From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Elijah Muhammad (born: Elijah Poole; also: Elijah Karriem) was the founder and leader of the Nation of Islam.
He claimed to have received the word of Allah, in 1931, from Wallace Fard Muhammad. This teaching became the basis of the Nation's politically radical theology.
Muhammad aroused controversy when it was alleged that he had had affairs with several young women in the Nation, a charge that eventually led to his split with his protegé Malcolm X.
Muhammad was succeeded following his death by Louis Farrakhan as head of the Nation.
See also: Malcolm X, Nation of Islam
