Last November, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted about the “common ground” shared by the GOP and the Nation of Islam (NOI). It was a surprising pronouncement, given that the far-right politician and social media star has risen to prominence on her Christian nationalist and, at times, anti-Muslim rhetoric. Her personal Twitter account was later permanently suspended over spreading misinformation about Covid. But before that, she had come across the Nation’s newspaper, according to her since-deleted tweets and The Hill newspaper, and some of the NOI’s vaccine skepticism resonated with her own. She noted that she knows a lot of people who don’t trust the government, including the Nation of Islam.
Greene wrote, “I also found out that the Nation of Islam sees the use and benefit of Ivermectin and is very angry that our media, Democrats, and Dr Fauci have attacked the drug and refuse to save people’s lives by not promoting it and shunning the use of it.” (The FDA does not approve or recommend Ivermectin for treating or preventing Covid-19 because its effectiveness has not been proven.) In the same thread, Greene said that while she opposes “radical Islam,” she supported the Nation of Islam’s stance. Knowing that the NOI opposes the vaccines, along with “many Christians,” she called for ensuring religious exemptions from vaccine mandates.
For its part, the Nation of Islam has not publicly responded to Greene’s message. But as of March 2, its online newspaper The Final Call still strongly opposed Covid-19 vaccines. The newspaper has peddled conspiracy theories about the vaccines, comparing them to the Tuskegee medical experiments, while touting the unproven benefits of Ivermectin.
At first glance, it may seem odd that Nation of Islam’s ideas would align with a Christian nationalist like Greene. After all, the NOI is unpologetically pro-Black and combines elements of traditional Islam with Black nationalism. Meanwhile, Christian nationalists believe that Christianity defines the United States’ nationhood and that the government should actively maintain laws that favor Christians and support their teachings. In some corners of the movement, Christian nationalists often define Muslims as un-American (Greene did so last year), and some, like Greene, have aligned themselves with white power movements. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the Nation of Islam a “hate group” for their anti-white theology, antisemitism, and other issues.