The Nation of Islam

A Muhammad Mosque of the Nation of Islam, led since 1977-78 by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan from Mosque Maryam, its National Center in Chicago. It describes itself as Muslims following the life-giving teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who led it from 1934 to 1975, and of its founder, Master W. Fard Muhammad, whom it holds to be God in person, born on 26 February 1877; its message is Black self-reliance, discipline, and community. It is distinct from the community of Imam W. Deen Mohammed, which turned from Elijah Muhammad's Nation to Sunni Islam in 1975. Its local congregations are numbered Muhammad Mosques, and smaller study groups; most meet in storefronts, office suites, and converted houses and churches. The heart of its week is not a prayer service but a lecture meeting: the Sunday Message, about two hours by the Student Minister (or a visiting regional minister) in a hall of chairs facing a rostrum, men and women seated apart, guests welcome. Through the week come study meetings on Wednesday and Friday evenings, the men's Fruit of Islam class on Monday, and the women's MGT & GCC class on Saturday morning; Jumu'ah is held at the larger mosques, with prayer facing Mecca on rugs in a space of their own. Every registered man belongs to the Fruit of Islam, which keeps order at meetings and sells The Final Call; every registered woman to the MGT & GCC. Student ministers are appointed by the national leadership, not hired by the congregation; most, it seems, hold other jobs. Members register after orientation classes, give charity and dues, keep a strict code (no pork ever, no alcohol or tobacco, one meal a day by Elijah Muhammad's How to Eat to Live, suits and bow ties for men, long modest dress for women), and can be suspended for breaking it. It keeps the Ramadan fast with other Muslims, and Saviours' Day each February is its national convention. Much of its local practice is little documented outside the Nation; where the research was thin (funerals, interest, holidays, music, pay) the most common American practice is assumed, for a consultant from the Nation to correct. Most Muslims do not regard its theology as orthodox Islam, and the national mosque surveys leave it out.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Islam
Its words	mosque, mosque, main hall; the student minister leads the meeting; the message; Sunday; the Holy Qur'an
Worship	word focus, reserved, moderate formality (0.67 of 1); seated on chairs; men and women on either side
Music	organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; piano discouraged; choir discouraged; band discouraged; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; chant discouraged; song leader discouraged; recorded discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	islamic, nation of islam days; minimal observance; fasts light
Leans	conservative on moral questions, conservative on economic ones
Polity	hierarchical; leaders come by appointment; property leased
Leaders	one leader, bivocational, trained by in house; marriage expected
Belonging	high commitment, formal discipline, admitted by clergy; exclusive
Giving	tithing taught; collected by dues, boxes
Way of life	alcohol abstinence, dress uniform, sabbath relaxed, meat clean

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Sunday	11:00 am	Sunday Message	the student minister	expected
Monday	7:30 pm	FOI class (for men)	the laity	expected
Wednesday	7:30 pm	Wednesday study (study meeting)	the student minister	expected
Friday	2:00 pm	Jumu'ah	the student minister	optional
Friday	7:30 pm	Self-Improvement study group (study meeting)	the student minister	expected
Saturday	9:00 am	MGT & GCC class (for women)	the laity	expected

Leader: a student minister. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply student minister stands in ($800 a month) for a little less. The FOI class and the MGT & GCC class need no student minister.
Its table: clean, without pork or shellfish: meals cost 1.05× as much.

Rites

Registration (per joining, +0.02 to those there): Joining the Nation of Islam: a guest who wants to belong attends orientation with the Fruit of Islam (men) or the MGT & GCC (women) and registers; historically, by copying a model letter to the leadership and being accepted, and taking an X in place of a family name until given another. The exact present steps vary and are not well documented.

Joining

Joining: a content regular is received as a member after about 8 weeks.
Joining age: 16.
Kinds of belonging: registered members (may hold office); received by the student minister.
What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the charity, by dues, and boxes. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service.
Dues: each November member households take up their dues, about 70% of what they could give (±15%), with the chance a pledge would be made (0.9 × engagement), and pay them monthly, nearly always; regulars who haven't joined pay none, so membership is most of the income.
Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
Owed above: Economic Blueprint, $120 a year for each member, paid by its members, to the National Center (voluntary).
A rented building: it can furnish and renovate, but not build onto it.

