Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that the magazine provides Nation women with a relatively safe space in which to challenge and redefine Nation of Islam (NOI) boundaries as they relate to gender norms in Minister Farrakhan's community. It examines the importance of the NOI's prison ministry, particularly on the right to assemble through a number of key court cases starting in the 1940s. The book shows that how Elijah Muhammad presented both food choice and food security as a means and ends of social change. It presents Japanese efforts during World War II to contact and ally them with the NOI. The book also argues for the importance of the religious dimension of the movement by approaching Elijah Muhammad's teaching about the origin of the races using theological phenomenology, which uses theological symbolism to frame the existential dynamics of lived experience.