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The Nation of Islam (NOI) has a visual culture that encompasses newspaper cartoons, fashion and significant public figures, aesthetics, mythological imagery, blending religious symbolism with political messaging.[1] Rooted in Islamic religious practices and a distinctly American context, NOI publications and sequential visual interpretations utilized various mediums, from print media like Muhammad Speaks to fashion and visual mythologies in order to further the Nation's goals.[2] Visual representations of the nation conveyed religious teachings in addition symbolizing resistance to systemic racism and white supremacy. In order to covey this through media, the NOI often using stark binary oppositions between Islam and Christianity, while exhibiting Black empowerment and white oppression.[1] The ideological goals of the Nation of Islam were both manifested through and constructed by these aesthetic forms culminating in a distinctive and powerful visual language. [1] [3]

Elijah Muhammed in New York

Muhammad Speaks newspaper

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Muhammad Speaks was likely the Nation of Islam's largest platform for disseminating imagery and visual materials. Originally called Mr. Muhammad Speaks, it was the Black Muslim newspaper published by the Nation of Islam from 1960 to 1975. Founded under the leadership of Malcolm X, the publication was at one point the largest Black newspaper in the US, covering both secular issues and the teachings of Elijah Muhammad.[4] Almost every issue of the 700 released by the publication included political cartoons that related to both the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and Islam as well as social justice issues, both foreign and domestic.[4] Many of these cartoons were drawn by Eugene Majied, one of the most prominent illustrators of the publication, who worked closely with Elijah Muhammad.[5]

Visual techniques

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The newspaper frequently included images of Elijah Muhammad, both as cartoons and photographs, that depicted him as the leader of not just the Nation of Islam but of Black brotherhood and salvation.[1] According to Christiane Gruber, Muhammad Speaks frequently used tactics of "Binary opposition" to "bifurcate hero versus villain, deliverance versus damnation," positioning the NOI as a savior in contrast to Christianity or other groups who opposed self determination for Black Americans.[1] These binary oppositions were created by literally placing positive images of the NOI directly next to negative images of their opponents.[6] The technique of opposition worked dually to recall the historical declaration of Islam and to encourage joining the religion through the removal of a third option.[1] The emphasis on Islam was very important, as the use of visual allegories to Islam worked to both critique the racism of the United States and to extend Islam art to also include the region.[1]

The NOI flag

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Nation of Islam Flag

The first issue of the newspaper featured an image of the flag of the Nation of Islam, inspired by the Turkish flag, and with the words "justice," "freedom," "equality," and "Islam," in its four corners.[1][7] Through the inclusion of Islam in this organization, next to fundamental human aspirations, this imagery cements a visualization of the religion as a core human goal.[1]

Visual re-interpretations of Christianity

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Visual aesthetics of the Nation of Islam, particularly in Muhammad Speaks, relied on binary opposition in their visual language. NOI graphic artists visually articulated utopian futures and religious dichotomies in which radiant mosques were able to illuminate the future, while the body of a crucified Jesus conveys death and destruction.[8] Muhammad Speaks deployed what Christiane Gruber describes as a three-fold iconographic strategy. This was in order to depict Islam as a unifying creed for self-empowerment. Secondly, to promote Islam as superior to Christianity, and "third, to argue that Islam offers the only means for the Black Man, as imagined in the NOI's conception, to ultimately unshackle himself from the chains of white supremacy and Christian enslavement."[8]

"Whom Shall You Serve" is a diptych featured in Muhammad Speaks vol. 3, no. 26, 11 September 1964, that portrays a distinct visual comparison between Islam and Christianity. On the left, a church is depicted with "Satan?" printed in bold letters. Above the church reads "white man's slavery." On the right diptych, the question on the last panel is answered by "... or God?" Conveying techniques of binary opposition in the difference between a mosque and a church. [1]

The change in fashion from left to right acts as a stand-in for deliverance from white supremacy and in opposition to Christian oppression.[8] Christiane Gruber further notes that the "Whom Shall You Serve?" diptych is one of at least six recurring two-panel comparisons in Muhammad Speaks between 1962 and 1964, systematically reinforcing visual dichotomies of deliverance through Islam versus oppression under Christianity. "Whom Shall You Serve," also visualizes fashion (further explored in later section) as a form of subverting the hegemonic Christian culture in the United States. [1]

Representations of gender through religious fashion

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Nation Of Islam Women applaud Elijah Muhammad while he delivers his annual Savior's Day Message in Chicago, March 1974.

