Editing Nuwaubian Nation (section)

==Definition==

Over the course of their history, the Nuwaubians have operated under various different names,{{sfnm|1a1=Gabriel|1y=2003|1p=150|2a1=Palmer|2y=2010|2p=xv}} with the [[sociology of religion|sociologist of religion]] [[Susan Palmer]] referring to this phenomenon, in its various institutional forms, as "the Nuwaubian movement".{{sfn|Palmer|2010|p=26}} Similarly changing have been its use of symbols and the clothing worn by its members.{{sfnm|1a1=O'Connor|1y=2000|1p=120|2a1=Gabriel|2y=2003|2p=152}} Another sociologist of religion, [[David V. Barrett]], noted that the group's development was "complex and (certainly for outside observers) muddled".{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=254}} The Nuwaubian movement draws influence from the [[New Testament]], the [[Hebrew Bible]], and the [[Quran]],{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=254}} in addition to elements from [[UFO]] beliefs, [[Prince Hall Freemasonry|Black Freemasonry]], the writings of [[Edgar Cayce]], and [[Patriot movement|US Patriot movement]] [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]].{{sfn|Palmer|2010|p=1}} 
Palmer believed that the movement's teachings became more eclectic in their influences as it aged.{{sfn|Palmer|2010|p=28}} 

Although the various changes that the movement has undergone throughout its history mean that the Nuwaubian Nation defies easy categorisation,{{sfn|Knight|2020|p=4}} [[Religious studies|scholars of religion]] have classified it as a [[new religious movement]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gabriel|1y=2003|1p=150|2a1=Palmer|2y=2010|2p=xvi|3a1=Palmer|3y=2021a|3p=343}} The movement emerged within the context of American [[black nationalism]],{{sfnm|1a1=Gabriel|1y=2003|1p=150|2a1=Wojcik|2y=2003|2p=281}} with the scholar of religion Kathleen Malone O'Connor arguing that it was best understood in "the black prophetic, millennial, and messianic traditions of the [[Moorish Science Temple]],[...] the [[Nation of Islam]][...] and the [[Five-Percent Nation|Five Percent Nation of Gods and Earths]]".{{sfn|O'Connor|2000|p=118}} Palmer also described it as part of a broader "Black cultic milieu", through which it interacted with [[Rastafari]], the Nation of Islam, and the [[Black Hebrew Israelites]].{{sfn|Palmer|2010|p=xxi}} From the late 1960s through to the late 1980s, the movement presented itself as a Muslim group{{sfn|Palmer|2010|p=xv}}—although its interpretation of Islam would be considered heretical by mainstream Muslims{{sfn|Gabriel|2003|p=151}}—while in the early 1990s it was often characterised as going through a Jewish phase.{{sfn|Knight|2020|p=22}} The organization also amalgamated ideas from the [[sovereign citizen movement]]<ref name="adl">{{citation |title=The Sovereign Citizen Movement in the United States |work= |publisher = [[Anti-Defamation League]] |url= https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/sovereign-citizen-movement-united-states|date=2023-12-21|access-date= 2024-06-12}}</ref> and was classified as a [[Moorish sovereign citizens|Moorish sovereign citizen]] group.<ref>{{citation |title=Moorish Sovereign Citizens|work= |publisher = [[Institute for Strategic Dialogue]] |url= https://www.isdglobal.org/explainers/moorish-sovereign-citizens/|date=2023-08-10|access-date= 2025-08-08}}</ref> Members of the movement used typical sovereign citizen tactics, such as refusing to produce [[driver's license]]s when arrested for traffic violations.<ref name= meets/> By the 2000s, various scholars of religion were describing it as a [[UFO religion]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gabriel|1y=2003|1p=149|2a1=Wojcik|2y=2003|2p=281}} During the 1990s, York spoke retroactively about the various phases as representing different "schools" through which he and his followers had progressed.{{sfn|Knight|2020|p=23}}