The Messianic Response:

Let's dissect the Nation of Islam's statement of faith from a Biblical perspective:

1. WE BELIEVE In the One God whose proper Name is Allah.

The Tanach (Old Testament) was here thousands of years BEFORE the Koran (the book of "Allah"), and the Creator told us that His Name was YHWH (Exodus 6:3; 20:7; see also 3:14). Scholars believe that "YHWH," or "Yahweh" is the third person singular form of the ancient Hebrew verb, "haya," meaning "to be." The basic thrust of this verb describes the state of existence. As the third person form of haya, YHWH literally means "He is," or "He exists." It is a description of who God is. He is the self-existing one. "Allah" is simply Arabic for "God"; it is a title, not a name.

2. WE BELIEVE in the Holy Qur'an and in the Scriptures of all the Prophets of God.

The Qur'an, the "holy book" of Islam, was founded by Muhammed some six hundred years after the death of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ). Muhammed was a violent man, a warlord who led men into battle and murdered disarmed opponents (notice how the Nation of Islam's statement of faith doesn't even mention THAT particular Muhammed!). As he gained power, he became progressively more violent, and forced people to convert or die. He also "married" a young girl between the age of 6 - 9, which clearly made him a pedophile. As for the "Prophets of God", they are listed in the Bible.

3. WE BELIEVE in the truth of the Bible, but we believe that it has been tampered with and must be reinterpreted so that mankind will not be snared by the falsehoods that have been added to it.

Nation of Islam are willing to believe in something written and initially arranged in no particular order by a mere man (Mohammed) six hundred years AFTER Christ - yet they believe the "God-breathed" Bible must be "reinterpreted"? In the meantime, they have accepted the Qur'an as truth, and decided to ignore God's original Word which contains the Truth about God and the origins of the universe; and which foreshadowed the promised Redeemer, Yeshua, who died in order to offer us eternal life (whereas "Allah" expects us to die for him!). The Bible which the Nation of Islam ignores, is a guide for life that shows us how to live together in unity. It has provided hundreds of prophecies about the world's future (most of which have already come true!), and gives us a glimpse about the afterlife.

4. WE BELIEVE in Allah's Prophets and the Scriptures they brought to the people.

If they believed in THE CREATOR'S prophets and the Scriptures, then they would be adhering to the Bible only, because the Bible is the ONLY Word of God! More than 300 prophecies have been already been fulfilled, and are continuing to unfold before our eyes. The Qur'an cannot make the same claim.

5. WE BELIEVE in the the resurrection of the dead--not in physical resurrection--but in mental resurrection. We believe that the so-called Negroes are most in need of mental resurrection; therefore they will be resurrected first.

"Mental resurrection"? If there is no such thing as PHYSICAL resurrection, then why was Yeshua's body never found? How was it that the guarded, sealed tomb was empty, containing only His grave clothes? How was it that at least 500 people saw Him AFTER His death? (See Daniel 12:2-3, Ezekiel 37:1-12, Isaiah 26:19) As the New Testament evidence shows, Paul's 1 Cor. 15 word for "body" can have no other meaning than a physical body. The word anastasis, used times in the NT, can only mean bodily resurrection.

And what, exactly, is meant by "so-called Negroes are most in need of mental resurrection"? Negroes will be "resurrected first"? That supposed "truth" isn't found either in the Bible or the Qur'an! 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17 tells us "the dead in Christ will rise first", and after that, "we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air...." Nothing is mentioned about race or color.

Furthermore, we believe we are the people of God's choice, as it has been written, that God would choose the rejected and the despised. We can find no other persons fitting this description in these last days more that the so-called Negroes in America. We believe in the resurrection of the righteous.

