The Nation of Islam's historic role as a bridge between American blacks and Islam ended in 1975 when W. Deen Mohammed followed his father, Elijah Muhammad, as leader of the Nation and immediately disavowed his father's folk religion, bringing his followers to normative Islam, the world religion. From then on, despite the theatrics of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation has been in a long downward trajectory.
Now comes evidence, thanks to Tony Ortega in the Village Voice and Eliza Gray in The New Republic, of a jaw-dropping turn by Farrakhan, 79, to Scientology; as Gray's subtitle puts it, "America's two weirdest sects join forces."
The connection goes back seven years, Gray explains:
the story of how Farrakhan came to embrace it concerns a Nation minister in Los Angeles named Tony Muhammad. In 2005, Muhammad was beaten by the LAPD at a prayer vigil he'd helped organize for a young man killed in a drive-by shooting. The incident plunged him into an agitated, depressed state. A concerned friend introduced him to Scientology, which he credits with saving his life. When Farrakhan later met with Muhammad, he was amazed by the transformation and, as Muhammad tells it in an audio clip posted on YouTube, exclaimed: "Whatever you're on—I want some of it."
Five years later, things moved into high gear:
The first large-scale introduction of Scientology to Nation members took place in August 2010, when hundreds of believers from around the country traveled to Rosemont, Illinois, near the Nation's headquarters, for a seminar in Dianetics, a foundational belief system of Scientology. There, they were guided through auditing sessions—a kind of hybrid between hypnosis and confession—in which a Scientologist purges painful experiences from his subconscious in the presence of an "auditor." At the end of the seminar, Farrakhan told the group he wanted everyone in attendance to become a certified auditor.
 L. Ron Hubbard, circa 1939: a new prophet for the Nation of Islam? |
In turn, the head of Scientology, David Miscavige, finds bringing blacks into his organization super cool, praising "a most influential culture. ... I'm speaking of those who truly set cultural trends, and across every avenue: fashion, music, you name it. So talk about a pervasive culture, talk about a permeating and penetrating culture, or to put it another way: Most white folks wouldn't have a clue of what it means to be cool if it weren't for black America." To smooth the way for NoI's members to rise through the notoriously expensive Scientology ranks, Miscavige even cut them some financial breaks.
Comments: (1) This fascination with Dianetics probably marks the terminal point for NoI. Normative Islam reigns supreme in America.
(2) The unexpected combination of Scientology and the Nation of Islam brings to mind the no less weird joining of the PKK, a Kurdish movement, with the ideas of the American anarchist Murray Bookchin. (October 25, 2012)
Dec. 11, 2018 update: Leah Remini, a Scientology critic, did a show on this topic. Here is the program blurb:
In recent years the head of the Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan, publicly embraced Dianetics and the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard and supported their use in NOI Mosques. This formed what many are describing as an unusual bond between The Nation of Islam and The Church of Scientology. In this "Aftermath" special–Leah and Mike have a candid conversation about this strange alliance as they sit down with two special guests–a former and current member of the Nation of Islam–who share their personal feelings about this collaboration. They reveal what they witnessed first-hand since the two controversial organizations came together and in an unexpected twist–Leah reveals the important part she played in introducing the Nation of Islam to the Church of Scientology.
