Teaching Documents by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
When somebody is called a dinosaur, it means they are old-fashioned, resistant to change, a relic... more When somebody is called a dinosaur, it means they are old-fashioned, resistant to change, a relic of a bygone past. By many 2022 standards I am a dinosaur-proudly so. Many people today are "taking flight" into "Woke" exotica and mystical spiritualism, but also Easy-Bake intellectuality as well as delusions of grandeur. I'm just a mundane, but bankable, academic.
Dissertation by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
Doctoral Dissertation
Islam is often viewed as the religion par excellence of divine transcen... more Doctoral Dissertation
Islam is often viewed as the religion par excellence of divine transcendence. God is khilāf al-'ālam, “the absolute divergence from the world” and this characteristically Islamic doctrine of mukhālafa “(divine) otherness” precludes divine corporeality. In as much as this latter is conditio sine qua non of visibility, it is axiomatic that the God of Islam in invisible and therefore non-theophanous. This tradition of divine invisibility and incorporeal transcendence is in radical discontinuity with the Biblical/Semitic and ancient Near Eastern tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism and perilous visio Dei, according to which God/the gods has/have bodies human of shape but transcendent in substance, manner of being, and effect. Seeing this transcendently anthropomorphic deity is possible but dangerous for mortal onlookers. The profound disparity between Islamic and Biblical/ancient Near Eastern articulations of divine transcendence raises questions regarding Islam’s place among the Semitic religions.
This dissertation argues that as a member of the Semitic religions Islam too possessed a tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism, theophany and visio Dei, which tradition likely originated with the Prophet Muhammad. When read in the context of possible Biblical and ancient Near Eastern narrative/mythological subtexts, rather than affirming divine invisibility the relevant Qur'ānic passages seem to qualify divine visibility and theophany. It is argued here that despite the Aristotelian-Neoplatonic critique of anthropomorphism by rationalist groups such as the Mu'tazila a defining aspect of the traditionalist Sunnī 'aqīda or creed for the first four centuries (9th-12th CE) was the affirmation of Muhammad’s visual encounter with God. As in post-Maimonidean Judaism, however, the Aristotelian-Neoplatonic revision of the Sunnī creed will eventually be so successful that it has resulted in the near-total forgetting of this earlier Islamic tradition of anthropomorphic theophany and Visio Dei.
Malcolm X Research by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
"Muslim gunmen pulled the trigger, but the available record, including government documents, stro... more "Muslim gunmen pulled the trigger, but the available record, including government documents, strongly suggests that Malcolm X was the victim of a government-inspired political assassination." - William W. Sales, Jr. "From Civil Rights To Black Liberation: Malcolm X and the Organization
of Afro-American Unity" (Boston: South End Press, 1994)
A "Deep Event" (Peter Dale Scott) is an event rooted in the illegal covert activity of U.S. intel... more A "Deep Event" (Peter Dale Scott) is an event rooted in the illegal covert activity of U.S. intelligence and accompanied by official cover-up. The major Deep Events in American history (JFK, Watergate, Iran-Contra, etc.) derive in large part from a common source. Behind these Deep Events is the "Deep State." The Assassination of Malcolm X in 1965 and the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in 2001 are two Deep Events. Outwardly two dissimilar events, they yet share common operational protocols (modus operandi) indicating a single network of plotters behind both.
