. Both during and after his life, some charged that Fard was a con man who used mystery and charisma to swindle poor blacks by selling them new Muslim names and stirring up racial animosity[15] by copying selected elements of other Muslim religious sects and ideologies that would fit his racial supremacist narrative. They must learn that they are the original people, noblest of the nations of the earth. He disappeared in 1934 after several arrests in Detroit and Elijah Muhammad took over as leader of the Nation of Islam. Both provided their race as "Spanish"; Ford claimed that his parents, "Zaradodd" and "Babbjie", were natives of Madrid, Spain. There is No God but ALLAH. The 26 November 1976 issue of the Nation of Islam journal Bilalian News reports Muhammad Abdullah's first khutbah at the mosque and shows a photo. [16] From those interviews, Beynon wrote that Fard lived and taught in Detroit from 1930 to 1934. Fard pleaded innocence and claimed he had no involvement in the murder. The FBI is keeping close tabs on them and, realizing they have nothing on its founder, open an investigation into the man known as Wallace Fard Muhammad, considered by the Nation of Islam's followers to be an actual incarnation of God. Did Marco Polo ever reach China? https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/legal-and-political-magazines/fard-w-d-c-1877-1934-religious-and-political-leader, African American Religions: Muslim Movements, Muhammad, Elijah Karriem (18971975), Religious and Political Leader. "[25], Fard wrote several lessons which are read and committed to memory by members of the Nation of Islam. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/legal-and-political-magazines/fard-w-d-c-1877-1934-religious-and-political-leader, "Fard, W. D. (c. 1877-1934), Religious and Political Leader The FBI opened an investigation into Fard in 1957 and closed it a year later in 1958. [60] Elijah Muhammad stated that he and Fard became inseparable between 1931 and 1934, where he felt "jailed almost" due to the amount of time that they spent together with Fard teaching him day and night.[60]. They must clean themselves up both their bodies and their houses. This is the story that stuck. Encyclopedia.com. The effect of both these movements upon the future members of the Nation of Islam was largely indirect. "The people who actually met him, and the scholars who have studied him, have suggested that he was variously an African American, an Arab from Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco or Saudi Arabia a Turk, an Afghan, an Indo-Pakistani a Greek" Morrow writes. After another brush with the law in April 1934, Fard left Detroit for good. Contemporary American Religion. There is only one known, authenticated photograph of "Wallace Fard Muhammad", which depicts him as a light-skinned, caucasian-looking man: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Wallace_Fard_Muhammad.jpg. [28] Additionally, Fard is alleged to have used up to 58 different aliases during his life. He was ultimately forced to leave Detroit because of an allegation that he encouraged one of his followers to engage in a ritual of human sacrifice. Hijrah Magazine (MarchApril 1985). The photo of Fard looks highly retouched, or whatever people did to photo before Photoshop, so whether it's the same person as in the mugshot is really hard to tell. Attendance at the house meetings grew until the listeners were divided into groups and taught in shifts. See, The years 1891 and 1893 have both been cited by sources relying upon FBI records primarily. Lincoln, C. Eric. Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. Although I'm inclined to believe the official story that he simply fled the country after coming under heat from the police. Thats not to say that anyone so amorphous is not capable of producing very absolute effects on history. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Wallace_Fard_Muhammad.jpg. Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad, had a murky past. From here on, his teachings became increasingly venomous. Via e-mail, I asked Claude Andrew Clegg III, author of another Elijah Muhammad biography, An Original Man, to give me his take on the controversy. Fard, W. D. (c. 1877-1934), Religious and Political Leader. Either way, most people who have investigated his life have come to the conclusion that he was probably mixed race and may have emigrated from New Zealand or the Middle East. Others asserted that he had returned to Mecca to prepare for his eventual return. Also, in many ways, the Nation of Islams depiction of him as God could only work and be credible to potential members if his origins remained obscure and his disappearance permanent.. Fard snuck back into Detroit in January 1933, but was identified by authorities, arrested in May and again ordered to leave the city. I taught him some lessons. Fards First Temple of Islam included the Fruit of Islam, a military-like organization of black male converts, a Muslim Girls Training Corps Class and a University of Islam which, despite its name, was mainly focused on elementary and high-school level education. 