Table Of ContentBLACK MUSLIMS AND THE LAW
Critical Africana Studies:
African, African American, and Caribbean
Interdisciplinary and Intersectional Studies
SeriesEditor
ReilandRabaka,UniversityofColoradoatBoulder
SeriesEditorialBoard
ChristelN.Temple,UniversityofPittsburgh
MartellTeasley,UniversityofTexasatSanAntonio
DeborahWhaley,UniversityofIowa
The Critical Africana Studies book series features scholarship within the emerging field of
Africanastudies,whichencompassessuchdisciplinesasAfricanstudies,Africandiasporan
studies, African American studies, Afro-American studies, Afro-Asian studies, Afro-Euro-
pean studies, Afro-Islamic studies, Afro-Jewish studies, Afro-Latino studies, Afro-Native
American studies, Caribbean studies, Pan-African studies, Black British studies and, of
course, Black studies. The Critical Africana Studies book series directly responds to the
heighteneddemandformonographsandeditedvolumesthatinnovativelyexploreAfricaand
its diaspora employing cutting-edge critical, interdisciplinary, and intersectional theory and
methods.
TitlesintheSeries
DialoguesacrossDiasporas:WomenWriters,Scholars,andActivistsofAfricanaand
LatinaDescentinConversation,EditedbyMarionRohrleitnerandSarahRyan
RastafariReasoningandtheRastaWoman:GenderConstructionsintheShapingofRastafari
Livity,ByJeanneChristensen
UnderstandingtheBlackFlame,ByJuneCaraChristian
ConceptsofCabralism:AmilcarCabralandAfricanaCriticalTheory,ByReilandRabaka
QueerVoicesfromJapan:FirstPersonNarrativesfromJapan’sSexualMinorities,edited
byMarkMcLelland,KatsuhikoSuganuma,andJamesWelker
FrantzFanon,MyBrother:Doctor,Playwright,Revolutionary,ByJobyFanon,Translatedby
DanielNethery
FacingSouthtoAfrica:TowardanAfrocentricCriticalOrientation,ByMolefiKete
Asante
BLACK MUSLIMS AND THE LAW
Civil Liberties from
Elijah Muhammad to Muhammad Ali
Malachi D. Crawford
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Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany
electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems,
withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote
passagesinareview.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Crawford,MalachiD.
BlackMuslimsandthelaw:civillibertiesfromElijahMuhammadtoMuhammadAli/Malachi
Crawford.
pagescm.--(CriticalAfricanastudies)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-7391-8488-2(cloth:alk.paper)--ISBN978-0-7391-8489-9(electronic)1.Nationof
Islam(Chicago,Ill.)--History.2.BlackMuslims--Legalstatus,laws,etc.--UnitedStates.3.Black
Muslims--Civilrights--UnitedStates.I.Title.
BP221.C732015
297.8'7--dc23
2014047065
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
1 Law,Religion,andtheRiseoftheNOI 1
2 FightingintheCourts:EarlyNOILegalDefense 17
3 Women,DomesticWork,andSocialLegitimacyintheEarlyNOI 29
4 TheInterwarPeriod,1942–1957 43
5 APrisonMovementforLegalLegitimacy 65
6 TheNOI’sPressforSocialLegitimac 91
7 ClearVictoriesandMissedOpportunities 123
Conclusion 141
Bibliography 147
Index 155
AbouttheAuthor 165
v
Acknowledgments
Writingabook-lengthmanuscriptoranyworkofsimilarmagnitudeisnotan
individual effort. There have been many people who have assisted me in
getting to thispoint,andI simplymention themostmemorable andremark-
ablehere.Asapointofdeparture,IwouldliketothankGodforbringingme
throughthisperiodinmylifewithasenseofbalance,clarityandpurpose.If
theselastfewyearshaveswiftlypassed,Iowethatblessingtoyou.
Iameternallygratefultomyadvisorsandmentors,Dr.JeromeE.Drake-
ford, Dr. Julius E. Thompson, Dr. Robert E. Weems, Jr., and Dr. James L.
Conyers,Jr.,whohaveofferedencouragingwordsofsupportthroughoutmy
collegiateandprofessionalcareer.Eachofyouconsistentlypresseduponme
theimportance of sacrifice, responsibility,perseverance andthenecessityof
lookingbeyondeverydaychallengesinmyprofessionalcareer.Icouldnever
havemadeitthisfarwithoutyourguidanceandpatience.
Numerous friends and professional acquaintances also lent their support
in this endeavor. A “thousand thanks” to my best friend Paul Easterling for
keeping me thinking, laughing, and sane. I will forever be indebted to the
Bilalfamily,CarolandAhmosZu-Bolton,AlynthiaandCharlesWhite,Can-
danceBentonand“Millie,”Malik,PiusNyutu,MableGrimes,PaulaRoper,
Richard and Jamilia Butler, Dr. Andrew P. Smallwood, Dr. Mickie Koster,
Dr. Bayyinah Jeffries, Dr. Wilma King, Dr. John H. Wigger, and Dr. Mark
Carroll. I am also grateful for the assistance provided by Dr. Anthony Pinn,
Dr. Aminah B. McCloud, and Dr. Abul Pitre, each of whom offered critical
insightsthathelpedstrengthenmanyofthecontentionsfoundherein.
There were also numerous professionals who played a pivotal role in
bringing this work to light. I would like to personally thank Jana Hodges-
KluckandtheeditorialstaffatLexingtonBooksforbeingsopatientwithme
throughout this process. The research librarians and staff at the Library of
vii
viii Acknowledgments
CongressandNewYorkPublicLibrary’sSchomburgCenterforResearchon
Black Culture provided critical research assistance that significantly en-
hanced the background sources herein. Joellen ElBashir, Interim Chief Li-
brarian and Curator in the Manuscripts Division at the Moorland Spingarn
Research Center, was simply a jewel to work with. For any who find the
arguments and lines of thought presented in this work to be of value, please
know that none of this would have been possible without the strong support
and encouragement of Dr. Reiland Rabaka, senior editor of the Critical
Africana Studies Series. Your belief in this work, my career and me as a
personhasbeennothingshortofamazing.Ifmyexperienceshavetaughtme
anything,itisthatyoursupportandselflessguidanceofscholarsinthisfield
should be the rule and not the exception. I also thank the many visiting
scholarsinAfricanAmericanStudiesattheUniversityofHoustonwhotook
timetooffertheiradviceonhowIcouldimprovethisstudy.
IofferaspecialwordofthankyoutoBrotherMuhammadBilal.Whatev-
er I am doing, I know that I am not doing enough when I think about your
constant words of encouragement and wisdom. Finally, thank you to Basil,
Judah, Axelle, mom, dad, my nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, grandparents,
mother-in-law,father-in-law,brotherandsisters-in-lawswhoprovidedspiri-
tual and material sustenance throughout my journey. As she has done on
countlessotheroccasions,mymothercamethroughandofferedcriticalsup-
portinmyfinalhoursoflaboronthemanuscript.Ofcourse,thisworkwould
not have been possible without the strength, patience and steadfast faith of
mywifeKarla,andtwodaughtersAminaandMakeda.