The student minister, the staff, and who decides

How the student minister comes: sent by the Region, which moves them on; you can't advertise for or dismiss one, but can ask for a move.
Paid: part time, alongside other work (a bivocational leader).
Who they are: trained in-house (they ask 90%); women among them (about a third); nearly all married.
Tenure: settled, then may be called elsewhere.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational student minister ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Associate student minister ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Muezzin (unpaid; from the members; leads worship; cares for 20 more)
- Qur'an teacher ($15,000–$32,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Mosque secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Community outreach director ($25,000–$45,000; cares for 40 more)
- Executive director ($55,000–$95,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once); cares for 30 more)
Its boards: the FOI officers (advising, over the building).
Renovations: The student minister decides, then the Region must consent.
New construction: The Region decides.
Who votes: no kind of belonging votes, so what would go to the members goes to the board.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Open house and interfaith.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Bean pie sale.
Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
Auxiliaries: Fruit of Islam, MGT & GCC.
Outreach: invitation Sunday, literature (from a reading room or an office), door to door (Community → Evangelism).
Places beyond the congregation: Saviours' Day.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A matter of discipline, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
discouraged BannerBanners are not part of this tradition's worship space.
discouraged Drum kitA band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged National flagThis tradition keeps the nation's symbols out of worship.
discouraged Upright pianoA piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.028; Modern synagogue +0.046; Gurdwara +0.052; Japanese temple +0.056; Islamic +0.05; Shinto shrine +0.05; Chinese temple +0.044; Dravidian temple +0.038; Nagara temple +0.038; Thai temple +0.038; Jain marble +0.032; Gothic +0.026.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: in their seasons, the muharram cloths and ramadan lanterns are worth up to ±0.027 (missing them, the minus); out of season, nothing is called for.
The message lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the student minister's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.

How each message lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Sanctity of Life+0.06
Faith & Family+0.04
Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
Family & the Ties of Kinship+0.04
Obedience & Discipline+0.04
Personal Holiness+0.04
Resisting Temptation+0.04
Gratitude+0.015
Honesty in Trade+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Justice (Adl)+0.015
Mercy (Rahma)+0.015
Patience (Sabr)+0.015
Rights of the Neighbour+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Life of Prayer+0.015
Unity of the Ummah+0.015
Care for Creation-0.05
Healing for All-0.05
Interfaith Understanding-0.05
Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
Welcome the Stranger-0.05
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
Radical Inclusion-0.075
Social Justice Call-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	+0.333
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Prayer carpet	0
Row of chairs	0
Liturgical furniture
Columbarium niches	+0.333
Lectern	no fit
Mihrab	0
Minbar	0
Pulpit	no fit	required Preaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
Qur'an stands	no fit
Music
Drum kit	-1	discouraged A band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
Electronic organ	-1
Grand piano	-1
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Pipe organ	-0.333	discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Sound system	-1
Upright piano	-1	discouraged A piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Decor
Alam	-1
Banner	-1	discouraged Banners are not part of this tradition's worship space.
Calligraphy panel	0
Chandelier	0
Eternal flame	no fit
Great dome	+0.333
Memorial plaque	no fit
Minaret	0
Muharram cloths	0
National flag	-1	discouraged This tradition keeps the nation's symbols out of worship.
Ramadan lanterns	0
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	-1
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	+0.333
Projection screen	0
Shoe rack	0
Vestment cabinet	+0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Ghusl table	0
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Wudu station	0
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit

Sources

Nation of Islam New York (Muhammad Mosque No. 7) (link)
Muhammad Mosque No. 26, Oakland (link)
Wikipedia, Nation of Islam (link)
Joseph R. Stuart, The Nation of Islam: A brief history (The Conversation, 2023) (link)
Wikipedia, Mosque Maryam (link)
Wikipedia, Fruit of Islam (link)
Anti-Defamation League, Farrakhan's influence and absence mark Nation of Islam's annual conference (2025) (link)