d Muslim.(4) The Islamic church ignores the issue of race when examining one’sspiritual purity. Rather, It is the spirit itself which defines a Muslim. Traditional Muslims and members of the Nation of Islam also differ in their definition ofwhat it means to be Muslim. The belief in Islam is defined by five Pillars: shahada(the belief inonly one Allah), salah(prayer), zakuh(obligatory charity), sawm(fasting), and hajj(pilgrimage)(www_leland.stanford.edu/group/Thinker/v2/v2n3/Saudi.html). Of these Five Pillars, the Nationof Islam requires none of its members. The shahada is rejected by the Nation because it belivesthat Wallace D. Fard Muhammad was Allah incarate. (noi.index) Salah, or the five daily prayersin the direction of Mecca, are also not required of members of the Nation(coolguy). Zakuh isrejected by the nation, as it believes charity is a “way to benefit the dominant classes of theculture.(coolguy). Sawm is also not required of Nation members, nor is the hajj toMecca(coolguy). (Ironically, it was the hajj of Malcolm X which led him to abandon hisseparatist beliefs, and to preach unity). The rejection of the five basic requirements of Islam isrepresentative of the distances between the Nation of Islam and traditional Islam. Because ofthese differences, the Nation cannot be accepted as just another chapter of Islam, but it must betreated as a different and distinct religion.The third difference between the Nation of Islam and traditional Islam is the manner inwhich other religions and their members are regarded. Islam accepts the existence of allprophets from Moses to Muhammad. (Koran, 2:91) The Nation, however, believes thatWallace D. Fard Muhammad is the true prophet(Noi.program). Traditional Islam regardsmembers of all religions as holy. The Koran states that, “those who believe, and those who areJews, and Christians, and Sabaeans-whoever believeth in Allah, and the Last Day doeth right-surely their reward is w...
