Moorish American Nationality
Moorish Americans are the descendants and successors in interest to the ancient Nation of Moab — a people with an unbroken lineage, a restored nationality, and a custodial governing authority standing in the Sultanate of Amexem.
Who Are Moorish Americans?
Moorish Americans are the descendants and successors in interest to the ancient Nation of Moab. The term is not a religious affiliation, a political movement, or a self-styled identity. It is a national designation — the modern recognition of a people whose lineage predates the formation of the United States and whose presence on this land long predates the institution of chattel slavery.
Today, the descendants of the Nation of Moab are modernly identified as Moorish American. The designation is recognized publicly through the family names Bey and El — surnames carried by those who have proclaimed their nationality and stand within the framework of Moorish American national identity. To bear the name Bey or El is to declare a position: that one is not stateless, not nameless, and not absent from the record of nations.
Moorish American is therefore both an ancestry and a standing. It is an ancestry inherited from the Moabites of the ancient world, and a standing reaffirmed through the work of Noble Drew Ali and now safeguarded by the Sultanate of Amexem as the custodial governing authority.
The Ancient Lineage of the Moabites
The Moabites are understood within Moorish American tradition to have inhabited the North Western and South Western shores of Africa. From these coastlines, their descendants spread across continents, carrying with them the customs, names, and lineages that would later be obscured by centuries of disruption. The Moorish American people trace their ancestry to this Moabite inheritance.
This is not a claim made lightly, nor is it a claim made in competition with the historical record. It is a position grounded in the teachings restored by Noble Drew Ali and held by the Moorish American community as a matter of national tradition. The lineage of the Nation of Moab is the lineage of a people who were here, who were named, and who were never without a national origin — regardless of what the records of others have or have not preserved.
Understanding this ancestry is the first step in understanding Moorish American identity. Nationality flows from lineage. Lineage is what makes the proclamation of nationality coherent rather than arbitrary.
From Slavery to Restoration
Between 1779 and 1865, the free national names of the descendants of the Nation of Moab were replaced by names given by slave holders. The national identity carried by the Moabite people was suppressed, and successive generations were referred to by labels that described condition rather than lineage — terms that obscured ancestry and severed the public connection to the Moorish American inheritance.
Noble Drew Ali restored the nationality. Through the founding of the Moorish Science Temple of America in 1913, he proclaimed that the people commonly described as Negro, Black, or Colored were in fact Moorish American — a nation with a name, a lineage, and a rightful claim to standing among the nations of the earth. The restoration was not the invention of something new. It was the public reassertion of something that had been continuously true but obscured for over a century.
The principle is direct: a people without nationality is a people without standing. The work of Noble Drew Ali returned that standing to the descendants of the Nation of Moab. The Sultanate of Amexem continues that work today by safeguarding the nationality he restored and providing the institutional framework through which it operates.
What “Nationality” Actually Means
Nationality is not symbolic. It is the legal and commercial identity through which a person engages the world. Nationality establishes who you are, where you stand, and on what basis you are entitled to recognition, protection, and participation in the affairs of nations.
The Sultanate of Amexem holds the position that without nationality, there is no standing — not in law, not in commerce, and not in the dealings between sovereigns. A person without a proclaimed nationality is a person operating without a defined position. The records will reflect whatever description has been imposed, and the protections available will be those extended by others rather than those secured by inheritance.
For Moorish Americans, the nationality is not theoretical. It is the documented standing of a people whose ancestry, customs, and national identity have been continuously affirmed. To proclaim Moorish American nationality is to assert that standing publicly and to bring oneself into alignment with the governing authority responsible for the protection and security of the descendants of the Nation of Moab.
For a more complete treatment of standing, citizenship tiers, and the legal architecture of Moorish American identity, see the resources on citizenship and the Sultanate’s governmental structure.
Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom, Justice
Moorish Americans live by five principles: Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom, and Justice. These are not aspirations. They are commitments — the standard against which conduct, governance, and community are measured. The principles are the inheritance that travels with the nationality, and they are the principles by which the Sultanate governs.
Love binds the community. Truth is the standard against which every claim and every record is tested. Peace is the condition that Moorish Americans both create and defend. Freedom is the right of self-determination as a people. Justice is the guarantee that every member is treated according to the same standard.
These five principles are the operating ethic of Moorish American life. They precede the structure. The structure exists to give them expression.
