CHICAGO - The Rev Benjamin Chavis, the ousted former leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, is joining the Rev Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam, according to published reports in Chicago.
"I am not turning from Christ. I am turning to Allah," the Chicago Sun Times quoted Mr Chavis as telling the Nation of Islam's annual Saviour's Day meeting in Chicago.
The Nation of Islam could not immediately confirm that Mr Chavis, an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, had joined.
Mr Chavis (49) has had close ties to Mr Farrakhan and the relationship has grown stronger since Mr Chavis left the NAACP in 1994 under a cloud after secretly using the group's funds to settle accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination.