Ezekiel's Move from Physical to Existential

In my Islam in North America course we are discussing W.D. Fard Muhammad’s beliefs. He was the founder of the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black nationalist movement influenced by Islamic values (Weisenfeld 56-57). Fard and the NOI believed that the black nation was the first people on earth (Weisenfeld 57). Since the beginning of time, black people and Islam had existed according to Fard (Weisenfeld 57). This gave Fard the impression that the black race was inherently sacred because it was first (Weisenfeld 57). The white race, on the other hand, was created by the scientist Yacob, who used this new race to overthrow the superior black nation (Weisenfeld 58). This dethroning of the black race caused Islam (an inherently black religion) to be obliterated. It was only after the coming of Muhammad that Islam was found again (Weisenfeld 65). Fard’s people are often referred to as the “lost found people” because their religion was lost through white washing and then found again (Weisenfeld 64).

While this is not an exact parallel reading, Fard gave me insight into the “lost found” people of Jerusalem (Weisenfeld 64). The Israelites were taken away from their God and therefore their culture during the Babylonian exile. During the time the Israelites were exiled they believed Yahweh resided in Jerusalem. Without the city they would have no way to contact their God. In this sense they were lost and alienated from God. This is similar to lost culture Fard believed all black people experienced when separated from Islam. The Israelites lost their sacred place whereas Fard’s group lost their memory of being the sacred first.

The Israelites were found again when the priest Ezekiel encountered Yahweh after five years of living in Babylon (Armstrong 83). After Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city Ezekiel had a new vision for the sacred place of Yahweh. He envisioned “a place of peace and fertility” (Armstrong 85). Moving with the times Ezekiel progressed that the “promised land” was not a physical region but an existential location (Armstrong 85). During the Axial Ages the theology moved from Yahweh existing in the profane to being a “radically separate” “transcendent reality” (Armstrong 85). It makes sense that if Yahweh has transcended the earthly place, the area in which the god resides would as well.

Weisenfeld, Judith. New World a-Coming: Black Religion and Racial Identity during the Great Migration. New York University Press, 2019.