F.O.I. Fruit of Islam #1487
$ 8.00
Caption from poster__
JOIN THE
F.O.I.
WE TEACH, WE TRAIN
& WE EMPLOY!
THE FRUIT OF ISLAM.
The Fruit of Islam (FOI), or "Fruit" for short, is the male-only paramilitary
wing of the Nation of Islam (NOI). The Fruit of Islam wear distinctive blue
or white uniforms and caps and have units at nearly all NOI temples.
Louis Farrakhan, as head of the Nation of Islam, is commander-in-chief
of the Fruit of Islam, and his son, Mustapha Farrakhan, is second in
command. The woman's counterpart to the Fruit of Islam is Muslim Girls
Training (MGT).The Fruit of Islam draws its membership from male mem-
bers in Nation of Islam temples. While NOI does not release membership
figures, estimates for total membership in the NOI range from 10,000
to 50,000. The Fruit of Islam is one of the original institutions of the
Nation of Islam, created by its founder W.D. Fard in 1933, shortly before
his final disappearance. The men, mostly young, active members, were
considered the "fruit" of the new nation.[2] At the time the Fruit was
created to help defend the members of the NOI and all others. It existed
until the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975. When Warith Deen
Muhammad took control of the Nation of Islam he disbanded the Fruit.
The organization was reorganized by Louis Farrakhan when he reestab-
lished the NOI.In 1988 the Nation of Islam created a separate security
agency using members of the Fruit of Islam. The agency received
contracts primarily to patrol and staff public housing complexes in tough
urban areas like Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago,
and Los Angeles and received at least $20 million in the 1990s for
security work. NOI Security had notable successes in Washington, D.C.
projects particularly, but had difficulty in others and faced opposition by
some members of Congress and the Anti-Defamation League, among
others. It also faced scrutiny from federal agencies for racial and gender
preference in hiring and from the IRS for failure to withhold taxes from
employees. The Fruit of Islam says its mission is to teach civilization,
and teach what they know to those who do not know. A Nation of Islam
website urging men to enroll in the FOI describes members "brave
fighter's for Allah" engaged in "a unique war for the very heart and soul
of a people." The site explains, "The responsibility of the F.O.I. is that
of a head of house: protection, provision, and maintenance of the Nation
of Islam (all Original People). The F.O.I. are militant in the sense that our
operations are done as a unit."
