The Islamic transformation of the U.S.

• Author: Williams, Paul L.
• Position: Literary Scene

WEARING A black bolero jacket, yellow balloon pants, and a red fez, Noble Drew Ali (formerly Timothy Drew) popped up on a street corner in Newark, N.J., and announced that he was the long-awaited reincarnation of the founder of an ancient religious cult who had disappeared during the reign of the great Pharaoh Cheops. He proceeded to tell a small crowd of African-Americans that they were members of the lost race of Moabites, who had been driven from the Land of Canaan by Joshua and forced to settle in northwest and southwest Africa, where, in time, they became castigated as "negroes" and "blacks." He sold them new identity cards and copies of a pamphlet called "The Circle of Seven Koran," which purportedly was a clandestine version of the holy book of Islam. Business was brisk, and Ali managed to amass a small army of followers--all of whom assumed new identities and exotic dress.

The male members of the temple were required to wear an official red fez (available for three dollars), a girdle (priced at 30 cents), and a robe (at the cost of five dollars). Women were obliged to cover their hair at all public gatherings and to augment their headpieces with a blue and oval Moorish pin, featuring the number 7 in a circle. All members were encouraged to add "Bey" or "El" to their names in order to signify their Moorish descent on their membership cards (renewable yearly for one dollar).

The cards read as follows: "This is your nationality and identification card for the Moorish Science Temple of America, and Birthright for the Moorish Americans, etc. We honor all the Divine Prophets, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and Confucius. May the blessings of the God our Father Allah be upon you that carry this card. I do hereby declare that you are a Muslim under the Divine Laws of the Holy Koran of Mecca. Noble Drew Ali"

The reception of such membership cards, Ali maintained, represents relinquishment of U.S. citizenship. "Being born here doesn't make you a citizen," Ali told his disciples. This claim resulted in the refusal of many temple members to comply with the Selective Service Act of 1917.

The mandatory wearing of red fezzes, the lofty titles of "Noble" and "Sheikh," the secret handshake, and the symbol of the "All-Seeing-Eye" displayed the roots of Ali's movement in the Masonic Shrine. More Masonic influence was evident by the establishment of "initiation" and "adept" chambers within the temple and of several orders--the Fatimid Order, the Order of...