In the Name of Allah (God), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
(a selected article from Alianza Islámica™ Magazine)
Malcom X = Malik Shabazz: Why Did He Change?
by Abdul Malik Mujahid
The film Malcolm X (produced by director Spike Lee, and released in late 1992) is about a real person, not an imaginary hero produced by the mind of scriptwriters or authors. He lived and died in this country. His story is heroic because of his own evolution and the commitment he made to the spiritual uplifting of his fellow men through social justice, and the exposure of exploitation and ignorance.
Malcolm understood there can be no peace and harmony between men without justice, and no justice without the eradication of racism. His message is as true today, as the day he articulated it. No matter how much public relations is done, no matter how many Bill Cosby's air on television, no matter how many Michael Jackson's put the people to sleep with rhythmic lies for corporate America, the problem will not go away. The problem is injustice. This is the message of Malik Shabazz (the name he adopted instead of Malcolm X).
Malcolm died because of his commitment to speaking out against wrongs he saw. But his message is a message of hope, because at the core of it, is his belief in a Just God and a Just Teaching. The message of Malcolm is Islam.
"Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and the overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as it is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this Ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed around me by people of all colors.
There were tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white.
America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered "white", but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.
You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage (to Mecca), what I have seen and experienced, has forced me to re-arrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions." (Letter from Arabia, April 20, 1964, Malcolm X)
What happened to Malcolm in Mecca? He was exposed to a manifestation of the Islamic teaching that transformed his world-view. He saw men and women of every race and color, from China to the American Continent come together, dressed in a simple white clothe, for three days, to celebrate the brotherhood of humanity and the unity of God. It was this vision that led to Malcolm renouncing his own racism and declaring, like any true Muslim, the unity of humankind that can only comes about through submission to the one God.
Malcolm's journey was forced upon him by the painful circumstances of his own tragic life. But the greatness of his human spirit shines through to this day, despite all attempts to put that light out. Malcolm left racism for Islam. He suffered deeply because of the ignorance he saw all around him. What he asked us to do was think for ourselves, don't believe versions of the truth we are told, whether they are political, social, or religious matters. Look for yourself, think for yourself, but most importantly set out on our own journey to discover the truth.
"There is no preference of a white person over a black person, nor a black person over a white person. The only preference of one person over another is in his moral behavior." (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)
"There is nothing in our book, the Qur'an, that teaches us to suffer peacefully. Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone, but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. That's a good religion. In fact, that's that old time religion. That's the one that ma and pa used to talk about: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and a head for a head, and a life for a life. That's a good religion. And nobody resents that kind of religion being taught but a wolf, who intends to make you his meal... No, preserve your life, it's the best thing you've got. And if you've got to give it up, let it be even-steven." (Malcolm X Speaks, November 1963, pp. 12-13)
"...the Islam I believe in now was the Islam which was taught in Mecca; that there was no God but Allah, and that Muhammad ibn (son of) Abdullah, who lived in the Holy City of Mecca, fourteen hundred years ago, was the Last Messenger of Allah." (The Autobiography of Malcolm X, p. 372)
"And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer that is malignant in the body of America, then all the credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine." (The Autobiography of Malcolm X, p. 382)
Freedom and justice for all, must mean: for all bar none! Read what Malcolm X read and believed in, the Holy Qur'an.