Cassius Clay--Elijah has a widely publicized athlete whose devotion to the NOI is exploited for recruitment purposes. Elijah also broadcasts on radio, and he has advertised unsuccessfully by means of cards on public transportation vehicles.
During the past year, violence has erupted on numerous occasions between NOI members and "hypocrites," Elijah's term for dissident former members. Because of the many violent events of the past year, the security protection given Elijah, primarily ritualistic in the past, has become complete and serious.
Though Elijah Muhammad publicly denies that he teaches or advocates violence or disobedience to the "white man's laws," a militant approach is actually pursued through obstruction of police and prison authority, excessively harassing demands for the "religious" rights of NOI prisoners, and deliberate violations of the Selective Service Act.
- The apocalyptic religious doctrine that Elijah Muhammad, the self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah," espouses in the NOI is a distorted version of Islam.
- Elijah's appeal to his Black Muslim followers lies not so much in the pseudo-Islamic religious aspects of his organization as in his strong condemnation of white society.
- Because Elijah has been unsuccessful in recruiting educated Negroes to accept his teachings, the cult's future will depend
vi
