In addition to these regularly used funds, special collections are frequently taken for specific incidental purposes. For example, when Elijah attends an NOI rally put on by a certain temple, the members usually must provide extra funds to cover his expenses. Often, when a temple officer needs a new car or some extra item, the members must make additional contributions.
The contributions demanded from members vary in individual temples from about $6 to $13.50 per week. Of course, not all members can meet these demands and this is a frequent cause for ridicule of or disciplinary action against the delinquent member.
NOI rules, which ministers constantly stress to members, include fasting on certain occasions, reduction of regular meals to one a day, and the nonuse of tobacco, liquor, and drugs. Ostensibly, these rules are for improving members' health, but one wonders if there also may be an economic reason behind these regulations made by Elijah. In their constant requests for contributions, ministers remind the members that Muslims who eat only one meal a day save $730 per year more than Christians who eat three meals a day; that, by following the rules against smoking and the use of liquor, they can save additional hundreds of dollars a year; and that, therefore, it should be no hardship for them to make their weekly duty contributions or their annual Savior's Day gifts.
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