Thursday, August 17, 2023

2023: Ali, Noble Drew - 'Ali Zaynu

   Ali, Noble Drew

Ali, Noble Drew (Noble Drew Ali)  (Timothy Drew) (January 8, 1886 - July 20, 1929).   Founder of the Moorish Science Temple.  He was born Timothy Drew  in North Carolina.  Noble Ali is principally known for his role in establishing the first North American religious movement combining black nationalist and Muslim themes while rejecting Christianity as the religion of Europeans and European Americans.  

Timothy Drew was born on January 8, 1886 in North Carolina, USA. The accounts of Timothy Drew's ancestry variously describe his being the son of two former slaves who was adopted by a tribe of Cherokees or his being the son of a Moroccan Muslim father and a Cherokee mother.

His mother apparently died while Drew was a young boy, and left him to be raised by an abusive aunt. According to the Moorish Science account, at the age of 16 he befriended a band of Roma ("gypsies") with whom he traveled the world, although other accounts state he shipped out as a merchant seaman, became a railway expressman, or joined a circus and became a stage magician. Some researchers wonder whether Drew actually left the States at all.

Nevertheless, it was supposedly during his travels that Drew met the high priest of an Egyptian cult of magic. In one version of Drew's biography, the leader saw him as a reincarnation of the founder of the cult, while in others he considered him a reincarnation of Jesus. According to the biography, the cult trained him in mysticism and bestowed upon him a lost version of the life of Jesus.

This text came to be known as the Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America (note that this text is never spelled Qur'an). It is also known, somewhat more informally, as the Circle Seven Koran because of its cover, which features a red "7" surrounded by a blue circle.

Drew was anointed the Noble Drew Ali, the Prophet, and launched into his career as head of the Moorish Science Temple.

In 1913 Drew Ali formed the first Moorish Science Temple (Canaanite Temple) in Newark, New Jersey.  He taught that African Americans were “Asiatics” who had originally lived in Morocco before enslavement.  Every people, including African Americans, needed land for themselves, he proclaimed, and North America, which he termed an “extension” of the African continent, was the proper home for African Americans.  The holy book for the Moorish Science Temple was a “Holy Koran” which was “divinely prepared by the Noble Prophet Drew Ali.”  This “Holy Koran” was the creation of Noble Drew Ali and should not be confused with the Qur’an of orthodox Islam.   Every member of the Moorish Temple carried a card stating that “we honor all the Divine Prophets, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha and Confucius” and “I AM A CITIZEN OF THE U.S.A.”

The formation of the Moorish Science Temple is believed to be the precursor to the reappearance of Islam among African Americans.  Noble Drew Ali taught that people of African descent were not Ethiopians, but the descendants of the Moabites of the Bible whose homeland was said to be Morocco. W. D. Fard, the founder of the Nation of Islam in the early 1930s, was originally a member of the Moorish Science Temple.

Forced to flee Newark because of his views on race, Drew Ali and his followers settled in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Detroit.

In the 1920s, the Moorish Science Temple expanded to Pittsburgh and Chicago.  Noble Drew Ali also started several small businesses, which he and his followers ran.

He settled in Chicago in 1925, ostensibly because the Midwest was "closer to Islam", and the following year he officially registered Temple No. 9.

In the late 1920s, it was estimated that the Moorish Temple had 15,000 members in 17 temples, despite coming under scrutiny, and possibly harassment, by the Chicago police. By 1928, the Moorish Temple members had indeed obtained some respectability within Chicago and Illinois, being featured prominently and favorably in the pages of the Chicago Defender, a black newspaper, and conspicuously collaborating with black politician and businessman Daniel Jackson. Drew even attended the 1929 inauguration of the Illinois governor. The Chicago Defender stated that Drew's inauguration trip ended "with interviews with many distinguished citizens from Chicago, who greeted him on every hand".

In early 1929, following a conflict over funds, the business manager of the Chicago Temple No.1 location, Claude Green Bey, a Booster's Club president splintered off, declaring himself Grand Sheik and taking a number of members with him. On March 15, 1929, Green Bey was stabbed to death at the Unity Hall on Indiana Avenue in Chicago. Although out of town at the time, dealing with a separate incident where former Supreme Grand Governor Lomax Bey had also aligned himself with Claude Green Bey's attempted coup, Drew Ali had returned to Chicago and was arrested as an instigator of Green Bey's murder, along with other members of the community. Allegedly beaten by police, Drew Ali was ultimately released as suspect in Green Bey's death, and there was no indictment upheld on Drew Ali at that time.

Shortly after his release, Drew Ali died at his home in Chicago on July 20, 1929. Although the exact circumstances of his death are unknown. the autopsy ruled that Noble Drew Ali died from pneumonia and tuberculosis. Many of his followers speculated that his death was caused by injuries received at the hands of the police or from being beaten by other members of the Moorish Temple community. However, one Moorish Temple community member told the Chicago Defender that "The Prophet was not ill; his work was done and he laid his head upon the lap of one of his followers and passed out".

At the Unity Conference later that year, the governors declared Charles Kirkman Bey as the successor to Drew Ali, naming him Grand Sheik. However, John Givens El, Drew's chauffeur, declared that he was Drew reincarnated, leading to a division within the temples.

On September 25, 1929, the Chicago police, accompanied by two Moorish Temple members, were investigating the apparent kidnapping of Charles Kirkman Bey when, at the home of Ira Johnson, they were met by gunfire from the home. This quickly escalated into a shoot-out that spilled out into the surrounding neighborhood. In the end, a policemen as well as a Moorish Temple member were killed in the gun battle, with a second policeman later dying of his wounds. Sixty "Negroes" were taken into police custody and a reported 1000 police officers patrolled the Chicago South Side that evening. Johnson Bey and two others were later convicted of murder.

The Moorish Science Temple did survive Noble Drew Ali’s death.  However, W. D. Fard's Nation of Islam was soon able to attract some of the Moorish Science Temple's followers and eventually displaced it as the pre-eminent black nationalist religion with Muslim themes.  

Noble Drew Ali see Ali, Noble Drew
Drew, Timothy see Ali, Noble Drew
Timothy Drew see Ali, Noble Drew


'Ali Sastroamidjojo
'Ali Sastroamidjojo (Ali Sastroamijoyo)  (May 21, 1903 - March 13, 1976).   Indonesian nationalist politician. Ali Sastroamidjojo, sometimes written Ali Sastroamijoyo, was the 8th and 10th Prime Minister of Indonesia. He was born in Grabag, Central Java on May 21, 1903 and died in Jakarta on March 13, 1976.

As a student in the Netherlands, 'Ali was arrested in 1927 for his activities in the nationalist Perhimpunan Indonesia Association.  In Indonesia, he was active in successive radical nationalist organizations, Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI), Partindo, and Gerindo.  He became a leader of the postwar PNI and headed two cabinets (July 1953-July 1955 and March 1956-March 1957).  One of the architects of Indonesia’s participation in the nonaligned movement, he hosted the Asian-African conference in Bandung in 1955.  Under Sukarno’s Guided Democracy he led the dominant left wing of the PNI but was removed from leadership in 1966.  

Sastroamidjojo, 'Ali see 'Ali Sastroamidjojo
Ali Sastroamijoyo see 'Ali Sastroamidjojo
Sastroamijoyo, Ali see 'Ali Sastroamidjojo


'Ali, Shaukat
'Ali, Shaukat (Shaukat 'Ali) (Maulana Shaukat Ali)  (1873-1938).  One of the leading Indian Muslim political activists of his generation.  He attended Aligarh College and gained renown in the Union debating society.  He entered government service in the Opium Department.  He took an active interest in the affairs of Aligarh College and its alumni association.  Shaukat’s first nationwide exposure came during his fundraising tours for Aligarh College in 1911.  Shaukat and his brother Mohamed became firm opponents of British rule under the combined shock of the Balkan wars, British refusal of university status to Aligarh College in 1912, and the Kanpur Mosque incident in 1913.  They were interned for four years during World War I for their pro-Turkish activities.  Released in 1919, they led the Khilafat movement and were imprisoned again in 1921.  

Maulana Shaukat Ali was an Indian Muslim nationalist and leader of the Khilafat movement. He was the brother of Maulana Mohammad Ali.  Shaukat Ali was born in 1873 in Rampur state in what is today Uttar Pradesh. He was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University. He was extremely fond of playing cricket, captaining the university team.

