Customer Reviews

An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad

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4 star:		(3)
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I am a naturilzed American citizen, originally from Ghana, West Africa. I have lived in this country for 18 years and currently have a medical practice 25 miles from Sandersville, Georgia, Elijah Muhammad's birthplace. Clegg deserves a 5-star for masterfully telling the story of a man who saw the brutality of racism and then went on to arouse the black consciousness in a way never before seen. After reading the account however, two things bother me. First; the premise upon which the Nation of Islam was founded and the continuing propagation of hate. To be sure, Clegg makes it clear that Elijah himself did not seem to have a coherent conviction on the concept of the "white devil". In the end, despite his strong belief in the the "Yacub experiment" he makes overtures, many of them, financially motivated and statements which Fard Muhammad himself would have obviously disagreed with. Yet, despite these inconsistencies and serious flaws in his character, the masses rally behind him. This is analogous to Hitler who was given such reverance by Germans despite his atrocities to other humans. Perhaps, in the eyes of those who steadfastly followed him and those who subscribe to his teachings today the end justified the means. That Elijah Muhammad raised Black consciousness is not in question. Bothersome though is the rampant apathy among the black youth of today. I have confirmed Clegg's experience in his epilogue (when his students question who this person was) in this area, the birthplace of Elijah Muhammad. I have quizzed 35 blacks, from ages 18 to 67, on the life of Elijah Muhammad. 16 live in Sandersville, his actual birthplace. Of the 35, only 11 had even heard his name before. (9 of the 11 live in Sandersville). All 11 were above 40 years. None below forty knew of this man. What does this mean? I do not know for sure but it gives me an impression of the tenious nature of his legacy at least in this area of the country whose sordid history catapulted Elijah Muhammad to such great heights.

twas a work of art. clegg did a lot of research
i couldn't really tell if he had a pro
or con objective. this is how "un biased"
he came off. the book gives a lot of info
to someone who is thinking about making this sort
of decision(religion) in life. after you read
this book and do more research your mind will
be made up whether for or against.

kudos to clegg ,may god bless him!!!!!!!!!!!

Elijah Muhammad has hitherto been the most obscure of the trio, a quiet, even shadowy figure far less conspicuous to the outside world than either of his spokesmen. Clegg establishes, however, that contrary to the almost universal opinion of outsiders, Muhammad had far more importance and power within the movement than either of the younger men-or anyone else, for that matter. His biography, the best volume ever written on the Nation of Islam, relies on a broad and impressive array of original documents, such as the will bequeathing Muhammad's slave grandfather from a father to his daughter and the extensive FBI records pertaining to the Nation of Islam. Perhaps most fascinating and original is Clegg's argument that no matter how radical Muhammad's rhetoric seemed, he had by 1960 become the captive of his own avarice, and that this imposed an operational conservatism, even a timidity, quite at odds with his fire-breathing talk. Interestingly, Clegg attributes this change in part at least to Muhammad's 1959-60 trip to the Muslim world, where he was appalled by the poverty and filth; henceforth, he stopped portraying the "Holy Land of Islam" as a place infinitely superior to the United States that would save American blacks. This implied a decrease in revolutionary expectations and more stress on the message of economic self-improvement.

Middle East Quarterly, December 1998

Bravo to Brother Claude for providing the world with a very insightful and informative body of work on Elijah Muhammad. As a former registered member of the Nation of Islam, Brother Claude eliminated many gray areas that pre-1975 believers did not know or would not talk about, while post-1975 believers don't spend enough time in understanding what they are involved with, how they are seen by the outside world, and how all these things shape their development.
Several questions do arise however.
1.) Do we as hueman beings really have a conceptualization of how GOD works?

2.) If we look at the history of the arabian prophet MUHAMMAD(pbuh), can the way the prophet's 23 year propogation of islam show similar growing pains as the NOI?

3.) Why was the government of the United States, the arab muslim world and the european powers so focused on exposing and or eliminating Elijah Muhammad and the NOI? What do they fear?

4.) Why do so many readers always compare BLACK race first groups and their ideologies, with the worst white dictators and evil peoples known in the 20th century?

5.) Can we say the the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad were made in America due to the repeated murders, lynchings, tortures, burnings and rapings done by the BLACK man and woman's open enemy?

6.) Is Elijah Mhammad theologically correct in his assertions?

7.) Did not the prophets of all of the known and unknown religions incur the same kind of dismissal, corruptions, and humanness that this man and the NOI demonstrated?

8.) Why is it that for 44-years, Elijah Muhammad never backed down from believing that he was the Messenger from ALLAH, nor doubting what Fard Muhammad instructed him in?

9.) Who is behind the raising up of the student Malcolm X in the public, and not his teacher?

To contextualize an Original Man for today, read William Blum's work Rogue State.
Thanks again Brother Claude for the spirit in which you researched and wrote this book...it is much needed! ALLAHU-AKBAR!

I couldn't put this book down. This is easily the best work on the Nation of Islam to date. Clegg has done some impressive research and has a deep knowledge of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. He presents the material in a well-written, intelligent way, without the biases that one would assume that such a topic would provoke. This is first-rate scholarship. I hope the author considers doing a similar biography of Malcolm X or Louis Farrakhan.