Former Washington Post editor Karl Evanzz is the leading advocate of the "Elijah Killed Malcolm" ... more Former Washington Post editor Karl Evanzz is the leading advocate of the "Elijah Killed Malcolm" claim. He is also the principle fabricator of the evidence supposedly proving that the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad ordered the murder of Malcolm X. In his The Judas Factor: The Plot To Kill Malcolm X (1992), Evanzz writes: On January 7, 1964, the FBI taped a conversation involving Elijah Muhammad which should have-but didn't-resulted in his arrest. The Messenger made a veiled reference to killing Malcolm X. "It's time to close his eyes," Elijah Muhammad said. 1 Many people cite this alleged "Kill Order" of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, all drawing from Evanzz. 2 What is the source of this claim? Evanzz's source at footnote no. 19 (p. 345 of his book) is listed simply as: "Ibid.," a refence to the above footnote no. 18 which reads: "FBI HQ file on Elijah Muhammad." Evazz gives us no help in identifying in which of the hundreds of released FBI files on Elijah Muhammad this alleged "Kill Order" is found. Nevertheless, we have succeeded in locating that document, 3 and we see clearly why Evanzz was reluctant to lead us to it. This document demonstrates two things:
was firebomb in an FBI-and NYPD-involved operation. A justifiably angry Malcolm X immediately lai... more was firebomb in an FBI-and NYPD-involved operation. A justifiably angry Malcolm X immediately laid the blame on the Nation of Islam and any behind-thescenes reconciliation negotiations that might have been engaged in at the time between Malcolm X and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad seemingly went up in flames with the house. On Monday February 15 th Malcolm spoke to around 500 persons at the Audubon Ballroom. A furious Malcolm X voiced for the first time publicly the supposed details of a pact that the Nation of Islam allegedly entered into with the Ku Klux Klan, a "conspiracy between the NOI and the Ku Klux Klan that is not in the best interest of black people," 1 Malcolm claimed. He said further Don't you know? The way they threw that bomb in there they could have thrown it in a Ku Klux Klan house. Why do they want to bomb my house? Why don't they bomb the Klan? I'm going to tell you why. Negroes and therefore lessen the pressure that the integrationists were putting upon the white man. I sat there. I negotiated it. I listened to their offer. And I was the one who went back to Chicago and told Elijah Muhammad what they had offered. Now, this was in December of 1960... From that day onward the Klan never interfered with the Black Muslim movement in the South. Jeremiah attended Klan rallies, as you read on the front page of the New York Tribune. They never bothered him, never touched him. He never touched a Muslim, and a Muslim never touched him. Elijah Muhammad would never let me go back down since January of 1961. I never went South, as long as I remained in the Black Muslim movement, again, from January of 1961, because most of the actions the Muslims got involved in was action that I was involved in myself. Wherever it happened in the country, where there was an action, it was action that I was involved in, because I believed in action. I never have gone along with no Ku Klux Klan. 2
Malcolm was our manhood, our living black manhood. That was his meaning to his people. And, in ho... more Malcolm was our manhood, our living black manhood. That was his meaning to his people. And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves...And we will know him then for what he was and is-a Prince, our own shining Black Prince who didn't hesitate to die, because he loved us so.-Ozzie Davis, Eulogy for Malcolm X Muslims, do you know that we are the only thing that stands in between their wicked plan of the demasculinization of Black men? The ONLY thing that stands between that is the Nation of Islam!-The Honorable Brother Minister Farrakhan, Watergate Press Conference, November 16, 2017. "a cursory glance at the footnotes reveals that [Manning] Marable's conclusions lack concrete evidence." 1
One myth that is important to the Malcolm X False Narrative is the claim that, in preparation for... more One myth that is important to the Malcolm X False Narrative is the claim that, in preparation for the February 21 st assassination, the Nation of Islam rented the Audubon Ballroom a week prior (Tuesday, February 16) in order to dress rehearse the upcoming Hit. This "dry-run" allegation is a pillar of the larger "The Black Muslims Killed Malcolm X" false narrative; Les Payne and Tamara Payne included a whole "Dry-Run" chapter in their Pulitzer Prize winning Malcolm X biography. 1 But this "Dry-Run" allegation itself is demonstrably false. We find the claim spelled out in the Journal American two weeks after the murder: Black Muslims rented the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan less than a week before the February 21 murder there of Black Nationalist leader Malcolm X, for an apparent "dress rehearsal" of the assassination, a high police official told The Journal-American today. "Except for the mishap of one man getting shot before he could make it to the door, their plan worked smoothly, almost perfectly," the official said. "The killers must have had prior knowledge of the ballroom and the building itself in order to execute their plan with such a degree of speed and precision. The Black Muslims had never used the ballroom before. It seems to be more than mere coincidence that they should suddenly choose to hold a meeting in the very place that Malcolm was to appear the following Sunday. During the Muslim meeting there would have been ample opportunity to study exits and entrances, to plan step by step the timing and determine the escape routes. It is conceivable that a dry run took place during that meeting.' Disclosure of the murderous 'practice session' came as the third and final alleged trigger-man in the killing faced arraignment today on a homicide charge in Criminal
As an organization, upon the orders of Elijah Muhammad the Nation of Islam were the killers of Ma... more As an organization, upon the orders of Elijah Muhammad the Nation of Islam were the killers of Malcolm X.-Zak Kondo on Riot Starters TV February 24, 2022 Zak Kondo has been described as the author of "a definitive account of the assassination." 1 However, his account, Conspiracys: Unravelling the Assassination of Malcolm X, 2 is anything but definitive. In fact, many of Kondo's conclusions are demonstrably wrong. Amiri Baraka offers this just criticism of Manning Marable's book, Malcom X: A Life of Reinvention 3 : "Marable spends most of his time trying to make the NOI Malcolm's murders." 4 This criticism applies with equal force to Zak Kondo. And, in order to make the Nation of Islam the murders of Malcolm X, Kondo has engaged in some very suspect scholarly practices, not unlike Karl Evanzz. 5 Kondo, like Evanzz, often totally misrepresents his sources. This misrepresentation always leads to the same conclusion: Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam's guilt. But the point here is important: Kondo has to misrepresent his sources in order to make Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam guilty. I cite three examples here.
