by Abdul K. Muhammad
The Final Call @TheFinalCall
CHICAGO—Closing out the year 2024, believers of Mosque Maryam came together on a night filled with elegance, high civilization, culture and refinement. Saturday, December 28, marked the Nation of Islam’s first waltz ball hosted at Salaam Restaurant.
Brother Timothy Muhammad and his wife, Sister Nadiyah Muhammad, started the waltz dancing and etiquette class after being inspired by the memoirs and stories written by Sister Burnsteen Muhammad, the first and only secretary of our Saviour, Master W. D. Fard Muhammad.
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With this inspiration and after several months of classes and rigorous training, the official waltz ball was a smash hit amongst the believers.
“In 2018 I purchased the booklet from Sister Medina about her mother, Sister Burnsteen, whom the Saviour referred to as ‘The Reformer.’ She was his one and only secretary, and I was very interested and excited to read that history,” Brother Timothy explained. “And it was in those booklets where I first read about the Saviour and the waltz.”
In the readings, Sister Burnsteen Muhammad recalled her experiences with Master Fard Muhammad teaching and dancing with the first believers of the Nation of Islam.
The Saviour was stated to be so skilled that he would even be able to dance with a full glass of water on his head. These stories were very inspirational to Brother Timothy and Sister Nadiyah that they worked to bring the waltz dancing and etiquette class to fruition early in 2024.
“One of the things that as a mother I was concerned about was that my children are getting older, and they don’t really have a way to socialize with people outside of school. I felt like they were missing out on opportunities to interact. So, the idea of the waltz came to me, …” Sis. Nadiyah expressed.
On the night of the event, believers were lined up in Salaam’s fine dining floor taking pictures against the backdrop, excitedly murmuring with their neighbors in line, and eagerly awaiting the festivities. The program began with background about the spiritual significance of the waltz.
Brother Timothy explained that the Saviour, Master Fard Muhammad, taught that it is an original dance. One cannot learn how to waltz without also learning the proper etiquette that accompanies it.
This etiquette is not very foreign to followers in the Nation of Islam and has many guidelines set in place for the proper protection of brothers and sisters, such as brothers having to approach a sister’s escort to ask for a dance, sister’s being always accompanied by an escort, and so forth.
After a brief overview of the history of the waltz, two dancers presented a demonstration to give the audience an idea of what the proper exchange should look like.
Following the demonstration, Sister Burnsteen’s daughter, Sister Medina, who traveled from Detroit to attend the special evening, expressed her sincere gratitude to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Brother Timothy and Sister Nadiyah for inviting her to this event.
“The way they illustrated the setting that was placed in the book almost brought me to tears. At that point, I put myself back in that time. I felt like I could feel the presence of my mother there. … This was a dance that Master Fard Muhammad introduced to the Black community,” Sister Medina said.
To end the night, many demonstrations by the waltz team were performed with the theme of “A Field of Flowers.” Teams named “Daffodils” and “Chrysanthemums” showed beautiful high civilization and elegance throughout the evening. Instructors brought up volunteers, and the entire dance floor was surrounded by eager believers of all ages, learning how to waltz.
For information on the NOI waltz and etiquette class, visit www.noidance.org.
