ABSTRACT
This chapter draws attention to freemasonry, theosophy, and the Jehovah's Witnesses since them all play pivotal roles in the development of esotericism and Gnosticism in the Nation of Islam. It argues that esotericism and Gnosticism were responses to actual and symbolic violence directed at black bodies in the United States. The chapter uses Gnosis or 'Gnosticism' as a term to describe various forms of knowledge that are understood to be secret or hidden from everyone but adepts or initiates into esoteric systems of thought and praxis, which reveal the true nature of the universe and humanity. It argues that the dissonance between the Nation of Islam's public rhetoric, which often denies that their doctrines have earthly sources that antedate a 'divine revelation' from their God. The chapter also argues that Nation of Islam's tacit approval of the truths of the numerous traditions and practices by their intentional inclusion in the Nation of Islam's own theology, mythology, and rituals.
