Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Nurul H. Choudhury, Peasant Radi-

calism in 19th Century Bengal: The Faraizi, Indigo, and 

Pabna Movements (Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangla-

desh, 2001); Muin-ud-Din Ahamd Khan, History of 

the Faraidi Movement in Bengal, 1818–1906 (Karachi: 

Pakistan Historical Society, 1965).

Farrakhan, Louis

 

(1933–  )  controversial 

African-American leader of the Nation of Islam from 

1977

Born Louis Eugene Walcott, the son of a domes-

tic worker and immigrant, Farrakhan grew up in 

Boston. As a youth, Farrakhan played the violin, 

excelled academically in high school, and became 

actively Episcopalian. In 1955, during a trip to 

Chicago for a musical performance, Farrakhan 

attended one of the Nation of Islam’s conven-

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