Saviours' Day is a

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

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 ...

commemorating the birth of its founder, Master

Wallace Fard Muhammad Wallace Dodd Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad or Master Fard Muhammad (; reportedly born February 26, – disappeared ), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. He arrived in Detroit in 1930 with an obscure background and several alia ...

(W. D. Fard), officially stated to be February 26, 1877. It was established by

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 de ...

History

The Community of

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

Warith Deen Mohammed Warith Deen Mohammed (born Wallace D. Muhammad; October 30, 1933 – September 9, 2008), also known as W. Deen Mohammed, Imam W. Deen Muhammad and Imam Warith Deen, was an African-American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher, Muslim revi ...

(

American Society of Muslims The American Society of Muslims was a predominantly African-American association of Muslims which was the direct descendant of the original Nation of Islam. It was created by Warith Deen Mohammed after he assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam ...

) observed a similar celebration, observed on the last weekend of February.

(son of Elijah Muhammad) changed the name of the celebration to Survival Day in 1976 and then to Ethnic Survival Day from 1979 to 1980 and made it a week long celebration. The change formed part of his rejection of his father's portrayal of Fard as a divine savior. Warith Deen Mohammed eventually discontinued the celebration of Survival Day for his community and eventually returned to the celebration of Saviours' Day with the emphasis being on the history of the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad and not W. D. Fard. Warith Deen Mohammed re-instituted Saviours' Day for his community on Feb 26, 2000, after joining the Nation of Islam's Saviours' Day that year.

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...

reconvened Saviours' Day in 1981 when he reestablished the Nation of Islam under his leadership. Under Farrakhan's leadership, the annual commemoration has become a three-day gathering with speakers, seminars and workshops. Since 2010, it has included a

Dianetics Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning "mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubba ...

Auditor graduation ceremony, overseen by officials from both the Nation and also the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

. Under Farrakhan, Dianetics has been advocated publicly since 2010, and it has been embraced by his followers, over a thousand of whom are now trained in Dianetics auditing. When Elijah Muhammad started the celebration, he called it Saviour's Day. Farrakhan moved the apostrophe, changing it to Saviours' Day to add Elijah Muhammad as a saviour along with Master Fard Muhammad. Other, smaller Nation of Islam communities not related to Minister Farrakhan also hold Saviour's Day celebrations.

Spelling

The Nation of Islam uses the

British spelling Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable variations being British and American ...

version of the word ''saviour'', rather than the

American spelling Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable variations being British and American ...

''savior''. The Nation of Islam under Louis Farrakhan's leadership places a possessive apostrophe at the end of the word, emphasising the plural to indicate that “Black men and women must be the ‘saviours’ of themselves and their communities.” This plural form of the spelling was announced in 1983 to represent that responsibility. However, the original spelling with the apostrophe before the "s" is also used.

Notes

External links

''Saviours' Day web site'' Nation of IslamThe Significance of Saviour's Day by Silis MuhammadSaviors' Day Mosque Cares''Nation of Islam web site''
{{Muslimholidays February observances Nation of Islam Birthdays Islamic holy days