In the 1940s Selective Service registrars noticed African Americans in Chicago, Detroit, and several other large cities were refusing to register under religious grounds and described themselves as Muslim. They also were not seeking an exemption as conscientious objectors. Around this same time the FBI was receiving reports that Japan was funding African American groups that were radical and wanted a racial revolution. In April of 1942, the FBI used undercover officers to infiltrate a group.
Takahashi's Society for the Development of Our Own was a major organization in Black America responsible for the dissemination of pro-Japanese propaganda. He recruited several thousand members to the Pan-Asian cause, most of them of African-American, Filipino, or East Asian descent. The "Five Guiding Principles" of the group were "Freedom, Justice, Equality, Liberty, and Honour."
Nation of Islam
In 1939 the FBI charged that Nakane had been an influential presence in the Nation of Islam. He spoke as a guest at the NOI temples in Detroit and Chicago. He also influenced Elijah Muhammad's attitude towards Japanese government. The FBI had a copy of a speech from 1933 where Mohammad proclaimed that the Japanese would kill the white man. FBI informants noted that NOI's flag of a white crescent and white moon with a red background was similar to Japan's flag of a red sun with white rays on a red background. They also noted that the flag was similar to Turkey, whose population is mostly Muslim, and that the flag was similar to Soviet Union's whose flag is red with a single star and sickle. Nakane was deported and moved to Canada. When he tried to return he was charged with attempting to bribe an immigration officer and illegal entry. In an interview with the FBI Elijah Mohammad claimed he met Takahashi at a women's house, but could not recall who the woman was. He went there to pick up Brother Abdul Mohammad. Mohammad also claimed that Takahishi stayed at Abdul's house for several weeks because he was recovering from an illness. Additionally, Mohammad claimed that he and Takahishi discussed NOI and that Takahishi approved of his teachings. The poster was of a map of the United States with Fard in the center, and was entitled "Calling the Four Winds." From each of the four directions there were guns that said "Asia" aimed at the US. Takahashis poster was almost identical, except Takahashi was in the center. "Calling the Four Winds" is a speech written by Cheaber McIntyre, Takahishi's wife.
