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TEACHING THE LOST-FOUND NATION: IDENTITY FORMATION AND THE FUSION OF NATIONALISM AND RELIGION IN THE NATION OF ISLAM’S SCHOOLS, 1960s-1975
Assaf, Runwa Karim
Assaf, Runwa Karim
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Abstract
This thesis examines the educational institutions of the Nation of Islam (NOI) during the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on how their schools, known as the Universities of Islam, cultivated a distinct Black identity by merging religious doctrine with Black nationalist ideology. This study focuses on Detroit and Chicago as the centers of the Nation’s schooling. While existing scholarship on Black alternative education often emphasizes secular models, this study highlights the NOI’s unique integration of theology and nationalism, offering a new perspective on Black nationalist movements traditionally framed as non-religious. The study explores four key dimensions of NOI education: (1) its emphasis on economic independence as resistance; (2) the gendered separation of students through classes like the Muslim Girls Training Class and the Fruit of Islam; (3) the teachings of Black power and pride; and (4) the tensions between the NOI’s separatist teachings and its public engagement with broader political movements. Challenging the secular lens in studies of Black nationalism, this thesis demonstrates how the NOI’s educational project complicates conventional narratives of Black Power. It argues that the Universities of Islam were not merely alternatives to public schooling but places of religious and nationalist teaching, fostering a worldview that mixed divine purpose with Black liberation. In doing so, this work expands scholarly conversations on Black education, nationalism, and the role of religion in identity formation during the civil rights and post-civil rights eras.
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Submitted to the Department of History of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for departmental honors
Date
2025-04-22
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Department of History, University of Kansas
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Assaf Thesis.pdf
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