The Orientation Packet to the Nation of Islam

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

Master Fard Muhammad first came into America in 1910, entering through New York City. When he got there, just seeing the condition of His father’s people made him cry. From there he went to California and enrolled in the University of Southern California, and The Honorable Elijah Muhammad tells us that he studied there for 20 years before returning to the Holy City Mecca and changing his name from Wallace Fard to Wali Fard. Master Fard Muhammad then returned to America in 1930, and went to Detroit, Michigan. He began teaching in Black Bottom Detroit, which was a predominantly black area. He could not just go around delivering the message

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.

After Malcolm separated from the Nation of Islam, part by choice but part by force, he had to turn elsewhere for the acceptance and purpose, which all African American males needed at this time. With his national prominence he formed a new organization. This organization would be the last place he found acceptance because of his untimely death. His organization, the Muslim Mosque Inc., he

Muhammad would do this by any means possible. Though he practiced the faith of Islam he was very violent in his ways. He started his nation in Chicago by teaching people about the white devils and getting more and more people to convert to Muslims. As he increased his followers he began incorporating the teachings of Marcus Garvey and the back to Africa theory. Muhammad could not do this all on his own, and with the help of Malcom X, his chief disciple criminal turned righteous Muslim, they accomplished much. Malcom was a man who had recently been released from prison for robberies learned about the faith and the ideas and began to put all of his effort into converting his fellow Negroes. Malcom also took care of the “by any means necessary” part. He formed a group of violent blacks called the Black Panthers. The Panthers would target white supremacies and use violent force to get their message across. Muhammad was the leader of the group of Black Muslims who were Muslims but did not follow the rules. Muslims in general are very peaceful for example one of their beliefs is “WE BELIEVE that we who declare ourselves to be righteous Muslims, should not participate in wars which take the lives of humans. We do not believe this nation should force us to take part in such wars” (Muslim Program 2). This did not hold true with Elijah and Malcom.

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.

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 three main ideas he preached that helped him with sales. He wanted black separatism, everyone to know that white men were evil (which was not hard for African Americans to believe since the idea already lived within their minds), and to show the inadequacy of Christianity to African Americans. By preaching these ideas, he eventually had a following of loyal supporters of his made up religion, who of course paid money to the church. When Fard was arrested in 1933, he “admitted that his teachings were strictly a racket and he was getting all the money out of it he could” (United States 1+). What he preached aided him in his peddling. He did not take his teachings seriously yet he met a man one day that viewed him as God incarnate. One night Elijah Poole attended one of Fard’s sermons and spoke with him afterwards. He told him that “you’re God himself” (Marsh 39). At the time, the movement had eight thousand followers (Marsh 39). At this point, Fard needed to find adamant believers who would serve as ministers for his money making organization. At this time he recruited Elijah Poole, changed Elijah’s name to Elijah Muhammad and developed him into his Chief Minister. Soon after, Fard left Detroit and Elijah took over the movement. Elijah was born in Sandersville, Georgia, in 1897 as the seventh of twelve children. He barely finished the third grade before he dropped out

Eventually, Malcolm Little was caught and sentenced to prison for 10 years on robbery charges in 1946. While in prison, he heard about the African American religious group known as the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam was a controversial organization founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad. The organization was classified as a cult by many Americans and was known for its extremist philosophies. The main reason it attracted Malcolm Little though was because it was a large, powerful black organization. Malcolm Little was interested and decided to start making contact with the organization through letters. He eventually contacted the group’s leader Elijah Muhammad. Elijah wrote to Malcolm Little saying that blacks should not be ashamed of their skin color and that blacks were not inferior to whites; whites were the ones who put blacks down. For the first time in his life, Malcolm Little began to feel he could be a part of something. He thought he could actually be accepted and become a Muslim. While Malcolm Little was raised a Baptist, he never paid much attention in church and did not understand how singing and praying would make anything better. Now that Malcolm Little had been introduced to a religion and organization that pertained more to him, he was eager. When Malcolm Little was finally let out on parole after 8 years, he instantly became a member of the Nation of Islam and cleansed his

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.

In prison Malcolm was introduced to many people who had a big influence on him. One African American prisoner named, Bimbi, who was widely respected for his knowledge encouraged Malcolm to take advantage of the prison library to expand his own knowledge. Malcolm took the advice and used his time in prison to learn as much as he could. He then was transferred to the Concord Prison Facility where he was introduced to the organization called, Nation of Islam. The N.O.I. was a Black Muslim group who had a strict schedule of prayer and self- discipline. It also taught that blacks were superior to whites. He then started writing letters to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the N.O.I.

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

Malcolm studied the teachings of the leader of the Black Muslims, Elijah Muhammad, who advocated an independent black state. The Nation of Islam was based on a theology adapted from several models: traditional Islamic teachings principles of Black Nationalism, and economic self-help programs that addressed the needs of African Americans living in urban ghettoes. Unlike traditional Islam, which rejects all forms of racism, the Nation of Islam declared that whites were the "devil by nature," and that God was black. However, the Black Muslims predicted that in the near future a Great War would take place in which whites would be destroyed and black people would rule the world through the benevolence of Allah, their creator. To prepare for this new order, the Nation of Islam stressed personal self-restraint, opposed the use of drugs and alcohol, and organized economic self-help enterprises that eventually included farms, food stores, restaurants, and small businesses.

Branding white people "devils," he spoke bitterly of a philosophy of vengeance and "an eye for an eye." When, in 1963, he characterized the Kennedy assassination as a case of "chickens coming home to roost," he was suspended from the Black Muslim movement by Elijah Muhammad. Disillusioned with Elijah Muhammad's teachings, Malcolm formed his own organizations, the Organization of Afro-American Unity and the Muslim Mosque Inc. In 1964 he made a pilgrimage to Islam's holy city, Mecca, and adopted the name El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz.

From April 13, 1964 until his return on May 21, 1964, in Mecca, Malcolm X accomplished the Hajj. A mandatory religious Islamic pilgrimage to their most holy city that must be carried out at least once a lifetime. He went on this annual trip seeking a personal and spiritual enlightenment through the Middle East and West Africa. While on his way he stopped to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Morocco sharing his beliefs and thoughts. He also was learning the meaning of universal brotherhood and self respect as well as respect for other races. He was slowly beginning to see that you didn’t have to be black to be a muslim but he said he had been with “ blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers.” -( Malcolm X )