16) He adds, “After reviewing the records, the Bureau concluded that Fard, Ford, and Farad were one and the same; they had identical facial features (including a mole near the left nostril), physiques and… fingerprint composition. The Bureau discovered that Ford was FBI Number 56062.” (Pg. 28)
He continues, “The most significant discovery for the FBI was the name of his former common-law wife, Hazel Barton Ford Osborne. The report noted that Osborne bore Ford’s child on September 1, 1920, in Los Angeles, and that the child was named after his father. Both parents were listed as Caucasian.” (Pg. 35)
He explains, “Fard rarely used the Holy Bible in his ministry, saying that it was so diluted from revisions that it poisoned the mind instead of purifying it. He did, however, use many of the stories that were familiar to Christians.” (Pg. 124) He suggests, “Fard’s appearance and census data strongly indicate that he was Pashtun, an ethnic group, it has been noted, that is ‘basically a Mediterranean variant of the greater Caucasian race.” (Pg. 130)
The last third of the book is devoted to Arian’s argument that “The evidence that Fred Dad, Fred Dodd, Wallie D. Ford, and W.D. Fard are all the same person is undeniable, but there are even more clues, and they come from Fard’s own testimony, direct and indirect.” (Pg. 215)
On the one hand, this book is very impressively documented, in terms of reproducing dozens of documents (birth certificates, marriage license, mug shots, newspaper articles, etc.) But it is also frustrating, to the extent to which a great many statements by the author do not list any purported ‘source.’ Due to the latter, this otherwise very informative book will be unlikely to persuade active members of the Nation of Islam.
Displaying 1 of 1 review