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Moorish Science Temple of America

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Attendees of the 1928 Moorish Science Temple Of America Convention in Chicago.Noble Drew Aliis in white in the front row center.

TheMoorish Science Temple of Americais an American national and religious organization founded byNoble Drew Ali(born as Timothy Drew) in the early 20th century.[1]He based it on the premise thatAfrican Americansare descendants of theMoabitesand thus are "Moorish"by nationality, andIslamicby faith.[1]Ali put together elements of major traditions to develop a message of personal transformation through historical education, racial pride, and spiritual uplift. His doctrine was also intended to provide African Americans with a sense of identity in the world and to promote civic involvement.

An organization with headquarters inBaltimore,Maryland,claiming to be "the ONLY Moorish Science Temple teaching the full National side of the Moorish Movement",[2]is theMoorish Science Temple,with registered business names of theDivine and National Movement of North America, Inc.,andMoorish American National Republic.[3][4]

One primary tenet of the Moorish Science Temple is the belief that African Americans are of "Moorish" descent, specifically from the "Moroccan Empire". According to Ali, this area included other countries around Northwest Africa. To join the movement, individuals had to proclaim their "Moorish nationality". They were given "nationality cards". In religious texts, adherents refer to themselves racially as "Asiatics", as the Middle East is also western Asia.[5]Adherents of this movement are known as "Moorish-American Moslems" and are called "Moorish Scientists" in some circles.[6]

The Moorish Science Temple of America was incorporated under the Illinois Religious Corporation Act 805 ILCS 110. Timothy Drew, known to its members asProphetNoble Drew Ali, founded the Moorish Science Temple of America in 1913 inNewark, New Jersey,a booming industrial city. After some difficulties, Ali moved toChicago,establishing a center there, as well as temples in other major cities. The movement expanded rapidly during the late 1920s. The quick expansion of the Moorish Science Temple arose in large part from the search for identity and context among black Americans at the time of theGreat Migrationto northern cities, as they were becoming an urbanized people.[7]

Competing factions developed among the congregations and leaders, especially after the death of the charismatic Ali. Three independent organizations developed from this ferment. The founding of theNation of IslambyWallace Fard Muhammadin 1930 also created competition for members. In the 1930s membership was estimated at 30,000, with one third in Chicago. During thepostwaryears, the Moorish Science Temple of America continued to increase in membership, albeit at a slower rate.

Biography of Drew[edit]

Noble Drew Ali

Timothy Drew was believed to have been born on January 8, 1886, inNorth Carolina,United States.[8]Sources differ as to his background and upbringing: one reports he was the son of two formerslaveswho was adopted by a tribe ofCherokee;[9]another describes Drew as the son of aMoroccanMuslim father and a Cherokee mother.[10]In 2014 an article in the onlineJournal of Race Ethnicity and Religionattempted to link Timothy Drew to one Thomas Drew, born January 8, 1886, using census records, a World War I draft card, and street directory records.[11]

Founding of the Moorish Science Temple[edit]

Drew Ali reported that during his travels, he met with a high priest ofEgyptianmagic. In one version of Drew Ali's biography, the leader saw him as a reincarnation of the founder. In others, he says that the priest considered him a reincarnation ofJesus,theBuddha,Muhammadand other religious prophets. According to the biography, the high priest trained Ali inmysticismand gave him a "lost section" of theQuran.[12]

This text came to be known as theHoly Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America.It is also known as the "Circle Seven Koran"because of its cover, which features a red" 7 "surrounded by a blue circle. The first 19 chapters are fromThe Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ,published in 1908 by esoteric OhiopreacherLevi Dowling.InThe Aquarian Gospel,Dowling described Jesus' supposed travels inIndia,Egypt,andPalestineduring the years of his life which are not accounted for by the New Testament.[13]

Chapters 20 through 45 are borrowed from theRosicrucianwork,Unto Thee I Grantwith minor changes in style and wording. They are instructions on how to live, and the education and duties of adherents.[14]

Drew Ali wrote the last four chapters of the Circle Seven Koran himself. In these he wrote:

The fallen sons and daughters of the Asiatic Nation of North America need to learn to love instead of hate; and to know of their higher self and lower self. This is the uniting of the Holy Koran of Mecca for teaching and instructing all Moorish Americans, etc. The key of civilization was and is in the hands of the Asiatic nations. The Moorish, who were the ancient Moabites, and the founders of the Holy City of Mecca.[15]

Drew Ali and his followers used this material to claim, "Jesus and his followers were Asiatic." ( "Asiatic" was the term Drew Ali used for all dark or olive-colored people; he labeled all whites as European. He suggested that all Asiatics should be allied.)[16]

Drew Ali crafted Moorish Science from a variety of sources, a "network of alternative spiritualities that focused on the power of the individual to bring about personal transformation through mystical knowledge of the divine within".[16]In the inter-war years in Chicago and other major cities, he used these concepts to preachracial prideand uplift. His approach appealed to thousands of African Americans who had left severely oppressive conditions in the South through the Great Migration and faced struggles in new urban environments.[16]

Practices and beliefs[edit]

Ali believed that African Americans are allMoors,who he claimed were descended from the ancient Moabites (the kingdom of which he says is now known asMorocco,as opposed to the ancient Canaanite kingdom ofMoab,as the name suggests).[17]This claim does not align with scientific studies of human history, such as thegenetics of African-Americansandgenetic history of sub-Saharan Africa.He claimed that Islam and its teachings are more beneficial to their earthly salvation, and that their "true nature" had been "withheld" from them. In the traditions he founded, male members of the Temple wear afezorturbanas head covering; women wear a turban.[18]

They added the suffixesBeyor El to their surnames, to signify Moorish heritage as well as their taking on the new life as Moorish Americans. It was also a way to claim and proclaim a new identity over that lost to the enslavement of their ancestors. These suffixes were a sign to others that while one's African tribal name may never be known to them, European names given by their enslavers were not theirs, either.[citation needed]

As Drew Ali began his version of teaching the Moorish-Americans to become better citizens, he made speeches like, "A Divine Warning By the Prophet for the Nations", in which he urged them to reject derogatory labels, such as "Black", "colored", and "Negro". He urged Americans of all races to reject hate and embrace love. He believed that Chicago would become a secondMecca.[citation needed]

The ushers of the Temple wore black fezzes. The leader of a particular temple was known as a GrandSheik,or Governor. Noble Drew Ali had several wives.[19]According toThe Chicago Defender,he claimed the power to marry and divorce at will.[20]

History[edit]

Noble Drew Ali (top center) with Chicago AldermanLouis B. Anderson(to his right) and CongressmanOscar De Priest(left)

Early history[edit]

In 1913, Drew Ali formed the Canaanite Temple inNewark, New Jersey.[21]He left the city after agitating people with his views on race.[22]Drew Ali and his followers migrated, while planting congregations inPhiladelphia;Washington, D.C.,andDetroit.Finally, Drew Ali settled inChicagoin 1925, sayingthe Midwestwas "closer to Islam".[23]The following year he officially registered Temple No. 9.

There he instructed followers not to be confrontational but to build up their people to be respected. In this way, they might take their place in the United States by developing a cultural identity that was congruent with Drew Ali's beliefs on personhood.[24]In the late 1920s, journalists estimated the Moorish Science Temple had 35,000 members in 17 temples in cities across the Midwest and upper South.[25]It was reportedly studied and watched by the Chicago police.

Building Moorish-American businesses was part of their program, and in that was similar toMarcus Garvey'sUniversal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities Leagueand the later Nation of Islam.[26]By 1928, members of the Moorish Science Temple of America had obtained some respectability within Chicago and Illinois, as they were featured prominently and favorably in the pages ofThe Chicago Defender,anAfrican-American newspaper,and conspicuously collaborated with African American politician and businessman Daniel Jackson.[27]

Drew Ali attended the January 1929 inauguration ofLouis L. Emmerson,as 27thGovernor of Illinoisin the state capital ofSpringfield.The Chicago Defenderstated that his trip included "interviews with many distinguished citizens from Chicago, who greeted him on every hand."[28]With the growth in its population and membership, Chicago was established as the center of the movement.

