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| ==Controversy== | ==Controversy== | ||
| Critics of UNOI |
Critics of UNOI note that members work for Jenkins' benefit in UNOI businesses and receive no income, apply for and receive welfare from the government, and are given only the minimal necessities for survival, while Jenkins and a small group of close family/allies use UNOI funds for their own benefit (including, e.g. free vacations in the Caribbean). UNOI leaders also ] mail and monitor long-distance telephone calls. Further, UNOI members and their children are required to be educated by UNOI, which does not instruct them in many basic skills or provide opportunity for ], do not receive health insurance, and are not authorized to receive medical care outside that offered by UNOI, which does not include any physicians licensed in Kansas. | ||
| UNOI has also overstated its success, on one occasion stating that their Kansas City site is free of all crime, in the same month as a gunman fired twenty shots at a gas station operated by UNOI. The Kansas City police department says it is unable to judge the effectiveness of UNOI in reducing crime. In 2002, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported five health violations at a UNOI-operated diner. In 2003, their gas station was the UNOI's only profitable business. | |||
| <!-- commented out: newsgroups are not WP:RS reliable sources Furthermore, critics point out that Royall, who claims to be God, is in no way educated, intelligent, or able to actually do math, speak foreign languages, or anything else that God should be able to do.<ref> http://www.factnet.org/discus/messages/3/466.html?1138200541</ref> --> | |||
| Jenkins has also taken several 'wives' from among his followers (although he has registered none of these marriages), including a teen-age step-daughter (after having ]d her). <ref name="pitch"/> | |||
| Notable among UNOI's critics are over 10 former members, including Moreen and Hanif Jenkins, two of Royall Jenkins' children from his first marriage. Moreen Jenkins claims that her father instructed other members of the group to call her 'the Mother of Civilization' and that she was to 'lead the faithful to heaven'. She joined UNOI in 1985 after fleeing from an abusive boyfriend. Her father instructed her to marriage Joseph Kelly, one of the first members of UNOI, a few months later, and also forced her to study his theology for several hours a day for three years. Moreen Jenkins and Joseph Kelly's marriage deteriorated severly in 1997, when Jenkins declared that Kelly was a ] of ] (the ] rejected this claim). Neither Kelly nor Moreen Jenkins accepted this, and Kelly distanced himself from UNOI. Jenkins then sanctioned Moreen having a child with another member of UNOI. In 2002, having attempted to intercede with her father to apologize to a man who had been beaten by UNOI members for walking his dog on grass on UNOI property, Moreen Jenkins claims that her father threatened her life and that of her youngest child. At this point, she took the infant and left UNOI. Claiming continued harassment by UNOI members, she left Kansas City. She has also claimed that the UNOI has been blocking her attempts to communicate with her other children, as well as her attempts to gain custody of them. As of 2003, she had filed for divorce and still sought custody of her children. '<ref name="pitch"/> | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 17:53, 28 October 2007
The United Nation of Islam (UNOI) is religious group based in Kansas City. It was founded in 1993 as a breakaway group from Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam.
History
UNOI was founded by Royall Elliot Jenkins, who goes by the title Royall Allah in person. He was born in 1942 in South Carolina and grew up on Maryland's Eastern shore. At the age of 16, he married Juanitta Gates, who was then 13 years old. They had ten children before eventually divorcing. Jenkins later moved to New York and became a long-distance truck driver for the Nation of Islam. He split from the organization after its leaders rebuffed his claims of being Allah.
Teachings and operations
Jenkins claims to be Allah 'in person', to have toured the universe in a spaceship provided by angels, and adheres to his own interpretation of the Nation of Islam's views of race. Jenkins' views include condemning inter-racial marriage, claiming that fornication and perhaps sex in general is a great sin, claiming that white people were created by a 'scientist' called Yakub 8000 years ago, and condemning all followers of Islam for not recognizing him as Allah.
Jenkins claims to have determined the location of the UNOI headquarters in Kansas City 'mathematically' and teaches members of UNOI a technique he terms 'Mathematical Thinking' that he says is 'the gathering of facts to come to absolute answers without putting a person to it'. Jenkins teaches that Mathematical Thinking eliminates the need for followers or leaders. Mathematical Thinking bears little resemblance to mathematics, and is apparently largely a form of numerology.
Members of the UNOI operate as volunteers in various activities. UNOI-owned businesses include a full-service gas station, several restaurants and bakeries, a sewing factory, and a construction company, among others. All full-time volunteers' basic needs are claimed to be provided by UNOI. UNOI has roughly 300 full-time members in Kansas City, with perhaps 200 spread across several other cities.
UNOI hosts several call-in TV and radio programs across the United States. Jenkins appears regularly on these programs. In addition, Jenkins tours various US cities to speak and answer questions. The UNOI also offers classes and has a website providing extensive writings by Jenkins.
Controversy
Critics of UNOI note that members work for Jenkins' benefit in UNOI businesses and receive no income, apply for and receive welfare from the government, and are given only the minimal necessities for survival, while Jenkins and a small group of close family/allies use UNOI funds for their own benefit (including, e.g. free vacations in the Caribbean). UNOI leaders also censor mail and monitor long-distance telephone calls. Further, UNOI members and their children are required to be educated by UNOI, which does not instruct them in many basic skills or provide opportunity for higher education, do not receive health insurance, and are not authorized to receive medical care outside that offered by UNOI, which does not include any physicians licensed in Kansas.
UNOI has also overstated its success, on one occasion stating that their Kansas City site is free of all crime, in the same month as a gunman fired twenty shots at a gas station operated by UNOI. The Kansas City police department says it is unable to judge the effectiveness of UNOI in reducing crime. In 2002, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported five health violations at a UNOI-operated diner. In 2003, their gas station was the UNOI's only profitable business.
Jenkins has also taken several 'wives' from among his followers (although he has registered none of these marriages), including a teen-age step-daughter (after having impregnated her).
Notable among UNOI's critics are over 10 former members, including Moreen and Hanif Jenkins, two of Royall Jenkins' children from his first marriage. Moreen Jenkins claims that her father instructed other members of the group to call her 'the Mother of Civilization' and that she was to 'lead the faithful to heaven'. She joined UNOI in 1985 after fleeing from an abusive boyfriend. Her father instructed her to marriage Joseph Kelly, one of the first members of UNOI, a few months later, and also forced her to study his theology for several hours a day for three years. Moreen Jenkins and Joseph Kelly's marriage deteriorated severly in 1997, when Jenkins declared that Kelly was a reincarnation of Elijah Muhammad (the Nation of Islam rejected this claim). Neither Kelly nor Moreen Jenkins accepted this, and Kelly distanced himself from UNOI. Jenkins then sanctioned Moreen having a child with another member of UNOI. In 2002, having attempted to intercede with her father to apologize to a man who had been beaten by UNOI members for walking his dog on grass on UNOI property, Moreen Jenkins claims that her father threatened her life and that of her youngest child. At this point, she took the infant and left UNOI. Claiming continued harassment by UNOI members, she left Kansas City. She has also claimed that the UNOI has been blocking her attempts to communicate with her other children, as well as her attempts to gain custody of them. As of 2003, she had filed for divorce and still sought custody of her children. '
External links
References
- ^ Johnson, Allie (2003-03-27). "Heaven Is Hell". The Pitch. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - http://unoi.org/forums/index.php?board=4.0
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