Bro Omar Shabazz released a video entitled "Is Dr. Wesley's Malcolm X Narrative Credible: I'm Zak... more Bro Omar Shabazz released a video entitled "Is Dr. Wesley's Malcolm X Narrative Credible: I'm Zak Kondo." This is a video response to my Baltimore lecture on the Assassination of Malcolm X in which I ask-and convincingly answer-the question, "Is Zak Kondo's Narrative Credible." I demonstrate that it is not. Bro Omar seeks to come to Kondo's defense by pointing out alleged errors in my research that supposedly compromises MY credibility. In this, Bro Omar makes one correct-but belatedobservation and one very wrong claim. 1. In an earlier edition of a graph I mistakenly placed an image of NY Minister Henry 24X in the place of Earl Grant. Bro Omar makes this observation correctly, but I had long since corrected and updated the graph. 2. Bro Omar claims that I got it wrong by describing Reuben Francis as "head of security" at the Audubon on 2-21-1965. No Bro Omar, my research was and is correct, Sidney Seal's recollection notwithstanding.
We have now looked over 50, 000 Freedom of Information Act files from the FBI and the CIA….they d... more We have now looked over 50, 000 Freedom of Information Act files from the FBI and the CIA….they do show, prior to Malcolm X's death, that the CIA and the State Department were actively monitoring his travels abroad and telling foreign leaders to be wary of him.-Dan Rather, The Real Malcolm X, An Intimate Portrait of the man, CBS Documentary(1992) While the CIA and State Department have been reticent to release many documents from their files on Malcolm X, those released thus far reveal an urgent counterintelligence campaign to "neutralize" Malcolm X after several African and Arab countries offered him financial support in 1964 and vowed to support his petition to the United Nations in which he accused the United States government of violating the human rights of African Americans.
"A sister of the late Black Nationalist leader Malcolm X charged last night that his assassinatio... more "A sister of the late Black Nationalist leader Malcolm X charged last night that his assassination two years ago was instigated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency...Mrs. [Ella] Collins said there had been several attempts to assassinate her brother. She discounted speculation that the Black Muslims were to blame."
Islamic Theology by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
Presentation given at the Milwaukee Public Museum Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible Exhibition Lectu... more Presentation given at the Milwaukee Public Museum Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible Exhibition Lecture Series, April 15, 2010
Journal of the American Oriental Society 129 [2009]: 19-44
Normative Islamic notions of God’s transcendence preclude divine corporeality and anthropomorphis... more Normative Islamic notions of God’s transcendence preclude divine corporeality and anthropomorphism. This tradition of incorporeal transcendence is in radical discontinuity with the Semitic/biblical and ancient Near Eastern tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism, according to which the deity has a body human of shape but transcendent in substance, manner of being, and effect. This profound disparity between Islamic and biblical/ancient Near Eastern articulations of divine transcendence raises questions regarding Islam’s place among the Semitic religions. This paper argues that such a tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism existed in early Islam as well, and not only on the margins. A sufficient number of Arabic sources for the 3rd/9th – 6th/12th centuries suggests that such notions were important to the Sunnism of this period, particularly traditionalist Sunnism. The detail with which these sources speculated on the divine body effectively challenges the view of scholars, such as W.M. Watt and Binyamin Abrahamov, who minimize the role played by notions of divine corporeality and anthropomorphism in the development of Islamic thought. This study argues that this tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism, which seems presupposed even in the Qur’an, places Islam squarely within the tradition of Semitic monotheism, which itself is anchored in the ancient Near Eastern mythic tradition.
