Moorish Science Temple of America facts for kids
The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American religious group started in the early 1900s by Noble Drew Ali. He taught that African Americans are actually descendants of the ancient Moabites, making them "Moorish" by nationality and Islamic by faith.
Noble Drew Ali combined ideas from different religions to create a message about changing oneself through learning history and growing spiritually. His teachings aimed to give African Americans a strong sense of who they were and to encourage them to be active in their communities.
One main belief of the Moorish Science Temple is that African Americans come from the "Moroccan Empire." Noble Drew Ali said this area included other parts of Northwest Africa. To join, people had to declare their "Moorish nationality" and were given special cards. Members often call themselves "Asiatics" in their religious writings, because the Middle East is in western Asia. People in this movement are sometimes called "Moorish-American Moslems" or "Moorish Scientists."
The Moorish Science Temple of America was officially recognized in 1913 in Newark, New Jersey, by Timothy Drew, who was known to his followers as Prophet Noble Drew Ali. The group grew quickly in the late 1920s, especially as many black Americans moved from the South to northern cities during the Great Migration. They were looking for a new identity and a sense of belonging in these new urban areas.
After Noble Drew Ali's death, different groups formed within the movement. The founding of the Nation of Islam in 1930 also created competition for members. By the 1930s, about 30,000 people were members, with a third of them in Chicago. The group continued to grow after World War II, though at a slower pace.
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Who Was Noble Drew Ali?
Timothy Drew, known as Noble Drew Ali, was born on January 8, 1886, in North Carolina, United States. There are different stories about his early life. Some say he was the son of former slaves and was adopted by a Cherokee tribe. Others say his father was a Muslim from Morocco and his mother was Cherokee.
How the Moorish Science Temple Started
Drew Ali said that during his travels, he met a high priest of Egyptian magic. In some stories, this priest saw Drew Ali as a new version of a great founder. In other stories, the priest believed Drew Ali was a new version of Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, and other religious leaders. According to these stories, the priest taught Ali about mysticism and gave him a "lost section" of the Quran.
This text became known as the Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America. It's also called the "Circle Seven Koran" because its cover has a red "7" inside a blue circle. The first 19 chapters are from a book called The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, which was published in 1908. This book describes Jesus's supposed travels in India, Egypt, and Palestine during the years not covered in the New Testament.
Chapters 20 through 45 are taken from another work called Unto Thee I Grant, with small changes. These chapters give instructions on how to live and explain the duties of followers.
Drew Ali wrote the last four chapters of the Circle Seven Koran himself. In these chapters, he wrote that people of the "Asiatic Nation of North America" needed to learn to love instead of hate. He also wrote that they should understand their "higher self and lower self." He said that the "key of civilization" was with the Asiatic nations, and that the Moorish people were the ancient Moabites who founded the Holy City of Mecca.
Drew Ali and his followers used these writings to claim that "Jesus and his followers were Asiatic." Drew Ali used "Asiatic" to describe all dark or olive-skinned people, and he called all white people "European." He suggested that all Asiatics should be allies.
Drew Ali created Moorish Science by combining different spiritual ideas. These ideas focused on the power of individuals to change themselves through spiritual knowledge. His teachings appealed to many African Americans who had moved from the harsh conditions of the South during the Great Migration and were facing new challenges in cities.
What Moorish Scientists Believe and Do
Ali taught that African Americans are all Moors, who he said were descendants of the ancient Moabites. He claimed that the kingdom of Moab is now known as Morocco. This idea is different from scientific studies of human history and genetics. He believed that Islam and its teachings were better for their spiritual well-being and that their "true nature" had been hidden from them.
In the traditions he started, male members of the Temple wear a fez or turban on their heads. Women wear a turban.
Members often add the suffixes Bey or El to their last names. This shows their Moorish heritage and their new life as Moorish Americans. It was also a way for them to claim a new identity, different from the names given to their ancestors during slavery. These suffixes showed others that while their original African tribal names might be unknown, the European names given by enslavers were not their true names either.
Drew Ali encouraged Moorish-Americans to become better citizens. He gave speeches, like "A Divine Warning By the Prophet for the Nations," where he told them to reject hurtful labels like "Black," "colored," and "Negro." He urged people of all races to reject hate and choose love. He believed that Chicago would become a second Mecca.
The ushers of the Temple wore black fezzes. The leader of a temple was called a Grand Sheik or Governor.