Fashion played a significant role in the NOI  because it served as both a  for religious identity and a form of resistance to dominant cultural norms. The NOI emphasized modesty, dignity, and discipline through dress, with particular attention placed on the bodies and appearances of its members. For women, this often translated into carefully styled, modest clothing that reflected inner purity and moral conduct. Women wore garments ranging from headscarves that fully concealed their hair to fashionable wraps that allowed for the display of carefully styled bangs, as in the case of Sister Betty, who "refused to look anything but beautiful."[9] Despite public modesty being encouraged, head coverings were not universally worn at work, and photographs, from Sister Belinda Boyd at the bakery to university staff, depict a range of practices, from uncovered heads to elaborately tied scarves.[2] First Lady Clara Muhammad, aesthetic choices suggest a desire for modesty and a complex visual narrative of visibility and concealment.[10]

The beauty standards for women in the NOI were strict; health and hygiene integral to this aesthetic, with the NOI condemning obesity as a disfiguring legacy of colonialism. Fatness, described as "wrapping undesirable racial bodies," was seen as a visible indicator of moral and spiritual failing, in contrast to the "perfect forms" idealized by NOI reformers.[11] Emphasis on bodily discipline being extended to children can be seen through children sent home from NOI schools, like the University of Islam #4 in Washington D.C., for wearing wrinkled clothes or having unclean fingernails. Uniforms were strictly enforced, having girls wear green pantaloons, matching tunics, and white headscarves. These uniforms were imposed by sister captains for their execution of cleanliness and presentation. [9]

Fashion was not only a form of religious expression but also a creative outlet. Many Nation girls were introduced to sewing and design early, learning advanced dressmaking techniques in NOI schools, which encouraged the development of a unique Muslim fashion sensibility.[12] These expressions of style and cleanliness were underscored by the principle that "Allah is beautiful, and He loves beauty," extending grooming and sartorial expectations to men as well.[13] Male members, of the NOI, were known for wearing sharp suits. NOI suits were accompanied by a bow tie, famously worn by Elijah Muhammad, that allowed for an image of respectable masculinity. This presentation resists racist stereotypes of Black criminality and poverty.[13] These suits, along with lapel pins bearing Islamic symbols, became both spiritual and social statements, visibly marking the transformation from "the living dead" to faithful Muslims.[13]

Nation of Islam members in San Francisco at the Powell & Market cablecar turnaround.

Alongside suits, beards, and traditional garments like the boubou—long robes of West African origin—became part of a broader visual language of Black Muslim identity. For men, clean grooming, tailored clothing, and deliberate style choices served as a form of "Muslim cool," reflecting religio-racial pride and asserting a dignified presence in public life.[13] These aesthetic forms not only differentiated NOI members from society but also cultivated an internal culture of beauty, health, and discipline as markers of spiritual and political commitment. [13] [12]

Elijah Muhammad's visual mythology

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Elijah Muhammad was responsible for creating "sacred narratives" in the Nation of Islam.[3] This mythology was "countercultural" and relied on post-WWII influences.[3] The visual language included The Mother Plane, later to become Mothership, which would rain fire on Earth at the end of the world, destroying White Civilization, and making it possible for Black people to reign once more.[3]

One of the mythological figures featured in these narratives is Yakub. He is characterized as an evil, mad, and big-headed scientist who launched a series of horrifying genetic experiments resulting in the creation of the white man.[3] Yakub's story connects to current events of the twentieth century in that it reflected the truth that the medical establishment and the U.S. government had abused and stood silent as Black people were victimized by the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the state-run program of forced sterilization of poor mothers, and complicity with vigilante and police torture and murder of Black people.[3] The myth of Yakub adopted the terms by which Black people had been rendered inhuman by oppressors and offered a mirror in which they brought life to a reverse ontology, or escape to an alternate reality.[3] A visual depiction of Yakub is featured in The Holy Tablets.

