By A.L. Batey
September 4, 2025
2025 is an exciting moment to be engaged in the study of W.D. Fard. With the increasing digitization of once obscure sources – local newspapers, ship manifests, geological and city records, and even federal A-Files – the elusive figure who founded the Nation of Islam is gradually becoming less enigmatic. Fard’s movements up to 1934 can now be traced with far greater clarity than ever before, providing nearly three decades of documented activity. At the same time, the intellectual and cultural origins of many of his teachings are being more firmly contextualized and connected. In this regard, Dr. John Andrew Morrow and Bilal Muhammad’s W.D. Fard: The Man, Myth, and Mystery Behind the Nation of Islam stands out as perhaps the most comprehensive and up-to-date work on Fard, offering a balanced synthesis of the evidence currently available.
Most who are familiar with the Nation of Islam recognize that its theology, like that of many new religious movements, is not entirely novel but rather a syncretic blend – a confluence of older religious traditions and teachings reshaped into a unique framework. What sets W.D. Fard: The Man, Myth, and Mystery Behind the Nation of Islam apart is the unprecedented depth with which it examines this syncretism, particularly through the lens of Fard’s engagement with the Bible Students, the religious group later known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. The book demonstrates not only the familiar borrowing of 1914 – a year of prophetic significance held exclusively by Jehovah’s Witnesses – but also presents compelling evidence that Fard may have taught directly from Watchtower literature itself. This represents a level of interconnection far deeper than scholars previously documented.
Equally groundbreaking is the authors’ study of Fard’s time at San Quentin, research that is unprecedented in its scope and precision. By scrutinizing prison records, personal networks, and the religious ferment that permeated such environments, they open new possibilities and probabilities concerning Fard’s spiritual formation. These findings point to currents like the Theosophical Society, a popular esoteric movement at the time whose cosmology and racial theories bear striking parallels to elements later found in the Nation of Islam.
Furthermore, the book delves into the more esoteric dimensions of Fard’s teachings, tracing the possible and probable origins of some of the Nation of Islam’s most distinctive doctrines. Among these are the myth of Yakub, the scientist said to have created the white race; the Mother Plane, a cosmic airship prophesied to play a role in divine judgment; and other core tenets that became foundational under Elijah Muhammad’s leadership. By carefully connecting these dots across historical, theological, and cultural sources, the book not only sheds light on the intellectual genealogy of Fard’s message but also situates the Nation of Islam within broader currents of early 20th-century American religious experimentation.
Chapter 8 of W.D. Fard: The Man, Myth, and Mystery Behind the Nation of Islam stands out as particularly compelling because it draws extensively on Supreme Minister John Muhammad’s firsthand recollections of Fard, providing rare insight into the human being behind the mythologized figure. Through speeches – many only recently made available and still largely unknown to the broader public – John Muhammad offers historical details that shed light on Fard’s origins, family background, and personal habits. He recounts, for instance, that Fard described his father as a dark-skinned Black man and his mother as a light-skinned woman from the mountains of Kashmir, raising the possibility of South Asian, and perhaps even Kalash, ancestry. John Muhammad also preserved more unusual anecdotes, including Fard’s claim of telepathic communication with his brother in Asia – communication that could supposedly be disrupted by something as simple as a lemon – as well as his mystical demonstrations with water and hair meant to showcase his wisdom and supernatural powers. While extraordinary, these accounts enrich our understanding of Fard as a charismatic, enigmatic teacher who blended mythmaking, quasi-scientific ideas, and spiritual showmanship in ways that captivated his followers. In this sense, the chapter is a treasure trove for readers seeking to see beyond the legend and better grasp the complex personality at the center of the Nation of Islam’s origins.
