Malcolm X - Why I Left the Nation of Islam

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

When he was in Makkah, Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz wrote a letter to his loyal assistants in Harlem... from his heart:

"Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.

"I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca, I have made my seven circuits around the Ka'ba, led by a young Mutawaf named Muhammad, I drank water from the well of the Zam Zam. I ran seven times back and forth between the hills of Mt. Al-Safa and Al Marwah. I have prayed in the ancient city of Mina, and I have prayed on Mt. Arafat."

"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white."

"America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white - but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color."

"You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth."

"During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept on the same rug - while praying to the same God - with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the deeds of the white Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana."

"We were truly all the same (brothers) - because their belief in one God had removed the white from their minds, the white from their behavior, and the white from their attitude."

"I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man - and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their 'differences' in color."

"With racism plaguing America like an incurable cancer, the so-called 'Christian' white American heart should be more receptive to a proven solution to such a destructive problem. Perhaps it could be in time to save America from imminent disaster - the same destruction brought upon Germany by racism that eventually destroyed the Germans themselves."

"Each hour here in the Holy Land enables me to have greater spiritual insights into what is happening in America between black and white. The American Negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities - he is only reacting to four hundred years of the conscious racism of the American whites. But as racism leads America up the suicide path, I do believe, from the experiences that I have had with them, that the whites of the younger generation, in the colleges and universities, will see the handwriting on the walls and many of them will turn to the spiritual path of truth - the only way left to America to ward off the disaster that racism inevitably must lead to."

"Never have I been so highly honored. Never have I been made to feel more humble and unworthy. Who would believe the blessings that have been heaped upon an American Negro? A few nights ago, a man who would be called in America a white man, a United Nations diplomat, an ambassador, a companion of kings, gave me his hotel suite, his bed. Never would I have even thought of dreaming that I would ever be a recipient of such honors - honors that in America would be bestowed upon a King - not a Negro."

"All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.

Sincerely,

Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X)

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

Thanks Rachel,
for sharing this with me.
You dont know what it does to me.
But I am glad.

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

A special belated supplication for Malcom X, from me.

‘O Allaah, forgive and have mercy upon him, excuse him and pardon him, and make honorable his reception. Expand his entry, and cleanse him with water, snow, and ice, and purify him of sin as a white robe is purified of filth. Exchange his home for a better home, and his family for a better family, and his spouse for a better spouse. Admit him into the Garden, protect him from the punishment of the grave and the torment of the Fire.’

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

A visit to the cemetary where he is laid in Peace.

Radiate_Truth · Joined: 18 Aug 2007 Posts: 1056

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

He was searching for truth,

not fame.

But God gave him both.

Radiate_Truth · Joined: 18 Aug 2007 Posts: 1056

Although, I believe it's "some" of the people inside an organization that are corrupt and not necessarily the organization.

A few bad apples don't spoil the whole bunch.

The Inquisitor · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 772

I'm impressed.

Malcolm and I carry the same last name, though I doubt we have similar ancestors.

During those fateful years, I was too young to know better. I remember hearing my aunts and uncles say that these guys were not only Muslims, but Communists as well. In fact, they would often say that ALL Muslims were Communist or Communist sympathizers. They would tell me that the whole Islamic religion was actually a Soviet plot to divide the world and kill all good people including Jews.

Since then, I have been able to follow a bit the story about the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan and others. What I have found, IMHO, is that Malcolm was perhaps the closest to the Islamic philosophy of any of them, though he never renounced violence altogether. In fact, the many Muslims I have met here in the US who are American seem to take a different view on violence than Muslims I've met from elsewhere.

All Muslims denounce violence. They are quite vocal in this regard. The Americans who have become Muslim, however, still cling to the American idea that one is within his/her right to use a weapon in the defense of their home or loved ones. This seems to differ with others because this is prominent in the minds of American Muslims, while those from other countries don't really consider this to be an option. In other words, the Muslims I've met from other countries don't think along the lines of, "What should I do to protect myself and my loved ones in case my house is attacked?" It's just not a concept that they waste much time on.

I don't believe that the Nation of Islam professed the true teachings of the prophet Mohammed. I think they mixed those ideals with the political pressure of the time and came up with a hybrid of sorts.

Radiate_Truth · Joined: 18 Aug 2007 Posts: 1056

You will always have those who are meek and demure who believe their is those of greater strength and power that will protect them...