While Elijah Muhammad's mythology was not an entirely visual form, his thoughts have sparked physical interpretations in pop culture. The mythology of the Mothership has continued outside of the NOI in the form of funk musician George Clinton's P-Funk Mothership.[3]

Aesthetics of black embodiment

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The Nation of Islam created particular aesthetics of Black bodies and embodiment in order to reform or dis-identify Black bodies from the "white normative gaze," created for white pleasure in America.[14] These aesthetics were expressed and produced through the Nation's politics and cosmographies in order to subvert the ways that Black people have been exploited by whiteness, particularly white Christianity.[5] Not all of these aesthetics were produced through the creation of visual imagery, as ritual and doctrinal claims also worked towards producing claims about the positionality of Black bodies.[15] Aesthetics of embodiment relate to the Nation's cosmography, depictions of gender and class, and a system of being "out-of-place," or "in-place," as established by Stephen C. Finley.[15]

The NOI's countercultural cosmography created an aesthetic depiction of Black bodies as transcendent. The myth of Yakub, in particular, allowed members of the Nation of Islam an outlet through which to reimagine their Blackness.[16] The story of Yakub reverses traditional white supremacist narratives by arguing Black people are the original chosen people of God, reappropriating violence perpetrated by white supremacists to assert the potential transcendence of Black bodies from a white supremacist system.[17] The NOI's cosmography also worked to remove Black bodies from white power structures by appealing to ideas of life beyond earth: Elijah Muhammad claimed that God told him there were Black people on Mars.[18] By indicating a position of Blackness literally beyond the physical barriers imposed by the world, controlled by white people, Elijah Muhammad suggested a positionality and aesthetic for Blackness beyond that created by white people.[19]

Aesthetics of Black embodiment also manifested in relation to gender and class structures. In these cases, many of the NOI’s strict rules and expectations for women in relation to their bodies and clothing unintentionally reproduced oppressive systems, internalizing ideas about gender marginalization.[11][20] Furthermore, the Nation of Islam also replicated systems of class marginalization through their organizational systems that only allowed certain people to hold positions of power, shifting the target of classism to “poor black people and African American Christians.”[21]

Stephen C. Finley has argued that the Nation of Islam’s aesthetic creations of Black embodiment exist within a system of being “in-place” or “out-of-place.”[15] In-place bodies, deplored by the NOI due to their existence within white supremacist systems, had racialized identities adhering to white constructions of racial inferiority.[15] According to Finley, The NOI sought to create out-of-place bodies instead, that would subert racist norms.[22] These categories, furthermore, were not necessarily created through visual imagery, but instead through rhetorical strategies used by members of the Nation for religious and secular purposes. For example, Elijah Muhammad’s claims that the best form of beauty was “spiritual beauty,” accessible through spiritual practices suggest a symbolic and physical aesthetic of beauty to be gained by those that practiced his mode of spirituality, which prioritized Black bodies that subverted white supremacist norms.[22]

Economic emancipation and "Do For Self"

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A foundational tenet in the ideological groundwork of the Nation of Islam is an emphasis on economic separatism. This was a concept that the Nation's leaders sought to develop through the establishment of Black-owned businesses and industries like restaurants, farms, shops, and schools.[23][24] This tenet included the Nation's "Your Supermarket" brand, which sought to source grocery items directly from NOI farms. The visual branding and advertisement of goods and services sold at Your Supermarket locations functioned as a means of cultivating and sustaining Black pride and a desire to uplift Black-owned businesses by patrons, further cementing the importance of economic autonomy within the Nation.[25] Black economic self-sufficiency served as a "key to independence from the white man", a common rhetoric promoted by the NOI in publications like Muhammad Speaks to encourage Black Americans to envision a separate national identity outside of institutions created by and for white people.[26][27]

This phenomenon was exemplified by the Nation's "Do for Self" slogan, which sought to promote the socioeconomic advancement of NOI members through adherence to "self-discipline, economic self-sufficiency, and maintaining one's health through proper diet ...".[1] Visual portrayals of "Do for Self" by political cartoonist Eugene Majied in Muhammad Speaks utilized the slogan as a vehicle for achieving an emancipated future for Black Americans. The employment of the "Do for Self" motif in NOI publications functioned as a tool through which Black communities could visualize steps toward liberation. A political cartoon by Majied titled, The Muslim Way to Success represents the "Do for Self" process as an ascension, depicting an individual climbing a ladder (with each rung labelled "Do for Self," respectively) towards a brighter, more empowered future.[1] Visualizations of this Black utopia were guided by a strictly Islamic path (as exemplified by Majied's illustrations in Muhammad Speaks). This served as a model through which Black readers and NOI members could reevaluate their positionality within the racist sociopolitical structures that restricted their lives.[28]

"Let's Build Our Own House"

