In The Name Of
Allah: A History of Clarence 13X and The Five Percenters
is the first definitive history every written about this powerful Black youth
movement. The world has seen and heard much of the culture of Black youth,
namely conscious Hip Hop that can trace its origins to the controversial
movement. Numbered in the tens of thousands, this organization was hugely
responsible for interjecting Black consciousness in inner city youth. From the
60s up until this present day you can see young men and women rapidly firing out
a mini-lectures during the Five Percenter gatherings known as the "Universal
Parliaments." Their mini-presentations consists of Islamic teachings, life
lessons, living clean and civilizing the world. The phalanxes of attentive men
and women are members of the movement known as "The Five Percenters."
The origin of the Five Percenters can be traced to its founder, the late Clarence 13X Smith also known as Allah, a former member of the Nation of Islam. Inside the movement, he studied the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad under the auspices of Minister Malcolm X at the Harlem Mosque from 1960-1963. He eventually parted ways with the mosque and subsequently began to teach the NOI doctrine known as "the lessons" to neighborhood teens that led to him founding a movement he suitably called the Five Percenters.
The name and the ideology of the Five Percenters are based upon the core doctrine of the Nation of Islam (NOI). In NOI teachings it was taught that the population consisted of three types of people referred to as "the 85%, the 10% and the 5%." 85% of the population were superstitious and ignorant of the truth of God. This segment of the population believed in a mystery spirit or "spook" god as they wandered aimlessly through life. 10% of the population was the ruling elite who duped and deceived the majority by promoting lies of a mystery spirit god in turn benefiting off of the hoodwinked population's ignorance; thus growing rich from their labor (a prime example were preachers and their followers). Alas, 5% of the population were the righteous teachers who knew the truth and had a sworn duty to liberate the rest of the population from their prison of lies into "Freedom, Justice and Equality." Most importantly was their duty to teach the truth of God -- that God was and is "the Black Man of Asia" whose proper name is Allah.
Clarence 13X who changed his name to "Allah" intentionally focused his message of Islam toward disenchanted youth. He was highly successful in attracting large numbers of teens to his movement. So much so that the Five Percenters became the largest youth organization in New York City once its numbers allegedly surpassed the membership of the Boy Scouts of America. These numbers garnered the attention of religious, political and civic leaders. Major political icons such as New York Mayor John V. Lindsay and Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller sought out Allah to help keep peace in New York City streets during the turbulent 60's. Allah advantageously put his political clout to use to foster programs for his movement and further his cause of teaching the youth the principles of his version of Islam.
During his short reign as leader of the Five Percenters, Allah faced many challenges but accomplished many objectives. Unfortunately, in June of 1969, He was fatally gunned down by unknown assassins. Even after his physical passing, countless youth have embraced the Five Percenters concepts. Throughout America and abroad, you hear young people referring to "Supreme Mathematics" or "120 lessons" (the fundamental teachings of the Five Percenters and the Nation of Islam). Thousands of young Blacks and Latinos have pledged allegiance to the Five Percenters philosophy. The message of the movement has had a profound impact on the subculture we know today as "Hip Hop" which has added to the group's popularity.
Within recent years, adherents have made attempts to chronicle the history of the persons and events that made it all possible. Different accounts have sparingly been made available through various sources. Often the material provided has proven to be contradictory because of conflicting perspectives. Even so, there has yet to be a comprehensive history written in regards to the man called Allah and the Five Percenters.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated that "History is best qualified to reward all our research and it is the most attractive." With this in mind, a history of Allah and the Five Percenters have been compiled and presented as an anthology. The information is a result of numerous interviews, newspaper archives, Five Percenter articles and books that included references to the subject. Perhaps the most valuable resource has been the Author's experience of being part of the Five Percenter community over the past 25 years.
"In The Name of Allah: A History of Clarence 13X and The Five Percenters," is an attempt to provide the reader with a basic comprehension of the origins of Allah (Clarence 13X) and The Five Percenters. The main purpose of the book is to enlighten and inform its reader. May Allah bless you with the light of understanding. Peace.