Moorish Movement

An Afro-centric offshoot of the sovereign citizen movement that emerged in the mid-1990s primarily as a result of people merging sovereign beliefs with beliefs from a longstanding religious sect, the Moorish Science Temple. Moorish sovereign citizens often claim to have special rights because of their “Moorish” status or because they are “indigenous inhabitants” of North America. In recent years, the Moorish movement has grown considerably, making the African-American community a surprising growth area for a movement with extreme right-wing origins. Not all African-American sovereign citizens are “Moorish” sovereign citizens; some adopt “traditional” sovereign citizen views.

This database provides an overview of many of the terms and individuals used by or associated with movements and groups that subscribe to and/or promote extremist or hateful ideologies.