One of the more fascinating discoveries concerns Fard’s time in Salem, Oregon, where he worked as a tamale vendor. This period appears to have been one of the most stable chapters in his early life in America. Oregon had long been recognized as part of Fard’s early footprint – something first revealed through the declassification of his FBI files decades ago and later explored in depth by the legendary Fardologist Karl Evanzz in Chameleon, tracing Fard’s movements back as far as 1908. Although Evanzz mistakenly identified Fard as Alam Khan, thank goodness for Kevin Morris, whose research corrected the record. Morris uncovered what remains the earliest known documentation of Fard in the United States: his arrival aboard the SS Coptic in January 1907. Read the 2025 W.D. Fard’s First Footsteps in America for more detailed information. Morris also traced Fard’s associates and movements, which pointed decisively toward Portland, Oregon, after his initial landing in California. Dr. Morrow and Mr. Muhammad examine Fard’s activities and interests in Salem as they relate to the political and religious framework of the Nation of Islam. They build on this foundation by analyzing a remarkable 1915 article from his time in the city. – “jwlaimiemaoghamaogharraonom” – that appears to have been deliberately coded. When unraveled, the text references a name he may have used to embed hidden or divine messages, foreshadowing the symbolic framework of the teachings he later developed in the Nation of Islam.
A compelling chapter on facial recognition analysis of the surviving photographs further confirms what the expanding body of evidence already demonstrates: Fard and Ford are the same individual. To dispute that W. D. Fard is W. D. Ford is to occupy a position in this discipline as objectively untenable as denying the Earth’s sphericity. The November 24, 1932 photo published in the Detroit Free Press – uncovered less than two decades ago – and the November 26, 1932 photo from the Des Moines Tribune, discovered in 2020 by Bilal Muhammad, establish this link beyond any reasonable doubt.
The book offers far more new and corrected information than can be fully conveyed here – enough that to detail it all would risk spoiling the experience of discovery for the reader. Among its most intriguing contributions are revelations tied to the Actual Facts, the enigmatic catechism central to early Nation of Islam teachings. The authors also revisit the question of the mysterious white man, Wali Muhammad, described by John Muhammad as one of Fard’s early followers – an identity that has long puzzled scholars. Equally valuable are the newly unearthed notes from the early Chicago Temple, which shed light on the organizational and doctrinal development of the movement during its formative years. Perhaps most groundbreaking is the forensic linguistic analysis of Fard’s handwritten and typed writings, offering fresh insights into authorship, style, and intent. Finally, the work probes new possibilities regarding Fard’s fate after his disappearance in 1934 – arguably the greatest unanswered question surrounding him. Taken together, these findings make the book a landmark in Fard studies, expanding both the factual record and the interpretive horizons of one of America’s most enigmatic religious founders.
It also highlights a less explored side of Malcolm X: his engagement with Shi‘a Islam. While most assume Malcolm only turned to Sunni teachings after leaving the Nation of Islam, he had already encountered Shi‘a-inspired ideas within the NOI, such as Elijah Muhammad’s references to the Twelve Imams and the Twenty-Four Wise Scientists. Later, Malcolm deepened these connections through figures like Mohammad Taqi Mehdi, a Shi‘a activist in New York. This Shi‘a influence, often overshadowed by his Sunni studies, remains a crucial but underexamined part of Malcolm’s intellectual and spiritual legacy.
Overall, W.D. Fard: The Man, Myth, and Mystery Behind the Nation of Islam is an exceptional and compelling work – truly a page-turner that will captivate anyone interested in religion, history, and mystery. It presents groundbreaking research, clarifies long-debated questions, and offers new perspectives on one of America’s most enigmatic religious figures. Research into Fard is ongoing, and scholars are invited to collaborate, share insights, and engage in deep digging. We are still on Fard’s trail, working to uncover his origins prior to 1907 and, perhaps most importantly, tracing where he might have gone after 1934. For scholars, enthusiasts, and casual readers alike, this book is nothing short of a treasure and perhaps the best single work available on W.D. Fard to date – an absolute must-read for anyone seeking to understand the man behind the Nation of Islam.
Dr. John Andrew Morrow 