Similarities Between the Black Muslims and the Klu Klux Klan

The Klu Klux Klan is an American, Anglo-Saxon racist organization, set on making the "white race" superior to all other races, with superiority over the "black race" in particular. The Nation of Islam, an African-American group, though claiming they want nothing more than equal rights, has a goal of "black" supremacy throughout America. Though these two groups might be at opposite spectrums, they have more in common than they would like to admit.

Realizing how unappreciated they were in the society they lived in, which was primarily Caucasian and Christian and was considered by the Liston Pope of Yale Divinity School "...the most segregated major institution in American society" (Mathisen, 702), Islamicism became the religion of choice for extremist African Americans. Though the beliefs entailed in these two religions had their differences, they are both forms of deism, both contain a messiah, and they both arise from the axial age.

The Black Muslim movement in America was created out of what Eric Lincoln calls the "Armageddon complex," which is a "removal of their source of discomfort rather than to going anywhere themselves" (Mathisen, 700). This called for a removal of the Anglo-Saxon, Christian people of America, since their home was originally in Europe. Removing African Americans from the rest of society was what white Christian America had been doing to African Americans on a daily basis.

Among the many extremist black groups of the time, the Black Muslims were the most organized. They had a newspaper called "Mr. Muhammad Speaks." One particular issue contained a list of ten propositions. The ninth and tenth go as follows: "We want equal education-but separate schools...", and, "We believe that intermarriage or race mixing should be prohibited" (700, 701).

"We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." This is known as the "14 words," a creed most Klu Klux Klan groups abide by (adl.org). It includes, but is not limited to, segregation and intermarriage between races. And although the KKK didn't specifically demand a belief in Christianity, it was a given amongst them that most were Anglo-saxon protestants, which would require devotion to another creed, the bible. The point of this is both groups wanted to keep the "race" pure, both culturally and biologically. Both groups are also known to enforce these beliefs aggressively, even today.

In April of 2009, Michael Conklin and four other young Caucasian men were arrested for beating a Hispanic male. He was wearing a shirt with nazi and KKK symbols. Conklin was reportedly yelling out "White power" during the attack (adl.org). Jamil Al-Amin, on the other hand, once chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, an active sect of the Black Muslims, is now in prison for shooting and killing a white police officer. He has openly stated, "Violence is as Ameican as cherry pie," and, "If America don't come around, we're gonna burn it down" (Pipes).

Both the KKK and the Black Muslims use religion to drive their messages. They both are for segregation and opposed to intermarriage. Both are organized and have a creed to which they abide to, and both have no problem using violence to implemement their goals. The KKK and Black Muslims have deep rooted belief systems and are extremley passionate towards their causes. However their motivation comes from two different experiences; defense on behalf of the Black Muslims, and racial superiority with regard to the KKK. Whatever their motivations may be, their hatred for one another keeps them from acknowledging any form of common ground with each other. But as Martin Luther King wrote, "To strike back in the same [hateful] way as his opponent would do nothing but increase the existence of hate in the universe... All humanity is involved in a single process, and all men are brothers. If you harm me, you harm yourself" (Mathisen, 705).




adl.org. Extremism in America, 2009. Web. 10 October 2009.

immigration.lohudblogs.com. More on Rockland KKK Hate Crime, 2009. Web. 11 September 2009.

Mathisen, Robert R. Critical Issues in American Religious History. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2006.

Pipes, Daniel. [Belway Snipers]: Converts to Violence? New York Post 25 October 2002.