The Serpent Deceived the Whole World
- Title:
- The Serpent Deceived the Whole World
- Alternate Title:
- The Serpent Deceived the Whole World
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Majied, Eugene
- Date:
- 1967
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2446.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2446_01Adj.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1960 - Present
- Subject:
- Pictorial
Religion
Politics & Government
Slavery/Race
Satirical - Measurement:
- 36 x 54 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This large satirical map was published on November 3, 1967, as the centerfold of “Muhammad Speaks,” the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam, the African-American religious and political organization. The paper began publication in 1962, under Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. It was published from 1960 to 1975, and "shot to the lead in circulation over all other black newspapers . . . , achieving the highest figure in the newspaper press' history, around 600,000 according to the publishers." Woleseley 1990, 90. By one report, circulation grew "from 800,000 to 850,000 per edition, all the way to 950,000 one week in 1974." Muhammad 2000.
Muhammad and the Nation of Islam frequently attacked the U.S. government in the pages of Muhammad Speaks and elsewhere. The lead story in this issue was entitled "The Troubled World," and the map leaves no doubt as to the source of these troubles: "The Serpent Deceived the Whole World." The title cites a biblical reference to Revelations 12:9, "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast to the earth . . . ."
The center of the world map is dominated by the head of Uncle Sam atop a giant rattlesnake. His mouth is open as if to speak, and within it are the words "Negro Preachers and Politicians." The thickest coils of the snake, near its head, enclose multitudes of "Indians" and "Negroes." From there the snake's body winds the world, coiling around every continent. The snake's rattle settles just north of "Arabia (Garden of Paradise)," apparently sparing "Adam and Eve." The message to the faithful is set out in type at the lower right: "To heal the poisonous bite of the world serpent, it takes the medicine that God gives Muhammad."
The mapmaker, Eugene Majied, was an artist and a member of the Nation of Islam. He frequently contributed illustrations and cartoons to Muhammad Speaks and the NOI’s other efforts. See Curtis 2006, 52-56, 79-89, 115, 120. Muhammad was well aware that he and the NOI had been subject to government surveillance since the 1930s (Clegg 1997, 120, 173-74, 259), and the Collection includes another anti-U.S. satirical map drawn by Majied for Muhammad Speaks specifically attacking government spying. ID #2386, “Map of America, The Beast . . . Full of Eyes Before and Behind” (1968). Muhammad Speaks was inexpensively produced, and it was not uncommon for its four-color illustrations, like this one, to be out of register.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Source:
- Muhammad Speaks, Chicago, Illinois, November 3, 1967, v.7, n.7.
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.