Muhammad, Elijah
1897-1975 · Contribution: 1934-1975
Religious leader; head of the Nation of Islam
Led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975, building it from a small Detroit congregation into a nationwide organization with tens of thousands of members, a network of independently owned farms, businesses, schools, and a major newspaper, while mentoring Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1897, Sandersville, Georgia
- Active since
- 1934
- Category
- Religious & Spiritual Leadership
- Best known for
- Leading the Nation of Islam for four decades
Impact on the world
Elijah Muhammad built the Nation of Islam into a powerful vehicle of Black self-reliance, racial pride, and economic independence, and mentored two of the most influential Black figures of the 20th century.
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Sources
- Book or scholarly workFind
Encyclopædia Britannica
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Related visionaries
X, Malcolm (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz)
1925-1965
Rose to become the Nation of Islam's most prominent spokesperson before breaking with the organization in 1964, converting to Sunni Islam, and completing the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca
Mohammed, Warith Deen
1933-2008
Reformed the Nation of Islam into a mainstream Sunni Muslim community following his father Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975, guiding hundreds of thousands of followers away from its founding racial theology and toward orthodox Islamic practice, and in 1992 became the first Muslim to deliver an invocation before the United States Senate
Farrakhan, Khadijah
1935-2026
Served for more than four decades as the “First Lady of the Nation of Islam,” working alongside her husband, Minister Louis Farrakhan, to rebuild the organization after 1977, serving as its first National Secretary, and founding Newel Apparel to design the official uniforms worn by the Nation of Islam's women's auxiliary
Garvey, Marcus Mosiah
1887-1940
Developed a theology of a Black God and co-founded the African Orthodox Church; fused Christian religious practice with Black nationalist organizing in the largest Black mass movement in American history