Abstract
From the point of view of mainline Islam, the Nation of Islam (NOI) is a heterodox movement, standing outside of Islam, however, after the death of its main leader, Elijah Muhammad, the movement underwent a radical transformation that led to a mass conversion of a larger segment of the NOI to mainline Islam. In this respect, Nation of Islam can be understood as a movement that helped to introduce and mediated Islam to the African American Protestants.
The paper outlines the history and teachings of the NOI, with respect to 1) its relations to Christianity; and 2) to history of Islam in the United States.