Although I did not get out of this book what I was in search of when I bought it -- the smoking gun that would prove that Elijah Muhammad ordered Malcolm X's assassination, and the direct role that Louis Farrakan may have played in the assassination - the book was nevertheless a coherent and comprehensive account of the religious leader's life.

He came of age in a tumultuous and volatile era of race relations in America, and was handpicked by WD Fard (the founder of the movement who most likely was a Pakistani Sunni Muslim) to become the heir apparent of the Black Muslim movement. Although what motivated Elijah's religious philosophy was not stated explicitly, the reader can easily piece together by reading between the lines that it was the reality of the brutality of racism in Detroit and throughout the U.S. during the 20s, 30s, and even later; the utter ineffectualness of Christianity in dealing with the plight of black Americans in a society dominated by brutal racism; the appeal of the Marcus Garvey's "Back to Africa Movement;" and the lack of hope that the black condition would ever improve - that is, until blacks banded together for their own economic and spiritual survival.

Even though because of his size (5 feet 6 inches), his delicate looks and poor speaking abilities, Elijah Poole (Elijah Mohammad's real name) lacked the charisma one would expect of a religious leader of a fledgling religious sect, he was nevertheless a consummate manager who took control of the sect and advanced its theology, its economic position and its brand throughout his long tenure as its leader. And although little is said here about the content of the religious doctrine itself, it is clear that it was an offshoot of the orthodox Sunni Islamic faith remade to fit the racial and social conditions of the U.S.

Malcolm enters the narrative on page 116, when by then he had become a trusted and all but indispensable lieutenant and fund-raising workhorse for the sect, as well as the primary contributor for the weekly newspaper, "Muhammad Speaks." When Elijah Muhammad spoke, increasingly he did so through Malcolm's booming voice and words. The stage was thus set for a clash between their contrasting personas. As Malcolm, due to his size (6 feet 3 inches), his charisma, speaking abilities, and energy, quickly became the face of the religion. Elijah was forced to scramble and thus spent a great deal of his time in backroom politicing -- "backdooring" Malcolm, (and also Wallace Muhammad and Muhammad Ali, Malcolm's confederates) to other members. Charging them with various sundry and minor infractions of the rules of the religion's orthodoxy, so as to better contain what was generally perceived as Malcolm's threatening grandiose ambitions to take over the religion.

Apparently without even the need for explicit instructions to do harm to Malcolm - the increasing tension between them (the public admonishment and demotion of Malcolm and his confederates, Malcolm's charges of sexual improprieties against Elijah, and the schism that these created within the sect) -- was a sufficient "thumbs down" for those who resented Malcolm's meteoric rise and perceived usurpation of power and prestige from their revered leader, to compel the activists to move violently against Malcolm. The best as one can piece together from this narrative, is that it was this underlying tension and implicit threats to Elijah's power that set the dynamics into play and led almost inexorably, to the assassination.

Louis Farrakkan enters the narrative on page 249, where the author makes clear that he had been recruited by and was a protégé of Malcolm. When things reached the boiling point within the sect, Farrakkan turned against his mentor Malcolm, lambasting him in the media at the height of tensions. The book does not make clear whether or not Farrakkan in doing so, was acting on direct instructions from Elijah Muhammad, but given the nature of the hierarchy, it would be difficult to conclude anything else? The book quotes Farrakkan as admitting that his actions helped set the stage for the assassination and that he was not unhappy when it happened.

This book is well done, gets to the meat of everything one may have ever wondered about Elijah Muhammad or about the Black Muslim movement, and does it in a careful and scholarly way. Five stars.

Perhaps the most balanced, informative piece of literature on the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam: Elijah Muhammad. Mr. Clegg presents a totally non-biased exposé of Elijah, void of any judgmental stances so frequently found in writings of this nature. Although not always flattering, it is a MUST read for anyone seeking to understand the early years of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad's life and the organization's rise to prominence within African-American communities throughout the country. Many of the misnomers attributed to this organization and its founder are dispelled, as are a great deal of the ambiguities regarding the inner-workings of the N.O.I. Additionally, there is valuable information regarding the relationship between Elijah and Malcolm X that reaches far beyond Alex Haley's writing. I highly recommend it!

Elijah Muhammad was a man that was impacted by the society around him. This book very much illustrates that. Though he had 13 children out of wedlock(taken from the notes at the end of the book) he still did alot for black people. He gave black people a sense of pride and worth away from the European Christian sense. However his corruption from pride and the love of attention led to much of his corrution, and that of the Nation of Islam. For example in one part of the end notes it says that he used to oppose blacks driving in fancy expensive cars, but he did it himself. He was banking on the nation, and I guess if you tell yourself what your doing is right eventually no matter how wrong it is you will believe it. Overall I liked the book sieng as it wasn't a position tring to sway you to the faith. It clearly showed what he did for the black people in creating this Nation of Islam, and what he subtracted from blacks by mans own corruption.

but the company i ordered it from sent me a library book, I hope it was not taken..