Inside the Nation of Islam: A Historical and Personal Testimony by a Black Muslim

by Vibert L. White Jr., Mike Wallace (Foreword by)

From the
"Far and away the most personal and the most engrossing story I’ve read about Louis Farrakhan; and if the professor doesn’t solve the riddle of just who is Louis Farrakhan (and perhaps the Minister himself doesn’t know that for sure) he has given us a fascinating history of the nation, its various leaders, its accomplishments, its shortcomings, and—I’m afraid—a pessimistic look into its future."--Mike Wallace, CBS, 60 Minutes "The first truly ‘inside’ account of the present-day Nation of Islam from the perspective of one of its former ministers, a portrayal as fascinating as it is troubling.  White’s gripping chronicle will invite renewed debate over the direction and prospects of Minister Farrakhan’s controversial leadership."--Ernest Allen, Jr., director, W.E.B. DuBois Department of Afro-American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
This detailed study of the internal workings of the Nation of Islam under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan examines the evolution of the organization since 1977 and its strange ideological menu of Black Nationalism, political-economic development, anti-Semitism, and conservative Republican ideals. Vibert White maintains that Farrakhan’s Nation has become a cult that utilizes black nationalistic and religious dogma and its ability to create political and racial controversy to exploit poor and working-class black Americans for the leaders’ economic and political gain.
 At the heart of Inside the Nation is White’s chronicle of his own sojourn during the 1980s and 1990s as a registered Muslim--from his days as a foot soldier in the Fruit of Islam, the Nation’s military organization, through his rise to the status of minister and advisor to the leadership.  Included are White’s dealings with such leaders as Louis Farrakhan, Akbar Muhammad, Khallid Muhammad, and Benjamin Chavis Muhammad and his involvement in such activities as the Million Man March.
 As one who traveled for the organization throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States, White was able to observe the leadership and the operation of the group at close hand. He reveals for the first time the detailed structure of NOI’s business and religious operation. He explores and separates the Nation of Islam, the religious arm that is incorporated only in Chicago, from the Final Call, its business center operated only by the Farrakhan family.   As a professional historian, White was able to separate the passion of the group’s rhetoric from its real objectives, which centered on building a personal empire for Louis Farrakhan.
Vibert L. White, Jr., is professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois, Springfield.  He has lectured extensively on the Nation of Islam and has published articles in the Journal of Caribbean Studies, Psychohistory Review, Journal of Illinois History, UCLA Black Law Journal, Chicago Defender , and Cincinnati Enquirer .

Genres: Religion, Memoir

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2001

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FASCINATING AND VERY ILLUMINATING PORTRAIT OF THE NOI

Vibert L. White Jr. is Professor of African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. He wrote in the Preface to this 2001 book, “I became acquainted with members of the Nation of Islam at a critical time in the development and history of the organization. In June 1975, four months after the death of Elijah Muhammad… I met several members of the group. Shortly after, I began to study the teachings of Elijah Muhammad … Within four years I was wearing suits and bow ties, selling bean pies, and preaching the values of Elijah Muhammad and the words of Minister Louis Farrakhan… I had the opportunity to begin a close and long-term relationship with the Nation as Brother Vibert L. X. … After earning a master of arts degree in American history I journeyed to Chicago to work and live directly under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan.

“In the Nation of Islam’s National Center I taught history and martial arts, worked security, and studied in the ministerial class to become a clergyman of Islam… I became quite close to many powerful and influential leaders who openly discussed with me many of the internal matters of the Nation. Because of this position, I became aware of several troubling and contradictory issues within the organization. These problems presented a picture of political and economic corruption and of exploitation of the movement’s finances and members. This book focuses on those issued and my experiences in the Nation… I started writing in 1996… I must acknowledge the kindness of Minister Louis Farrakhan, who opened the doors of the Nation of Islam for analytical review.”

He recounts, “Farrakhan’s rise … began in Chicago in 1957. Louis Walcott, as Farrakhan was known in those days, was a … talented musician… he became impressed with the manner and language of the Muslims… several months later, when Louis met the Boston Muslim minister Malcolm X… he decided to devote his life and work to the Nation.” (Pg. 35) He continues, “Under the tutelage of Malcolm, Louis X became a valuable and dedicated student… Louis X took over a mosque that was a small and politically weak… With savvy, creativity, and sheer intelligence, he ultimately restructured not only his Boston temple but the entire Nation of Islam.” (Pg. 37-38)

Of his own journey, he recalls, “I spoke with and observed these young student members of the Nation, and I occasionally visited the mosque on Sunday… In comparison to the Christian churches located around the campus… the Nation’s mosque was a dump… Unfortunately, my visits to the mosque were short-lived. During this period the Nation was going through a transition following the 1975 death of Elijah Muhammad… his son, Wallace Muhammad, because the … head, of the movement. Unlike many leaders… Wallace did not subscribe to the teachings and theories of Master Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad. The new leadership promoted traditional and nonracial Islamic tenets.” (Pg. 48-49)

He continues, “when Farrakhan came to [my] college, I displayed little interest in him. But I was a member of the welcoming group because of my role as a student leader… I was instructed to … sit next to him onstage. [He] gave a brilliant and stirring address on the plight of the black community in the United States… the question and answer period … after the lecture became the spark that propelled me toward the Nation of Islam… From this point on I made it my business to attend any Farrakhan lecture in Florida; for the next two years I did so.” (Pg. 51-52)

He goes on, “I devoted my remaining tenure at Purdue to academic activism for the Nation of Islam…. In June 1982 I received my master’s degree in history … I then returned to … work with my father and to spread the teachings of … the Nation of Islam... [Upon] my arrival in Chicago… because I was considered a young intellectual, the brothers had no position or job for me.” (Pg. 60-63) He adds, “Every Saturday morning I presented a black history lesson to the brothers at the Final Call Building… Teaching history to the FOI [Fruit of Islam] in Chicago immediately improved my status in the Nation.” (Pg. 64-65) Ultimately, “In one way or another I passed the Nation’s examinations. In retrospect I allowed my emotional needs… to position me as one of the many exploited members of the NOI… even though I felt misused, I rationalized that ‘believers would suffer much for the word and work of Allah and his messenger.’ I suffered from this delusion.” (Pg. 75)

He notes, “In 1984 the National Center allowed temples to receive products on consignment. The major items to members to sell were the Final Call newspaper and the whiting fish … sold under the Blue Seas Fish label… The believers and the mosque often fell further into debt until the local administration developed a way to pay the Chicago office. Primarily, the weight of the problem was placed on the FOI to sell the papers… one of the quickest ways to increase one’s status within the mosque was through the promulgation of the Final Call newspaper.” (Pg. 91) He laments, “The economic problems caused by the Nation of Islam greatly affected the stability of Muslim families… These families… often gave 60 percent of their monthly income to the mosque.” (Pg. 92)

He then recounts, “Minister Khallid Muhammad, the fiery pastor from Los Angeles, had by 1986 become the second-most charismatic leader in the Nation… [He] used charisma, leadership skills, and the ideas of Louis Farrakhan to create a sizable and devoted Black Muslim community on the West Coast… he was using illegal tactics to augment his and the mosque’s income. In 1986 he was convicted and imprisoned for running a scam in which he acquired funds by deceiving the Social Security Administration and then used the money to purchase homes in Atlanta. Khallid was not the only member of the Nation who operated from the dark side of the law---just the most prominent to do so. Farrakhan and the national administrators realized that activities like Khallid’s had to cease.” (Pg. 93)

He continues, “On November 23, 1993, Khallid… delivered an extremely inflammatory anti-Jewish lecture at Kean College… [He] used every racist, political, historical, and theological barb in his arsenal to attack the Jewish community… according to Khallid, the people who called themselves Jews were imposters. The original Jews were black… More astoundingly, he blamed the Jews for the Holocaust… he called the Pope ‘a no good cracker’ and implied that he was a homosexual… However, the most horrific and reactionary of all his statements articulated his contempt of whites in South Africa… we kill everything White that ain’t right in South Africa. We kill the women, we kill the children. We kill the babies. We kill the blind, we kill the crippled… Kill the elders, too… if they’re in a wheelchair, push ‘em off a cliff…’” (Pg. 118-121) He adds, “The punishment for Khallid’s terrible attitude … was a suspension from his position as a minister and the organization’s spokesperson… yet the general public… and even Khallid himself would not find out about his expulsion until late 1995.” (Pg. 122) Later, he noted, “The [issue of Khallid] as embarrassing for Farrakhan. It might expose the fact that he had one message for his followers and another for the more moderate black leaders and the Islamic community.” (Pg. 153)

