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This chapter grounds Noble Drew Ali's understandings of pluralism and democracy in the political and social scene of 1920s Chicago. Expanding on Ali's understanding of American democracy, this chapter argues that Ali's system, by universalizing difference, leveled it. Two other Aliite religions (the Nuwaubian Yamassee and the Washitaw de Dugdahmoundyah) are introduced as well, sharing with the Moorish Science Temple of America an understanding of American secularism as, in fact, a sacred order, designed by Allah.

Noble Drew Ali preached a distinctive theory of "nationality," telling his followers that rather than "negro, black, or colored," they were actually Moorish. Recognition of this true identity would guarantee acceptance as full citizens of the USA, Ali taught, insisting that not only was this the case for all ethnic groups (all "nationalities") within the US, but that this was part of Allah-God's plan for humanity, wherein each "nationality" had its own distinct religion and prophet, flag and culture.

This chapter explains how the FBI’s interaction with Muslims predates 9/11 by many decades, going back to the early history of the FBI. It examines the FBI's efforts to surveil and infiltrate the Moorish Science Temple of America, from the 1930s until 1960. Racial assumptions shaped the FBI’s response to this group, particularly following their refusal to conform to the Selective Service Act during the Second World War. The chapter demonstrates how the FBI’s attitudes to race and religion intersected to produce a clear pattern of hostility toward this religious group despite the FBI’s repeated findings that the group was not a threat to national security.

This chapter examines Aliite engagement with surveillance, from public performances of Aliite nationality through garb and parades to Aliite responses to the constant accusation that such performance of identity is, in fact, a masquerade. Examining Aliite claims about and performance of true identity, this chapter draws a parallel between Aliite visual display and the practice of “masking” engaged in by Mardi Gras Indians before turning to Aliite understandings of and responses to the gaze of the state, from MSTA responses to investigations by federal law enforcement to Yamassee emphasis on use of public media to Washitaw faith in FBI surveillance as a path to state recognition. The chapter concludes with a note on Aliite investment in self-surveillance, on the use of cell phone cameras both to document displays of identity and as protection against state violence.

This chapter examines Aliite engagement with recognized sources of state authority and the ways Aliites court favor by claiming—and offering evidence of—past recognition by the state, from the citation of the original MSTA's state registration paperwork as proof of endorsement of Ali's mission to the citation, by Washitaw, of an imagined Supreme Court precedent they call “the 1848 Supreme Court Case” “United States v. Henry Turner’s Heirs.” After consideration of Aliite emphasis on the Supreme Court’s actual decision in Dred Scott v. Stanford, which is widely read by Aliites as authorizing the ongoing legal exclusion of “negroes” from citizenship in the United States, the chapter concludes with a caution about describing Aliite use of legal texts as “magical” and consideration of how Aliite examples can contribute to contemporary academic criticism of the politics of recognition.

This chapter examines the Circle Seven Koran, which the Moorish Science Temple of America understands as sacred scripture, and its role in shaping a Black ethnic identity for Moorish Americans. The chapter begins by examining the book’s composition and relationship to other religious writings. It then turns attention to the social context in which how “Noble” Drew Ali, the Temple’s founder, produced the book. Of special importance is the content that originated with Ali, as this section of the book reveals the principle of ethnogenesis undergirding Ali’s efforts to refashion racial Blackness as a heritage identity. To demonstrate this, the chapter discusses the biblical genealogy of the Circle Seven Koran, the relationship between peoplehood and scripture, the role of social conflict in generating scriptural practices, the emergent status of scripture, and the importance of the moral as a strategic force.