Warith Deen Mohammed
Warith Deen Mohammed (born Wallace D. Muhammad; October 30, 1933 – September 9, 2008), also known as W. Deen Mohammed, Imam W. Deen Muhammad and Imam Warith Deen, was an African-American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher, Muslim revivalist, and Islamic thinker.
Warith Deen Mohammed | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Nation of Islam | |
| In office February 26, 1975 – 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Elijah Muhammad |
| Leader of the American Society of Muslims | |
| In office 1976 – August 31, 2003 | |
| Director of The Mosque Cares | |
| In office 2003 – September 9, 2008 | |
| Succeeded by | Wallace D. Mohammed II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wallace D. Mohammed October 30, 1933 Hamtramck, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | September 9, 2008 (aged 74) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Glenwood Cemetery, Thornton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 8 |
| Parents | |
| Relatives |
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| Alma mater | Muhammad University of Islam |
| Occupation | Imam, religious reformer, Muslim scholar, businessman |
He was a son of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam from 1933 to 1975. In 1975, upon Elijah Muhammad's death, he became the Nation of Islam's national leader (Supreme Minister).
In 1976, he disbanded the original Nation of Islam (NOI) and transformed it into an ostensibly orthodox and mainstream Sunni Islamic movement. He rejected the previous deification of Wallace Fard Muhammad, accepted whites as fellow-worshippers, forged closer ties with mainstream Muslim communities, and introduced the Five Pillars of Islam into his group's theology. This organization was called the Bilalians (1975), World Community of Al-Islam in the West (1976–77), American Muslim Mission (1978–85), and finally the American Society of Muslims.
Splinter groups which resisted these changes were formed after Elijah Muhammad's death, particularly under Louis Farrakhan, who would revive the name Nation of Islam (from Final Call) for his organization in 1978. Farrakhan's NOI and the previous Final Call claim that they are direct continuations of the pre-1975 NOI and the pre-1975 Final Call.