Warith Deen Mohammed (born Wallace D. Muhammad; October 30, 1933 – September 9, 2008) was an American religious leader, theologian, philosopher, Muslim revivalist, and Islamic thinker. He was a son of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam from 1933 to 1975."The Emergence of Islam in the African-American Community" "Warith Deen Mohammed", This Far By Faith, Public Broadcasting Service. In 1975, upon Elijah Muhammad's death, he became the Nation of Islam's leader.Lincoln, C. Eric. (1994) The Black Muslims in America, Third Edition, William B. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company) page 263Fraser-Rahim, Muhammad. America’s Other Muslims: Imam WD Mohammed, Islamic Reform, and the Making of American Islam. Lexington Books, 2020. In 1976, he disbanded the original Nation of Islam and transformed it into an ostensibly orthodox and mainstream Islamic movement.See Al-Islam, The Islamic Movement Journal, vol. 4, no. 4, p. 19-20, July–August 1975; vol 4. no. 6, p. 10-12, Nov-Dec, 1975; Unrecanted Statements, 1990; The Truth Regarding Warith Deen Mohammed, 1993 He rejected the previous deification of Wallace Fard Muhammad, accepted whites as fellow-worshippers, forged closer ties with mainstream Muslim communities, and introduced the Five Pillars of Islam into his group's theology."Conversion of the Muslims", TIME, 14 Mar 1977 This organization was called the Bilalians (1975), World Community of Al-Islam in the West (1976–77), American Muslim Mission (1978–85),See Bilalian News/A.M.Journal, 1976–1985 and finally the American Society of Muslims.
Splinter groups which resisted these changes were formed after Elijah Muhammad's death, particularly under Louis Farrakhan, who would revive the name Nation of Islam for his organization, Final Call, in 1978. Farrakhan's NOI and the previous Final Call claim that they are direct continuations of the pre-1975 NOI.Lincoln, C. Eric. (1994) The Black Muslims in America, Third Edition, William B. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company) page 274
Early life and education
Mohammed was born Wallace D. Muhammad on Yemans Street in Hamtramck, Michigan, in 1933.Essien-Udom, E. U. (1962) Black Nationalism: A Search for an Identity in America, New York City: Dell Publishing Company, p. 93 In 1992, he changed his legal name to Warith Deen Muhammad, which translates to 'Inheritor of the Religion of Muhammad'.See Muslim Journal, Jan. 3, 1992, pp. 4, 14, 15, 23, 27, 28 His parents were Clara and Elijah Muhammad, both highly active in the Nation of Islam (NOI), the organization that preached a form of Black nationalism and its own version of Islam.Rashad, Adib, (1991) The History of Islam and Black Nationalism in the Americas, Writers Inc., . From 1934 until he died in 1975, Elijah Muhammad led the Nation under the title, "the Messenger of Allah."Evanzz, Karl. (2001) The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad, (New York: Random House).
Named to honor Wallace Fard Muhammad (Fard), the founder of the Nation of Islam, Mohammed grew up in Chicago as one of seven siblings. His elementary education came from the Muhammad University of Islam (MUI) school system (later known as the Clara Muhammad Schools, or Muhammad Schools).Lincoln, C. Eric. (1994) The Black Muslims in America, Third Edition, William B. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company) page 264Former Boston NOI member Aubrey Barnett describes the Chicago "University of Islam" as an unaccredited, storefront grammar school. See The Saturday Evening Post, Feb 27, 1965, The Black Muslims are a Fraud, p. 26 He briefly studied Arabic as a youth under Jamal Shakir Diab, a Palestinian who was later hired by his father to teach at the MUI in Chicago."Lincoln, C. Eric 1994 page 263""Evanzz, Karl, 1993, "The Messenger", p. 82"E. U. Essien-Udom (1962) Black Nationalism: A Search for an Identity in America, p. 238, (New York: Dell Publishing Company).
