The honorable Elijah Muhammad is aptly known as one of the most significant black leaders of the twentieth century — perhaps one of the most controversial as well. The founder of the Nation of Islam made the bold prediction that, one day, Islam would replace Christianity as the primary faith of black Americans in the 1930s. By 1959, however this same prediction would issue from a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. In a letter to the New York City police commissioner wrote: “If we fail to stop the Muslims now, the sixteen million niggers of America will soon be Muslims, and you will never be able to stop them.” While the remarkable widespread conversion to Islam in the black American community can be attested to the enigmatic Malcolm X. In the final analysis, it was another man, Malcolm X’s mentor, who had the greater impact on establishing Islam among African-Americans. Small in stature, wispy voiced, uncharismatic, and mysterious figure Elijah Muhammad was followed closely by the FBI (as part of the controversial COINTELPRO program) by means of extensive wiretaps and letter-openings. The resulting reports, now available to researchers in all their immensity—the FBI’s papers alone amount to well over a million pages—reveal the most intimate secrets of Elijah Muhammad’s household. Anyone that can enlighten black people en masse will be seen as a threat to the safety of America. In early 1931, the originally named Elijah Poole met Wallace Fard Muhammad and quickly became his enthusiastic disciple. Over the course of their three-year partnership, Fard and Elijah Muhammad also elevated Fard’s own theological status—from Allah’s Messiah to Allah himself—with Muhammad taking over the role of Messenger. The message was felt. Peace to the Nation.