The Nation of Islam (NOI) was founded in Chicago in 1930 by Wallace Ford, or according to the Nation of Islam`s official position, by Wallace Fard Mohammaed. According to his draft card, he was born in Afghanistan, but the Nation of Islam insist he came from Mecca.
The founder disappeared in 1934. From then until his death in 1975, Elijah Mohammed led the organization. One of his converts was Malcolm X, who was a rising star in the Nation of Islam until he became disillusioned with Elijah Mohammed and left in 1963, a year before his assassination by NOI members. The best known current member of NOI is Louis Farrakhan, head of the mosque in Chicago.
NOI states that its purpose is to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of black people in the United States and elsewhere. Critics allege that it advocates black nationalism and espouses anti-semitic views.