Islam was therefore the one true religion for anyone of African decent, according to Farad Muhammad. The founder of the Nation of Islam as well as Elijah Muhammad therefore believed that African-American people should embrace as a matter of cultural pride and ethnic identity. The Nation of Islam has since been as much about culture, ethnicity, and politics as about religion. In some ways, Islam is not as important to the Nation of Islam as Nation is. The concept of nation is "an imagined community of people founded on selected criteria," (Gardell 8). Religion and race are the two criteria that the Nation of Islam uses to define its community. According to Curtis, Elijah Muhammad turned the Nation of Islam into a "black nationalist organization committed to racial separatism and ethnic pride," (2). Another reason why the Nation of Islam appears to be more about black nationalism and ethnic pride than about religion is that members of prominent African-American Christian organizations "work cooperatively with Black Muslims," (DeCaro 4).

The Nation of Islam also differs significantly from traditional Islam. DeCaro claims, "the religious and spiritual DNA of the movement lacks the gene of orthodoxy in either the Muslim...

In other words, the Nation of Islam was its own independent movement. Many followers eventually became traditional Muslims but in general the Nation of Islam is a "pseudo-Islamic" movement (DeCaro 3). The Nation of Islam has been referred to as a cult because of this, and because of the charismatic leaders it has and also because of its belief in an apocalypse (DeCaro). Gardell notes that the Nation of Islam promotes a "vision of an apocalyptic battle, enacted between nations divine and diabolic," (9). The official Nation of Islam Web site describes Farad Muhammad as "One Who had come in the Early Morning Dawn of the New Millennium to lay the base for a New World Order of Peace and Righteousness on the foundation of Truth and Justice," (Nation of Islam). Curtis mentions the theology and the "ritualized practices" that are a part of the Nation of Islam (6).
Even more important than its spiritual beliefs is the impact that the Nation of Islam has had on African-American culture. "The Nation of Islam's declared aim is the raising of the moral, social, and economic standing of non-whites," more so than to spread the word of Allah ("Nation of Islam"). The Nation of Islam was important for creating