What are the differences in theology between Islam and The Nation of Islam?

a reply to: Punisher75

I think you could only say that a minority cannot fully represent the majority, if the majority disagree.

Outside of that circle I think even the smallest minority can claim to represent the whole to those that don't belong at all

Regards

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Thank you for the education! I didn't know any of that, except they are racists and hate white people.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Ok, the original Black Panthers are a bit complicated. Note, I say the "original" Panthers because today's "New Black Panther Party" is a fraud that has been rejected by the surviving leadership of the originals.

The Black Panther Party was a black nationalist group whose leaders considered themselves the "sons of Malcolm". They were just one of the many black nationalist groups during the Civil Rights Movement, but they were probably the most famous. The "Deacons for Defense and Justice" were another such group. Anyway, the main point of the BP was to strengthen black neighborhoods. Like the Nation of Islam, they patrolled our neighborhoods, helped with community issues, and had no tolerance for drug dealers & pimps. They were also zealous 2nd Amendment gun rights advocates, because people of color weren't given full access to gun rights.

They formed schools and shelters in poor, segregated black communities, as well as pushed incredibly hard for our communities to get educated. But they were most notorious (and beloved) because they watched and confronted the police who were harassing our neighborhoods. If you think the stats are bad now, today's situation is literally child's play compared to how it was then. Anyway, the Panthers would literally confront the police when they were stopping black people in black communities, though they did everything according to the law. Though they are heavily vilified now, they were popular with mainstream Hollywood at the time.

Unfortunately, J Edgar Hoover would label them "Public Enemy #1" and crushed them during the COINTELPRO programs. One of their leaders in Chicago was assassinated by police (Fred Hampton), and many of their members were arrested & falsely arrested, like Geronimo Pratt (a lot of times, the rapper 2Pac would give shout outs in songs to Panther members who were locked in). The FBI even went so far as to instigate (and finance) the bloody rivalry between the Panthers and "US", a different black nationalist group that's most famous for creating Kwanzaa. Note: The Black Panthers were also dedicated communists & promoted many elements of communism, which is another reason they were labeled Public Enemy #1. And Reagan & the California legislature actually passed gun control measures in attempts to disarm them when he was Governor of California (so they did a legal armed march on the state capitol building).

The original Black Panthers' legacy is a mixed bag, depending on who you ask. Many African Americans look at them with pride, the same way many conservatives see the confederacy. And many of today's largest African American gangs originated as "successors" or "the children" of the Black Panthers. In fact, many of the largest gangs came about because integration was failing and our communities were still being ravaged. So they were self-defense groups. Then the introduction of drugs & the "War on Drugs" drastically changed that (which is why Gary Webb's research on Reagan's CIA's coc aine trade into inner cities is so damning; it literally killed off the black nationalist movement).

Hope this helps. I haven't studied them in a while, so I may be missing some things. At least one of my uncles was a member of the original Panthers, which is ironic because he's an insurance salesman now lol.

Edit to add: Oh, and Brother Malcolm is one of my heroes. Though I prefer him after he left the NOI, went on Hajj, saw that Islam had nothing to do with skin color or ethnicity, changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, met with African leaders who were helping African nations gain independence from its "Scramble for Africa" occupiers, and tried to link the American Civil Rights Movement to those global struggles. (and yep, that's a horrible run-on sentence)

originally posted by: angeldoll
a reply to: enlightenedservant

Thank you for the education! I didn't know any of that, except they are racists and hate white people.

No problem. But for the record, not all of their members are racist. And their members still help out in many black communities, which is more than I can say for many "progressive" groups.

I've actually tried to convince myself that the only reason Farrakhan was never assassinated is because he started saying some of the craziest stuff imaginable (as in, I think he's become a disinformation agent like Alex Jones). That and he was rumored to have taken a huge payoff not to speak on the anti-black racism in Saudi Arabia at the time (and he was complicit in Malcolm X's assassination). Starting at the 1 minute mark: