Moorish Science Temple of America
The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American national and religious organization founded by Noble Drew Ali in the early 20th century. He based it on the premise that African Americans are descendants of the Moabites and thus "Moorish" by nationality, and Islamic by faith. Ali put together elements of major traditions to develop a message of personal transformation through historical education, racial pride, and spiritual uplift. His doctrine was also intended to provide African Americans with a sense of identity in the world and promote civic involvement.
One primary tenet of the Moorish Science Temple is the belief that African Americans are descended from the "Moroccan Empire". According to Ali, this area included other countries around Northwest Africa. To join the movement, individuals must proclaim their "Moorish nationality". They were given "nationality cards". In religious texts, adherents refer to themselves racially as "Asiatics," as the Middle East is also Western Asia. Adherents of this movement are known as "Moorish-American Moslems" and are called "Moorish Scientists" in some circles.
The Moorish Science Temple of America was incorporated under the Illinois Religious Corporation Act 805 ILCS 110. Timothy Drew, known to its members as Prophet Noble Drew Ali, founded the Moorish Science Temple of America in 1913 in Newark, New Jersey, a booming industrial city. After some difficulties, Ali moved to Chicago, establishing a center there and temples in other major cities. The movement expanded rapidly during the late 1920s. The rapid expansion of the Moorish Science Temple arose in large part from the search for identity and context among black Americans during the Great Migration to northern cities, as they became an urbanized people.
Competing factions developed among the congregations and leaders, especially after the death of the charismatic Ali. Three independent organizations developed from this ferment. The founding of the Nation of Islam by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930 also created competition for members. In the 1930s, membership was estimated at 30,000, with one-third in Chicago. During the postwar years, the Moorish Science Temple of America continued to increase in membership, albeit at a slower rate.
Biography of Drew
Timothy Drew is believed to have been born on January 8, 1886, in North Carolina, United States. Sources differ as to his background and upbringing: one reports he was the son of two former slaves who was adopted by a tribe of Cherokee; another describes Drew as the son of a Moroccan Muslim father and a Cherokee mother. In 2014, an article in the online Journal of Race Ethnicity and Religion attempted to link Timothy Drew to one Thomas Drew, born January 8, 1886, using census records, a World War I draft card, and street directory records.Founding of the Moorish Science Temple
Drew Ali reported that he met with a high priest of Egyptian magic during his travels. In one version of Drew Ali's biography, the leader saw him as a reincarnation of the founder. In others, he says that the priest considered him a reincarnation of Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, and other religious prophets. According to the biography, the high priest trained Ali in mysticism and gave him a "lost section" of the Quran.This text became known as the Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America. It is also known as the Circle Seven Koran because of its cover, which features a red "7" surrounded by a blue circle. The first 19 chapters are from The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, published in 1908 by esoteric preacher and Ohioan Levi Dowling. In The Aquarian Gospel, Dowling described Jesus's supposed travels in India, Egypt, and Palestine during the years of his life not accounted for by the Christian New Testament.
Chapters 20 to 45 are adapted from the Rosicrucian work Unto Thee I Grant, featuring minor stylistic changes. They provide guidance on living, education, and the responsibilities of adherents.
Drew Ali wrote the last four chapters of the Circle Seven Koran himself. In these, he wrote:
Drew Ali and his followers used this material to claim, "Jesus and his followers were Asiatic."
Ali crafted Moorish Science from a variety of sources, a "network of alternative spiritualities that focused on the power of the individual to bring about personal transformation through mystical knowledge of the divine within". In the inter-war years in Chicago and other major cities, he used these concepts to preach racial pride and uplift. His approach appealed to thousands of African Americans who had left severely oppressive conditions in the South through the Great Migration and faced struggles in new urban environments.
Practices and beliefs
Ali believed that all African Americans are Moors, descended from the ancient Moabites, and taught that the kingdom of Moab evolved into modern Morocco. His claim does not align with peer-reviewed studies of human history, such as the genetics of African Americans and genetic history of sub-Saharan Africa. He claimed that Islam and its teachings are more beneficial to African Americans' salvation and that their "true nature" had been "withheld" from them. In the traditions Ali founded, male members of the Temple wear a fez or a turban as a head covering; women wear a turban.Ali's followers added the suffixes Bey or El to their surnames to signify a connection to "Moorish heritage" and assert a new identity as "Moorish" Americans. This practice helped establish a distinct identity, acknowledging the loss of ancestral African tribal names while communicating their new identity.
