Noble Drew Ali, Timothy: - Timothy Drew (1886-1929), known to followers as Noble Drew Ali and also as the Prophet, founded the Moorish Science Temple of America, in Newark, N.
J., in 1913.
The work begins with a long narrative spanning from the Fall of Man to the Resurrection of Jesus; it includes moral instructions by Drew Ali and closes with a prophecy of the imminent uplift of fallen humanity..
The group\'s sacred text was the Holy Koran, which was distinct from the Qurʾān of orthodox Islam and which members considered to have been divinely revealed by Allah to Drew Ali.
Rigorous obedience to the Prophet\'s regulations was required, and certain foods were forbidden.
Many of the group\'s formal practices were derived from Muslim observances.
He also encouraged use of the term Moor rather than black in self-identification.
He advocated that they should return to the Islam of their Moorish forefathers, redeeming themselves from racial oppression by reclaiming their historical spiritual heritage.
Drew Ali taught that all blacks were of Moorish origins but had their Muslim identity taken away from them through slavery and racial segregation.
Noble Drew Ali, Timothy: - Timothy Drew (1886-1929), known to followers as Noble Drew Ali and also as the Prophet, founded the Moorish Science Temple of America, in Newark, N.
J., in 1913
