Michael Bray

Author of A Time To Kill

Family Values: the Fruit of the Nation of Islam

Capitol Area Christian News
Winter, 1998

An AP report in the Washington Times (16 Nov.) tells about a convict named Lord Premier who was hauled away “to a prison within a prison at Evans Correctional Institution in Bennetsville, S.C. Mr. Premier is a member of a religious organization known as the Five Percenters. They call themselves a “Nation of Gods and Earths.” The new religion was extrapolated from the Nation of Islam in 1964 when Clarence Jowers Smith, “a youth minister with the Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 7 run by Malcolm X” broke from the Nation, “changed his name to Allah and turned to the young people of Harlem with his vision.”

These folks have some values. “The word ‘peace’ is central to the teachings. The 34-year-old movement rejects drinking, drugs and fornication.” High standards, indeed. These folks’ religion surpasses presidential moral standards. A lovely first impression. So why, then, are their teachings censored by prison officials in not only South Carolina, but New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Massachusetts, and North Carolina? Why can’t this religion be propagated throughout the land?

The reason is the rest of the religion. It is fruity, as you shall see, like unto that which Farakhan teaches. Both Values include no value for authority. Here are the doctrines of this family values religion: 1) “The black man is god, and women are Earths. Family is all important.” Of course. 2) “Only 5 percent of the population knows and teaches the truth. Ten percent conspires to hide the truth. They are devils, the slave makers of the poor. The rest, 85 percent, have not yet received knowledge.” 3) “While only black men are gods, others who accept the knowledge of the Five Percent can become ‘civilized people.’”

Not allowed to preach this religion in prison. You have to be free to hear it. But you can get it on the radio. Popular musicians promulgate these values: “Erykah Badu, who sold 3 million copies in her 1997 debut DC and won a Grammy for her rhythm and blues album of the year, credits the Nation as an influence. Several of her songs include bits of the teachings.

“Wu Tang Clan . . . sings explicitly about the teachings. Rakim, an old-school rapper, drops ‘jewels’ from the lessons into his songs. Busta Rhymes is a member.”

Family values. Do we need more clarity? How about biblical values? The Law of God is what Law-abiding Christians need to lobby for, not “family values.”

Comments are currently closed.