Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the new religious movement that came to be known as the Nation of Islam, first appeared in Detroit, United States, in 1930. Both his origin and fate are uncertain.
Nation of Islam tradition holds that Fard was born in Mecca, while scholars have considered a wide variety of possible origins and backgrounds. In the 1960s, the FBI identified Fard as "Wallie Dodd Ford", a Los Angeles restaurateur who had spent three years in prison in California for the sale of a narcotic; the Nation of Islam disputes the identification, while most scholars accept it.
Fard disappeared in 1934. Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad maintained that Fard had been deported, while others speculated that Fard may have died by foul play or due to complications from his diabetes.
Theories of origin Fard was traditionally held by the Nation of Islam to be an Arab from Mecca. Many scholars argue that Fard may have been from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan). Some claim he was a white man, perhaps from New Zealand. Others speculate he was a Turk. Less popular theories of origin suggest he may have been Syrian, Moroccan, Greek, Bosnian, Albanian, African-American, or Jewish.
South Asia Karl Evanzz, in his book The Messenger, postulates that Fard was the son of a Muslim from modern-day Pakistan, then known as East India. He bases this theory on several indications:
Fard spent time at the Ahmadiyya Mosque, a movement prominent in Pakistan and used translations of the Quran from South Asian Muslims. The name Fard is a common surname in Pakistan, as are other names that he bestowed upon his followers, such as Shabazz, Ghulam, and Kallatt. Interviews with long-time Nation figures who met him or saw original photos of him, such as Ozier Muhammad, Rodnell Collins (nephew of Malcolm X) and Wilfred Little, indicate that Fard had Pakistani features. Early teachings from Fard indicated a distrust and disdain for Hinduism.
The 2017 book Chameleon: The True Story of W.D. Fard by A. K. Arian studies the origin of the Nation of Islam founder. One theory postulated is that Fard was of Afghan heritage. The 2019 book Finding W.D. Fard: Unveiling the Identity of the Founder of the Nation of Islam investigates a variety of theories about Fard's ethnic and religious origins, writing: "The people who actually met him, and the scholars who have studied him, have suggested that he was variously an African American, an Arab from Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco or Saudi Arabia ... a Turk, an Afghan, an Indo-Pakistani ... a Greek ... In an attempt to determine the origins of W.D. Fard, most scholars have relied on his teachings as passed down, and perhaps modified, by Elijah Muhammad. Some have suggested that he was a member of the Moorish Science Temple of America or the Ahmadiyyah Movement. Others have suggested that he was a Druze or a Shiite." John Andrew Morrow suggests that a background of Ghulat or extremist Shia Islam best fits with what is known of Fard.
Morrow argues Fard most likely was connected to "the region of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Balochistan".
Fard before California Efforts to trace the origins and life story of Fard have been extensive but have yielded only inconclusive fragmentary results, and not even his date of death is known; further complicating any efforts is the fact that only an inconclusive handful of pictures of Fard are known to exist, including four mugshots taken after various arrests and one being the official portrait by the Nation of Islam. Additionally, Fard is alleged to have used up to 58 different aliases during his life.
In the 1960s, authors Arna Bontemps and Jack Conroy speculated that Fard may have been an African-American from the U.S. South.Anyplace But Here, cited by Morrow and by Bowen Karl Evanzz of The Washington Post submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the FBI in 1978 requesting its file on Fard. Evanzz based his account of Fard's life on the declassified portion of the FBI file that he received about a decade after his request. Evanzz detailed the experience of several other authors who also based their accounts of Fard's life on the FBI file.
Multiple scholars have suggested that Master Fard's teaching of the Tribe of Shabazz may have been tied to the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Pakistan.
Immigration to the United States
Arian has asserted that W. D. Fard was the person known as Alam Khan or Khanialam Khan. A 1904 manifest stated that Johnges Khan, Rahim Ullah, Drabas Khan, Hamif Ulla, Khanialam Khan and Sher Khan, from British India, were traveling aboard the SS Tremont to join their brother in Tacoma. In 1907, a directory listed Jongie, Kaliaham, and Zendad Khan as tamale manufacturers who were living together at 36 McBroom Ave in Spokane. Jangger Khan died on August 6, 1910, in Butte, Montana, where he had been a tamale vendor. In 1911, Sher Khan of Portland applied for citizenship, reporting a birthplace in Balochistan. On February 23, 1917, press reported a court had denied Sher Khan's application for citizenship on the ground that his stated birthplace, Balochistan, was "not of the white race". Sher Khan's World War draft registration listed him as residing in Eugene, Oregon, working as a tamale maker. He listed his nearest relative as Fardes Khan of Balochistan, Afghanistan. In 1921, the marriage certificate of Joe Mobine Khan lists his birthplace as Afghanistan, his father as Madie Khan and his mother as Mary Gee. Fard was later a tamale vendor in Oregon.
