Malcom Case Study

Although Malcolm words often stung with the injustices against blacks in America, the equally racist views of the Nation of Islam kept him from accepting any whites as sincere or capable of helping the situation. For twelve years he preached that the white man was the devil and the "Honourable Elijah Muhammad" was God's messenger. Unfortunately, most images of Malcolm today focus on this period of his life, although the transformation he was about to undergo would give him a completely different, and more important, message for the American people. The Change to True Islam

With Malcolm's imprisonment ended the acceptance of the ghetto hustler and gangster life. In prison Malcolm had to find a new place to turn for acceptance. As his father did, Malcolm turned to religion. The religion he turned to, The Nation of Islam or more commonly known as the Black Muslims, were a group of African Americans who believed, among other things, that whites were the roots of evil. Malcolm became immersed in his religion. It seeped into every part of his life. "For the next years I was the nearest thing to a hermit in the Norfolk Prison Colony. I have never been more busy in my life" (173). Malcolm wrote many letters to family and friends about his new found faith and , most importantly, he found the acceptance he longed for with the teachings of Mr. Muhammad. This acceptance gave him purpose and after his release Malcolm became one of the foremost representatives of the Nation of Islam.

He developed a hate that tore him apart due to the racism and prejudice him and his family suffered at the hands of white Americans. After all the mess he got himself into, he hit a low point and ended up in jail. That is when he discovered the Nation of Islam. This religion made him pick up all the pieces and start a new life. However, over the years, Muslims began to get a bad name. Just as Islam’s image is misconstrued by the media as well as ignorance in the present time, for Malcolm X and the Muslims in his time, it was no different. In today’s media, Islam is always being accused of being a violent religion and for encouraging hate. Anything and everything related to terrorism is automatically linked to Islam. Many Americans, who do not have knowledge about Islam, see Muslims as violent, unpatriotic, and terrorists. Little do people realize that history is repeating itself. The media exploited Muslims intentions back then as well by calling them “hate-messengers” and “violent-seekers” (Malcolm X, 152). They also painted the same picture of Muslims being “fascist” and “anti-Christ” (Malcolm X, 152). They would display “Mr. Muhammad, me, and others speaking . . . strong-looking, set-faced black men, our Fruit of Islam ... white-scarved, white-gowned Muslim sisters of all ages... Muslims in our restaurants, and other businesses... Muslims and other black people entering and leaving our mosques...” in a television show titled

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.

He started thinking about the world and the society he lives in. He began to question the way things were, and he realized that a change in his life, and in the society was both possible and necessary. Prior to his imprisonment, Malcolm had been enclosed in the world of the hustler, the player, the pimp, the gangster, the parasite, and he couldn¹t imagine him outside of that world. “Reading exposed Malcolm to new worlds; it allowed him to see that there were alternatives to the lifestyle and values of the social parasite” (Shanna). While in prison, Malcolm began to think, and to read. but only after he had been encouraged to do so by someone that he respected and who had taken an unselfish interest in him. “Malcolm was later motivated by a new sense of self-worth and identity and purpose, as his family introduced him to the religious and political philosophy of Islam, as taught by Elijah Muhammad, and practiced by the Nation of Islam (NOI)” (Estate of Malcolm X). Malcolm X converted to the Nation of Islam while in prison, and upon his release in 1952 he abandoned his surname "Little," which he considered a relic of slavery, in favor of the surname "X" a tribute to the unknown name of his African ancestors.

Instead of going to school to get a traditional education, he dropped out of school at fifteen and learned the ways of the streets. Malcolm associated himself with thugs, thieves, dope dealers, and pimps. He was convicted of burglary at age twenty and remained in prison until he was twenty-seven. During his prison sentence, he became a changed man. He educated himself and he learned about and joined the Nation of Islam, studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammed. Elijah taught Malcolm how history had been “whitened by the white man” (p.184) and he echoed “the black convict’s lifelong experience” where “the white man is the devil,” (p. 186). This thought process encouraged many black inmates to discover the Nation of Islam.