But he acknowledges, “Khallid’s forte was being a street-wise minister… he encouraged FOI members to go into the worst sections of the city to recruit men for Muhammad. He believed that the worst, toughest, dirtiest, and meanest individuals made the best FOIs. Because they had been living so badly for so long, working for Muhammad through Khallid’s leadership was a step up from their ghetto lives.” (Pg. 146-147) He continues, “jealous members of the brotherhood conspired to remove Khallid from Temple Number Seven… Convicted of violating federal laws… [and] sentenced to the federal penitentiary… Khallid’s adversaries rejoiced in the minister’s conviction… [But] His release from prison made him a Black Muslim icon… he sought out the most black ghettoes. He entered crack houses, wine dens, places of prostitution, and gang quarters. His fearlessness in addressing the worst in the black community gained him the respect of the lowest of the black underclass. In the temple he enjoyed meeting the rank-and-file membership who were often ignored and mistreated by the brass of the Nation of Islam.” (Pg. 148-150)

He goes on, “On May 29, 1994, Khallid was scheduled to speak… a disgruntled member of the Nation released a barrage of gunfire, wounding Khallid and several of his bodyguards… The injuries suffered … were not critical… [but] mentally [Khallid] was depressed… he was shocked and disappointed that Farrakhan, his mentor, did not pay him a visit in the hospital. Critics of Khallid argued that turbulence and violence consistently followed Khallid… that is why Farrakhan did not pay great attention to Khallid when he was shot. Minister Farrakhan was tired of the problems that seemed to follow Khallid.” (Pg. 156-157) “Ultimately, Farrakhan banned Khallid from all Black Muslim temples, store, and events. Khallid, on the other hand, embraced an extreme form of Islam based on armed resistance and struggle. His new Islam became punctuated by machine guns, armored vehicles, and predictions of a global white and black war… In 1996 Khallid Muhammed joined the New Black Panther Party… [and became] the Panthers’ national chairman and …spokesperson. In this capacity he led three controversial youth marches in Harlem that were known as the Million Youth March… In February 2001… [he] fell gravely ill… and died seventeen days later.” (Pg. 158)

Of the Million Man March on October 16, 1995, he comments, “Although Farrakhan thought these men came because of his leadership and appeal for religious atonement, they came rather because of the growth of black solidarity and the absence of black leaders… But unlike [Martin Luther] King’s address, which even today can be recited by school children, very few can remember Farrakhan’s lecture theme. By most accounts it was the worst speech he had ever delivered to a black audience. It lacked focus, a thesis, any real analysis of the state of black America---it even lacked personal enthusiasm… [But] by all accounts the march was a success.” (Pg. 168)

But then, “For some strange reason Farrakhan went into a self-imposed isolation after the march. For several weeks he confined himself to his Phoenix mansion, refusing to speak to the press or to take care of Muslim business. He ultimately blamed his retreat on depression caused by the negative comments he received in the media… Some speculate that Farrakhan was … depressed… by African American businessmen and companies who had begun filing lawsuits against the Nation for services rendered but not paid by the organization… Feeling the heat from his creditors, Farrakhan created a diversion that … focused on his … travels to Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.” (Pg. 169) Later, he adds, “Unfortunately, Farrakhan’s Nation continued to destroy itself financially throughout the 1980s… The 1990s proved no better for the Nation… In 1994 Farrakhan continued his free spending and bad-credit habit… Farrakhan was telling his followers to dig deep into their pockets to help generate a kingdom of God on earth. The only kingdom that was growing was the one owned and controlled by Farrakhan.” (Pg. 173-175) Plus, “Another issue… was Farrakhan’s demotion of its two greatest leaders, Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad, from being divinities … to being merely great Muslim leaders.” (Pg. 184)

In the Epilogue, he wrote, “After the Million Man March I completely separated myself from the Nation of Islam. I left with mixed emotions, believing that the social programs that Elijah Muhammad instituted were good… [but] that the promotion of race hatred and bigotry was detrimental… I am sure that if Elijah Muhammad were alive, he would be angry and opposed to the direction in which Minister Louis Farrakhan has led the Nation of Islam.” (Pg. 209) He concludes, “It is unlikely that the Nation will evolve into anything more than what it already is: a nonspiritual religious organization.” (Pg. 217)

This book will be “must reading” for anyone interested in the NOI under Farrakhan’s leadership.

[Mario D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disjointed and at times difficult to follow the chronology of events. I did learn a few things about the Nation that I didn't know. Was a worthwhile read.