Page:1965 FBI monograph on Nation of Islam.djvu/114

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themselves whether to go into the Army or to jail, that Elijah Muhammad served time for not going into the Army and no other NOI member is better than Elijah.

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in San Francisco, decided he was "no better than Elijah." He refused to report for induction, as ordered by his local draft board. From November, 1961, until July, 1963, he served time in a Federal prison. Immediately following his release, he returned to his NOI ministerial duties.

In one case beginning in 1963, an NOI member was convicted for failure to appear for induction as ordered by his local draft board. He was placed on probation on condition that he seek "employment of national importance" within 60 days. However, he failed to do so and in 1964 was sentenced to prison for two years for violating that condition.

In another case, a self-admitted NOI member was sentenced in 1964 to two years in prison for failure to report for induction. He had originally registered in 1958 with a draft board in South Carolina and had been classified 1-A. In 1961, he requested to be classified as a conscientious objector, a request that was denied. He was ordered to present himself for induction in 1962 but he failed to appear. He was then transferred to a local draft board in New Jersey, where he had taken up residence. At a preinduction examination in that State, he was found acceptable for military service.

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