Mohammed became a minister under his father in late 1958 and served in Philadelphia during the late 1950s and early 1960s.E. U. Essien-Udom (1962) Black Nationalism: A Search for an Identity in America, p. 88, (New York: Dell Publishing Company).W. DEEN MOHAMMED: A leap of faith http://www.courant.com/topic/chi-021020-mohammedprofile,0,4258812.story?page=4 Chicago Tribune. While serving in Philadelphia, W.D. Mohammed commenced an extensive study of Ahmadiyya doctrines under Philadelphia-based Ahmadi missionary Muhammad Abdullah.Bilalian News, Aug. 12, 1977, p. 28
On October 29, 1961, Mohammed was arrested for failure to report to Elgin State Hospital. The following day, on his 28th birthday, Mohammed was transferred to Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone, to begin a term for having refused induction into the United States military.The Teachings of W.D. Muhammad: "First Official Interview" He could have performed community service, but his father pressed him to accept the jail time. He spent most of that time studying the Quran, the main Islamic holy book, and the Bible.Magida, Arthur J. (1996) Prophet of Rage: A Life of Louis Farrakhan and His Nation, First Edition, (Basic Books/Harper Collins Publishers Inc.) page 74 & 75The Teachings of W.D. Muhammad, First Official Interview
He became convinced that the Nation of Islam had to change. In 1963, he was released from prison and resumed studies under Muhammad Abdullah.W. DEEN MOHAMMED: A leap of faith, page 5, Chicago Tribune Close also to Malcolm X, who the NOI had expelled, he found that by this time his viewpoints deviated significantly from those of his father, whom he no longer believed to be a prophet.Malcolm X, February 1965: The Final Speeches, Pathfinder Press 1992, pp. 173, 305, 331, 344; Chicago American, Muhammad Losing Support, Son Asserts, Sept. 15, 1964, p. 1, 4. Because of this conclusion, he was excommunicated five different times; by 1974, he returned permanently to the NOI.Muhammad Speaks, 1974
Religious leadership and ministry
Reforming the Nation of Islam Upon his father's death on February 25, 1975, Mohammed was unanimously chosen as the leader of the Nation of Islam and introduced to the NOI membership at the annual Saviours' Day convention on February 26, 1975."Warith Deen Mohammed", This Far By Faith, Public Broadcasting ServiceEvolution of a Community, WDM Publications 1995 Among the first changes Mohammed instituted, he dropped the title Supreme Minister and took the titles Mujaddid, Chief Imam, or simply Imam, in 1976.The Teachings of W.D. Muhammad "I was Born For The Mission"Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press, 1996, page 110Lincoln, C. Eric. (1994) The Black Muslims in America, Third Edition, William B. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company) page 265 & 274 The same year, he unveiled a new flag for the NOI community.Bilalian News, March 12, 1976, p. 21, "New flag for the Nation of Islam"Evolution of a Community, WDM Publications 1995 page 15Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press, 1996 page 112
These were just two of the many reforms which Mohammed introduced. Among others, he eliminated the NOI dress code, disbanded the military branch of the NOI, clarified the concept of the devil, and introduced an eclectic, esoteric interpretation of Islam he labeled, The Divine Mind/Body-Christ. The Teachings of W.D. Muhammad; Lectures of Emam Muhammad According to WD's former Special Aide Dr. Na'im Akbar, WD's Teachings are not restricted to WD's followers but "will provide for the social community a series of readings which will cultivate and grow them more effectively as social human beings... based on the most renowned religious teachings of a teacher in the West."Bilalian News, September 3, 1976, p. 30. Similarly, via his various written works, Muhammad Speaks newspaper, and public speeches, he gradually introduced and explained Islam's Five Pillars.Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press, 1996, page 108 He stated that Fard was not divine and that his father was not a prophet. All of the over 400 temples were converted into traditional Islamic mosques. He also renamed the community several times before finally settling on the American Society of Muslims to reflect the new thinking.Lincoln, C. Eric. (1994) The Black Muslims in America, Third Edition, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 265.Evolution of a Community, WDM Publications, 1995 Mohammed was frank about his intentions to evolve the movement. On November 19, 1978, he spoke on the "Evolution of the Nation of Islam" at the American Academy of Religion in New Orleans.As The Light Shineth From The East, WDM Publications, Chicago, 1980.
Mohammed's changes reached deep into the philosophy of the movement which his father had led for so long. He rejected literal interpretations of divine scriptures, his father's theology, and Black-separatist views, and based on his intensive independent study, history, and theology, he accepted whites as fellow worshipers."Black Muslims Alter View of White 'Devil'" By Paul Delaney, September 2, 1975, New York Times News Service"White Muslims?", TIME, 20 Jun 1975 However, he also encouraged African Americans (Bilalians) to separate themselves from their pasts, in 1976 calling upon them to change their surnames which were often given to their ancestors by slave masters.Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press, 1996 page 111Book of Muslim Names, The Honorable W. D. Muhammad, 1976, Chicago, Illinois He forged closer ties with mainstream Muslim communities, including Latino Muslims.Essien-Udom, E. U. (1962) Black Nationalism: A Search for an Identity in America, New York City: Dell Publishing Company, p. 93, He also decentralized power. On September 10, 1978, in an address in Atlanta he resigned as Chief Imam and appointed a six-member council to lead the Community.Imam W. Deen Muhammad speaks from Harlem, N.Y. Book 1, W. D. M. Publications, 1984Evolution of a Community, WDM Publications 1995 page 20
Mohammed felt quite keenly about his role in reform. In an interview which was published in the Muhammad Speaks newspaper and conducted by his brother Jabir Herbert Muhammad, Mohammed described his role as the successor to their father as that of a Mujeddid,Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press, 1996 page 102 one who would watch over the new Islam or community.The Lectures of Emam Muhammad, Muhammad's Mosque #2, 1975. In 1979 he used the title Mujeddid (Mujaddid) on his byline in his weekly articles for the Bilalian News (the new title of Muhammad Speaks).Van Biema, David. "As American As... Although scapegoated, Muslims, Sikhs and Arabs are patriotic, integrated—and growing", TIME, October 1, 2001Bilalian News, Feb 15, 1980, p. 17, "What is Mujeddid?"