Black Muslims

Religious group founded in 1930 in the USA. Members adhere to Muslim values and believe in economic independence for black Americans. Under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan and the group's original name of the Nation of Islam, the movement has undergone a resurgence of popularity in recent years. In October 1995 more than 400,000 black males attended a ‘Million Man March’ to Washington DC. Organized by the Nation of Islam, it was the largest ever civil-rights demonstration in US history.

Established by ‘Prophet Fard’ (Wallace D Fard) 1930–34, the group's original name was The Lost-Found Nation of Islam. It was led from 1934 by Elijah Muhammad (then Elijah Poole), who renounced whites and preached separatism. Its growth from 1946 as a black separatist organization was due to Malcolm X, who, in 1964, broke away and founded his own Organization for Afro-American Unity, preaching ‘active self-defence’. The group was dissolved in 1985 by Elijah Muhammad's son Wallace, in order to promote its members' integration into the wider Muslim community, and the majority of followers now practise orthodox Islam. Farrakhan's splinter group, however, continues to promote its original principles.