Elijah Muhammad Interview
Elijah Muhammad Interview
Interview w/ the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (aka Elijah Poole), early proponent of the Nation of Islam and founder of the so-called Black Muslim movement. Interview conducted by Chicago Sun Times columnist Irv Kupincet.
Elijah Muhammad Interview
Countdown, followed by ELIJAH MUHAMMAD and IRV KUPCINET sitting in cushy living room for interview. Mr. K asks if Mr. Muhammad believes that Christianity is anti-Negro. Mr. Muhammad says yes, that even today (1960s) religious racism occurs in the United States. Mr. Muhammad says the blacks shouldn t look to the Church or read the Bible b/c Christianity is not their native religion, that it is Islam. Mr. Muhammad says that white missionaries never promulgated Islam b/c Islam makes better people and teaches a better sense of equality among all men. Mr. Kupcinet then questions Mr. Muhammad about the quote attributed to him about all white men being devils. Mr. Muhammad says that God taught him that, then paraphrases a few New Testament passages before launching into the Nation of Islam's bizarre theory of evolution.
Elijah Muhammad Interview
Continuation of the Elijah Muhammad interview, conducted by Irv Kupcinet. Mr. K asks why Mr. Muhammad was been so vehemently attacking Martin Luther King Jr. and his endeavors. Mr. Muhammad says he wants to address the "white devil" issue first, which he rather incoherently does, somehow summing that all are devils, only to different degrees.
Elijah Muhammad Interview
Continuation of Elijah Muhammad interview, conducted by Irv Kupcinet. Mr. K asks why Mr. Muhammad was been so vehemently attacking Martin Luther King Jr. and his endeavors. Mr. Muhammad says that he has not attacked MLK viciously, he has attacked him truthfully, saying that MLK is (was) misguiding & misleading his followers by trying to get them into the brotherhood of white people; says that the differences between blacks & whites are too great, that blacks of MLK's leaning are falling into age-old traps of slave-master mentality. The Nation of Islam wants racial separation to stop racial violence. Mr. K asks if Dr. King was deserving of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, to which Mr. Muhammad says that he wasn't, that he hasn't done anything for the black race.
Elijah Muhammad Interview
Mr. K asks if blacks should boycott white businesses in black districts; Mr. Muhammad says blacks should patronize black establishments. Mr. K asks if he encourages the Black Muslims to vote; Mr. Muhammad says no. Bearing of arms? Mr. Muhammad says he was arrested in 1941 for being a conscientious objector, and that every one of his followers has their own freewill and can make their own decisions. Mr. K asks is there is a relationship between NOI & the Moslem faith. Mr. Muhammad says yes. Closing.