Internal split and murder[edit]

In early 1929, following a conflict over funds, Claude Green-Bey, the business manager of Chicago Temple No. 1 split from the Moorish Science Temple of America. He declared himself Grand Sheik and took a number of members with him. On March 15, Green-Bey was stabbed to death at the Unity Hall of the Moorish Science Temple, on Indiana Avenue in Chicago.[29]

Drew Ali was out of town at the time, as he was dealing with former Supreme Grand Governor Lomax Bey (professor Ezaldine Muhammad), who had supported Green-Bey's attempted coup.[30]When Drew Ali returned to Chicago, the police arrested him and other members of the community on suspicion of having instigated the killing. No indictment was sworn for Drew Ali at that time.

The death of Drew Ali[edit]

Shortly after his release by the police, Drew Ali died at age 43 at his home in Chicago on July 20, 1929.[31]Although the exact circumstances of his death are unknown, the Certificate of Death stated that Noble Drew Ali died from "tuberculosisbroncho-pneumonia".[32]Despite the official report, many of his followers speculated that his death was caused by injuries from the police or from other members of the faith.[33]Others thought it was due to pneumonia. One Moor toldThe Chicago Defender,"The Prophet was not ill; his work was done and he laid his head upon the lap of one of his followers and passed out."[34][35]

Succession and schism[edit]

Grand SheikE. Mealy Elin an undated photo,c. 1928

The death of Drew Ali brought out a number of candidates to succeed him. BrotherEdward Mealy Elstated that he had been declared Drew Ali's successor by Drew Ali himself. In August, within a month of Drew Ali's death,John Givens El,Drew Ali's chauffeur, declared that he was Drew Ali reincarnated. He is said to have fainted while working on Drew Ali's automobile and "the sign of the star and crescent [appeared] in his eyes".[36]

At the September Unity Conference, Givens again made his claim of reincarnation. However, the governors of the Moorish Science Temple of America declaredCharles Kirkman Beyto be the successor to Drew Ali and named him Grand Advisor.[37]

With the support of several temples each, Mealy El and Givens El both went on to lead separate factions of the Moorish Science Temple. All three factions (Kirkman Bey, Mealy El, and Givens El) are active today.

On September 25, 1929, Kirkman Bey's wife reported to the Chicago police his apparent kidnapping by one Ira Johnson. Accompanied by two Moorish Science members, the police visited the home of Johnson, when they were met by gunfire. The attack escalated into a shoot-out that spilled into the surrounding neighborhood. In the end, a policeman as well as a member were killed in the gun battle, and a second policeman later died of his wounds.[38]The police took 60 people into police custody, and a reported 1000 police officers patrolled the ChicagoSouth Sidethat evening.[39]Johnson and two others were later convicted of murder.[40]

Kirkman Bey went on to serve as Grand Advisor of one of the most important factions until 1959, when the reins were given to F. Nelson-Bey.[41]

Nation of Islam[edit]

The community was further split whenWallace Fard Muhammad,known within the temple as David Ford-el,[42]also claimed (or was taken by some) to be the reincarnation of Drew Ali.[43]When his leadership was rejected, Ford El broke away from the Moorish Science Temple. He moved to Detroit, where he formed his own group, an organization that would become theNation of Islam.[44]The Nation of Islam denied any historical connection with the Moorish Science Temple until February 26, 2014, whenLouis Farrakhanacknowledged the contribution(s) of Noble Drew Ali to the Nation of Islam and their founding principles.[45]

The 1930s[edit]

Despite the turmoil and defections, the movement continued to grow in the 1930s. It is estimated that membership in the 1930s reached 30,000. There were major congregations in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago.[46]

One-third of the members, or 10,000, lived in Chicago, the center of the movement. There were congregations in numerous other cities where African Americans had migrated in the early 20th century. The group published several magazines: one was theMoorish Guide National.During the 1930s and 1940s, continued surveillance by police (and later theFBI) caused the Moors to become more withdrawn and critical of the government.[47]

FBI surveillance[edit]

During the 1940s, the Moorish Science Temple (specifically the Kirkman Bey faction) came to the attention of theFBI,who investigated claims of members committing subversive activities by adhering to and spreading of Japanese propaganda. The investigation failed to find any substantial evidence, and the investigations were dropped. The federal agency later investigated the organization in 1953 for violation of theSelective Service Act of 1948andsedition.In September 1953, the Department of Justice determined that prosecution was not warranted for the alleged violations. The file that the FBI created on the temple grew to 3,117 pages during its lifetime.[48]They never found any evidence of any connection or much sympathy of the temple's members for Japan.

