What Is Malcolm X's View On Christianity As A Religion

Malcolm was motivated to accomplish and fight through the struggle for black equality in the USA. We can witness the dramatic changes in Malcolm X’s philosophy, as, whilst he was a part of the Nation of Islam, he discouraged anyone who was converted to Black Nationalism to enter a church whereby white nationalism would be advocated. However, the innovative Malcolm put aside his philosophy for the importance of black unity, defined by the Black Nationalism’s politics. Malcolm X stated, ‘join any kind of organization- civic, religious, fraternal, political...lifting the black man up and making him master of his community.’[vii] This shows one step forward in accomplishing a solution to the problem of black unity.

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

In his autobiography Malcolm X writes,“In the past, yes, I have made sweeping indictments of all white people. I never will be guilty of that again – as I know now that some white people are truly sincere, that some truly are capable of being brotherly toward a black man. The true Islam has shown me that a blanket indictment of all white people is as wrong as when whites made blanket indictments against blacks”(Haley 369). Malcolm, the spokesman for the Nation of Islam (NOI), writes this after he has converted from the NOI to Orthodox Sunni Islam. The Nation of Islam strayed very far from traditional Islam, and rather than promoting peace, it promoted hatred against the white man. Malcolm’s conversion

Malcolm X was one of the primary religious leaders and reformers of the 1960, where he fought for and ultimately gave his life for racial equality in the United States. His father was a reverend who believed in self-determination and worked for the unity of black people. Throughout Malcolm’s life he was treated horribly by white people, hence shaping his misconceptions of all white people and developing his strong belief in black separatism. It wasn’t until years later where he embraced his black identity and discovered all races could live and work together for a common goal, brotherhood.

     I did my report on Malcolm X. Malcolm X claimed himself as a Muslim. He didn’t always though. He had some very challenging moments in his life. In his earliest childhood memory the Ku Klux Klan attacked his house. They were forced out of their city because his father was a Minister for a Baptist church, and tried recruiting fellow African-Americans to join his church. The white people in the community called them the “trouble Negroes.” They were run out of their community.

Malcolm and his family corresponded often, and he began to gain knowledge of Elijah Muhammad’s religion of Islam. He assessed himself and soon realized the quilt and sin of his previous life had prepared him to accept the truth, as taught by the leader of the Black Muslims. From the murder of his father, his own experiences of racial injustice, the knowledge his white grandfather had raped his grandmother, he knew beyond a doubt; there was nothing good about the white race. This information was a blinding light that took weeks for him to deal with directly. Muhammad’s religion taught that white men were evil and referred to them as the devil, believing their destruction by Allah was inevitable. The black race had been lied to and stripped of its identity; therefore, the best answer was to separate from white civilization and find its self-respect. With encouragement from family, Malcolm began writing to Elijah Muhammad. Based on his background, it was not a far stretch to believe Muhammad’s teachings, and soon Malcolm was on his knees in prayer.

“The Klansmen shouted threats and warnings at her that we better get out of town because ‘the good Christian white people’ were not going to stand for my father’s ‘spreading

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 practiced black nationalism, the advocacy of seperate national status for black people, when fighting for Civil Rights. With these beliefs, Malcolm X told those he influenced what he considered to be best if African-Americans wanted to see a change in how they were treated. Document 3 explains, “Working separately, the sincere white people and sincere black people will actually be working together.” (Malcolm X, Autobiography of Malcolm X, 1965) Along with this, Document 5 states, “We encourage Afro-Americans themselves to establish experimental institutes and educational workshops, liberation schools and child-care centers in Afro-American communities.” (Malcolm X, Basic Unity Program, 1967) These quotes reveal to readers and historians that Malcolm X believed that if whites and blacks couldn’t come to agreements directly, they should work separately at fighting for the same thing, civil rights. One source is directly written by Malcolm X and the other is a quote from him, meaning that it shows true thoughts and feelings of the influential man unlike any source written or stated by another person. Beliefs such as this prove that Malcolm X knew there would always be obstacles and racism in the way of African-Americans, but, he also knew that white people who had rights had the ability to help when African-Americans lacked rights and could

Malcolm felt that the “March” they had at the white house was a joke even though he was there to support them. Malcolm also spoke about the way “Black Leaders” talked down on the Black Muslims, but he still supported them because they were his own kind. Also, Malcolm spoke about “integrating” and how he believed it would never work. Another point Malcolm spoke about was how sick Mr. Muhammad was getting. His condition began to get worst and Malcolm knew that the “Black Muslims” needed him.

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.

Early on in his famous letter, Martin Luther King Jr. writes: “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference” (King 2). In a similar fashion, Malcolm X states in the third paragraph of his speech: “Although I am still a Muslim, I’m not here to discuss my religion” (X 24). Both making their religions clear, but the way they approach religion in the two texts are starkly different from one another.

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

Essentially, the group believes in the racial superiority of blacks, a notion supported by a complex genesis fable, which includes an envious and evil white scientist who put a curse on blacks. The faith became a focus for Malcolm’s fury about his family’s treatment at the hands of whites (specifically the Ku Klux Klan), the lack of opportunities he had as a young black man, and the psychological damage of systematic racism (Ferran, 1992). There, in prison, he converted to the Nation of Islam (McGill, 2011). This group is commonly considered to be an extremist radical group of African Americans. In order to educate himself, Malcolm spent extensive time reading books within the prison library and even, memorizing a dictionary. Additionally, he sharpened his legal skills by participating in debate classes. Following tradition, he replaced his last name with an “X,” a custom among Nation of Islam followers who considered their familial names to have originated with white slaveholders (Mamaiya, 1).

Malcolm X a Black Nationalist leader was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska served as a spokesmen for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 1960s.It is said by historians that he was the one of the reasons that the nation of Islam went form 400 members to 40,000 members from 1952 to 1960’s and continued to grow well into the 1980s and into the 21st century. This was due to the fact that he gave very articulate and passionate speeches that would lead to bigger and bigger audiences. He told blacks to end racism "by any means necessary" which included violence. Malcolm X little grew up with a life of violence, growing up in rural white Nebraska Malcom X was the middle child of 8 having a mother who was a homemaker and a father who was a preacher. Because of his family being black he and his family were often harassed by white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the black legion. After an attack on the little household by the Ku Klux Klan that resulted in the all the houses windows smashed. Which caused the family to move to East Lansing, Michigan which was worse than Nebraska and ended with his father dead after 2 years of moving in 1931 with his death being ruled a suicide. Malcom’s mother never accepted his death and was sent to a mental institution in 1937 and left Malcom X with family of friends. After dropping out of school at 15