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Muhammad Speaks was a Black Muslim newspaper published in the United States.[1] It was one of the most widely readnewspapers ever produced by anAfrican American organization.[2] It was the official newspaper of theNation of Islam from 1960 to 1975, founded by a group ofElijah Muhammad's ministers, includingMalcolm X.[3]
After Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975, it was renamed several times afterWarith Deen Mohammed moved the Nation of Islam into mainstream Sunni Islam, culminating inThe Muslim Journal.[3] A number of rival journals were also published, includingThe Final Call under Louis Farrakhan, claiming to continue the message of the original.[4]
Nation of Islam leaderElijah Muhammad began the publication in May 1960.[5][6] Its first issue bore the titleSome of this Earth to Call Our Own or Else. A weekly publication, it was circulated nationwide by the Nation of Islam (N.O.I.) and focused on global current events, along with significant news within African-American communities, particularly stories related to the Nation of Islam.
The paper was sold door-to-door and on street corners by Nation of Islam members (Fruit of Islam), at select newsstands in major cities and in the temples of the Nation of Islam. In hisThe Autobiography of Malcolm X, activist Malcolm X claimed to have founded the newspaper, but this has not been independently confirmed. According to the current Nation of Islam, Malcolm X helped createMr. Muhammad Speaks, a different newspaper distributed locally in New York City.[7]
Notably,Mr. Muhammad Speaks andMuhammad Speaks have nearly identical layout, content and journalistic approach, suggesting thatMr. Muhammad Speaks provided the foundation forMuhammad Speaks.[8]It is also believed thatJabir Herbert Muhammad had a hand in starting the paper.
In addition to FOI-based ventures,Elijah Muhammad had used the nation'sAfrican-American press to publicize the organization and his views. In the 1950s his regular column in thePittsburgh Courier, at the time the nation's largest black-owned newspaper, generated more letters to the editor than any other feature in the newspaper.[9]
Following the death of Elijah Muhammad, his son and successorWarith Deen Muhammad renamed the newspaperBilalian News in 1976. The title was a reference toBilal ibn Rabah, the first known black African follower of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. The renaming was part of Warith Deen's project to realign the Nation of Islam with mainstream Sunni Islam.[10]
The newspaper was renamed once more in 1981, becomingWorld Muslim News, and was finally given the nameThe Muslim Journal, which is still in circulation today.[3]
In 1979, MinisterLouis Farrakhan foundedThe Final Call, anewspaper published inChicago, that serves as the official communications organ of the currentNation of Islam, which had been re-founded in reaction to Warith Deen's reforms. The title derives from the original newspaper of The Nation of Islam, calledThe Final Call to Islam, published by Elijah Muhummad in the 1940s.
There are a number of publications that hold claims to continuing in the tradition of the original paper, such as "Muhammad Speaks Newspaper"[11] published out ofDetroit, Michigan, by Minister Levi Karim, and one of the same name published by Minister Wasim Muhammad inCamden, New Jersey. TheMuhammad Speaks in Detroit and Camden is published by followers of Elijah Muhammad who assert that they hold on to the traditional practices of Elijah Muhammad.