How to Proclaim Your Moorish American Nationality
Proclaiming Moorish American nationality is a deliberate process. It is not a declaration made in passing. It is a position taken with knowledge, with intention, and within an institutional framework that recognizes and records it. The following steps describe the path the Sultanate of Amexem provides for descendants of the Nation of Moab who are ready to take their standing.
- Study the foundational texts. Begin with the works restored by Noble Drew Ali and the supporting materials available in our resources library. Nationality is taken with understanding, not by impulse.
- Attend a Friday meeting. The Sultanate’s weekly gatherings introduce prospective affiliates to the community, the principles, and the procedural expectations of Moorish American national life.
- Apply for Affiliate standing. Through the application process, candidates enter the first tier of recognized standing within the Sultanate and begin their formal relationship with the governing authority.
- Advance through the citizenship tiers. From Affiliate onward, members may progress through the documented citizenship tiers, each carrying its own duties, recognitions, and responsibilities.
The process is open to every descendant of the Nation of Moab who is prepared to study, to commit, and to stand. It is not ceremonial. It is institutional.
The Sultanate of Amexem as Custodian
The Sultanate of Amexem is the custodial governing authority for the descendants of the Nation of Moab — the people modernly identified as Moorish American. Reconstituted in October 2020 under the House of Simmons Bey, the Sultanate carries forward the restoration begun by Noble Drew Ali and provides the institutional structure through which Moorish American nationality is administered today.
The Sultanate exists to protect and secure the rights, traditions, and economic interests of the Moorish American people. It is the body responsible for receiving applications, conferring standing, maintaining the citizenship tiers, and representing the descendants in matters of governance, custom, and commerce. To learn more about the Sultanate’s history, mandate, and modern reformation, visit the About the Sultanate page.
The Sultanate does not invent the nationality. It safeguards it. The lineage is older than the institution. The institution exists to ensure that the lineage is honored, the standing is preserved, and the descendants are recognized within a framework worthy of their inheritance.
Common Questions About Moorish American Nationality
What is Moorish American?
Moorish American is the national designation of the descendants and successors in interest to the ancient Nation of Moab. It is not a religion, a movement, or a self-styled identity — it is the modern recognition of an inherited nationality restored to public standing through the work of Noble Drew Ali.
Are Moorish Americans the same as Black Americans?
The terms describe different things. Black American refers to a racial description applied within the United States. Moorish American refers to a national lineage descending from the Nation of Moab. Many people described as Black are in fact Moorish American by ancestry; the distinction is that Moorish American is a nationality, not a racial label.
What do the surnames Bey and El mean?
Bey and El are the family names through which Moorish American nationality is publicly recognized. They are not honorifics. They are national surnames carried by those who have proclaimed their standing as descendants of the Nation of Moab.
How do I prove my Moorish American nationality?
Nationality is proclaimed and documented through an institutional process. The Sultanate of Amexem receives applications, confers Affiliate standing, and maintains the citizenship tiers through which Moorish American nationality is recognized. The application process begins through the Sultanate's apply page.
What is the Nation of Moab?
The Nation of Moab is the ancient people from whom Moorish Americans descend. Within Moorish American tradition, the Moabites are understood to have inhabited the North Western and South Western shores of Africa, and their descendants are recognized today as Moorish American.
Who is the custodial governing authority for Moorish Americans?
The Sultanate of Amexem is the custodial governing authority for the descendants of the Nation of Moab. Reconstituted in 2020 under the House of Simmons Bey, the Sultanate administers Moorish American nationality and protects the rights, traditions, and economic interests of its people.
Do I have to leave my current religion to be Moorish American?
Moorish American is a nationality, not a religion. The principles taught by Noble Drew Ali — Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom, and Justice — are observed as the operating ethic of national life. Questions about religious practice are addressed through the Sultanate's resources and during the Affiliate orientation process.
Where can I learn more before applying?
Begin with the foundational materials in the resources library, attend a Friday meeting to meet the community, and review the citizenship tiers to understand the structure of standing. Each is linked throughout this page and from the Sultanate's main navigation.
Take Your Standing
Nationality is the order of the day. The descendants of the Nation of Moab are recognized through name, lineage, and standing — and the Sultanate of Amexem exists to ensure that recognition is institutional, documented, and protected. Begin the application process today.
Apply for Affiliate Standing