El Rukn connection[edit]

In 1976Jeff Fort,leader of Chicago'sBlack P Stone Nation,announced at his parole from prison in 1976 that he had converted to Islam. Moving toMilwaukee,Fort associated himself with the Moorish Science Temple of America. It is unclear whether he officially joined or was instead rejected by its members.[49]

In 1978, Fort returned to Chicago and changed the name of his gang toEl Rukn( "the foundation" in Arabic), also known as "Circle Seven El Rukn Moorish Science Temple of America"[50]and the "Moorish Science Temple, El Rukn tribe".[51]Scholars are divided over the nature of the relationship, if any, betweenEl Ruknand the Moorish Science Temple of America.[52]Fort reportedly hoped that an apparent affiliation with a religious organization would discourage law enforcement.[53]

1980–2000s[edit]

Temple No 9, in Chicago, Illinois

In 1984 the Chicago congregation bought a building fromBuddhistmonksinUkrainian Village,which continues to be used for Temple No. 9. Demographic and cultural changes have decreased the attraction of young people to the Moorish Science Temple. Only about 200 members attended a convention in 2007, rather than the thousands of the past. In the early 2000s, the temples in Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, D.C., had about 200 members each, and many were older people.[54]

21st century[edit]

On July 15, 2019, Philadelphia mayorJim Kenney,as part of a diversity program, proclaimed July 15 to be "Morocco Day". The city mistakenly invited members of the local Moorish Science temple to the ceremony, believing them to be of actual Moroccan descent.[55]

Moorish sovereign citizens[edit]

Main article:Moorish sovereign citizens

During the 1990s, some former followers of the Moorish Science Temple of America and theWashitaw Nationformed an offshoot of the sovereign citizen movement which came to be known as Moorish sovereign citizens. Members believe theUnited States federal governmentto be illegitimate, which they attribute to a variety of factors includingReconstructionfollowing the U.S. Civil War and the abandonment of thegold standardin the 1930s.[56]The number of Moorish sovereign citizens is uncertain but possibly ranges between 3,000 and 6,000 organized mostly in small groups of several dozen.[57]Moorish sovereign citizens believeblack peopleconstitute an elite class within American society,[57]despite the fact that much of their underlying ideology originated amongwhite supremacistgroups.[58]

TheSouthern Poverty Law Centerclassifies Moorish sovereign citizens as anextremistanti-government group.[57][59]Tactics used by the group include filing false deeds and property claims,[60]false liensagainst government officials, frivolouslegal motionsto overwhelm courts, and inventedlegaleseused in court appearances and filings.[56]Various groups and individuals identifying as Moorish sovereign citizens have used the unorthodox "quantum grammar" created byDavid Wynn Miller.[61]An article syndicated by theAssociated Pressstates that the Temple has disavowed any affiliation with those responsible, calling them "radical and subversive fringe groups" and also states that "Moorish leaders are looking into legal remedies." The article also quotes an academic who has been advising authorities on how to distinguish registered Temple members from impostors in the sovereign citizen movement.[62]

See also[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^abGomez, Michael A. (2005)."Chapter 6: Breaking Away – Noble Drew Ali and the Foundations of Contemporary Islam in African America".Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas.CambridgeandNew York:Cambridge University Press.pp. 200–217.doi:10.1017/CBO9780511802768.008.ISBN9780511802768.LCCN2004027722.
  2. ^"About".Moorish Science Temple.RetrievedApril 5,2021.
  3. ^"Moorish Science Temple, The Divine and National Movement of North America, Incorporated, N".Dun & Bradstreet.RetrievedApril 5,2021.
  4. ^"Home page".Moorish Science Temple.RetrievedApril 5,2021.
  5. ^The Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America,Chapter XXV – "A Holy Covenant of the Asiatic Nation"
  6. ^"Noble Drew Ali".newafricacenter.2019. Archived fromthe originalon July 22, 2019.RetrievedDecember 2,2019.
  7. ^Turner, pg. 93.
  8. ^Wilson, p. 15; Gomez, p. 203; Paghdiwala; Gale Group.
  9. ^Wilson, p, 15.
  10. ^Gomez and Paghdiwala give both versions.
  11. ^F. Abdat, "Before the Fez-Life and Times of Drew Ali",Journal of Race Ethnicity and Religion,Vol 5, No 8, August 2014[1]
  12. ^Brown, Ann (May 7, 2019)."10 Things To Know About Noble Drew Ali".moguldom.RetrievedDecember 2,2019.
  13. ^Dowling, Levi (1907).The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ.Cosimo.ISBN9781602062245.
  14. ^Ghaneabassiri, Kambiz(2010).A History of Islam in America: From the New World to the New World Order.Cambridge University Press. p. 220.ISBN978-0521614870.
  15. ^Curtis, Edward E. (2010).Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History.Infobase Publishing. p. 46.ISBN9781438130408.
  16. ^abcNance, Susan (Summer 2002). "Mystery of the Moorish Science Temple: Southern Blacks and American Alternative Spirituality in 1920s Chicago".Nance, Susan (2002)."Mystery of the Moorish Science Temple: Southern Blacks and American Alternative Spirituality in 1920s Chicago".Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation.12(2): 123–166.doi:10.1525/rac.2002.12.2.123.S2CID144840143.Archived fromthe originalon April 15, 2012.RetrievedMarch 28,2012.,Religion and American Culture12, no. 2: 123–166.doi:10.1525/rac.2002.12.2.123.JSTOR10.1525/rac.2002.12.Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  17. ^Yusuf Nuruddin (2000)."African-American Muslims and the Question of Identity: Between Traditional Islam, African Heritage, and the American Way".In Hadda, Yvonne Yazbeck; Esposito, John L. (eds.).Muslims on the Americanization Path?.Oxford University Press. p. 223.ISBN9780198030928.Hence it is in the Moorish Science Temple that we encounter fables about the "ancient Moabite kingdom now known as Morocco, which existed in northwest Amexem. which is now known as northwest Africa."
  18. ^Koura, Chloe (May 27, 2017)."The American Religion That Makes Its Members 'Moroccans'".Morocco World News.RetrievedDecember 5,2019.
  19. ^Chicago Tribune(1929) andChicago Defender(1929).
  20. ^Chicago Defender(1929).
  21. ^Paghdiwala, p. 23.
  22. ^Paghdiwala
  23. ^Wilson, p. 29.
  24. ^Gomez, Michael A. (2005)Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas,Cambridge University Press, p. 219. Retrieved August 29, 2009
  25. ^Chicago Tribune,May 14, 1929.
  26. ^Gomez, Michael A. (2005)Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas,Cambridge University Press, p. 260. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  27. ^Nance (2002), p. 635–637
  28. ^Chicago Defender,January 1929.
  29. ^Chicago Tribune
  30. ^Gale.
  31. ^Chicago Defender,July 27, 1929.
  32. ^Perkins, p. 186, as well as other less reputable sources. Perkins cites "Standard Certificate of Death No. 22054, Timothy Drew, issued July 25, 1929, Office of Cook County Clerk, Cook County, Illinois". The certificate was filed by Dr. Clarence Payne-El, who was reportedly at Drew Ali's bedside when he died. See also Scopino.
  33. ^McCloud, p. 18; Wilson, p. 35. TheChicago Defender,whose news articles had turned critical, said that "it is believed that the ordeal of the trial together with the treatment he received at the hands of police in an effort to obtain true statements are directly responsible for the illness which precipitated his death" (July 27, 1929).
