Elijah Muhammad is the Reason for Muhammad Ali's Draft Refusal

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as his supporters and followers call him, is probably one of the most confusing and misunderstood persons of the 20th century.  Still, there were very few who had a greater impact on the U.S. political and social landscape than Mr. Muhammad.  Adorned as the leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his death in 1975, Muhammad, regardless of people's opinions of him and the NOI, influenced much of African culture and ideology within the U.S.  He was a major teacher and influence on El Hajj Malik El Shabazz aka Malcolm X as well as Muhammad Ali the boxer, Louis Farrakhan, the current leader of the largest NOI grouping, and Khalid Abdul Muhammad, the former national representative for Farrakhan and founder of the New Black Panther Party.  

Yet, Muhammad has been practically written out of history except for those within the NOI and the broader African liberation movement.  A major reason for this whitewashing of Muhammad's influence results from his focus on African people without (direct, anyway) regard for what European dominated society thought about it.  If you look at African thinkers and activists/leaders, etc., who have a dominantly African focus, they are usually ignored, discredited, and written out of history by this white supremacist society as well as the so-called white left.  This is true whether we are talking about capitalist reformers like Muhammad, Adam Clayton Powell, Booker T. Washington, or revolutionaries like Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Kwame Ture, or pre-1971 Huey P. Newton.

Even among African liberation participants, Muhammad's role is still debated strongly almost 50 years after his death.  For radical thinkers and actors like myself, Muhammad's conservative approach to addressing our people's problems have never been favorable to us.  Also, his denial of our African identity has always been distasteful to ardent Pan-Africanists (and in previous years an obstacle to our work).  Plus, his obvious dismissal, at best, and actual participation, at worse, in Malcolm's assassination is as unacceptable as many of followers sad efforts today to justify it.  Still, we are revolutionaries which means we are scientific in our assessment of our struggle.  And, there is no doubt that Elijah Muhammad made major contributions to our struggle, whether we acknowledge it or not, his movement and the development of the NOI was the initial introduction of the religion of Islam, on any level (whether so-called "pure" Muslims today admit it or not) to the masses of people within the U.S.  The fact Islam is considered the fastest growing religion within the U.S. today, and the late Warith Deen Muhammad, the son of Elijah Muhammad, was the largest Islamic leader in the U.S. before his death, cannot be separated from the initial influences of Elijah Muhammad.  

Also, what cannot be denied is the credit Muhammad deserves for influencing Muhammad Ali to refuse induction in the U.S. military to potentially fight in Vietnam.  Muhammad Ali was roundly castigated for his decision in 1967.  His boxing title was stripped from him during his prime fighting years.  He was widely labeled a traitor to U.S. society and he was basically treated as public enemy number one.  Since his position was a correct one, eventually, his status transferred to that of iconic, and his 1967 decision was later viewed properly as courageous and principled.  His selection as the person designated to light the Olympic torch in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. to start the 1996 summer games was the acknowledgement of Ali's transition in U.S. society from villain in the 1960s to national hero, at least by most people.  Much of the resurrection of Ali's image was charted by the white left in the U.S., particularly the petti bourgeoisie liberals who championed Ali's anti-draft decision as a center piece of the U.S. anti-war movement.  

What has been lost in the adulation of the physically declining Muhammad Ali and the eventual death of Ali which prompted the presence at his funeral by people, like the Bush and Clinton families, each who vilified Ali during the 1960s, is the role Elijah Muhammad played in Ali's decision to refuse the draft.  