1 is the location setting for several scenes in the book. In 1934 he disappeared without a trace. rcel.async = true; Using both the Bible and the Qur'an, he began with meetings in houses until he had enough members to rent a storefront, which he called Temple of Islam No. He could very plausibly be Maori from New Zealand trying to pass as an Arab, or he could genuinely be Arabic. WebWallace Dodd Ford or Fard was also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad and he was the founder of the Nation of Islam in the 1930s in Detroit, MI. WebWallace Muhammad - Disappearance Disappearance In June 1934, Fard left Detroit for Chicago and disappeared without a trace. Leader of the Nation of Islam Fard encouraged his followers not to drink alcohol or eat pork, which is standard practice for Muslims. Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? He told his followers that they were not Americans and therefore owed no allegiance to the American flag and could refuse to serve in its military. Fard, most scholars have relied on his teachings as passed down, and perhaps modified, by Elijah Muhammad. He claimed to have attended Oxford and the University of California, and then to have begun training as a diplomat for the kingdom of Hejaz (now a part of Saudi Arabia). Essien-Udom, E. U. Farrakhan referred to the knowledge that Fard passed onto the NOI as actual facts. (The speech is at the Nations Web site at www.noi.org.). In 1933, Fard disappeared and a power struggle within the NOI emerged. He wrote two books for the movement, The Secret Ritual of the Nation of Islam, which is transmitted orally to members; and Teaching for the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in a Mathematical Way, which is written in symbolic language and requires special interpretation. J. Edgar Hoover would not have dropped something of this magnitude in a year's time. 1768, as located in "California, County Marriages, 18501952", index and images, FamilySearch (, FBI File SAC (100-26356) at 451473, SAC Chicago (100-33683), FBI File Director FBI (105-63642) at 248, SAC Chicago (100-33683), FBI File Director, FBI (25-330971) at 258, SAC Chicago (100-35635), Muhammad, Elijah (1964), Historic 1964 Buzz Anderson Interview, The Final Call, Muhammad, Jabril (1993) This is The One The Most Honored Elijah Muhammad We Need Not Look For Another, Vol. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Chameleon: The True Story of W.D. Fard through a vent. 1. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. And that she is number one to be destroyed. It's possible him and Ford are the same guy. In 2007, the Nation of Islam had an estimated membership of 20,00050,000. The FBI were confident that Wallace Dodd Ford was, in fact, Wallace Fard Muhammad. A variety of other claims emerged; that he went to Hawaii, New Zealand, and even to the Middle East. Uncover property values, resident history, neighborhood safety score, and more! In Middlesex, Fard is revealed to be Desdemonas brother-in-law, who had been presumed dead after a rum-running incident. He founded the religious movement in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., in 1930, and was its leader until 1934, his disappearance. All written records and documents that he or other people filled out on his behalf list him as white or caucasian. [8][29], Karl Evanzz of The Washington Post submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the FBI in 1978 requesting its file on Fard. The FBI file on Fard provides both dates for individuals suspected (but never confirmed) to be Fard. More about myself I will not tell you yet, for the time has not yet come. They traced one Wallace Dodd Ford of Los Angeles, a violent man with a criminal record who worked at a local restaurant. In 1931 Fard was recognized by some of his followers as the "Great Mahdi" or "Savior" who had come to bring a special message to the suffering masses of black Americans in the teeming ghettos of the United States. Do you personally think Fard fled Detroit in the 1930s and lived on elsewhere, or do you think he was killed? His main goal, he often stated, was to bring salvation to African-Americans, whom he often referred to as his lost uncle in the wilderness of North America.. A group calling themselves the Nation of Islam are preaching a radical black nationalist dogma that promotes pan-Africanism and outright racism. He is always referred to reverently as the 'Prophet Elijah in Chicago. Fard appears in the novel Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides, in