Muslim Girls Training & General Civilization Class (MGT & GCC) is the all-female training program of the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...

. It is often considered to be the counterpart for girls and women to the

Fruit of Islam The Fruit of Islam (FOI) is the paramilitary wing of the Nation of Islam. The Fruit of Islam wear distinctive blue, brown, or white uniforms and caps and have units at all NOI temples. Louis Farrakhan, as head of the Nation of Islam, is commande ...

. Louis Farrakhan as head of the Nation of Islam is over MGT & GCC and appoints the MGT & GCC National Sister Captain.

History

The Muslim Girls Training & General Civilization Class is one of the institutions established in 1933 by

Wallace Fard Muhammad Wallace Fard Muhammad or W. D. Fard ( ; reportedly born February 26, – disappeared ) was the founder of the Nation of Islam. He arrived in Detroit in 1930 with an ambiguous background and several aliases and proselytized syncretic Islamic ...

, founder of the

. He also established the University of Islam schools and the

in that year before vanishing in 1934. As the Nation of Islam sought to reshape the Black Muslim identity in America, so too did these classes aim to create a new identity for women in the Nation. MGT & GCC classes operated under the belief that white America was corrupting Muslim women's natural grace and wisdom. Classes are generally held at least once a week. MGT & GCC schools existed throughout much of the United States, including in New York, Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia, many remaining till today.

Organizational structure

The MGT & GCC classes were organized much like the military: at the top position was the Sister Captain, followed by lieutenants, secretaries, and squad leaders. The leadership ran practices to demonstrate being a proper Muslim woman, which included teaching about motherhood, proper dress and behavior, and relationships. The classes were meant as a way to purity, protect, and support Muslim girls and women, promising shelter from the devil and wicked non-believers. Sister Captains Serving at the top of the hierarchy of the MGT & GCC, were routinely monitored by

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1933 until his death in 197 ...

during the time of his life. Sister Captains are the primary figure of authority within the affairs of women of the National of Islam; and they were, and remain to be their job to hold the women within their respective communities to the standards recognized by Elijah Muhammad's.

Ideology

The students were expected to follow a set of fifteen mandates drawn from the ideology of the Nation of Islam. They include forbidding behaviors such as consuming alcohol, adultery, marrying outside of the faith, and inappropriate dress. Inappropriate dress was mainly characterized as that which is tempting to men, including form-fitting or revealing clothes, makeup, and high heels. The classes were developed to teach domestic duties like cooking and nutrition, sewing, cleaning, housekeeping, child bearing, religious instruction, and personal hygiene. The main themes present throughout the teachings of MGT & GCC classes include modesty, abstinence, and being a proper mother and wife.Ula Yvette Taylor, ''The Promise of Patriarchy: Women and the Nation of Islam'', University of North Carolina Press, 2017, page 78

References

{{Reflist Nation of Islam Women's religious organizations