The Fruit of Islam (FOI) is the security and disciplinary wing of the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

(NOI). It has also been described as its

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

wing. The Fruit of Islam wear distinctive blue, brown or white uniforms and caps and have units at all NOI temples.

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, Black supremacy, black supremacist, Racism, anti-white and Antisemitism, antisemitic Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist, and former singer who hea ...

, as head of the Nation of Islam, is commander-in-chief of the Fruit of Islam, and his son, Mustapha Farrakhan Sr., is second in command as the Supreme Captain. The women's counterpart to the Fruit of Islam is

Muslim Girls Training (MGT) Muslim Girls Training & General Civilization Class (MGT & GCC) is the all-female training program of the Nation of Islam. It is often considered to be the counterpart for girls and women to the Fruit of Islam. History The Muslim Girls Training & ...

. The Fruit of Islam draws its membership from male members in

mosques. All men registered in the Nation of Islam as members are by default a part of the FOI. While NOI does not release membership figures, estimates made in 2007 for total membership in the NOI range from 30,000 to 50,000.

History

The Fruit of Islam is one of the original institutions of the NOI, created by its founder W. D. Fard in 1933, shortly before his final disappearance. The men, mostly young, active members, were considered the "fruit" of the new nation. At the time the FOI was created to help defend the members of the NOI and all others. It existed until the death of

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his dea ...

in 1975. When Warith Deen Muhammad took control of the NOI he disbanded the FOI. The organization was then reorganized by

when he reestablished the NOI.Charles Eric Lincoln, ''The Black Muslims in America'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994

NOI security agency

In 1988, the NOI created a separate security agency using members of the FOI. The agency received contracts primarily to patrol and staff public housing complexes in tough urban areas like

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, Washington, D.C.,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and received at least $20 million in the 1990s for security work. NOI Security had notable successes in Washington, D.C. projects particularly, but had difficulty in others and faced opposition by some members of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

and the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

, among others. It also faced scrutiny from federal agencies for racial and gender preference in hiring and from the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory t ...

for failure to withhold taxes from employees.

Mission statement

The FOI says its mission is to "teach civilization, and teach what they know to those who do not know". An NOI website urging men to enroll in the FOI describes members as "brave fighter for

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...

" engaged in "a unique war for the very heart and soul of a people". The site explains, "The responsibility of the F.O.I. is that of a head of house: protection, provision, and maintenance of the Nation of Islam (all Original People). The F.O.I. are militant in the sense that our operations are done as a unit".

References

External links

''Federal Funds for NOI Security Firms: Financing Farrakhan's Ministry of Hate''
Anti-Defamation League, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fruit Of Islam Nation of Islam Religious paramilitary organizations Paramilitary organizations based in the United States Religious organizations established in 1933