Theirs is essentially a modern made-up belief like Scientology. The NOI grew in part out of a masonic-type group called the Moorish Science Temple, founded by African-Americans who wanted to imagine a more romantic version of their history, that they were descended from North African Muslims rather than mostly West African tribal people.

No branch of Islam, recognizes them as actual Muslims. Their notions about Islam are second- and third-hand, mixed with the theories and teachings of various of their leaders over time, including Farrakan’s own “space opera” about a UFO-style “sky wheel.”

Richard,
Agreed 100%. Not only are they bootstrapping themselves up, not being victims anymore but instead learning what they need to help themselves, but they’re helping others too. Powerful stuff.

And I’ll opine that what they’re learning on the basic courses in Scientology orgs WILL help them bootstrap themselves up but there’s a caveat to this:

That said, the ONLY reason it has workedfor them is because they are not FLEECED for every dime they have. The IAS, Ideal M’Orgs, Way To Happiness Campaigns, Library donations – all of Co$’s scams are off limits to NOI.

Its a known fact that staff are FORBIDDEN to crust reg NOI as they do their other sheeple – the LEAST of the reasons for this being that the NOI have no money!

Plenty of non NOI Scientologists are broke and that doesn’t stop the regges from fleecing them unmercifully. No,their being a poor demographic in general with many of them jobless, on welfare, food stamps and struggling is NOT the reason the NOI are immune from being fair game for fleecing as the rest of the sheeple are.

All true what you say, Kat. The way to VAST riches, to amassing GREAT wealth, is and has always been free or very cheap labor. I’m all for letting it go and moving forward but then my people were not slaves in this country. I personally am pro-affirmative action for African Americans as a means to make amends. I think they deserve this from a government under which it was once legal to own, use and sell human beings, I think they deserve some legal reparations for all of the cruelty, pain and injustice they legally suffered over the centuries. But this is not the blog for such opinions and I digress. End of rant from this flaming liberal lefty 🙂

Aqua – Good points and it brings something else to mind. Maybe NOI members partaking in scientology to whatever extent they can feel they are aspiring to something bigger and better than themselves, new knowledge which is endorsed by their leader Farrakhan. Every day I was on course I felt like I was learning something new and there was always a sense of satisfaction in that.