History of the Moorish Science Temple
Early Years
In 1913, Drew Ali started the Canaanite Temple in Newark, New Jersey. He later moved with his followers, starting groups in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Detroit. Finally, Drew Ali settled in Chicago in 1925, saying the Midwest was "closer to Islam." The next year, he officially registered Temple No. 9 there.
In Chicago, he told followers to focus on building up their community to earn respect. This way, they could find their place in the United States by developing a cultural identity that matched Drew Ali's beliefs. By the late 1920s, journalists estimated the Moorish Science Temple had 35,000 members in 17 temples across the Midwest and upper South. The Chicago police reportedly watched the group.
Building Moorish-American businesses was an important part of their plan, similar to Marcus Garvey's group and the later Nation of Islam. By 1928, members of the Moorish Science Temple of America had gained some respect in Chicago and Illinois. They were featured positively in The Chicago Defender, an African-American newspaper, and worked with African American politician Daniel Jackson.
Drew Ali attended the inauguration of Louis Lincoln Emmerson as Governor of Illinois in January 1929. The Chicago Defender reported that his trip included "interviews with many distinguished citizens from Chicago." With its growing population, Chicago became the main center of the movement.
Changes After Drew Ali's Death
Drew Ali died at age 43 in Chicago on July 20, 1929. The official cause of death was "tuberculosis broncho-pneumonia." However, many of his followers believed he died from injuries or other causes.
After Drew Ali's death, several people wanted to lead the movement. Brother Edward Mealy El said Drew Ali had named him as his successor. In August, John Givens El, Drew Ali's chauffeur, claimed he was Drew Ali reborn.
At a meeting in September, Givens El again claimed he was the reincarnation. However, the leaders of the Moorish Science Temple of America chose Charles Kirkman Bey as Drew Ali's successor and named him Grand Advisor.
With support from different temples, Mealy El and Givens El each went on to lead separate groups of the Moorish Science Temple. All three groups (Kirkman Bey, Mealy El, and Givens El) are still active today.
Kirkman Bey served as Grand Advisor of one of the main groups until 1959.
Nation of Islam's Connection
The community was further divided when Wallace Fard Muhammad, known as David Ford-el within the temple, also claimed to be Drew Ali reborn. When his leadership was not accepted, Ford El left the Moorish Science Temple. He moved to Detroit and started his own group, which became the Nation of Islam. For a long time, the Nation of Islam denied any past connection with the Moorish Science Temple. However, in 2014, Louis Farrakhan recognized Noble Drew Ali's contributions to the Nation of Islam's founding ideas.
Growth in the 1930s
Even with the changes and people leaving, the movement continued to grow in the 1930s. It's thought that membership reached 30,000. There were large groups in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago.
One-third of the members, about 10,000, lived in Chicago, which was the main center. There were also groups in many other cities where African Americans had moved. The group published several magazines, including the Moorish Guide National. During the 1930s and 1940s, police and later the FBI watched the Moors, which made them more private and critical of the government.
FBI Monitoring
In the 1940s, the FBI became interested in the Moorish Science Temple (specifically the Kirkman Bey group). They investigated claims that members were involved in spreading Japanese propaganda. The investigation found no real evidence, and the cases were closed. The FBI later investigated the group in 1953 for possibly violating the Selective Service Act of 1948 and for sedition (actions against the government). In September 1953, the Department of Justice decided that there was not enough reason to prosecute them. The FBI's file on the temple grew to over 3,000 pages, but they never found any evidence of the temple's members having strong sympathy for Japan.
Recent Times
In 1984, the Chicago group bought a building in Ukrainian Village, which is still used for Temple No. 9. Changes in population and culture have made the Moorish Science Temple less appealing to young people. In 2007, only about 200 members attended a convention, much fewer than the thousands in the past. In the early 2000s, temples in Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, D.C., each had about 200 members, many of whom were older.
In 2019, the mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, mistakenly invited members of the local Moorish Science Temple to a "Morocco Day" ceremony, thinking they were of actual Moroccan descent.
Moorish Sovereign Citizens
Some former followers of the Moorish Science Temple of America have formed a separate group known as Moorish sovereign citizens. These members believe the United States federal government is not legitimate for various reasons. The number of Moorish sovereign citizens is not clear, but it might be between 3,000 and 6,000, mostly organized in small groups.
The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Moorish sovereign citizens as an extremist anti-government group. They use tactics like filing false documents and legal claims to challenge the government. The Moorish Science Temple has stated that it does not support these groups, calling them "radical and subversive fringe groups." Moorish leaders are looking into legal ways to distance themselves from these actions.
See Also
- Black Hebrew Israelites
- Five-Percent Nation
- Hoteps