American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 25:4 (2008): 61-89
Elijah Muhammad declared unapologetically that “God is a man.” This anthropomorphist doctrine doe... more Elijah Muhammad declared unapologetically that “God is a man.” This anthropomorphist doctrine does violence to modern normative Islamic articulations of Tawheed, ‘monotheism,’ which articulations involve God’s ‘otherness’ from the created world. The Nation of Islam (NOI) has thus been the target of polemics from Muslim leaders from within and without the United States declaring its irredeemable heterodoxy. But in premodern Islam heresy was in the eye of the beholder and ‘orthodoxy’ was a precarious and shifting paradigm. This paper attempts to, in the words of Zafar Ishaq Ansari, “examine how the ‘Nation of Islam’ fits into the framework of Islamic heresiology.” Given the polyphonous nature of Classical Islamic theological discourse, and given also the wide spectrum of doctrines which acquired the community’s assent at various times during the developing articulation of Sunnism, does Elijah Muhammad’s anthropomorphist doctrine have any precedents in Islam’s Classical period and if so, what does this say about the premodern boundaries of theological tolerance? How might this, or should this inform the modern discussion of the NOI’s place within or without these boundaries? And lastly how might the discovery of Classical precedents to central aspects of Black Muslim theology contribute to the enterprise of the “Third Resurrection,” Professor Sherman Jackson’s vision of a period characterized by Blackamerican Muslims’ mastery and appropriation of the Classical Sunni tradition in such a way allowing them to emerge as self-authenticating subjects rather than dependent objects of and in this tradition? This paper will attempt to offer some answers to these questions.
International Journal of Middle East Studies 34 [2002]: 441-463
Today the religion of Islam is most distinctly characterized by the emphasis it places on the tra... more Today the religion of Islam is most distinctly characterized by the emphasis it places on the transcendence of God. God’s otherness (mukhalafa), it is said, is presupposed in Islamic thinking from the Qur'an. A review of the history of dogmatic development in Islam reveals, however, that during the formative period divine transcendence was only one alternative among several models attempting to explain God’s unity. Indeed, it co-existed along side its antithesis “assimilation (tashbih)” or, as we term it, anthropomorphism. Muslim and Western scholars agree that, while the anthropomorphist model certainly existed-the various heresiographies attest to it-it existed on the margins of Islam, the extravagant fancies of a few deviant doctors. As such, anthropomorphist ideas were only marginally relevant, if at all, to Islam’s attempt at theological self-definition. Such is at least the current scholarly consensus. But how accurate is this reading of Islam’s theological history? Has the “main body” always rejected such notions?
Source material for the 9th-10th centuries argue against this conclusion. A closer reading of the dogmatic literature, as well as a fuller elucidation of the doctrinal positions of certain popular and influential personalities suggest amendments to the usual view of theological development in Islam. It seems that in an early period anthropomorphist conceptions enjoyed wide currency among the main body of Muslims. The ninth century saw the beginning of the consolidation of Sunnite doctrine under the leadership of Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 855). An analysis of his views on these matters will therefore go a long way in advancing our understanding of early Sunni doctrine. It will be argued that after Ahmad b. Hanbal assumed leadership of the traditionalist camp during and immediately following the Inquisition (Mihna) inaugurated by the caliph al-Ma"mun (833-850), anthropomorphism achieved ‘orthodox’ recognition.
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Teaching Documents by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
Dissertation by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
Islam is often viewed as the religion par excellence of divine transcendence. God is khilāf al-'ālam, “the absolute divergence from the world” and this characteristically Islamic doctrine of mukhālafa “(divine) otherness” precludes divine corporeality. In as much as this latter is conditio sine qua non of visibility, it is axiomatic that the God of Islam in invisible and therefore non-theophanous. This tradition of divine invisibility and incorporeal transcendence is in radical discontinuity with the Biblical/Semitic and ancient Near Eastern tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism and perilous visio Dei, according to which God/the gods has/have bodies human of shape but transcendent in substance, manner of being, and effect. Seeing this transcendently anthropomorphic deity is possible but dangerous for mortal onlookers. The profound disparity between Islamic and Biblical/ancient Near Eastern articulations of divine transcendence raises questions regarding Islam’s place among the Semitic religions.
