Black Muslim’s $5.7 Million Won’t Go to His Heirs

The multimillion-dollar bank account of the late Black Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad belongs to the religious organization he founded, not his heirs, an Illinois appellate court has decided.

“Where funds are solicited to benefit a religious organization, we believe that basic principles of equity and fair dealing should preclude the use of those funds to benefit the personal estate of the religious leader,” wrote Appellate Court Justice Mel Jiganti in the court’s opinion.

The bank account at the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd.’s Chicago branch, formerly the First Pacific Bank of Chicago, totaled $3.3 million shortly after Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, and because of accrued interest has increased to $5.7 million.

The dispute over the funds has been in the courts since Muhammad’s death and has pitted two of his sons against each other.

Emmanuel Muhammad, administrator of his father’s estate, argued that the money belonged to Elijah Muhammad’s 22 children.

Warith Deen Muhammad, Muhammad’s eldest son and the new leader of the religious group, which is now called the American Muslim Mission, maintained that the money belonged to the organization.

After Elijah Muhammad’s death, the bank turned over the $3.3-million account to the Black Muslim movement, called the Nation of Islam, then headed by Warith Deen Muhammad.

However, in 1982, Cook County Judge Henry Budzinski ruled that the money was given to Elijah Muhammad for his personal use and should be turned over to his children with the interest accrued.

After an appeal, Budzinski ruled again in favor of the children in July, 1986. The appellate court overturned that ruling this week.