“It hurts me that the people honor the students and cover the great Teacher of us all: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. There would not be a Louis Farrakhan if I had not met and fell in love and determined to follow the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.”
—The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,
Excerpted from the book Hail Elijah: “Hallelujah”
This book is about the importance and value of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. As we have discussed, all of the Abrahamic faiths have a teaching, history and expectancy of a man named Elijah. He is both a historical figure and he is also expected to appear at the End of Days. I believe that the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad is the Elijah that Jews, Christians and Muslims have expected to appear at the End of Days. And I have observed that there is rarely any discussion of Elijah Muhammad in the media and his name is left out of most mainstream discussions of Black history and achievement.
As a result, the only narrative that surrounds his name is a false one. Many young people have either never heard of Elijah Muhammad or have heard of him in a way that repels them instead of drawing them closer to his wisdom. This causes the youth of today to exist as “prey in the hands of the mighty” wicked and artful deceivers who use the Herculean influence of popular culture to steer them toward self-destructive ends. The scope of this book is to include and feature prominently the broad and impressive influence of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. His influence among his own people and even his global more universal influence troubled his enemies. Jewish professor Marc Dollinger noted:
Despite the Nation of Islam’s political marginalization, American Jewish Committee officials still feared Muhammad. His charismatic personality, willingness to confront racism in the most dramatic rhetorical terms and ability to inspire even non-believing African American listeners concerned Jewish leaders. The Nation of Islam leader, they feared, could earn the respect of his black audiences, even if they chose not to join his movement.
Throughout this book you will be exposed to the manifestation of exactly what Professor Dollinger describes. There are so many noteworthy, high-profile, celebrity and influential persons who went on the record to document and express their respect, admiration and love for the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. This collection of special character witnesses has never before been assembled in this way so that their words about Mr. Muhammad can be used to free him and exonerate him in the court of public opinion.
The reader may be surprised at the “who’s who” assembly of character witnesses that we have documented in this book. And the reader may be even more surprised at the leaders and groups who sought to emulate the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
Mexican farm worker leader Cesar Chavez said,
“We told our people, ‘It’s got to be done like the Muslims do it. It’s got to be done person to person.’ Of all the movements we know of, we have a lot of respect for you, because you have a lot of people doing things.”
Black Panther Party leader Huey P. Newton said,
“I came in contact with the Black Muslims. I was very impressed with Malcolm X., and Malcolm X’s program, or the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s program that Malcolm X followed. The program was, was like a Ten Point Program. Matter of fact our program was structured after and patterned after the Black Muslim program.”
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad even influenced groups like CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). Their leaders, Floyd McKissick, Roy Innis and Bob Lucas all expressed love and admiration for Mr. Muhammad and the Muslims.
Roy Innis said,
“I have learned a lot in terms of ideology from the Messenger and a lot about organizational technique from the Muslim organization. Another of the Muslims’ innovations we intend to copy in CORE is a disciplined army similar to the Fruit of Islam. It is necessary and important for our kind of organization to maintain the total integrity of the organization.”
This volume will expose the reader to legendary artists and entertainers who laud and pay homage to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Consider some of these powerful testimonies
Otis Redding: “Black entertainers ought to get together and form a union or something, so we can protect ourselves and get back some of the money we’ve been making for whitey.
“WHITEY works the brothers to death.”
The voice speaking belongs to internationally known rhythm and blues artist Otis Redding.
In answer to a question about the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Redding replied that he was in agreement with the Messenger and that the “Message to the Blackman” had provided him with some fruitful thoughts.
“I read ‘Message to the Blackman’ and gave it to a whitey—and do you know that fool read it. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me. Well, he didn’t have to say anything because he knows he’s the devil,” Redding asserts.
His voice is hoarse from a long series of one-nighters and lack of rest. His face, which bears a slight resemblance to singer Joe Williams, also shows the weariness that accompanies his voice, but his mind is quick, agile, alert.
“I DON’T see why all Negro singers don’t own their own publishing companies. It doesn’t cost much. Whitey is the publisher of all the songs and he gets everything.”
Disgusted with constant exploitation and economical and social indignities, Otis Redding has joined an ever-increasing number of black entertainers, including Ray Charles and James Brown, by establishing his own publishing and recording companies.
Professor Herbert Berg: “Moreover, in light of ongoing concerns about a clash between Western and Islamic civilizations, it is ironic that hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of Muslims living in the United States were directly or indirectly converted to Islam via the uniquely American formulation of this religion by Elijah Muhammad. Approximately 30 percent of the United States’ six to eight million Muslims are African American, making Islam the second most popular religion among African Americans.
Although the vast majority of these African American Muslims are now Sunni Muslims, many (or perhaps their parents or grandparents) were introduced to Islam through the Nation of Islam, a movement that was exclusively Black, segregationist, and militant. Its leader for over forty years, Elijah Muhammad, was therefore arguably the most important person in the development of Islam in America …”
James Baldwin: “Elijah Muhammad has been able to do what generations of welfare workers and committees and resolutions and reports and housing projects and playgrounds have failed to do: to heal and redeem drunkards and junkies, to convert people who have come out of prison and to keep them out, to make men chaste and women virtuous, and to invest both the male and the female with a pride and a serenity that hang about them like an unfailing light. He has done all these things, which our Christian church has spectacularly failed to do.”
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed: “I don’t owe my cleanliness to my new understanding of what Islam is. I owe my cleanliness to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I owe my moral obedience to that teaching. I owe my success to the person of that teaching.”
Muslim News International, Abdul Latif Qaisi: “Because of their racial undertones, phenomenal rise in strength, and demand for a separate homeland they have alarmed the American Government and antagonized the orthodox Muslims. Judging them solely by their character and behavior, honesty, personal and public morality, fearlessness and faith in God-one would be led to hail them as excellent Muslims. The success of the orthodox (Muslims) is only a fraction of what the Muslims in America have accomplished under Elijah Muhammad.”
Stokely Carmichael (aka Kwame Toure): “Every black man should go to a mosque and learn firsthand what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is teaching, instead of believing he is teaching hatred, as the white man says. Mr. Muhammad is a fine and dedicated man-the leader of a great segment of the black community, and he should be respected as such…. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has helped more black people than any other man in the country. This proves he has real power.”
SHAKEELA HASSAN, MAKER OF FEZZES FOR THE MOST HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD: “But more than that, this immigrant new kid on the block found the greatest of human comforts in the home of Elijah Muhammad: home cooked meals, love of elders and children, a strong family presence, and someone to look up to. At the time, the Muslim identity of our (Zia’s and mine) new ‘family’ was not as important as it became later in our relationship—later as my own identity as an American Muslim began to develop.
What I will always cherish from that time is the vivid memory of a family who devoted themselves to giving their community a deep sense of self-respect, rooted in a commitment to self-improvement and self-empowerment—against tremendous odds and in the midst of horrible discrimination and prejudice. To take charge and be themselves was an awesome lesson in grass root participation—a vision of immense humanity and community.”
Get to know the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad! His wisdom, his influence and his impact on the future destiny of Black people in America must be studied and fully understood. His is a divine work, a mission given to him directly from Allah (God). None of us can escape the tumultuous days ahead without accessing the solutions that Allah (God) revealed to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad that are today being re-introduced to the world by his anointed servant the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
Demetric Muhammad is a Memphis-based author and student minister in the Nation of Islam and member of the Nation of Islam Research Group. Follow him on Twitter @BrotherDemetric. Read more at www.researchminister.com.
