Moorish Orthodox Church of America

 

The claim is
“Moorish Orthodoxy is not a new religion.”

Historically it began with the message of the American
“prophet” Noble Drew Ali, born Timothy Drew in



North
Carolina

in 1886,
raised by Cherokee Indians and adopted into that tribe.

At sixteen Drew began his wanderings as a circus magician,
which took him to


Egypt

where he received self knowledge and direction from a
priest, the last of a cult of High Magic practiced for centuries in the pyramid
of Cheops. This magus recognized the young American as a reincarnation of a
former leader of the cult, and saw him for the prophet he was.

From him Drew Ali learned the messages of The Circle Seven
Koran, as well as much higher truths; he returned to



America

where he was told in a dream to found a new religion "for
the uplifting of fallen mankind." He began the first mosque, or temple, in



Newark

--- but because he and his followers refused to fight in
World War I he was forced to move to


Chicago

, where his movement, the Moorish
Science Temple, began to grow.

Compare to the Nation of Islam.

Historical
note:

Te
name "Moor" does have Muslim roots, this was the ethnic name given to
the Muslims who controlled Andalusia (Spain) until 1492.