The Fundamentals of Islamic Belief
_001.jpg) One could be forgiven for assuming that any group with
the word Islam in its title would be Muslim. But when it comes to the group
calling itself the “Nation of Islam”, one must be very wary indeed. To be
Muslim means to hold certain fundamental theological beliefs. The Muslim
profession of faith is:
“I bear witness that there is no god but God, and I bear
witness that Mohammed is a prophet of God.”
To elaborate on these statements, to be a Muslim means
to believe that God is One, unique. He has no partners, no associates, no Son,
nor did He ever become incarnate. As chapter 112 of the Quran makes clear:
“He is God, the only One,
God the Everlasting.
He did not beget and is not begotten,
And none is His equal.”
In Islam the ascribing of partners to God, referred to
as shirk, is the greatest of all sins. The Quran states explicitly in chapter
4, verse 36:
“Serve God, and join not any partners with Him.”
Secondly, Muslims believe Mohammed to have been the
“Seal” or last of the prophets. To recognize anyone after Mohammed claiming to
be a prophet, negates one’s Islam. As is stated in the Quran:
“O people! Mohammed has no sons among ye men, but verily, he
is the Messenger of God and the last in the line of Prophets. And God is aware
of everything.” (Quran 33:40)
This is reinforced by various sayings of Prophet
Mohammed, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him:
“The tribe of Israel was guided by prophets. When a
prophet passed away, another succeeded him. But no prophet will come after me;
only caliphs will succeed me.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
“In My Ummah, there shall be born Thirty Grand
Liars (Dajjals), each of whom will claim to be a prophet, But I am the Last
Prophet; there is No Prophet after Me.” (Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhi)
The Errant Theology of the “Nation of Islam”
The “Nation of Islam” does not adhere to these core
tenets of Islamic theology. They believe that God appeared on earth in the
person of their founder, a “great man from the East”, Master W. Fard Muhammad,
a preacher who first came to public attention in the USA on July 4, 1930 then
mysteriously “departed the scene” on February 26, 1934. As the NOI website
unambiguously declares:
“WE BELIEVE
that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930;
the long-awaited “Messiah” of the Christians and the “Mahdi” of the Muslims.”
In 1934 following the unexplained departure of the
“Master”, the organization he founded came to be headed by one Elijah Poole,
who became known as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Until very recently, the
“Nation of Islam” accorded the status of prophet to Elijah Muhammad.
Therefore it is clear that despite their name and
calling themselves Muslims, “Nation of Islam” beliefs about God and prophethood
are glaringly incompatible with Islam.
Louis Farrakhan, current leader of the Nation of Islam,
finally allowed to enter the UK after a court orders the lifting of a 15-year
government ban.
“Honorable” Elijah Muhammad, the “prophet” of the Nation
of Islam.
“Master” W. Fard Muhammad in whose person God appeared
in early 1930’s America, according to Nation of Islam beliefs.
Racist ideology also at odds with universal Islam
A third area of non-compliance with Islam, and the one
which receives by far the greatest attention in the secular media, is the issue
of race. The present “Nation of Islam” leader, Louis Farrakhan, is on record
as having made objectionable anti-Jewish (as distinct from anti-Zionist)
remarks. Among other unfortunate utterances, he is alleged to have referred to
Judaism as a “gutter religion”.
Moreover, the NOI is a segregationalist organization
exclusively for black people descended from slaves. Proper Islam is a
universal religion open to people of every race. Muslims are supposed to
differentiate between people on the basis, not of ethnic origin, but of piety
and upright behavior. As the Quran makes clear:
“And mankind is naught but a single nation.” (Quran 2:213)
“O Mankind! Most certainly, it is We (God almighty) who have
Created you all from a single (pair) of a male and a female, And it is We who
have made you into nations and tribes, that ye may recognize each other.
Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most
righteous of you.” (Quran 49:13)
And in his final sermon, Prophet Mohammed made clear
that racism has no place in Islam:
“O people! Verily your Lord is one and your father
is one. All of you belong to one ancestry of Adam and Adam was created out of
clay. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab
over an Arab; nor for white over the black nor for the black over the white
except in piety. Verily the noblest among you is he who is the most pious.”
In contrast, the NOI has a pronounced anti-white bias.
They refer to blacks as God’s chosen people and Caucasians as white devils.
They call for a separate homeland for American blacks, for racially segregated
education and for a ban on interracial marriage. To quote again from their
website:
We believe we
are the people of God’s choice.
WE BELIEVE
this is the time in history for the separation of the so-called Negroes and the
so-called white Americans.
We want our
people in America whose parents or grandparents were descendants from slaves,
to be allowed to establish a separate state or territory of their own--either
on this continent or elsewhere.
We want all
black children educated, taught and trained by their own teachers.
We believe
that intermarriage or race mixing should be prohibited.
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