As Ali taught his followers to be better citizens, he delivered speeches like "A Divine Warning By the Prophet for the Nations," urging them to reject labels such as "Black," "colored," and "Negro." He encouraged all Americans to embrace love over hate, believing Chicago could become a second Mecca.
The ushers of the Temple wore black fezzes. The leader of a given temple was known as a Grand Sheikh or Governor. Ali had several wives. According to The Chicago Defender, he claimed the power to marry and divorce at will.
History
Early history
In 1913, Drew Ali formed the Canaanite Temple in Newark, New Jersey. He left the city after agitating people with his views on race. Drew Ali and his followers migrated while planting congregations in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Detroit. Finally, Drew Ali settled in Chicago in 1925, saying the Midwest was "closer to Islam". The following year, he officially registered Temple No. 9.Ali advised his followers to avoid confrontation and instead focus on uplifting their community to earn respect. By doing so, they could establish their position in the United States by cultivating a cultural identity aligned with his beliefs regarding Black personhood. In the late 1920s, Chicago Tribune journalists estimated the Moorish Science Temple had 35,000 members in 17 temples in cities across the Midwest and upper South. It was reportedly studied and watched by the Chicago police.
Building Moorish Science-affiliated businesses was part of the group's program, which was similar to Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League and the later Nation of Islam. By 1928, members of the Moorish Science Temple of America had obtained some respectability within Chicago and Illinois, being featured prominently and favorably in The Chicago Defender, an African-American newspaper, and conspicuously collaborated with African American politician and businessman Daniel Jackson.
Ali attended the January 1929 inauguration of Louis L. Emmerson as the 27th governor of Illinois in Springfield, Illinois. The Chicago Defender stated that his trip included "interviews with many distinguished citizens from Chicago, who greeted him on every hand." With the growth in its population and membership, Chicago was established as the center of the movement.
Internal split and murder
In early 1929, following a conflict over funds, Claude Green-Bey, the business manager of Chicago Temple No. 1, split from the Moorish Science Temple of America. He declared himself the Grand Sheik and took several members with him. On March 15, Green-Bey was stabbed to death at the Unity Hall of the Moorish Science Temple on Indiana Avenue in Chicago.At the time, Drew Ali was out of town, dealing with former Supreme Grand Governor Lomax Bey, who had supported Green-Bey's attempted coup. When Drew Ali returned to Chicago, the police arrested him and other members of the community on suspicion of having instigated the killing. No indictment was sworn for Drew Ali at that time.
The death of Drew Ali
Shortly after his release by the police, Drew Ali died at age 43 at his home in Chicago on July 20, 1929. Although the exact circumstances of his death remain unknown, his death certificate stated that he died from "tuberculosis broncho-pneumonia". Despite the official report, many of his followers speculated that his death was caused by injuries from the police or from other members of the faith. Others thought it was indeed due to pneumonia. One follower told the Chicago Defender: "The Prophet was not ill; his work was done and he laid his head upon the lap of one of his followers and passed out."Succession and schism
The death of Ali prompted a number of candidates to step forward to succeed him. Edward Mealy El stated that Drew Ali had personally declared him to be his successor. In August, within a month of Drew Ali's death, John Givens El, Ali's chauffeur, declared that he was Drew Ali reincarnated. He was said to have fainted while working on Drew Ali's automobile, and "the sign of the star and crescent in his eyes."At the September Unity Conference, Givens again claimed reincarnation. However, the governors of the Moorish Science Temple of America declared Charles Kirkman Bey to be Drew Ali's successor and named him Grand Advisor.
With the support of several temples each, both Mealy El and Givens El went on to lead independent factions of the Moorish Science Temple. All three factions—formed and led by Kirkman Bey, Mealy El, and Givens El—are active today.
On September 25, 1929, Kirkman Bey's wife reported to the Chicago police his apparent kidnapping by Ira Johnson. Accompanied by two Moorish Science members, the police visited the home of Johnson when they were met by gunfire. The attack escalated into a shoot-out that spilled into the surrounding neighborhood. In the end, a policeman as well as a member were killed in the gun battle, and a second policeman later died of his wounds. The police took 60 people into police custody, and a reported 1000 police officers patrolled Chicago's South Side that evening. Johnson and two others were later convicted of murder.
Kirkman Bey went on to serve as Grand Advisor of one of the most important factions until 1959, when the reins were given to F. Nelson-Bey.