Malcolm X's Contribution To His Work With The Nation Of Islam

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is the story about a man who greatly impacted American history. Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X as he is more widely known, taught what he believed in regards to segregation, racism, and discrimination. Growing up in a large family with a father Earl Little, a Baptist minister, and his mother Louis Little who was a homemaker, Malcolm’s life at the time seemed very promising. His father’s involvement in support of the Black National gained him many death threats at the hands of white supremacists. In 1929, they lost their house to a fire, and two years later the body of Malcolm’s father was found mutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudice on human behavior, and how society today keeps the ideology of Malcolm X alive.

Other Muslims thought Malcolm was getting to powerful. One example of the conflicts Malcolm's power caused involved the leader of the Muslim Nation, Elijah Muhammed. Elijah Muhammed was said to have fathered two young women's children. Malcolm went to talk to the women. The women told Malcolm that Elijah always talked behind Malcolm's back, saying bad things. Malcolm's faith was shattered. He was with the Black Muslim religion for twelve years. He decided to try to take, and make his own Islam religion. Muhammed found out about this, and said that Malcolm could not preach for 90 days.

Malcolm X was also a very great leader during the Civil Rights era. His Islamic religion helped influence how he led those who followed his teachings. He was motivated by anger that was created from white men in the past. When he was younger, his mother was threatened to move out of town because his father’s sermons were starting to cause an up roar in the community between blacks and whites. The leadership Malcolm X brought to the community was rejuvenated energy that gave young black men and women the hope to rise above the

It would be the time spent in prison that would transform Malcolm and change him from a career criminal to the activist he would later be known as. He visited the prison library and read books on religion, philosophy, and history. He read and copied the entire dictionary acquiring the skills that would make him a powerful public speaker. He dedicated his time in prison to his own personal development and through his brother Reginald learned of the organization known as the Nation of Islam or the Black Muslims. The Nation of Islam is an Islamic religious organization founded by its leader Elijah Muhammad which promoted Black separatism from whites culturally, physically, politically and psychologically. Malcolm began to follow the preachings of Muhammad and practiced the religion devoutly, giving up drug use, alcohol consumption, as well as eating pork.

Originally, this split began when Malcolm was silenced by Elijah Muhammad and suspended from the NOI for declaring that “chickens coming home to roost never did make [him] sad; they've always made [him] glad" in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Simon). By saying this Malcolm seemed as if he was saying that the assassination of Kennedy was necessary to balance out all of the evil that white men have done to black men. On top of this, Malcolm discovered that Elijah Muhammad, his teacher and mentor, was a fraud who had multiple mistresses, which outraged Malcolm. This anger caused Malcolm to officially split from the NOI and create the Muslim Mosque Inc. in 1964. Malcolm was “determined to make the group international and to initiate a back-to-Africa movement” (“Malcolm X American History”). Later that same year Malcolm took a pilgrimage to the Mecca to confirm his Islamic faith and was amazed by the things he learned there. A major realization Malcolm had during his pilgrimage was that the NOI was very far from traditional Islam. “Imagine, being a Muslim minister, a leader in Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam, and not knowing the prayer ritual” he writes to emphasize his distress about not fitting traditional Muslim standards (Haley 345). Furthermore, Malcolm experienced a

During his seven-year incarceration, Malcolm self-educated and converted to Islam. He joined the religious organization Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad. By the time he was paroled, Malcolm was a dedicated follower and had legally changed his surname from “Little” to “X,” because he considered “Little” a ‘slave’ name (“About Malcolm X”). The changing of his name marked the beginning of a new era.

