The Moorish American movement is a religious and national organization founded by Noble Drew Ali in the early 20th century. The movement is based on the belief that African Americans are descendants of the Moabites and thus are "Moorish". One of the primary tenets of the Moorish Science Temple is the belief that African Americans are of "Moorish" descent, specifically from the "Moroccan Empire". To join the movement, individuals had to proclaim their "Moorish nationality" and were given "nationality cards". Adherents of this movement are known as "Moorish-American Moslems" and are called "Moorish Scientists" in some circles.
However, there is also a subgroup of the Moorish movement known as Moorish sovereign citizens. They espouse an interpretation of sovereign doctrine that African Americans constitute an elite class within American society with special rights. Moorish sovereign citizens claim immunity from U.S. federal, state, and local laws, because of a mistaken belief that a fictitious 1787 treaty between the United States and Morocco grants them sovereign status. Members of the Moorish sovereigns have come into conflict with federal and state authorities over their refusal to obey laws and government regulations. The Moorish sovereign movement began to spread in the US in the 1990s, when groups and individuals latched onto MSTA beliefs that Moors inhabited what became the Americas hundreds of years before American Indians, thus granting them self-governing, “nation-within-a-nation” status, and exemptions from laws like paying taxes or regulations like those surrounding property ownership.
It is important to note that while there is overlap between the Moorish sovereign citizen movement and the Moorish Science Temple, not all Moorish Science Temple adherents are sovereign citizens and some vocally oppose sovereign beliefs.