Where was it written that God would "choose the rejected and the despised"? Isaiah 53 tells us that "He was despised and rejected" - which refers to the Messiah, not the "Negroes in America". (What kind of a God or Savior would come only for one certain race of people? Did not God create us all?) If Nation of Islam wants to get technical about a "chosen" people, perhaps they need to be reminded that the Bible is clear about the fact that the Jews are God's "chosen" people (and "Jews" consist of all colors!):

Deuteronomy 7:6-8: For you are a people set apart as holy for ADONAI your God. ADONAI your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own unique treasure. 7 ADONAI didn't set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people - on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 Rather, it was because ADONAI loved you, and because he wanted to keep the oath which he had sworn to your ancestors, that ADONAI brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from a life of slavery under the hand of Pharoah king of Egypt.

It is clear that "the Nation of Islam" has picked and chosen, not to mention grossly misinterpreted Bible Scripture!

6. WE BELIEVE in the judgment; we believe this first judgment will take place as God revealed, in America...

And exactly where in the Bible did He reveal this "first judgment" would take place in America? America isn't even mentioned in the Bible! Notice how Nation of Islam doesn't bother providing Scripture references....

7. WE BELIEVE this is the time in history for the separation of the so-called Negroes and the so-called white Americans. We believe the black man should be freed in name as well as in fact. By this we mean that he should be freed from the names imposed upon him by his former slave masters. Names which identified him as being the slave master's slave. We believe that if we are free indeed, we should go in our own people's names--the black people of the Earth.

The above is a racist statement - which certainly knocks a hole in "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 19:19, and Luke 10:27). While it was a complete, ungodly injustice which the White Man perpetrated on the African Blacks - if the Nation of Islam truly believes in this kind of separation at this point in time, perhaps they should return to the jungles of Africa, and stop partaking of America's freedoms, jobs, and wealth, etc., which happen to be available to all. (If they think they Black Man is being unfairly treated in the USA, we'd like to remind them of the discrimination they would suffer in other countries, including the Apartheid in Africa!)

8. WE BELIEVE in justice for all, whether in God or not; we believe as others, that we are due equal justice as human beings. We believe in equality--as a nation--of equals. We do not believe that we are equal with our slave masters in the status of "freed slaves."

And we all WILL receive justice on Judgment Day. What happened physically here on earth will mean nothing in the Kingdom of God. The ONLY thing He will look at is the condition of our hearts; on whether or not we put aside our limited, human mindsets and were believers in the shed blood of Christ. Today's Negro is far removed from their enslaved ancestors; today's Negroes in the U.S. have no "slave masters". As a matter of fact, in the U.S., Blacks have the same opportunities as Whites. The key obstacle, usually, is money - which many Whites lack, as well. The bottom line is: are you willing to WORK for it?

9. WE BELIEVE that the offer of integration is hypocritical and is made by those who are trying to deceive the black peoples into believing that their 400-year-old open enemies of freedom, justice and equality are, all of a sudden, their "friends." Furthermore, we believe that such deception is intended to prevent black people from realizing that the time in history has arrived for the separation from the whites of this nation.

If the white people are truthful about their professed friendship toward the so-called Negro, they can prove it by dividing up America with their slaves.

We do not believe that America will ever be able to furnish enough jobs for her own millions of unemployed, in addition to jobs for the 20,000,000 black people as well.

"Dividing up America with their slaves"? What does that mean???? What does the above have to do with the Kingdom of God? It is nothing more than racial whining and hate-speech designed to rile up the Black population of America. If the Nation of Islam is concerned about the lack of jobs in America, perhaps they should all consider moving to another country. (SUGGESTION: Check out that other country's unemployment status first! You might decide you're better off remaining in the USA....) Better yet, how about participating in the nation's economy and creating jobs instead of just waiting for them to be handed to you?)

10. WE BELIEVE that we who declare ourselves to be righteous Muslims, should not participate in wars which take the lives of humans. We do not believe this nation should force us to take part in such wars, for we have nothing to gain from it unless America agrees to give us the necessary territory wherein we may have something to fight for.

The draft ended up in 1972. If you don't want to go to war, don't join the military! Citizens are supposed to be honored to fight for their country. But it is clear the Nation of Islam is not. Whoever is not willing to fight FOR our country, they are cordinally invited to leave and join some other country. Nobody is forcing members of the Nation of Islam to remain here. Furthermore, the USA does not owe the Nation of Islam their own territory! It seems the entire Nation of Islam are hanging onto the coat tails of Cassius Clay AKA "Muhammed Ali" - who insisted he didn't believe in fighting, yet hypocritically, he made his living as a boxer....

