| Moorish Science Temple of America | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Organization |
| Classification | Islam |
| Orientation | Esoteric |
| Scripture | Holy Koran of Mecca, Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America |
| Distinct fellowships | Washitaw Nation |
| Founder | Noble Drew Ali |
| Origin | 1925 |
| Separations | Nation of Islam Moorish Orthodox Church of America |
| Official website | moorishsciencetempleofamerica.org |
TheMoorish Science Temple of America is an American national and religious organization founded byNoble Drew Ali (born Timothy Drew) in the early 20th century.[1] He based it on the premise thatAfrican Americans are descendants of theMoabites and thus "Moorish" by nationality, andIslamic by faith.[1] Ali put together elements of major traditions to develop a message of personal transformation through historical education, racial pride, and spiritual uplift. His doctrine was also intended to provide African Americans with a sense of identity in the world and promote civic involvement.
One primary tenet of the Moorish Science Temple is the belief that African Americans are descended from the "Moroccan Empire". According to Ali, this area included other countries around Northwest Africa. To join the movement, individuals must proclaim their "Moorish nationality". They were given "nationality cards". In religious texts, adherents refer to themselves racially as "Asiatics," as the Middle East is also Western Asia.[2] Adherents of this movement are known as "Moorish-American Moslems" and are called "Moorish Scientists" in some circles.[3]
The Moorish Science Temple of America was incorporated under the Illinois Religious Corporation Act 805 ILCS 110. Timothy Drew, known to its members asProphet Noble Drew Ali, founded the Moorish Science Temple of America in 1913 inNewark, New Jersey, a booming industrial city. After some difficulties, Ali moved toChicago, establishing a center there, as well as temples in other major cities. The movement expanded rapidly during the late 1920s. The quick expansion of the Moorish Science Temple arose in large part from the search for identity and context among black Americans at the time of theGreat Migration to northern cities, as they were becoming an urbanized people.[4]
Competing factions developed among the congregations and leaders, especially after the death of the charismatic Ali. Three independent organizations developed from this ferment. The founding of theNation of Islam byWallace Fard Muhammad in 1930 also created competition for members. In the 1930s, membership was estimated at 30,000, with one-third in Chicago. During thepostwar years, the Moorish Science Temple of America continued to increase in membership, albeit at a slower rate.
Timothy Drew is believed to have been born on January 8, 1886, inNorth Carolina, United States.[5] Sources differ as to his background and upbringing: one reports he was the son of two formerslaves who was adopted by a tribe ofCherokee;[6] another describes Drew as the son of aMoroccan Muslim father and a Cherokee mother.[7] In 2014, an article in the onlineJournal of Race Ethnicity and Religion attempted to link Timothy Drew to one Thomas Drew, born January 8, 1886, using census records, a World War I draft card, and street directory records.[8]
Drew Ali reported that he met with a high priest ofEgyptian magic during his travels. In one version of Drew Ali's biography, the leader saw him as a reincarnation of the founder. In others, he says that the priest considered him areincarnation ofJesus, theBuddha,Muhammad, and other religious prophets. According to the biography, the high priest trained Ali inmysticism and gave him a "lost section" of theQuran.[9]
This text became known as theHoly Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America. It is also known as the "Circle Seven Koran" because of its cover, which features a red "7" surrounded by a blue circle. The first 19 chapters are fromThe Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, published in 1908 by esotericpreacher and OhioanLevi Dowling. InThe Aquarian Gospel, Dowling described Jesus's supposed travels inIndia,Egypt, andPalestine during the years of his life not accounted for by theNew Testament.[10]
Chapters 20 to 45 are adapted from the Rosicrucian workUnto Thee I Grant, featuring minor stylistic changes. They provide guidance on living, education, and the responsibilities of adherents.[11]
Drew Ali wrote the last four chapters of theCircle Seven Koran himself. In these, he wrote:
The fallen sons and daughters of the Asiatic Nation of North America need to learn to love instead of hate; and to know of their higher self and lower self. This is the uniting of the Holy Koran of Mecca for teaching and instructing all Moorish Americans, etc. The key of civilization was and is in the hands of the Asiatic nations. The Moorish, who were the ancient Moabites, and the founders of the Holy City of Mecca.[12]
Drew Ali and his followers used this material to claim, "Jesus and his followers were Asiatic." ("Asiatic" was the term Drew Ali used for all darkly- or olive-colored people; he labeled all Whites as European. He suggested that all Asiatics should be allied.)[13]
Ali crafted Moorish Science from a variety of sources, a "network of alternative spiritualities that focused on the power of the individual to bring about personal transformation through mystical knowledge of the divine within".[13] In the inter-war years in Chicago and other major cities, he used these concepts to preachracial pride and uplift. His approach appealed to thousands of African Americans who had left severely oppressive conditions in the South through theGreat Migration and faced struggles in new urban environments.[13]
Ali believed that all African Americans areMoors, descended from the ancientMoabites, and taught that the kingdom of Moab evolved into modernMorocco.[14] His claim does not align with peer-reviewed studies of human history, such as thegenetics of African Americans andgenetic history of sub-Saharan Africa. He claimed thatIslam and its teachings are more beneficial to African Americans' salvation and that their "true nature" had been "withheld" from them. In the traditions Ali founded, male members of the Temple wear afez orturban as head-covering; women wear a turban.[15]
Ali's followers added the suffixesBey or El to their surnames to signify a connection to "Moorish heritage" and assert a new identity as "Moorish" Americans. This practice helped establish a distinct identity, acknowledging the loss of ancestral African tribal names while communicating their new identity.[citation needed]
As Ali taught his followers to be better citizens, he delivered speeches like "A Divine Warning By the Prophet for the Nations," urging them to reject labels such as "Black," "colored," and "Negro." He encouraged all Americans to embrace love over hate, believing Chicago could become a secondMecca.[citation needed]
The ushers of the Temple wore black fezzes. The leader of a given temple was known as a GrandSheikh or Governor. Ali had several wives.[16] According toThe Chicago Defender, he claimed the power to marry and divorce at will.[17]
In 1913, Drew Ali formed the Canaanite Temple inNewark, New Jersey.[18] He left the city after agitating people with his views on race.[19] Drew Ali and his followers migrated while planting congregations inPhiladelphia,Washington, D.C., andDetroit. Finally, Drew Ali settled inChicago in 1925, sayingthe Midwest was "closer to Islam".[20] The following year, he officially registered Temple No. 9.