which Fard's Detroit Temple No. [47] The paper published the story in an article titled "Black Muslim Founder Exposed As White. PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME! Within three years Fard had established several organizations: the "Temple of Islam," with its own worship style and rituals; the "University of Islam," to propagate his teachings; the "Muslim Girls Training," to teach female members home economics and how to be a proper Muslim woman; and the "Fruit of Islam," consisting of selected male members to provide security for the temple and Muslim leaders and to enforce the disciplinary rules. [56] In his 1962 book Black Nationalism: The Search for an Identity, Essien-Udom wrote: "Noble Drew Ali was shot and stabbed in his offices at the Unity Club in Chicago on the night of March 15, 1929 He was eventually released on bond, but a few weeks later, he died under mysterious circumstances. An interesting piece of information that emerged from Elijah Muhammad's son is that Fard was an excellent cook and dietitian. Officially, the NOI believes Fard departed Earth via supernatural means. He was an adviser of Elijah Muhammad since the late 1950s and was the tutor of his son and successor Warith Deen Mohammed. This would suggest he was, in fact, diabetic. The religion that God set forth for Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and muammad proclaimed by the latter in Arabia in the 7th century, which enjoys the, Pan-Islam She is employed despite her ethnicity because the managers are desperate for someone with a working knowledge of silk they rationalize the hire by discovering that her place of birth was Turkey, a Muslim country, although she is a practicing Greek Orthodox Christian. "[25] He went on to state: "Why is Stress made to the Muslims to Copy, the Minister, Elijah Muhammad's Answers? Ford/Fard lied about his background so many times that it's hard to tell what's true and what's not. The men of the organization were drilled by captains and referred to as the Fruit of Islam. r d / (born February 26, 1877) was a co-founder of the Nation of Islam. "In an attempt to determine the origins of W.D. WebWallace Fard, also known as Master Wali Farrad Muhammad, founded the Lost and Found Nation of Islam and served as its leader until his mysterious disappearance in the early 1930s. One of the Conference Members by the name of Mr. Osman Sharrieff said to the Eleven Members of the Conference: 'The Lost-Found Nation of Islam will not return to their original Land unless they, first, have a thorough Knowledge of their own.' Black Muslims The prophet came to America to find and to bring back to life his long lost brethren, from whom the Caucasians had taken away their language, their nation and their religion. [18] He began by selling silks door to door, telling his listeners that the silks came from their ancestral homeland. rcel.id = 'rc_' + Math.floor(Math.random() * 1000); Pan-Islam is the ideology that calls for the unity and cooperation of Muslims worldwide on the basis of their shared Islamic identity. Some have suggested that he was a member of the Moorish Science Temple of America or the Ahmadiyyah Movement. var referer="";try{if(referer=document.referrer,"undefined"==typeof referer||""==referer)throw"undefined"}catch(exception){referer=document.location.href,(""==referer||"undefined"==typeof referer)&&(referer=document.URL)}referer=referer.substr(0,700); The marriage did not last even a year; Ford accused his wife of being an alcoholic and a bad spender. To further muddy the waters, C.E. In compliance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, some of these records are no longer in the physical possession of the FBI, eliminating the FBIs capability to re-review and/or re-process this material. Here in America they were living other than themselves. Similarly, biblical prophecies and the teachings of Marcus Garvey and Noble Drew Ali were cited as foretelling the coming of the new prophet". However, Minister Malcolm X and other leaders of the Nation of Islam have emphatically denied any past connection whatsoever of Elijah Muhammad, Master Wallace Fard Muhammad, or their movement with Nobel Drew Ali's Moorish American Science Temple."