On the other hand, in a speech made on April 1, 2001, titled The Greatness of Master Fard Muhammad, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan reiterated Fards origins in the Holy City of Mecca, and referred to him as the Mahdi, a man absolutely guided by God in the Islam faith. I am your brother. Fard preached that blacks (who were not to be called Negroes) must prepare for an inevitable race war and that Christianity was the religion of slaveowners. The Nation of Islam list Muhammads birthday as February 26, 1877, celebrated as a holiday called Saviours Day. "[48][dubious discuss] An FBI memorandum dated August 1963 states that the FBI had not been able to verify his birthdate or birthplace, and "he was last heard from in 1934. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. All Rights Reserved. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. Turner, Richard Brent. Four years later, in 1963, they issued another story to a Los Angeles-based newspaper that claimed Ford and Fard were, in fact, the same person. After Elijah's death, Warith Deen appointed Abdullah imam of Mosque #77 in Oakland, California. But the Nation of Islam themselves reject the FBI's findings. He had met Muhammad in prison where the two men plotted a confidence game in which followers were charged a fee to become Muslims. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. When nothing further was heard from him, some rumored that he had been killed by police. The FBI officially claims this: Fard got into hot water when in May 1933, one of his followers performed a ritual murder as a sacrifice to God. Sources: Immigration record of Khanialam Khan https://familysearch.org, FBI report on Wallace Fard Muhammad https://vault.fbi.gov, Mugshots of Wallace Fard Muhammad and Wallie Dodd Ford https://www.findagrave.com, Marriage record of Fred Dodd and Pearl Allen https://www.ancestry.com, Prison file of Wallie Dodd Ford https://www.ancestry.com, Draft registration card of Wallie Dodd Ford https://familysearch.org, Wallie D. Ford on the 1920 U.S. Census https://familysearch.org, Birth record of Fords son, Wallace Max Ford https://familysearch.org, Marriage record of Wallie Dodd Ford and Carmen Trevino https://familysearch.org, William D. Fard on the 1930 U.S. Census https://familysearch.org, Nation of Islam article refuting claims of Dodd and Muhammad being the same person https://www.noi.org. [8][9], Fard Muhammad, acting as a door-to-door travelling salesman, spread his religious teachings throughout Detroit, and within three years grew the movement to a reported 8,0009,000 members in Detroit, Chicago, and other cities. The Nation of Islam refutes all statements that Muhammad and Dodd were the same person. He told followers he was born in the holy city of Mecca, and his light-skinned appearance, courtesy of his Russian Jewish mother, was pre-ordained so that he could more easily mix with white people. Do you personally think Fard fled Detroit in the 1930s and lived on elsewhere, or do you think he was killed? He is always referred to reverently as the 'Prophet Elijah in Chicago. Harris was later declared mentally unbalanced, pleaded guilty and was imprisoned, while Fard and Ali were released. WebWallace D. Fard aka Wallace Fard Muhammad / f . To this day, nobody knows. So they sent a Messenger to them of their own. WebThe FBIs FOIA Library contains many files of public interest and historical value. "[25] He went on to state: "Why is Stress made to the Muslims to Copy, the Minister, Elijah Muhammad's Answers? Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/legal-and-political-magazines/fard-w-d-c-1877-1934-religious-and-political-leader. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. WebWallace Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad or Master Fard Muhammad (/ f r d /; reportedly born February 26, c. 1877 disappeared c. 1934), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. [21][Note 1] These incidents drew police attention, according to Beynon, and contributed to persecutions and schisms. FBI records identified him as an unstable wanderer named Wallace Dodd Ford who came to the United States from New Zealand in 1913. ", Beynon refers to some of the lessons by Fard as an "oral tradition" that was recorded at the University of Islam as the "Secret Ritual of the Nation of Islam." This fits with Ford's former professions. They traced one Wallace Dodd Ford of Los Angeles, a violent man with a criminal record who worked at a local restaurant. Others asserted that he had returned to Mecca to prepare for his eventual return. The past History shows that the ALMIGHTY ALLAH sends Prophets and Apostles for the people's Guide and Example, and through them HIS Mystery was Revealed. Members of the movement believe Fard to be the incarnation of Allh, and his birthday, February 26, is observed as Saviours Day. But perhaps most notably, he was the man who founded the Nation of Islam, a political and religious organization that brought Malcolm X, one of the 20th centurys most important Americans, into the spotlight. Her judgment could not take place until we hear the truth. I guess so, because if you compare their features (ears, nose, chin, mouth, eyes and eyebrows), they're very similar. In 1933, Fard disappeared and a power struggle within the NOI emerged. [52] One theory postulated is that Fard was of Afghan heritage. [55] Authors have also cited E. U. Essien-Udom for this proposition as well. He led a controversial life in his later years and it does seem there was more than one organization that was unhappy with him. Attendances to his sermons rapidly grow over the next three years and then suddenly, without announcing his departure, he disappears, never to be seen or heard from again. [20], Beynon described disputes and tension that arose between the new community and the police over the group's refusal to send their children to public schools. It is important to realize that Farrakhan is the current leader of one of two main NOI factions that emerged after the Honorable Elijah Muhammads death on Feb. 24, 1975. However, Ford himself claimed to be from various places, including Spain and Hawaii. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). rcel.type = 'text/javascript'; [22], Fard named his community the "Nation of Islam". "The society cannot be blamed for anything he did," Ali was quoted in the Detroit News, November 23, 1932. He advocated community members to establish and own their own businesses,[13] eat healthy, raise families, and refrain from drugs and alcohol. Members of the movement believe Fard to be the incarnation of Allh, and his birthday, February 26, is observed as Saviours Day. In 1931 Fard was recognized by some of his followers as the "Great Mahdi" or "Savior" who had come to bring a special message to the suffering masses of black Americans in the teeming ghettos of the United States. Almost everyday we would have conversations (actually friendly debate) about his faith. Following his disappearance, Elijah Muhammad succeeded him as the chief of the Nation of Islam. He appeared in Detroit in 1930 and had an obscure background and used several aliases. Wallace Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad or Master Fard Muhammad[3] (/frd/; reportedly born February 26, c.1877[4][7] disappeared c.1934), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. WebWant a minute-by-minute forecast for Fawn-Creek, Kansas? They also have a similar receding hairline that poofs out along the side. I remember researching the noi's history and finding out about what you have written. Wallace Dodd Ford's race is the subject of some debate. A World War I draft registration card for Wallie Dodd Fard[4] from 1917 indicated he was living in Los Angeles, unmarried, as a restaurant owner, and reported that he was born in Shinka, Afghanistan on February 26, 1893. Fard: Unveiling the Identity of the Founder of the Nation of Islam by Dr. John Andrew Morrow investigates theories of Fard's origin. What seems most remarkable is that Fard seems to have utterly disappeared from the governments (especially the FBIs) radar after leaving Detroit in 1933. [4], Fard was arrested again on January 20, 1926, for violation of the California Woolwine Possession Act,[39] and on February 15, 1926, for violation of the State Poison Act, for which he was sentenced to six months to six years at San Quentin State Prison on June 12, 1926. Personally I don't know enough about the context to form an opinion on whether he was murdered, but it wouldn't shock me if he was. Ford looks Middle Eastern in the mugshot. How did the founder of a group that recruited men like Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali slip under the radar so easily? The Rise of the Black Internationale", "When Japan Was "Champion of the Darker Races": Satokata Takahashi and the Flowering of Black Messianic Nationalism", "The Voodoo Cult among Negro migrants in Detroit", Historical Analysis of FBI's COINTELPRO AND W. Fard Muhammad, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wallace_Fard_Muhammad&oldid=1141937668, Members of the Moorish Science Temple of America, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Articles lacking reliable references from May 2022, Articles with disputed statements from July 2019, Articles with trivia sections from June 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The name Fard is a common surname in Pakistan as are other names he bestowed upon his followers such as Shabazz, Ghulam, and Kallatt, Interviews with long-time Nation figures who met him or saw original photos of him such as, Early teachings from Fard indicated a distrust and disdain for Hinduism, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 17:20. Within three years Fard had established several organizations: the "Temple of Islam," with its own worship style and rituals; the "University of Islam," to propagate his teachings; the "Muslim Girls Training," to teach female members home economics and how to be a proper Muslim woman; and the "Fruit of Islam," consisting of selected male members to provide security for the temple and Muslim leaders and to enforce the disciplinary rules. Via e-mail, I asked Claude Andrew Clegg III, author of another Elijah Muhammad biography, An Original Man, to give me his take on the controversy. })(); Ethnicity of Celebs | EthniCelebs.com 2023. Encyclopedia.com. 1. 2 was given by our Prophet, W.D. Fard taught that approximately 6,000 years ago a black scientist named Yakub conducted gene-manipulation experiments that resulted in the creation of the inferior white race. Also, in many ways, the Nation of Islams depiction of him as God could only work and be credible to potential members if his origins remained obscure and his disappearance permanent.. rcel.async = true; This cursory bit of knowledge was enough to satisfy my curiosity for many years, during which my contact with the Nation of Islam was limited to regularly buying bean pies from neatly dressed men standing on Livernois who were also peddling the groups newspaper, The Final Call. Either way, most people who have investigated his life have come to the conclusion that he was probably mixed race and may have emigrated from New Zealand or the Middle East. In 1934 he disappeared without a trace. It says that Wallace Fard "is awaiting an immigration hearing. In compliance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, some of these records are no longer in the physical possession of the FBI, eliminating the FBIs capability to re-review and/or re-process this material. Some blame the police, the FBI, or rival leaders within the NOI. [31], From the FBI's response to the Freedom of Information Act request, Evanzz claimed that Fard, using the name Fred Dodd, married Pearl Allen in Multnomah County, Oregon, on May 9, 1914, with their first child, a son, born the next year. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Members of the Nation of Islam believe that he was a light-skinned black man or mulatto who knew both the white and the black world and who was born on February 26, 1877. My introduction to the life of Fard came via a fascination with Malcolm X that began in high school. However, the date of retrieval is often important. "[45] After the story was published, Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X subsequently charged black media outlets, which reprinted the accusation in large numbers, with running the story without requesting a response from the Nation of Islam. This new movement, known as the Temple People, identifies the prophet, Mr. W. D. Fard, with the God, Allah. The FBI then tracked down Wallie D. Ford's caucasian ex-wife, Hazel Evalsizer, living in LA. After another brush with the law in April 1934, Fard left Detroit for good. Using both the Bible and the Qur'an, he began with meetings in houses until he had enough members to rent a storefront, which he called Temple of Islam No. Powered by - Designed with theHueman theme. '"[59], Elijah Muhammad, who led the Nation of Islam from 1934 to 1975, heard Fard teach for the first time in 1931. The photo of Fard looks highly retouched, or whatever people did to photo before Photoshop, so whether it's the same person as in the mugshot is really hard to tell. "[49], The Nation of Islam refutes the claim that Fard and Ford are one and the same in an article posted on the NOI website by Dr. Wesley Muhammad. [citation needed] Harris attended meetings of the Detroit chapter of the Nation of Islam, then also called the Order of Islam, and Allah Temple of Islam, where he was given the name of Robert Karriem. What seems most remarkable is that Fard seems to have utterly disappeared from the governments (especially the FBIs) radar after leaving Detroit in 1933. Fard, W. D. (c. 1877-1934), Religious and Political Leader. She claimed Ford was a New Zealander who had lived in Portland prior to coming to LA, and that she had one son by him, Wallace Dodd Ford Jr., who had died during World War II. From interviews with approximately 200 families who followed Fard, Beynon concluded: "Although the prophet lived in Detroit from July 4, 1930 until June 30, 1934, virtually nothing is known about him, save that he 'came from the East' and that he 'called' the Negroes of North America to enter the Nation of Islam. He was an adviser of Elijah Muhammad since the late 1950s and was the tutor of his son and successor Warith Deen Mohammed. When nothing further was heard from him, some rumored that he had been killed by police. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. There is only one known, authenticated photograph of "Wallace Fard Muhammad", which depicts him as a light-skinned, caucasian-looking man: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Wallace_Fard_Muhammad.jpg. [64][65] Fard wrote the following for his followers: "[T]he LESSONS that OUR SAVIOUR (ALLAH) gave us to Study and Learn is the Fulfillment of the Prophecies of All the Former Prophets concerning the Beginning of the Devils, and the Ending of the Civilization, and of our Enslavement by the Devils, and Present Time of our Delivery from the Devils by OUR SAVIOUR (ALLAH). According to his successor, Elijah Muhammad, Fard was an incarnation of God. He taught us that the slave-masters had taught us to eat the wrong food and that this is the cause of our sickness and short span of life. One member of the group, later declared mentally insane, allegedly participated in "human sacrifice" in 1932 in an effort to follow lessons regarding the sacrifice of devils. Corrections? His parents were Zared Fard (a New Zealander whose parents were from an area of East India that eventually became Pakistan) and Beatrice (of New Zealands minority British population). Hijrah Magazine (MarchApril 1985). I worked with a devout follower of the noi. One of the Conference Members by the name of Mr. Osman Sharrieff said to the Eleven Members of the Conference: 'The Lost-Found Nation of Islam will not return to their original Land unless they, first, have a thorough Knowledge of their own.' [43] According to San Quentin records, Wallie D. Ford was born in Portland, Oregon, on February 25, 1891, the white son of Zared and Beatrice Ford, who were both born in Hawaii. He founded the religious movement in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., in 1930, and was its leader until 1934, his disappearance. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); (function() { Maybe he was deported after that hearing. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Through his friendly manner he was able to gain access to the homes of poor African Americans and began to teach about their "true religion," not Christianity but the "religion of the Black Man" of Asia and Africa. He appeared in Detroit in 1930 and made a living as a street merchant. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. ." According to Bontemps and Conroy, Fard claimed that he was the reincarnation of Noble Drew Ali. Fard and his teachings are also referenced in many hip-hop songs. There is some evidence that Fard lived at least until the 1960s; his alleged lover stated that he had returned to New Zealand. WebParking is abundant-plenty of room for an RV, toys, and multiple vehicles. 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