     He had two older brothers, Wilfred and Philbert, and older sister Hilda, and a younger brother Reginald. His dad had previously been married previously, and so Malcolm had two half-sisters, Ella, and Mary,

When he was released in 1956 the first plan he had was to meet Elijah Muhammad. Elijah took to X and he soon became the assistant Minister of the Detroit mosque, then of Philadelphia a few months later. With Malcolm X’s strong personality being a major asset to the Islam Nation, the community grew to 40,000 members by 1960. The Islamic faith promoted strict moral purity and the superiority of the black race

This was a turning point in Malcolm's life. While in prison, Malcolm educated himself and became interested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm spent his time in jail educating himself and learning more about the Nation of Islam (later known as the Black Muslims). Their belief, which was contrary to Martin Luther King Jr.'s,

Malcolm Little was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Little’s father was a Baptist Preacher in Nebraska. His father a follower of Marcus Garvey. The family then moved to Lansing, Michigan, because the Klu Klux Klan was making threats to Little’s father. Little dropped out of school in the 8th grade. After dropping out of school he got into trouble. He started to wear zoot suits, and he straightened his hair to appear “white.” When he was 21 he was arrested for burglary and sent to prison. In prison he learned about Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad was the leader of the lost-found nation of Islam. People also refered to it as “Black Muslims”. A quote from history.com states; “Muhammad’s thesis that the white man is the devil with whom blacks cannot live had a strong impact on Malcolm.” This is ultimately where Malcolm's beliefs began. He joined NOI while still in prison and was a member of the group until 1964, when he left to form his own group. Later became a minister of Temple No. 7 in harlem, New York.

At one of the meetings, Malcolm X met the founder of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad. It didn't took Malcolm X too long to revive Muhammad's attention and soon he was appointed by Muhammad as the assistant minister of the Detroit temple. During this time, Malcolm X changed his last name to Malcolm "X", which represents the unknown african root. Malcolm X traveled to his old place and tried to convert his old friends. Not only did he went to his old place, he also traveled the whole United States trying to convert people to Islam. Later Muhammad moves to Arizona and because of the long distance, Malcolm stated making decisions without asking Muhammad. Everything was going smoothly until jealousy grow inside of Muhammad towards Malcolm X. Muhammad states to ignore Malcolm X and spoke less about Malcolm X during his speeches. Things starts to heat up after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. All the members of the Nation of Islam was told specifically by Muhammad not to comment on the the assassination but Malcolm X did. This caused the relation between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam to worsen. Later on Malcolm X came to know that Muhammad's unnecessary reaction to Malcolm X's comment was to kick him out of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was shocked with

The theme of religion is introduced in the autobiography during Malcolm’s time in the state prison of Massachusetts. While in prison, he started to study books in a small library. Later in 1948, Malcolm was moved to Norfolk Prison. There was little violence in this prison and inmates could debate and study freely. While in prison, Malcolm studied many books such as religion, history, literature, linguistics, and biology. Malcolm first heard about the Nation of Islam from his home when Reginald, his brother requested him to do so, and this became his first step into full conversion to Islam. Reginald told him about a spiritual leader called Elijah Muhammad who preached against the evils of white people and compared them as the devils.

Malcolm X is an extremely critical figure that contributed in shaping American social life. He was a famous man who articulated the struggle, anger, and beliefs of African Americans. He was a radical man who fought for change despite the situation. His struggle for equality for the black nation landed him in prison. While in prison, Malcolm was able to study, and earned a college degree. However, most importantly while in prison, Malcolm X was introduced to the Islam faith by one of the prisoners. He received teachings from the Muslim faith, which made him realize that, his people were being oppressed and abused by the whites. While out of prison, he went to visit honorable Elijah Muhammad and later on went around preaching Elijah

Malcolm graduated the eighth grade, but by the age of fifteen he dropped out of school and began running the streets. Malcolm began to make friends with drug dealers, thieves, and pimps. By the age of twenty, Malcolm was convicted of burglary, he then served seven years in prison. While in prison Malcolm, furthered his education. During his prison time, his brother Reginald would visit and discuss his recent encounters with the Muslim religion. His brother Reginald belonged to the religious organization the Nation of Islam. By the time Malcolm was released from prison, he had undergone a transformation from a criminal to a religious priest, for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm had become a student of Elijah Mohammed teachings. Through these teachings Malcolm developed individual views about race in America and around the world. The more Malcolm learned about the teachings, the more he despised white citizens and he blamed them for the struggle of African Americans.

After his release from prison, Malcolm helped lead the Nation of Islam to its greatest growth and influence (Brazil and Reed, 2004). Significantly he met Elijah Muhammad in Chicago and began organizing temples for the Nation in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. He was extremely devoted and even founded the Nation's newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, which he printed in his home basement (Mamaiya,