The Evolution of the Nation of Islam: the Story of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad

by Jesus Muhammad-Ali

The "Evolution of the Nation of The story of Elijah Muhammad" tells an American success story. Its' about a family who migrated to Detroit, Michigan from their Southern roots of Cordel County, Georgia in 1923. The family sought to escape southern racism only to weather the brutal and impoverished conditions of the Great Depression. With only a fourth grade education and the tutelage of his Arabian born mentor, a 19 year old, 40 cents-a-day wage earning Georgia plow boy, Elijah Poole became known to America and the world as The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam. -It has been 27 years since the author's Grandfather, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad's passing (2-25-1975). The book also seeks to provide some insight on the Nation of Islam's broad-based value shift and the bastardizing of it's original message. -This book is told in the words of a grandson, born and raised in America as a third generation Muslim. Jesus Muhammad-Ali afforded what may be termed a dual citizenship level of privilege in the Arab World--given the respect as a family member who pioneered religious tolerance for Islam in America. -Published in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, THE EVOLUTION OF THE NATION OF ISLAM seeks to share the insights born out of my many visits to the Middle East. It offers a historical perspective which can only strengthen the bound of our common East-West alliance.

111 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2002

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jesus Muhammad-Ali is the grandson of Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 to 1975. As a Nation of Islam insider, Muhammad-Ali is unique qualified to comment on the assassination of Malcolm X and the position of the Nation of Islam in a post-9/11 world. The author does all this as well as illuminating the story of the growth and development of the Nation of Islam organization. For the outsider, Muhammad-Ali's prose can be somewhat impenetrable and the preface warns, "The reader should be aware this book is presented in my voice and has not been grammatically embellished, for a number of heartfelt reasons." Note that the passive voice and run-on sentences are the least of the obstacles in the writing that lies between slang and Islamic ornamentation. Still, the story shines through, illustrated by first-person anecdotes and numerous photographs. Reproductions of Jesus Muhammad-Ali's oil paintings show he has great talent in that area.