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The visual motif and slogan, 'Let's Build Our Own House'  (which appeared in Muhammad Speaks in September 1964), similarly communicates the desires of the Nation to uphold a wholly separate economic entity from oppressive pre-established systems.[29] 'Let's Build our Own House' in particular references Elijah Muhammad's 'Three Year Economic Program'- an institution created by the Nation that sought to uplift Black and NOI ownership of food distribution chains and supermarkets nationwide.[25] This included corporations like 'Shabazz Foods' and 'Shabazz Textile Mills.' These companies are pictured in the 'Let's Build Our Own House'  illustration in Muhammad Speaks. The inclusion of NOI-owned supply chains and businesses in the visual elements of the Nation's publications further highlights the importance of creating a separatist economic model in the NOI canon. These aesthetic elements helped NOI members visualize ways that they could achieve an independent future, which was restricted due to systemic racism in the United States.[29]

Media depictions

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During the mid-20th century, the NOI was frequently portrayed by national print media and government departments as a militant, extremist, and subversive organization. This characterization was fueled, in part, by semi-factual information regularly leaked to the media by law enforcement agencies such as the FBI during the early 1960s.[30]

Many recurring themes in both governmental and media portrayals of the NOI include depictions of the group as having been influenced by foreign entities, while primarily recruiting from prisons and impoverished Black communities, and as being more political than religious in nature.[31] These narratives framed NOI members as uncritical followers of charismatic, authoritarian leaders, and accentuated the group's radical political stance over its spiritual identity—despite a lack of concrete evidence to support many of these claims.

By comparison, African American newspapers began offering the NOI a platform to present its own narrative by the mid-1950s. Initially echoing the skepticism of mainstream media, these publications, such as the Pittsburgh Courier, Los Angeles Herald, and New York Amsterdam News eventually began featuring editorial columns by distinguished NOI figures like Elijah Muhammad and Malcom X.[31] These articles helped to reshape public perceptions within Black communities by offering firsthand accounts of NOI beliefs and goals.

The NOI took active steps to counter pre-existing negative portrayals through extensive publications of their own. In 1957, the organization established its publications fund and reciprocal department. This led to the founding of Muhammad Speaks, a newspaper that is dedicated to and positive image of the group that seeks to redirect negative press, with illustrations of the group's ideology.[32]

Elijah Muhammad addresses followers, including Muhammad Ali / World Telegram & Sun photo by Stanley Wolfson, 1964.

Significant public figures

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The Nation of Islam was able to extend into the realm of Pop-Culture, because of significant figures like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, had been studying the teachings of the NOI since his teenage years in Louisville, Kentucky, and officially joined the movement in the early 1960s. Ali's affiliation became more public following appearances by Malcolm X, at his training camp in Miami. This interaction furthered widespread media speculation, including notability within Muhammad Speaks Newspaper.[33] Muhammad Speaks played a pivotal role in introducing Ali to the Nation of Islam. Ali's involvement with the Nation impacted the sports world as well as broader American pop-culture, allowing Ali to become a leading voice for Black empowerment. Alignment with the NOI, allowed Ali to challenge the prevailing narratives of American exceptionalism and use his platform to amplify political and religious dissent. [5]

Malcolm X meeting with then Crown Prince Faisal Al-Saud in Jeddah, April 1964.

Malcolm X was a media-savvy leader for his time. He intentionally engaged with both visual and print media to shape public perception of himself and the NOI. By the time of his assassination in 1965, Malcolm X was among the most photographed and televised African American leaders. His bold, sometimes incendiary rhetoric made him a draw for conventional media coverage, which often portrayed him in a sensationalist light.[34] Nevertheless, he utilized Muhammad Speaks and segments of the Black press to convey more nuanced and affirmative representations of the NOI.