This dissertation argues that as a member of the Semitic religions Islam too possessed a tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism, theophany and visio Dei, which tradition likely originated with the Prophet Muhammad. When read in the context of possible Biblical and ancient Near Eastern narrative/mythological subtexts, rather than affirming divine invisibility the relevant Qur'ānic passages seem to qualify divine visibility and theophany. It is argued here that despite the Aristotelian-Neoplatonic critique of anthropomorphism by rationalist groups such as the Mu'tazila a defining aspect of the traditionalist Sunnī 'aqīda or creed for the first four centuries (9th-12th CE) was the affirmation of Muhammad’s visual encounter with God. As in post-Maimonidean Judaism, however, the Aristotelian-Neoplatonic revision of the Sunnī creed will eventually be so successful that it has resulted in the near-total forgetting of this earlier Islamic tradition of anthropomorphic theophany and Visio Dei.
Malcolm X Research by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
of Afro-American Unity" (Boston: South End Press, 1994)
Islamic Theology by Dr. Wesley Muhammad
Source material for the 9th-10th centuries argue against this conclusion. A closer reading of the dogmatic literature, as well as a fuller elucidation of the doctrinal positions of certain popular and influential personalities suggest amendments to the usual view of theological development in Islam. It seems that in an early period anthropomorphist conceptions enjoyed wide currency among the main body of Muslims. The ninth century saw the beginning of the consolidation of Sunnite doctrine under the leadership of Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 855). An analysis of his views on these matters will therefore go a long way in advancing our understanding of early Sunni doctrine. It will be argued that after Ahmad b. Hanbal assumed leadership of the traditionalist camp during and immediately following the Inquisition (Mihna) inaugurated by the caliph al-Ma"mun (833-850), anthropomorphism achieved ‘orthodox’ recognition.
Islam is often viewed as the religion par excellence of divine transcendence. God is khilāf al-'ālam, “the absolute divergence from the world” and this characteristically Islamic doctrine of mukhālafa “(divine) otherness” precludes divine corporeality. In as much as this latter is conditio sine qua non of visibility, it is axiomatic that the God of Islam in invisible and therefore non-theophanous. This tradition of divine invisibility and incorporeal transcendence is in radical discontinuity with the Biblical/Semitic and ancient Near Eastern tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism and perilous visio Dei, according to which God/the gods has/have bodies human of shape but transcendent in substance, manner of being, and effect. Seeing this transcendently anthropomorphic deity is possible but dangerous for mortal onlookers. The profound disparity between Islamic and Biblical/ancient Near Eastern articulations of divine transcendence raises questions regarding Islam’s place among the Semitic religions.
This dissertation argues that as a member of the Semitic religions Islam too possessed a tradition of transcendent anthropomorphism, theophany and visio Dei, which tradition likely originated with the Prophet Muhammad. When read in the context of possible Biblical and ancient Near Eastern narrative/mythological subtexts, rather than affirming divine invisibility the relevant Qur'ānic passages seem to qualify divine visibility and theophany. It is argued here that despite the Aristotelian-Neoplatonic critique of anthropomorphism by rationalist groups such as the Mu'tazila a defining aspect of the traditionalist Sunnī 'aqīda or creed for the first four centuries (9th-12th CE) was the affirmation of Muhammad’s visual encounter with God. As in post-Maimonidean Judaism, however, the Aristotelian-Neoplatonic revision of the Sunnī creed will eventually be so successful that it has resulted in the near-total forgetting of this earlier Islamic tradition of anthropomorphic theophany and Visio Dei.
of Afro-American Unity" (Boston: South End Press, 1994)
Source material for the 9th-10th centuries argue against this conclusion. A closer reading of the dogmatic literature, as well as a fuller elucidation of the doctrinal positions of certain popular and influential personalities suggest amendments to the usual view of theological development in Islam. It seems that in an early period anthropomorphist conceptions enjoyed wide currency among the main body of Muslims. The ninth century saw the beginning of the consolidation of Sunnite doctrine under the leadership of Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 855). An analysis of his views on these matters will therefore go a long way in advancing our understanding of early Sunni doctrine. It will be argued that after Ahmad b. Hanbal assumed leadership of the traditionalist camp during and immediately following the Inquisition (Mihna) inaugurated by the caliph al-Ma"mun (833-850), anthropomorphism achieved ‘orthodox’ recognition.