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Elijah Muhammad (born: Elijah Poole; also: Elijah Karriem) (1897-1975) was
the founder and leader of the Nation of Islam.
He claimed to have received the word of Allah, in 1931, from Wallace Fard Muhammad. This
teaching became the basis of the Nation's politically radical theology.
Muhammad aroused controversy when it was alleged that he had had affairs with several young women in the Nation, a charge that
eventually led to his split with his protegé Malcolm X.
Muhammad was succeeded following his death by his son Warith
Deen Muhammad, who brought about many reforms bringing the Nation of Islam closer to mainstream Sunni Islam, and eventually
renamed the organization. Louis Farrakhan later broke away to head
his own organization closer to the original teachings of Elijah Muhammad, and he also named his splinter group the Nation of
Islam.
See also: Malcolm X, Nation of Islam
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