In this episode of Based Camp, Malcolm and Simone dive deep into the fascinating and controversial origins of the Nation of Islam. Did you know that one of the largest Black supremacist religions was actually founded by a white man? Join us as we unravel the bizarre history of Wallace Fard Muhammad, his mysterious background, and the strange blend of conspiracy, occult teachings, and social movements that shaped the Nation of Islam. We explore: * The true identity and criminal past of Wallace Fard Muhammad * How elements from white nationalist and occult groups were woven into NOI doctrine * The infamous Yakub story and its roots in early 20th-century pseudoscience * The influence of other movements like the Moorish Science Temple and Marcus Garvey’s UNIA * The evolution of the Nation of Islam, its famous followers, and why many eventually left for mainstream Islam Expect a wild ride through history, religion, and the psychology of cult leadership, with plenty of humor and critical analysis along the way. If you’re interested in the intersection of race, religion, and American history, this episode is for you! Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more deep dives and thought-provoking discussions.Episode Transcript: Malcolm Collins: HELLO SIMONE! You have been excited about this episode since I gave you the dirt because I was like, did you know, because I didn’t know this. I looked at the, everyone’s always joking about the whole Yakob story and Nation and Islam and what a bunch of silly beliefs and. And then somehow I was watching the video and it just dropped, like, and by the way, it was founded by a white guy. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. The largest black supremacist religion. I think it’s the largest on earth right now. Was founded by a white guy. I was like, I need to drill in on that. This one, this, this is Simone Collins: like fat positivity be being founded by chubby chasers, like by men. Oh, no, Malcolm Collins: no, no. It’s worse. It was founded by a white guy. As a joke to troll African Americans. Simone Collins: So do we have reason to believe it was actually a joke and not, like, not something else? Malcolm Collins: It was likely a way to make money combined with a joke. Simone Collins: Okay. So like a scam. Okay. Wow. [00:01:00] Wow. Okay. Oh. Let’s get always so excited for this episode. You have no idea. Yeah, Malcolm Collins: yeah. Oh, I mean, it gets crazier. Many of the ideas in it were actually lifted from white nationalist conspiracy groups that would do mailers and you could like pay to have like mail sent to you about the way the world really works. You know how like when the internet started you could like. Pay to get like the schematics for a time machine or something like that? No, in, like, if you go to like the 1920s, this was common for like religious stuff. Like, like, like, okay. I’d say like philosophical society stuff, paranormal society stuff. And a number of them were tied to white nationalist organizations. Oh, Lord. Lord. And they were the ones that he constructed his religion out of. Oh no. So this is gonna get so crazy, so wild. Let’s dive in. And Simone just believe me, at first, and she had to Google the guy and she was like, no, no, Simone Collins: no, no. I was like, no, he is definitely, there’s no way this is possible. I was gonna be like, well, actually it [00:02:00] was wrong. Malcolm Collins: Keep in mind, this is like the religion of like Malcolm X and like Muhammad Ali, right? Like this is like major black people have followed this as like a faith structure. I think Simone Collins: it’s pretty big even in Philadelphia if memory. Oh, Malcolm Collins: yeah. Yeah. And it, well, it’s, it’s shrinking now. It’s basically falling apart. It’s probably good Simone Collins: in light of this. I, Malcolm Collins: yeah. Okay. So the founder, Wallace d Farrad. Also known as Wally, DOD Ferard, Wallace Ferard, et cetera. He was a mysterious figure who appeared in Detroit in 1930s selling skills door to door in black neighborhoods claiming to be from the Middle East, variously Mecca, the east, the tribe of Shaba Shabaz most contemporary police records. FBI files newspaper investigations from the 1930 to 1960s and scholarly research. Identify him as Wallace Do. Ford, a white man of New Zealand, European, and possibly mixed British [00:03:00] Polynesian descent. What born 1891 to 1893 sources differ. He was either born in New Zealand, Hawaii, or Portland, Oregon. Conflict. He has a criminal record in California under the name Wally DOD Ford. Arrested multiple times in the 1920s for bootlegging and assault and a 1926 prison sentence in San Quentin for drug dealing. He is described by both court records and ex-wives as Caucasian. So. But note if you’re like, well, maybe he was a little Polynesian or a little something that like, that we know from all of his arrest records. And when he was in prison, he was descri