The 2001 movie "Ali" where actor Will Smith portrayed Ali, gives the impression that the NOI's interest in Ali was specific to the social capitol they gained by his presence in their organization.  Certainly, that was an issue, especially the contradictions in how Elijah Muhammad never wanted to connect the NOI to Ali (when he was still Cassius Clay) when he was prepping to fight Sonny Liston for the title in 1964.  Muhammad said repeatedly during that time that Ali had no chance to defeat the heavily favored Liston and Muhammad didn't want the NOI associated with a "loser."  After Ali's victory, of course, Muhammad immediately embraced Ali and the manipulation of Ali's boxing career by Muhammad's eldest son Herbert was certainly a factor in Ali's dwindling finances and possibly, his staying in the ring much to long.  Still, what most people don't know is that Muhammad's directive to Ali to refuse induction into the U.S. military wasn't a case of Muhammad forcing Ali to do something that Muhammad himself never had to do.  In 1943, Muhammad himself refused induction into the U.S. military during World War II.  This war, which is widely and wrongly considered to be a principled war waged by the U.S., had overwhelming popular support within the U.S. that Vietnam, Irag, Afghanistan, and other military incursions since cannot match if all combined.  Yet, Muhammad stood up against the U.S. government and told them he would not fight "yellow people" for "white people."  For that decision, Muhammad was sentenced to, and served time in prison, something Ali never had to do for his decision in 1967.  

That history is important because the liberal elite would have you believe Ali's courageous anti-war decision was an individual act, but we know better.  As Ali said himself countless times during that period, he was always acting within the values, principles, and beliefs of his membership within the Nation of Islam.  He was always acting on the guidance of his leader, teacher, and guide - "the most Honorable Elijah Muhammad."

In other words, its certainly logical to assume that had he never joined the NOI, Ali - still as Cassius Clay, would have accepted his induction and we probably wouldn't have much of an idea today who he was.  So, despite the efforts by the liberal elite to write Elijah Muhammad out of the history of Muhammad Ali, the undeniable fact is, it was the elder Muhammad who not only influenced, but directed, Muhammad Ali to refuse induction into the U.S. military as a part of the Nation of Islam's long held stance that we as African people should refuse to fight in the wars of our enemies - the European capitalist power structure.  

This distinction is quite different than that claimed by sincere NOI members today when they recollect Malcolm X.  To most of them, Malcolm will always only be a product of Elijah Muhammad.  The difference is that those people completely ignore that Malcolm developed an entirely different political perspective for himself - one of developing revolutionary Pan-Afrifcanism - after he left the NOI.  Actually, during the time he was in the NOI, there is clear evidence of Malcolm's political evolution as early as the late 50s.  In fact, we would argue that it was this development, not the exposure of Elijah Muhammad's affairs, that led Malcolm to leave the NOI in the first place.  Or, as Louis Farrakhan himself once profoundly put it; Malcolm was the political person whereas Farrakhan sees himself as the spiritual person.   In comparison, Ali never developed any level of political platform for himself.  And, although he definitely deserves credit for his courage to join the NOI, and carry out its values e.g. refusing the draft, there is little to no evidence that he would have carried out such a position on his own.  

Despite whatever position you take on Elijah Muhammad, one thing is beyond question.  He was a major force in the African community for decades.  There isn't one African who has come up in inner city communities, any of them, who hasn't been influenced in some way by the NOI.  Whether you admit this or not is ill relevant.  And, there is equally no way to separate Ali's courageous position in 1967 from his mentoring from Elijah Muhammad and his membership as a registered Muslim in Muhammad's NOI.  For those today within the African liberation movement (both active participants and commentators who act as if they are active contributors), to add on to the discrediting of Muhammad's credentials within the movement demonstrates the lack of political sophistication on how revolutionary consciousness is achieved.  For myself, I was exposed to the NOI before any other African organization, including the one I've belonged to for almost 36 years.  It was through the NOI that I first learned about Malcolm X, although my knowledge of him and his work has since far exceeded anything the NOI is talking about regarding his existence.  My exposure to NOI rallies and events were my first exposure as a child to independent African organization.   It was only through all of those experiences that I learned from the NOI, including that their way would never be my way.  So, in essence, the NOI is at least partially responsible for my assent in my political work and consciousness.  And, that is true for the overwhelming majority of us within the African liberation movement today on all levels.  None of that pardons any of the things Muhammad and the NOI have done and do that we don't agree with.  What we are doing is consistent with Kwame Ture's directive that the largest crime one can make is being ungrateful.  We give credit where credit is due and we give criticism where criticism is due.  We have written extensively here on shortcomings, errors, and sabotage we believe Muhammad contributed to with his actions.  For this particular space, we acknowledge his role in creating the Muhammad Ali that you know anything about today.