A well-known Negro author has written: "It is an interesting historical phenomenon that when a people reach the precipice of despair, there is so often waiting in the bushes a savior—a messiah who promises to snatch them back from the edge of the abyss and turn their grief into greatness."
To some dissatisfied Negroes, Elijah Muhammad, the self-proclaimed "Messenger of Allah," appears to be this messiah. Describing in a speech in Los Angeles last summer the calamities which have befallen people in the United States, Elijah asked, "Who can be saved?" His answer was "the Muslim believers who faithfully followed and obeyed His Messenger.… The wisest and surest way to success is to unite behind me. I assure you that, with the help of Allah, you will accomplish your goals: money, good homes, and friendships in all walks of life."
Negroes living in slum conditions, hopeless and frustrated, feel Elijah may be an answer to their many problems. These are the Negroes, the less-educated and least-privileged, to whom Elijah directs his appeals. For these Negroes, the Muslim movement provides a means by which they can both release and control their feelings toward what they regard as a hostile white society. The ritual, the fierce verbal attacks upon whites, and the display of authority give a sense of power and adventure. From within NOI closed meetings, the Black Muslims hurl their imprecations, insults, and vague threats at the
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