Ali served in the civil service of United Provinces of Oudh and Agra from 1896 to 1913.

Shaukat Ali helped his brother Mohammed Ali publish the Urdu weekly Hamdard and the English weekly Comrade. In 1919, while jailed for publishing what the British charged as seditious materials and organizing protests, he was elected as the first president of the Khilafat conference. He was re-arrested and imprisoned from 1921 to 1923 for his support to Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress during the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1922). His followers accorded him and his brother the title of Maulana. In March 1922, he was incarcerated in Rajkot jail.

Along with his brother, Shaukat Ali grew disilliusioned with the Congress and Gandhi's leadership. He opposed the 1928 Nehru Report, demanding separate electorates for Muslims, and attended the first and second Round Table Conferences in London. His brother died in 1931, and Ali continued on and organized the World Muslim Conference in Jerusalem.

In 1936, Ali joined the All India Muslim League and became a close political ally of and campaigner for Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the future founder of Pakistan. He served as member of the Central Assembly from 1934 to 1938. He travelled over the Middle East, building support for India's Muslims and the struggle for independence.

Shaukat Ali died in 1938.
Shaukat 'Ali see 'Ali, Shaukat
Maulana Shaukat Ali see 'Ali, Shaukat



'Ali, Sunni
'Ali, Sunni .  See Sunni 'Ali.


Alivardi Khan
Alivardi Khan (Ali Vardi Khan) (Mirza Muhammad 'Ali) (May 10, 1671 - April 16, 1756).  Title of Mirza Muhammad 'Ali, third generation Mughal mansabdar.  Backing a loser in the succession wars, he left the court for service under Shuja-ad-din Muhammad Khan in 1720, helped him become nawab of Bengal (July 1727), and was rewarded with the deputy governorship of Bihar in 1733.  From this power base he seized Bengal himself in 1740 and ruled ably, despite the devastating Maratha invasions of 1742 to 1751, until his death at Murshidabad on April 10, 1756.  Ali Vardi Khan was the independent Nawab of Bengal between 1740 and 1756.

Ali Vardi was born on the May 10, 1671. He was named Mirza Muhammad Ali, the son of Shah Quli Khan Mirza Muhammad Madani and the daughter of Nawab Aqil Khan Afshar .His official title was Shuja ul-Mulk, Husam ud-Daula, Nawab Muhammad Alahvirdi Khan Bahadur, Mahabat Jang, Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Alivardi Khan was a Shiite Muslim and his father Mirza Muhammad Madani was an employee of Azam Shah, the son of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Azam Shah also employed the sons of Mirza Muhammad, but after the death of Azam Shah the family fell into poverty.

His two sons Muhammad Ali and Mirza Ahmed managed to find employment under Orissa's Subdedar Suza-ud-Din. After Suza-ud-din was promoted to nawab the two brothers' future prospects widened. In 1728, Suza-ud-din promoted Muhammad Ali to ‘Fauzdar’ (General) and entitled him as Ali Vardi. In 1733, he was assigned as Bihar’s assistant Subedar (governor).

Ali Vardi Khan however wanted to become the ruler of Bengal himself.  On April 29, 1740, he deposed Suza-ud-din, becoming Nawab of Bengal and also got recognition from Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.

During his reign Bengal was attacked twice by the Nagpur Kingdom under Raghoji I Bhonsle in 1746 and 1750. This caused the loss of Cuttack to Nagpur in 1750.

Alivardi Khan died on April 16, 1756. His grandson Siraj-ud-Daula succeeded Ali Vardi Khan as the Nawab of Bengal in April 1756 at the age of 23.

Khan, Alivardi see Alivardi Khan
Mirza Muhammad 'Ali see Alivardi Khan
'Ali, Mirza Muhammad see Alivardi Khan


‘Ali Yaja ibn Tsamia
‘Ali Yaja ibn Tsamia. First Muslim ruler of the Hausa city-state of Kano (c.1349-1385).  During his rule, a foreign Muslim community established itself at Kano, probably as a result of the break-up of the Mali empire.  Although ‘Ali established Islamic offices alongside the traditional ones, Islam remained a foreign element in most of Kano until the reign of Muhammad Rumfa.


‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin
‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin (‘Abu Muhammadi ‘Ali ibn Husayn) ('Ali ibn Husayn) (approximately January 6, 659  - October 20, 712).  Fourth imam of Shi‘a Islam (r. 680 to 712).  Due to his weak health and inability to fight, he was the only son of Husayn to survive the massacre at Karbala.  He was taken as prisoner to Damascus but was freed by the Caliph Yazid and allowed to return to Medina.  He spent his life in seclusion, weeping over the martyrs at Karbala, for which he was named ‘as-Sajjad – “the prostrator.”  He did not involve himself in the politics of this time and was widely well regarded for his piousness.  Of other honorary titles for him, the most commonly used were Zaynu al-Abidin (“the ornament of the worshippers”) and ‘az-Zaki (“the pure”).   He was succeeded by Muhammad al-Baqir in both the Twelver and Isma‘ili traditions and by Zayd in the Zaydi tradition.

‘Alī ibn Ḥusayn is a great-grandson of Muhammad as well as the fourth Shī‘a Imām (the third Imām according to the Ṭayyibī [Bohra] Ismā‘ilī). His mother was Shahrbānū and his father was Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī. His brothers include ‘Alī al-Aṣghar ibn Ḥusayn and ‘Alī al-Akbar ibn Ḥusayn. He is known as Zayn al-Abidīn -- "Beauty/Best of the Worshippers". He is also referred to as Imām al-Sajjad -- "the Prostrating Imām" -- and Sayyid as-Sājjadīna wa r-Rāki‘īn -- "Leader of Those who Prostrate and Bow".

‘Alī ibn Ḥusayn was born in Medina. His father, Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī, was a grandson of Muhammad. His brothers were Ali Akbar ibn Husayn and Ali Asghar ibn Husayn. His sisters were Sakina bint Husayn and Fatimah Sughra bint Husayn

'Ali ibn Husayn dedicated his life to learning and became an authority on prophetic traditions and Shari'a. He is regarded as the source of the third holiest book in Shī‘ah Islam after the Qur'ān and the Nahj al Balagha: the Saḥīfa al-Sajjadiyya, commonly referred to as the Psalms of the Household of Muhammad. ‘Alī ibn Ḥusayn had many supporters such as Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr.

'Ali ibn Husayn was beside his father right from the moment of his migration towards Karbala and followed his father, Husayn ibn Ali step by step.

A segment of the people who are unaware consider Ali ibn Husayn to have been a sick, handicapped, and a weak person. But they are mistaken because the illness of Ali ibn Husayn was an expedience and policy of Allah, so that he might remain safe from the harm of the enemy's sword, and become the living legacy of Karbala.

One of the special features of Ali ibn Husayn's character was his piety and abstinence.

‘Alī ibn Husayn, like his grandfather, cultivated land and palm date orchards.

As the son of Husayn ibn ‘Alī, he was under great scrutiny and could not directly guide those who secretly followed the household of Muhammad. But he conveyed his understanding of the relationship between human and God by the prayers and supplications that he offered God during his extensive nighttime vigils in the mosque of the Prophet in Medina. These prayers and supplications were written down and then disseminated by his sons and the subsequent generations. Among them is the Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, which is known as the Psalms of Islam.

'Ali ibn Husayn looked after and administrated hundreds of houses of the poor and hunger stricken.
 
At the Battle of Karbala on the day of Ashura, Husayn ibn Ali and most of his family were killed. Ali ibn Husayn survived because he was too sick to fight, and was bedridden. Afterwards, he was taken prisoner by the Umayyad forces and transported to Damascus where he was made a prisoner of the Caliph, Yazid I. After some years, he was freed, and returned to Medina where he lived a quiet life as a scholar and a teacher.

‘Alī ibn Ḥusayn resided in Medina until his death on 25th of Muharram, 95 AH (approximately October 20, 712). He was poisoned by Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. He was buried in Jannatul Baqee', the cemetery in Medina where other important figures of Islamic history are buried.

Abidin, 'Ali Zaynu al- see ‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin
'Abu Muhammadi  'Ali ibn Husayn see ‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin
Sajjad, 'as- see ‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin
“the prostrator”   see ‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin
“the ornament of the worshippers” see ‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin
Zaki, 'az see ‘Ali Zaynu al-Abidin

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