  34. ^Quoted by Paghdiwala, p. 24. Also quoted by Nance (2002, p. 659, note 84) with a reference to "Cult Leader Dies; Was in Murder Case",Chicago Defender,July 27, 1929.
  35. ^"Hold Final Rites for Moorish Chief",Chicago Defender,August 3, 1929, page 3.
  36. ^Gomez, p. 273.
  37. ^McCloud, p. 18. Gardell, p. 45.
  38. ^"Patrolmen Jesse D. Hults and William Gallagher",Officer Down Memorial Page
  39. ^Chicago Tribune,September 1929.The Washington Post,September 1929.
  40. ^Hartford Courant,April 19, 1930, p. 20.
  41. ^"Supreme Grand Advisor and Moderator C. Kirkman-Bey".moorishamericannationalrepublic.2016.RetrievedDecember 4,2019.
  42. ^Prashad, p. 109.
  43. ^Ahlstrom (p. 1067), Abu Shouk (p. 147), Hamm (p. 14), and Lippy (p. 214) all state that Fard claimed to be, or was considered by many Moors to be, the reincarnation of Drew Ali. According to Turner (p. 92), Ford El, also known as Abdul Wali Farad Muhammad Ali, unsuccessfully challenged Drew Ali in Newark in 1914.
  44. ^Ahlstrom (p. 1067), Lippy (p. 214), Miyakawa (p. 12).
  45. ^Farrakhan, Louis (February 26, 2014)."Saviours' Day 2014 Keynote Address: 'How Strong Is Our Foundation; Can We Survive?'".FinalCall.RetrievedMarch 16,2019.
  46. ^Paghdiwala, p. 26.
  47. ^Nance, p. 659.
  48. ^"Moorish Science Temple of America".FBI FOIA Archive.FBI. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010.RetrievedMay 11,2016.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  49. ^Nash (p. 167) says Fort did join the Milwaukee temple. Hamm (p. 25) states otherwise: "Fort tried to join the Moorish Science Temple in Milwaukee but Temple elders refused to have him."
  50. ^Chicago Tribune,"El Rukn street gang joins drive to register voters", August 25, 1982, p. 17.
  51. ^Shipp,The New York Times(1985).
  52. ^Blakemore, et al. (p. 335) says that "The Moorish Science Temple of America has always denied such a connection."
    See also Nashashibi ( "In 1982 the El Rukns dropped their affiliation with the Moorish Science Temple of America and moved closer toward a more orthodox understanding of Sunni Islam." )
    See also the 1988 court case,Johnson-Bey et al. v. Lane et al.( "The sinister El Rukn group is a breakaway faction from the Moorish Science Temple of America... apparently it no longer has any connection with the Moorish Science Temple." ).
  53. ^Main,Chicago Sun-Times(2006).
  54. ^Paghdiwala, Tasneem (November 15, 2007)."The Aging of the Moors".Chicago Reader.Vol. 37, no. 8.RetrievedOctober 13,2009.
  55. ^Owen-Jones, Juliette (August 13, 2019)."Moorish Science Temple of America Represents Morocco at Flag-Raising Ceremony".Morocco World News.Archived fromthe originalon August 14, 2019.RetrievedAugust 14,2019.
  56. ^abLigon, Mellie (2021)."The Sovereign Citizen Movement: A Comparative Analysis with Similar Foreign Movements and Takeaways for the United States Judicial System"(PDF).Emory International Law Review.35(2): 297–332.ISSN1052-2840.
  57. ^abc"Moorish Sovereign Citizens".Southern Poverty Law Center.RetrievedOctober 7,2020.
  58. ^Cash, Glen (May 26, 2022).A Kind of Magic: The Origins and Culture of 'Pseudolaw'(PDF).Queensland Magistrates’ State Conference 2022.RetrievedOctober 22,2022.
  59. ^Morrison, Heather (July 6, 2021)."'Rise of the Moors' classified as antigovernment group by Southern Poverty Law Center ".MassLive.
  60. ^Steinback, Robert (July 20, 2011)."Judge Ignores 'Martian law,' Tosses 'Sovereign Citizen' Into Slammer".Southern Poverty Law Center.RetrievedSeptember 9,2012.
  61. ^Anti-Defamation league (2016),"The Sovereign Citizen Movement Common Documentary Identifiers & Examples"(PDF),adl.org,retrievedDecember 23,2021
  62. ^"Bogus court filings spotlight little-known sect Moorish Science Temple of America".syracuse.Associated Press. July 28, 2011.RetrievedJuly 10,2022.

General references[edit]

External links[edit]

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