Many African-Americans view Christianity as the White man’s religion and associate conversion to Islam with recovering their ethnic heritage. Thus, to effectively evangelize African-American Muslims, it is crucial to understand the development of the American Muslim movementThe greatest period of growth in the Nation of Islam, an Islamic organization of America cannot be directly attributed to Elijah Muhammad, religious leader in America. In 1948, while serving a prison sentence in Massachusetts, a young man by the name of Malcolm Little became acquainted with the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and was converted. Upon release from prison, Malcolm Little, a former pimp, drug pusher, armed robber, and numbers man, returned to Detroit and began aggressively recruiting for Detroit Temple 1. He received recognition for his efforts from Elijah Muhammad, who changed his name to Malcolm X. ‘X’ symbolized his original African name, which he never knew, and replaced the slave master’s name, Little. This individual bearing the name ‘X’ would soon make both the name and organization it represented a symbol of freedom for some and fear for others.
Malcolm X frequently visited Elijah Muhammad in his home in Chicago to talk for hours. Because of his aggressive recruiting, new ideas and unyielding devotion to Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm was appointed as national spokesman. ‘He was…crisscrossing North America, sometimes as often as four times a week. From Detroit, Malcolm was sent to organize Temple 11. In March 1954, Malcolm moved from Boston to Philadelphia, and in three months Temple 12 was opened….From Philadelphia, Malcolm moved to New York City and became minister of Temple 7. In fact, Malcolm X was instrumental in the establishment of most of the temples in North America, and he took credit for the increase in membership from 400 to 40,000 that occurred within a few years after he joined the Nation of Islam.
Even today, Malcolm X looms larger than life in the African-American quest for the elusive prize of freedom and dignity. He attracted tens of thousands with his emphasis on cultural concerns, discipline, solidarity of the brotherhood, and African identity.
With his platform as national spokesman, Malcolm X became an international figure. He was a popular lecturer at universities, mosques and churches throughout the country. He recruited new leaders to the Nation. He even had a philosophical influence upon Elijah Muhammad’s son, Wallace D. Muhammad (also known as Warith D. Muhammad). For many other leaders of the movement, however, Malcolm was gaining too much prominence too quickly. Many began to view him as a threat to Elijah Muhammad’s leadership. He frequently made statements that went beyond the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and was often reprimanded.
There were those within the Nation of Islam who believed that Malcolm was trying to build a financial empire for himself. They began to leave him out of every edition of Muhammad Speaks, the organization’s newspaper. Ironically, it was Malcolm who was instrumental in creating the paper. Aware of the controversy surrounding him, Malcolm began refusing interviews. He frequently told reporters, ‘Please use Mr. Muhammad’s picture instead of mine’.
The tension reached its apex when Elijah Muhammad was implicated by two former secretaries in a paternity suit. Disillusioned, Malcolm X began searching the Bible and Quran for some prophetic explanation for what was happening. This he did with the help of Warith D. Muhammad. He then conducted his own investigation into the allegations, and finally questioned Elijah Muhammad himself. ‘I’m David’, Elijah Muhammad replied. ‘When you read in the Bible how David took another man’s wife, I’m David….You read about Lot who went and lay up with his own daughter. I have fulfilled all those things. Malcolm’s directness in questioning the ‘messenger of Allah’ was perceived as overstepping his bounds.
Shortly after that incident, President Kennedy was assassinated. Elijah Muhammad commanded all ministers of the Nation of Islam to refrain from commenting on Kennedy’s death. However, when asked his opinion of the assassination, Malcolm X replied, ‘I saw it as a case of the chickens coming home to roost’. Warith D. Muhammad and Malcolm X were subsequently suspended from the Nation of Islam. Reflecting upon that time, Warith remarked, ‘I was charged with trying to influence Malcolm’s theological thinking. I was also charged with giving him personal, private knowledge of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s living, which was a lie’.
Actually, Warith D. Muhammad did have an effect on Malcolm X’s theological views. Both men began to lean more toward orthodox Islam. The more Warith read the writings of W. D. Fard, the more he questioned his father’s claim to be the ‘messenger of Allah’. Warith and Malcolm both concluded that Fard could not have been Allah himself.
Malcolm’s ideas were further broadened by his travels. He went on the Hajj and changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz. He met with various African leaders and discussed the conditions in their respective countries. Malcolm’s ideological shift was drastic. His intention was to broaden his scope from American Black nationalism to global human rights. He intended to take the case of racism in the United States before the United Nations for action.
On March 8, 1964, while still on suspension, Malcolm X announced that he was leaving the Nation of Islam and forming his own organization. Actually, he started two organizations, Muslim Mosque Incorporated (MMI) and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). MMI was based upon the principles of orthodox Islam. OAAU was an all Black, non-sectarian organization dedicated to creating a society where Blacks and Whites could live in brotherhood. Malcolm contended that Black-White brotherhood could not occur until Black people themselves were united. At that stage Black and White coalitions would be possible. He encouraged Whites to fight racism and was willing to accept aid from White donors.
However, Malcolm’s new vision didn’t have a chance to take root. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated. He was speaking to a group of about 500 people in the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Several gunmen opened fire on him from the third row. Three former members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the crime. One of them, Talmadge Hayer, confessed and implicated the other two. Later he claimed that these two men were innocent, but that four active members of the Nation of Islam had actually helped him.