Ali advised his followers to avoid confrontation and instead focus on uplifting their community to earn respect. By doing so, they could establish their position in the United States by cultivating a cultural identity aligned with his beliefs regarding Blackpersonhood.[21] In the late 1920s,Chicago Tribune journalists estimated the Moorish Science Temple had 35,000 members in 17 temples in cities across the Midwest and upper South.[22] It was reportedly studied and watched by the Chicago police.
Building Moorish Science-affiliated businesses was part of the group’s program, which was similar toMarcus Garvey'sUniversal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League and the later Nation of Islam.[23] By 1928, members of the Moorish Science Temple of America had obtained some respectability within Chicago and Illinois, being featured prominently and favorably inThe Chicago Defender, anAfrican-American newspaper, and conspicuously collaborated with African American politician and businessman Daniel Jackson.[24]
Ali attended the January 1929 inauguration ofLouis L. Emmerson as 27thGovernor of Illinois inSpringfield, Illinois.The Chicago Defender stated that his trip included "interviews with many distinguished citizens from Chicago, who greeted him on every hand."[25] With the growth in its population and membership, Chicago was established as the center of the movement.
In early 1929, following a conflict over funds, Claude Green-Bey, the business manager of Chicago Temple No. 1, split from the Moorish Science Temple of America. He declared himself Grand Sheik and took a number of members with him. On March 15, Green-Bey was stabbed to death at the Unity Hall of the Moorish Science Temple on Indiana Avenue in Chicago.[26]
At the time, Drew Ali was out of town, dealing with former Supreme Grand Governor Lomax Bey (ie, Ezaldine Muhammad, a professor), who had supported Green-Bey's attempted coup.[27] When Drew Ali returned to Chicago, the police arrested him and other members of the community on suspicion of having instigated the killing. No indictment was sworn for Drew Ali at that time.
Shortly after his release by the police, Drew Ali died at age 43 at his home in Chicago on July 20, 1929.[28] Although the exact circumstances of his death remain unknown, his death certificate stated that he died from "tuberculosisbroncho-pneumonia".[29] Despite the official report, many of his followers speculated that his death was caused by injuries from the police or from other members of the faith.[30] Others thought it was indeed due topneumonia. One follower told theChicago Defender: "The Prophet was not ill; his work was done and he laid his head upon the lap of one of his followers and passed out."[31][32]
The death of Ali brought out a number of candidates to succeed him.Edward Mealy El stated that Drew Ali had personally declared him to be his successor. In August, within a month of Drew Ali's death,John Givens El, Ali's chauffeur, declared that he was Drew Alireincarnated. He was said to have fainted while working on Drew Ali's automobile[when?], and "the sign of thestar and crescent [appeared] in his eyes."[33]
At the September Unity Conference,[year needed] Givens again made his claim of reincarnation. However, the governors of the Moorish Science Temple of America declaredCharles Kirkman Bey to be Drew Ali's successor and named him Grand Advisor.[34]
With the support of several temples each, both Mealy El and Givens El went on to lead independent factions of the Moorish Science Temple. All three factions—formed and led by Kirkman Bey, Mealy El, and Givens El—are active today.