A skilled visual strategist, Malcolm X usually carried a camera to document the daily life of NOI communities, offering visible counter-narratives to detrimental media portrayals. X would often allow photojournalists to capture images of Black-owned businesses, family, and education. This move was aimed to counteract headlines that portrayed the NOI negatively.[34]Malcom X was able to curate his public image; from his attire to his rhetoric, he understood that self-presentation was a critical in resisting mainstream mis-characterization and systemic racism.[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gruber, Christiane. "Do-For-Self: The Visual Culture of the Nation of Islam". Jadaliyya - جدلية. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
  2. ^ Taylor, Ula Yvette. 2017. The Promise of Patriarchy: Women and the Nation of Islam. N.p.: University of North Carolina Press.  Curtis IV,  Edward E. ON THE MARGINS OF ISLAMIC DOCTRINE, AT THE HEART OF ISLAMIC ETHICS. Columbia University Press. 2023, 15.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Curtis IV, Edward E., ed. (2023). "On the Margins of Islamic Doctrine, at the Heart of Islamic Ethics". Across the Worlds of Islam. Columbia University Press. p. 15. doi:10.7312/curt21064-006. ISBN 9780231558525.
  4. ^ a b Halley, Catherine (2021-05-13). "Muhammad Speaks for Freedom, Justice, and Equality". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
  5. ^ a b c Tisserand, Michael (2018-04-24). "The Cartoonist and the Champ". The Comics Journal. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
  6. ^ https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/45158 For images, see figures 3 and 4.
  7. ^ https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/45158 For images of the flag complete with corner labels, see figure 1.
  8. ^ a b c Gruber, Christiane (2023). "Do-for-Self: The Visual Culture of the Nation of Islam". Jadaliyya. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  9. ^ a b Taylor, Ula Y. (2017). The promise of patriarchy: women and the Nation of Islam. The John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-4696-3392-3.
  10. ^ Taylor, Ula Y. (2017). The promise of patriarchy: women and the Nation of Islam. The John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-4696-3392-3.
  11. ^ a b Taylor, Ula Y. (2017). The promise of patriarchy: women and the Nation of Islam. The John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-1-4696-3392-3.
  12. ^ a b Taylor, Ula Yvette (2017). The promise of patriarchy: women and the Nation of Islam. The John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture. Chapel Hill (N.C.): The University of North Carolina Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-4696-3392-3.
  13. ^ a b c d e Wheeler, Kayla Renée. 2020. "Bowties, Beards, and Boubous: Black Muslim Men's Fashion in the United States —The Revealer." The Revealer. https://therevealer.org/bowties-beards-and-boubous-black-muslim-mens-fashion-in-the-united-states/.
  14. ^ Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-21). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 2. doi:10.1215/9781478023418. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  15. ^ a b c d Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-21). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 4. doi:10.1215/9781478023418. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  16. ^ Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-21). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 15. doi:10.1215/9781478023418. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  17. ^ Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-21). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 21. doi:10.1215/9781478023418. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  18. ^ Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-21). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 23. doi:10.1215/9781478023418. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  19. ^ Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-21). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 24. doi:10.1215/9781478023418. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  20. ^ Finley, Stephen C. (2022). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Religious Cultures of African and African Diaspora People 47. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  21. ^ Finley, Stephen C. (2022). In and out of this world: material and extraterrestrial bodies in the nation of Islam. Religious cultures of African and African diaspora people. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  22. ^ a b Finley, Stephen C. (2022-10-21). In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam. Duke University Press. p. 5. doi:10.1215/9781478023418. ISBN 978-1-4780-2341-8.
  23. ^ "Black Nationalism". The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.
  24. ^ Banks, William (1997). The Black Muslims. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 50.
  25. ^ a b ""Do for Self": The Nation of Islam's Economic Program". National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  26. ^ Banks (1997). The Black Muslims. p. 41.
  27. ^ Williams, Darien Alexander (2023). "Let's Build Our Own House: Political Art and the Making of Black and Muslim Worlds". Southern Cultures. 2: 66.
  28. ^ Williams, Darien Alexander (2023). "Let's Build Our Own House: Political Art and the Making of Black and Muslim Worlds". Southern Cultures. 2: 50.
  29. ^ a b Williams, Darien Alexander. "Let's Build Our Own House: Political Art and the Making of Black and Muslim Worlds". Southern Cultures. 2: 63.
  30. ^ Crawford, Malachi D. Black Muslims and the Law : Civil Liberties from Elijah Muhammad to Muhammad Ali. Blue Ridge Summit: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2015. Accessed May 5, 2025. ProQuest Ebook Central, 98.
  31. ^ a b Crawford, Malachi D. (2015). Black Muslims and the law: civil liberties from Elijah Muhammad to Muhammad Ali. Critical Africana studies. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7391-8489-9.
  32. ^ Crawford, Malachi D. (2015). Black Muslims and the law: civil liberties from Elijah Muhammad to Muhammad Ali. Critical Africana studies. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-7391-8489-9.
  33. ^ Crawford, Maulachi D. (2015). Black Muslims and the law: civil liberties from Elijah Muhammad to Muhammad Ali. Critical Africana studies. Lanham: Lexington Books. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7391-8488-2.
  34. ^ a b Berger, Maurice. "Malcolm X as Visual Strategist." The New York Times, September 19, 2012. https://archive.nytimes.com/lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/malcolm-x-as-visual-strategist/.
  35. ^ X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. 1992. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Edited by Alex Haley. N.p.: Random House Publishing Group.
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