Public attention, therefore, has been increasingly focused on the most unorthodox Negro organization--the NOI, or "Black Muslims," whose particular form of "Black Nationalism" expresses itself in open denunciation of the white race and constant demands for complete separation from white society.
During the 30 years that Elijah Muhammad has been absolute ruler over the NOI, changing conditions in the United States have noticeably altered the emphasis he has placed on the various aspects of his teachings. This change of emphasis has not reflected a change of policy but has been merely a response to external pressures and realities.
For some time, Elijah faithfully followed the original teachings of Fard, who preached that the black people of North America were not Negroes but were members of the lost tribe of Shabazz, stolen by white slave traders from the Holy City of Mecca many years ago, and that he himself had come to America to find and bring back to life his lost brethren, who must learn that they were the original people and must regain their true religion--Islam.
Elijah furthered Fard's avowal that Christianity was a tool of the white man formed for the sole purpose of keeping the original black man enslaved, and that only through following the laws of Allah would the
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