Editing Elijah Muhammad (section)

==Leadership of the Nation of Islam==
Elijah Muhammad took control of Temple No. 1, but only after battles with other potential leaders, including his brother. In 1935, as these battles became increasingly fierce, Elijah left Detroit and settled his family in Chicago. Still facing death threats, Elijah left his family there and traveled to [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]], where he founded Temple No. 3, and eventually to [[Washington, D.C.]], where he founded Temple No. 4. He spent much of his time reading 104 books suggested by Wallace Fard at the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name="An Original Man"/><ref>Richard Brent Turner, ''Islam in the African-American Experience'', University of Indiana Press 1997</ref><ref name=HistoricalLook>[http://www.noi.org/elijah_muhammad_history.htm "A Historical Look at the Honorable Elijah Muhammad"], Nation of Islam web site.</ref>

On May 8, 1942, Elijah Muhammad was arrested for failure to register for [[Selective Training and Service Act of 1940|the draft]] during [[World War II]]. After he was released on bail, Muhammad fled Washington, D.C., on the advice of his attorney, who feared a [[lynching]], and returned to Chicago after a seven-year absence.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} Muhammad was arrested there, charged with eight counts of [[sedition]] for instructing his followers to not register for the draft or serve in the [[United States armed forces|armed forces]]. Acquitted of sedition, but found guilty of draft evasion, Elijah Muhammad served four years in prison, from 1942 to 1946, at the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Milan|Federal Correctional Institution]] in [[Milan, Michigan|Milan]], Michigan. During that time, his wife, [[Clara Muhammad|Clara]], and trusted aides ran the organization; Muhammad transmitted his messages and directives to followers in letters.<ref name="An Original Man" /><ref name=HistoricalLook /><ref name=EssienUdom>[[E. U. Essien-Udom]], ''Black Nationalism'', University of Chicago Press, 1962.</ref>

Following his return to Chicago, Elijah Muhammad was firmly in charge of the Nation of Islam. While Muhammad was in prison, the growth of the Nation of Islam had stagnated, with fewer than 400 members remaining by the time of his release in 1946. However, through the conversion of his fellow inmates as well as renewed efforts outside prison, he was able to redouble his efforts and continue growing the Nation.<ref name="Bowman, Jeffrey 2006">Bowman, Jeffrey. "Elijah Muhammad". Elijah Muhammad (2006): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. December 16, 2013.</ref>

Muhammad preached his own version of Islam to his followers in the Nation. According to him, blacks were known as the "original" human beings, with "evil" whites being an offshoot race that would go on to oppress black people for 6,000 years. The origins of the white race would come to be known as [[Yakub (Nation of Islam)|Yacub]]'s History within Elijah Muhammad's teachings. In ''[[The Autobiography of Malcolm X]]'', Malcolm X talks about when he first encounters this doctrine, though he would later come to regret that he ever believed in it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Autobiography of Malcolm X pg. 110–112|url=https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/malcom-x.pdf}}</ref>

He preached that the Nation of Islam's goal was to return the stolen hegemony of the inferior whites back to blacks across America.<ref name="anb.org" /> Much of Elijah Muhammad's teachings appealed to young, economically disadvantaged, African-American males from Christian backgrounds. Traditionally, black males would not go to church because the church did not address their needs. Elijah Muhammad's program for economic development played a large part in the growth in the Nation of Islam. He purchased land and businesses to provide housing and employment for young black males.

By the 1970s, the Nation of Islam owned bakeries, barber shops, coffee shops, grocery stores, laundromats, night-clubs, a printing plant, retail stores, numerous real estate holdings, and a fleet of [[Semi-trailer truck|tractor trailers]], plus farmland in Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia. In 1972 the Nation of Islam took controlling interest in a bank, the Guaranty Bank and Trust Co. Nation of Islam-owned schools expanded until, by 1974, the group had established schools in 47 cities throughout the United States.<ref name="In the Name of Elijah Muhammad">''In the Name of Elijah Muhammad''.</ref> In 1972, Muhammad told followers that the Nation of Islam had a net worth of $75 million.<ref name=Evanzz>Karl Evanzz, ''The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad'' Random House, 2001.</ref>