[57]. WebWallace Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad or Master Fard Muhammad (/ f r d /; reportedly born February 26, c. 1877 disappeared c. 1934), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. Fards demise as the leader of the temple was brought upon him when, on Thanksgiving Day in 1932, one of his followers, Robert Harris, renamed Robert Karriem, committed a human sacrifice in order to bring himself closer to Allah. What seems most remarkable is that Fard seems to have utterly disappeared from the governments (especially the FBIs) radar after leaving Detroit in 1933. There is no doubt Fard had many enemies - even within his own organization. Most sources in the Nation of Islam claim that he hailed from The Holy City Mecca in Saudi Arabia, 1920 Federal U.S. Census, Los Angeles City, Enumeration District 206, Sheet 10B, California State Board of Health, County of Orange, Certificate of Marriage, Local Registered No. She claimed Ford was a New Zealander who had lived in Portland prior to coming to LA, and that she had one son by him, Wallace Dodd Ford Jr., who had died during World War II. Encyclopedia.com. Turner, Richard Brent. [19], In the early stage of his ministry, Fard "used the Bible as his textbook, since it was the only religious book with which the majority of his hearers were familiar. He also listed his race as Caucasian and his birthdate as February 26, 1893. "Shinka" never actually existed, but there is a district called Shinkay in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan. They say that he shall soon return in a spaceship and that then the existence of the wicked Yakubians and their rule will end, with a new utopia forged. He taught a unique form of religion which was based on Islam to members of the city's African-American population. His concepts attracted hundreds of followers to the Allah Temple of Islam (ATI), as he called his group. He earned his living at various times as a restaurateur, gambler, bootlegger and traveling salesman. They claim Wallace Dodd Ford was not Wallace Fard Muhammad. According to Bontemps and Conroy, Fard claimed that he was the reincarnation of Noble Drew Ali. Ugh, I've been going back and forth for the past ten minutes trying to decide if I think the pictures in link 1 and link 2 are of the same person. [23] "Within three years the prophet not only began the movement but organized it so well that he himself was able to recede into the background, appearing almost never to his followers during the final months of his residence in Detroit."[24]. [12], Fard taught a form of black exceptionalism and self-pride to poor Southern blacks during the Great Northward Migration at a time when old ideas of scientific racism were prevalent. His fathers name is listed as Zaradodd Ford, his mothers name as Babbjie, and their birthplace as Madrid, Spain. The FBI officially claims this: Fard got into hot water when in May 1933, one of his followers performed a ritual murder as a sacrifice to God. Personally I don't know enough about the context to form an opinion on whether he was murdered, but it wouldn't shock me if he was. The NOI teaches that Wallace Fard Muhammad was an avatar of Allah, who came to America to educate on this forgotten history. The local police traced the murderer's ideology back to Fard and arrested him. Following his disappearance, Elijah Muhammad succeeded him as the chief of the Nation of Islam. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. A few of them had come under the influence of the Moorish-American cult which succeeded it. Fard taught that approximately 6,000 years ago a black scientist named Yakub conducted gene-manipulation experiments that resulted in the creation of the inferior white race. "Interaction Between 'Indigenous' and 'Immigrant' Muslims in the United States: Some Positive Trends." WebMap of Fawn Creek, KS, Kansas. 1962. He declared the doom of America, for her evils to us was past due. ), Mecca-born founder of the Nation of Islam (sometimes called Black Muslim) movement in the United States. "[48][dubious discuss] An FBI memorandum dated August 1963 states that the FBI had not been able to verify his birthdate or birthplace, and "he was last heard from in 1934. The ATI was disbanded as ordered, though in name only; as the Nation of Islam, it continued to grow. See alsoAfrican-American Religions; Black Muslims; Islam; Malcolm X; Muhammad, Elijah Karriem; Muhammad, Warith Deen; Nation of Islam; Qur'an. He agreed to leave Detroit forever in order to receive immunity, and boarded a train bound for Chicago on Dec. 7. He declared that we were without the knowledge of self or anyone else. Fard disappeared in 1934. What seems most remarkable is that Fard seems to have utterly disappeared from the governments (especially the FBIs) radar after leaving Detroit in 1933. [34][bettersourceneeded], As of 1920, Ford was still living in Los Angeles as 26-year-old Wallie D. Ford, with his 25-year-old wife, Hazel E. Ford. "[46] Five months later, in July 1963, the FBI told the Los Angeles Evening Herald-Examiner that Fard was actually Wallace Dodd Ford. [17] The Quran was soon introduced as the most authoritative of all texts for the study of the faith. Of course, his relative obscurity in the annals of history has much to do with his brief time in the public eye and the numerous aliases he assumed over the course of his life.