However, in 2025, new research by Kevin Morris and Anton Batey shows that the immigrant Alam Khan or Khanialam Khan was not Fard, as he later took the name Khan Alley and died on November 19, 1958, in Lodi, California. Batey and Morris uncovered a manifest revealing that someone named Wallie Dad Khan, aged 18, travelled from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 1907 on the SS Coptic, and arrived on January 6 or 7, 1907. He was listed as an Indian, a Mohamedean, and from "Ghunzee". He was also planning to visit relatives named Gool Ahmed Khan and Najib Khan. Najib Khan, born around 1872, listed his father in 1912 as Akram Khan and birthplace as "Purzai Hazro Dist. Attock". On the same 1912 manifest was listed a Kadir Khan, who was planning to visit his relative or friend, "Wale Dad". In 1911 Kadir Khan also named his friend Wale Dad Khan. In 1909, a man named Sargand from "Sheenka, India" stated he was going to visit his friend Wali Dad at a tamale factory located on 61 Water Street in Portland, Oregon. Sargand lived with Roshin Din, who came to the United States to visit his relative, Fathe Din, the same man who Fard, under the name of Fred Dad, sued in 1910. In 1910 a man named Burdar Khan stated he was from Ghanzi, Afghanistan, his father was named Abdool Aziz, and that he would visit Wali Dad Khan at the tamale factory at 61 Water Street. Mohammed Alberkan, who was alongside Wallie Dad Khan in 1907, later stated he was planning to visit his brothers Najib and Gool Ahmed Khan.
Walihad, Salem tamale vendor In September 1907, tamale man Walihad met Harvey H. Henline, who bought some tamales from Walihad, but refused to pay for them. When Walihad demanded the money, Henline allegedly struck him, leading to him being taken into custody for disorderly conduct. This charge was later dismissed.
Fred Bilidad, Eugene tamale vendor On March 11, 1908, Fred Bilidad, the hot tamale vendor, ordered a fine tamale wagon for around $150 (), which he expected to receive from Vancouver. On March 23, 1908, papers announced that Turkish tamale vendor Fred Walldad had received a small house on wheels. On September 8, 1908, Eugene newspapers announced a new lunchcart that would be opening adjacent to the cart owned by Fred the Turk. Four days later, press reported that Fred had been ordered to move his hot-tamale cart to a new location. By September 15, it was reported that Fred the Turk had to abandon his cart due to the order and was now operating out of the back of a cigar store. On September 18, "Fred the Greek", tamale vendor, was reported to have paid a license fee, and it was announced that his stand would resume operation at a new location.
In October, newspapers announced that Fred the Turk was traveling to Portland for a visit. On November 3, newspapers reported on a "Halloween prank" in which local boys took the wheels off Fred the Turk's tamale wagon and dropped it, breaking Fred's dishes and eggs, as well as injuring Fred himself; the wheel was stolen. On December 7, newspapers reported on Fred's petition to have his cart operating during the day as well as at night.
On February 3, 1909, newspapers reported that Fred the Turk had sold his lunchwagon and gone to Cottage Grove, Oregon, where he had leased a restaurant and lodging house.
On May 26, 1909, Wali Fred Dad, restaurateur of Eugene, applied for citizenship in the United States; he reported being a white man born in Hong Kong, China on February 14, 1882, who arrived in San Francisco in January 1904. In the document, he renounced allegiance to King Alphonso XIII of Spain. The next day, Eugene newspapers reported that Fred Mali Dad, a Spaniard, had filed citizenship papers.
In 1910, "Fred Conn", an Afghan, is listed in the US Census in Missoula, Montana, and a 1915 article noted that the tamale vendor "Walli Dad" lived in Billings, Montana, around 1910, indicating Dodd moved to Montana, for a short time.
Fred Dodd/Dadd, Salem tamale vendor From the FBI's response to the Freedom of Information Act request, Evanzz claimed that Fard was Fred Dodd, an Oregonian tamale vendor. A 1911 directory lists Fred Dadd as a tamale vendor in Salem, Oregon.Ancestry (subscription required)
A 1912 directory lists him as living with a person named "Ana".Ancestry (subscription required)
On July 28, 1912, newspapers reported that a house occupied by lunchwagon operator Fred Dadd had caught fire.
On August 9, 1912, newspapers reported on Fred Dadd, local tamale vendor and naturalized American originally from New Zealand, attending his first baseball game. On April 8, 1913, the city council of Salem reported unfavorably on Dodd's request to sell fruit without acquiring an additional license. On April 29, Dodd penned an announcement in the newspaper, complaining about police harassment for fruit sales. In June, it was reported that Dodd's complaint of police harassment would be investigated by the police committee. After the committee reported and the report was adopted, the mayor instructed the chief of police to allow Dodd to sell his wares.
In September 1913, Dodd filed a criminal complaint alleging that Frank Day had embezzled funds from him; Day was fined $25 () and given a suspended sentence.
On March 5, 1914, Dodd was arrested for allegedly inducing Laura E. Swanson to leave her spouse for him; he was released on bond for $1,000 (). A March 23 report cited Dodd's charge as "assaulting a married woman". On April 21, a jury acquitted Dodd. The Capital Journal explained the verdict by saying "It was brought out in the cross examination of the complaining witness that there was another person in the house at the time of the alleged assault and that she did not cry for help as a person in her circumstances would be aroused."
On April 20, 1914 (the day before his acquittal), Dodd married Pearl Allen in Multnomah County, Oregon. However, by August 30, newspapers reported on divorce proceedings between the two. On November 14, 1914, Fred Dodd was arrested for larceny after allegedly stealing from his wife Pearl, whom he was suing for divorce. Their divorce was announced on December 27. Pearl gave birth to a son the following year. A 2024 DNA test may suggest that this son was not biologically descended from Dodd.