11. WE BELIEVE our women should be respected and protected as the women of other nationalities are respected....

Question: What do the last few points have to do with a statement of faith? American Black women, like women of any other race, are able to get all the respect they deserve. Respect has to be EARNED! Example: Everyone respects Oprah Winfrey, who is perhaps the richest woman in the world (who also happens to be Black). She EARNED her respect by WORKING hard.... (What a novel concept, eh?)

12. WE BELIEVE that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited "Messiah" of the Christians and the "Mahdi" of the Muslims.

And what, exactly, has "Master W. Fard Muhammad" done for the Black Americans? Judging from the above, he instilled hatred into the Negroes so that they could exact revenge from "the White Man". Did he die in exchange for our sins so that we might all have a chance at eternal life? Did he provide any commandments to show how you could overcome your hatred and learn to live within your situation? How many Bible prophecies did He fulfill? Did he meet the "qualifications" of Messiah as outlined in the Tanach? Fard certainly was NOT the "long-awaited "Messiah" of the Christians - the Person who was God Incarnate and came, in part, to show us how to LOVE one another and how to live together in unity! What blasphemy; what a slap in the face of our Savior!

We believe further and lastly that Allah is God and besides HIM there is no god and He will bring about a universal government of peace wherein we all can live in peace together.

If you believe "Allah" is God, then you are ALL destined for hell, simple as that. Re-read your Bibles and repent, for you are being deceived by Satan....

FINAL NOTE FROM THE REFINER'S FIRE: As you can see from the above, the Nation of Islam isn't adhering to the Word of God, but to the words of man. Their entire statement of faith bears witness to this. It is a jumble of twisted Scriptures, added to and/or misinterpreted. Their focus, rather than on God, seems to center on seeking revenge for their forebears who were used as slaves during the early years of American history. Racial anger and hated is evident throughout. Furthermore, the fact that this particular "religion" is demonic is amply evidenced in an e-mail that was sent to The Refiner's Fire from a representative at the Mohammad Speaks website:

"You devil whore! You better watch yourself. Allah is the True and the Living God. AND YOU KNOW IT! YOU ARE JEALOUS AND ENVIOUS THAT YOUR LITTLE PIECE OF WEBSITE CAN NOT COMPARE TO THE KNOWLEDGE GIVEN OUT ON MUHAMMAD SPEAKS. FROM HERE ON OUT, YOU ARE GOING TO CATCH MORE HELL THAN YOU HAVE EVER CAUGHT. AND EACH TIME YOU WILL THINK OF NOTHING OTHER THAN MUHAMMAD SPEAKS WEBSITE!"

By the way, since the Nation of Islam consists of "Black Americans", perhaps someone should point out to you that Qur'an contains some "scriptures" that sound extremely racist:

"On the day when some faces will be whitened and some faces will be blackened, say to those whose faces will be blackened, 'Did ye reject faith after accepting it? Taste then the penalty for rejecting faith.' But those whose faces will be whitened, they will be in God's mercy: therein to dwell." (Sura Al-i-Imran, 3:106-107)

"And on the day of resurrection you shall see those who lied against Allah; their faces shall be blackened. Is there not in hell an abode for the proud?" (Sura Al-i-Imran, 39.60)

Why is white equated with goodness and black equated with evil? If a Black person was faithful to Allah and the Qur'an, will his face be "whitened" on Judgment Day?

Muslims insist that racism and slavery are Christian phenomena. Yet while the British Empire was abolishing slavery under pressure from British Christians such as David Livingstone and William Wilberforce, Arab Muslims were enslaving Africans (i.e. following the promise by Allah concerning those [captives] "that your right hand possesses" from Sura Nisaa, 4:3). Why have Muslim countries never been involved in the movement for the abolition of slavery?

Just something to think about.....