As-salaam alaikum, my sister, peace be unto you: The honorable elijah muhammad and the women who followed him

Abstract

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad's ministry drew a steady stream of converts into his Nation, an organization designed to return the “so-called Negro” back to his glorious ancient past. According to Muhammad, the first step in this journey was the control and protection of Black women. He made it abundantly clear that wives had to be obedient to their husbands. Yet he also demanded that Black men learn to love and respect their women. This rhetoric helped to camouflage gender inequalities and enticed Black women into the Nation, despite its patriarchal core. Demonstrating masculinity was a constant for Nation men and during the dispute over Elijah Muhammad's seduction of his secretaries, he and his famous Minister Malcolm X struggled over different types of masculinity. Throughout the history of the Nation, Muhammad never changed his agenda in terms of appropriate roles for women and men, and women struggled to create a balance between his rules, the Qur'an, and their political and personal desires.