After he left jail, Malcolm X believed that the black man was superior to the white man and the white man was simply the devil. He preached this to thousands of black people and converted them to the Nation of Islam through his moving speeches that stunned and captivated them. However, all of his beliefs were totally changed after he took a trip to Mecca and went on Hajj.

Malcolm didn't want to listen to him at first, but Baines's cool style helped Malcolm realize that Islam is for him and that the white man is the devil. While in prison, Malcolm read widely and developed an interest in the Nation of Islam, a Black Nationalist religious movement whose members were known as Black Muslims.

The opinions that many people have about religion derive from their association with churches, mosques, and other places of worship. However, Malcolm X defied the usual curve of religious doctrine and embraced what he felt was right for him and those who shared his views. In his autobiography, Malcolm X abandoned atheism to become a follower of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and later, he ended up following Eastern Islam. In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm’s views and his idealism is derived from his practice of Islam and his will to fight for the rights of African Americans also come from the same base.

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

However, it wasn’t until after his departure with the Nation of Islam that he really established who he wanted to be and how he wanted to lead people. After Malcolm left the Nation of Islam he really started to get an outpour of attention and more and more people began to follow him. Afte his trip to Mecca he belived that whties could be brothers and had completely different views on race and realtions (Clayborne). Malcolm became stonger and more passionate on his own. The Nation of Islam began to see Malcolm as even more of a threat to who they were and what they stood for when he branched off on his own.

Malcolm X was a man who supported violence in getting equal rights for black citizens. To do this, he assisted the national Muslim leader, Elijah Muhammad by sharing the Black Muslim beliefs throughout the United States. Malcolm X started many Muslim groups and worked hard to develop racial pride in his black listeners by recognizing the suffering whites caused by blacks. With the Black Muslims, Malcolm X practiced a vigorous self-defense against white violence. He also urged blacks to live separately from whites and prevented them from attaining their freedom. He affected his followers so much that when his followers would see white people they would often harass or hurt the white people. Through his travels in the Middle East and Africa, he began to realize and change his views regarding potential brotherhood between black and white Americans and rejected the view that all whites were devils. (Harris 99) He thought that one day his religion could unite people of all races. To do this he formed his own group, The Organization of Afro-American Unity. Many people, both black and whites admired his tireless efforts to build pride in blacks and whoever shared his dreams that someday everyone would be joined in brotherhood. Malcolm X was admired by many people because of his drive to unite the blacks and whites as one, but many people also condemned his as a hypocrite and traitor because of his change in views. Malcolm X

Malcolm was arrested on January 12, 1946, and convicted of burglary, carrying an illegal firearm, and larceny (Crime and Investigation 1). He was sent to Charlestown State Prison for 8-10 years. While there, he joined the Nation of Islam. He began exchanging letters frequently with Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam’s leader, and changed his name to Malcolm X. He stated the “X” symbolized his lost tribal name, and that he was destroying the surname “Little” that his ancestor’s slave-owners had imposed on his family.

Despite his dismal upbringing, Malcolm was able to graduate from his junior high school at the top of his class. He was aspiring to become a lawyer, but after one of his teachers told him that trying to be one was, "no realistic goal for a nigger", he decided that school was not for him and moved to Boston for awhile and made a living working a number of jobs, none of which were permanent. Eventually he would find himself working as a waiter at a restaurant called Small's Paradise in Harlem, New York. It was at this time that Malcolm Little began using and then selling drugs and even committing burglary. In 1946 he would be arrested for burglary and sentenced to ten years in prison. It was during his stay at the Charlestown, Mass. Prison that he would make maybe the most significant change of his life. Malcolm would begin studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small cult-like Islamic group that called themselves the Nation of Islam, he also began to study the Koran (the Islamic holy book). It was during these long years in prison that Malcolm was able to educate himself fully and came to the conclusion that he wanted to join Elijah and the Nation of Islam and fight for equality between blacks and whites.

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.