On September 25, 1929, Kirkman Bey's wife reported to the Chicago police his apparent kidnapping by Ira Johnson. Accompanied by two Moorish Science members, the police visited the home of Johnson when they were met by gunfire. The attack escalated into a shoot-out that spilled into the surrounding neighborhood. In the end, a policeman as well as a member were killed in the gun battle, and a second policeman later died of his wounds.[35] The police took 60 people into police custody, and a reported 1000 police officers patrolled Chicago'sSouth Side that evening.[36] Johnson and two others were later convicted of murder.[37]
Kirkman Bey went on to serve as Grand Advisor of one of the most important factions until 1959, when the reins were given to F. Nelson-Bey.[38]
The community was further split whenWallace Fard Muhammad, known within the temple as David Ford-el,[39] also claimed (or was taken by some) to be the reincarnation of Drew Ali.[40] When his leadership was rejected, Ford El broke away from the Moorish Science Temple. He moved to Detroit, where he formed his own group, an organization that would become theNation of Islam.[41] The Nation of Islam denied any historical connection with the Moorish Science Temple until February 26, 2014, whenLouis Farrakhan acknowledged the contribution(s) of Noble Drew Ali to the Nation of Islam and its founding principles.[42]
Despite the turmoil and defections, the movement continued to grow in the 1930s. It is estimated that membership in the 1930s reached 30,000. There were major congregations in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago.[43]
One-third of the members, or 10,000, lived in Chicago, the center of the movement. There were congregations in numerous other cities where African Americans had migrated in the early 20th century. The group published several magazines: one was theMoorish Guide National. During the 1930s and 1940s, continued surveillance by police (and later theFBI) caused the Moors to become more withdrawn and critical of the government.[44]
During the 1940s, the Moorish Science Temple (specifically the Kirkman Bey faction) came to the attention of theFBI, who investigated claims of members committing subversive activities by adhering to and spreading Japanese propaganda. The investigation failed to find any substantial evidence, and the investigations were dropped. The federal agency later investigated the organization in 1953 for violation of theSelective Service Act of 1948 andsedition. In September 1953, the Department of Justice determined that prosecution was not warranted for the alleged violations. The file that the FBI created on the temple grew to 3,117 pages during its lifetime.[45] They never found any evidence of any connection or much sympathy of the temple's members for Japan.
In 1976,Jeff Fort, leader of Chicago'sBlack P Stone Nation, announced at his parole from prison in 1976 that he had converted to Islam. Moving toMilwaukee, Fort associated himself with the Moorish Science Temple of America. It is unclear whether he officially joined or was rejected by its members.[46]
In 1978, Fort returned to Chicago and changed the name of his gang toEl Rukn ("the foundation" in Arabic), also known as "Circle Seven El Rukn Moorish Science Temple of America"[47] and the "Moorish Science Temple, El Rukn tribe".[48] Scholars are divided over the nature of the relationship, if any, betweenEl Rukn and the Moorish Science Temple of America.[49] Fort reportedly hoped that an apparent affiliation with a religious organization would discourage law enforcement.[50]
In 1984, the Chicago congregation bought a building fromBuddhistmonks inUkrainian Village, which continues to be used for Temple No. 9. Demographic and cultural changes have decreased the attraction of young people to the Moorish Science Temple. Only about 200 members attended a convention in 2007, rather than the thousands in the past. In the early 2000s, the temples in Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, D.C., had about 200 members each, and many were older.[51]
On July 15, 2019, Philadelphia mayorJim Kenney, as part of a diversity program, proclaimed July 15 to be "Morocco Day". The city mistakenly invited members of the local Moorish Science temple to the ceremony, believing them to be of actual Moroccan descent.[52]
An organization with headquarters inBaltimore,Maryland, claiming to be "theonly Moorish Science Temple teaching the full National side of the Moorish Movement",[53] is theMoorish Science Temple, with registered business names of theDivine and National Movement of North America, Inc., andMoorish American National Republic.[54][55]
During the 1990s, some former followers of the Moorish Science Temple of America and theWashitaw Nation formed an offshoot of the sovereign citizen movement which came to be known as Moorish sovereign citizens. Members believe theUnited States federal government to be illegitimate, which they attribute to a variety of factors includingReconstruction following the U.S. Civil War and the abandonment of thegold standard in the 1930s.[56] The number of Moorish sovereign citizens is uncertain but estimated to range between 3,000 and 6,000, organized mostly in small groups of several dozen.[57] Moorish sovereign citizens believeblack people constitute an elite class within American society,[57] despite the fact that much of their underlying ideology originated amongwhite supremacist groups.[58]
TheSouthern Poverty Law Center classifies Moorish sovereign citizens as anextremist anti-government group.[57][59] The group's tactics include filing false deeds and property claims,[60]false liens against government officials, frivolouslegal motions to overwhelm courts, and inventedlegalese used in court appearances and filings.[56] Various groups and individuals identifying as Moorish sovereign citizens have used the unorthodox "quantum grammar" created byDavid Wynn Miller.[61] An article syndicated by theAssociated Press states that the Temple has disavowed any affiliation with Moorish sovereign citizens, calling them "radical and subversive fringe groups" and also states that "Moorish leaders are looking into legal remedies." The article also quotes an academic who has been advising authorities on how to distinguish registered Temple members from impostors in the sovereign citizen movement.[62]
Hence it is in the Moorish Science Temple that we encounter fables about the "ancient Moabite kingdom now known as Morocco, which existed in northwest Amexem. which is now known as northwest Africa."
