This Week: Blasphemy, Power & Secrecy

From journalists to judges, the Unbelief Brief explores how no one is safe from Pakistan’s blasphemy vigilantes. But a new court order might be the first step toward dismantling these extremist networks. Meanwhile, in honor of Black History Month, EXMNA Insights takes a closer look at the Nation of Islam—its origins, its controversial teachings, and its place within the broader Islamic world.

Unbelief Brief

This newsletter has previously shone light on the phenomenon of “blasphemy entrapment” in Pakistan, which has become so systematized by networks of vigilante actors that arrests and prosecutions under the blasphemy law have ballooned in recent years. Recently, Pakistani journalist Munizae Jahangir reported further on this phenomenon on her television show, Spotlight. As a result of her reporting, she has become a target of harassment and death threats. It is no surprise that religious zealots are utilizing this commonplace strategy to silence any criticism of their actions in Pakistan.

There is, indeed, no target Pakistan’s religious extremists will not attempt to kill. Last month’s Joe Rogan Experience podcast with Mark Zuckerberg stirred up plenty of chatter and headlines, including an interesting anecdote from Zuckerberg: a vigilante had reported him to Pakistan’s authorities and sought a death sentence for allowing a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad on Facebook. As EXMNA has repeatedly pointed out, Facebook’s flawed moderation has, in the past, erred on the side of being too accommodating to Islamist extremism, if anything—demonstrating how uncompromising the violent religious fanatics in Pakistan tend to be.

Christian Daily International recently reported that the Islamabad High Court has ordered the formation of an investigatory body to look into so-called “blasphemy business groups” which, according to police, are responsible for “90 percent of blasphemy cases reported to and registered by [the Federal Investigation Agency].” Predictably, the judge who made the ruling has since faced death threats from extremists. Despite every indication that the near-lawlessness and rampant vigilantism in Pakistan has proven to have staying power, this development may deal a real blow against organized vigilante groups' ability to imprison and sentence people to death for an imaginary crime.

EXMNA Insights

The Nation of Islam (NOI) was founded in 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad in Detroit, at a time when Black Americans faced especially severe racial discrimination and economic challenges. The movement emphasized self-sufficiency, racial pride, and religious identity, combining elements of Islam with Black nationalist teachings. When Fard Muhammad disappeared in 1934, leadership passed to Elijah Muhammad, who expanded the NOI’s influence across urban Black communities.

Under Elijah Muhammad, the NOI promoted economic independence, moral discipline, and racial separation, rejecting integration and instead encouraging Black Americans to build their own businesses and institutions. One of his most significant cultural initiatives was urging followers to abandon their “slave” names—European surnames given to their ancestors during slavery. Instead, members adopted Muslim names or, in many cases, an “X”, symbolizing the loss of their true African heritage.

Figures like Malcolm X brought national attention to the movement, though he later distanced himself from its ideology. After Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, his son Warith Deen Mohammed moved the group toward mainstream Sunni Islam. However, Louis Farrakhan later revived the NOI’s original teachings, doubling down on the concept of Black Supremacy via the denigration of White Europeans. 

The NOI has long been known for its secrecy, particularly regarding its religious practices, which differ significantly from, and are rejected by, mainstream Islam. While the NOI identifies as a form of Islam, its theology diverges from traditional Sunni and Shia beliefs, incorporating elements that are considered heretical to Islam such as the deification of Wallace Fard Muhammad as Allah in human form. The NOI’s teachings reject many other core Islamic tenets, such as the universal nature of Islam and most importantly, the finality of Prophet Muhammad, similar to the claims of the Ahmadiyya sect that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the promised Messiah. NOI, instead, bases its teachings on a racist myth that White people are “blue eyed devils” created around 6,000 years ago by a scientist named Yakub through genetic experimentation in a laboratory.

The organization also maintains an internal group of “militant” “soldiers”, the Fruit of Islam. Rituals and daily practices within the NOI remain largely opaque to outsiders. This secrecy, combined with the group’s historical clash with mainstream Muslim communities, raises questions about the balance between religious conviction and ideological exclusivity. While the NOI has promoted Black self-sufficiency, its unconventional doctrines and assertions of Black racial superiority pushes its ideology further into the realm of extremism.

As Black History Month highlights the contributions of African Americans, it also presents an opportunity to examine the complex and often overlooked relationship between Islam and the Black community. The Nation of Islam didn’t so much empower Black Americans as it did harness and direct their existing frustrations—tapping into a pre-existing wave of disillusionment, much like present-day politics have with institutional distrust. Rather than building something new, the NOI co-opted black churches as recruiting grounds, using their infrastructure to advance a theology that included not just black separatism but outright black supremacy propelled by the myth of white racial inferiority.

Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

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