Malcolm X’s Letter to Elijah Muhammad

I found this interesting letter from Malcolm X to Elijah Muhammad dated March 11, 1964. It was only about a month before he performed his pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. In it, he explains that he did not leave the Nation of Islam of his own free will, but rather because a certain ‘Captian Joseph’ and his followers were conspiring to defame Malcolm out of envy that he was so dear to Mr. Muhammad. Much like how some of the followers of W.D. Fard sought to kill Elijah Muhammad for being so dear to Fard and was designated as his ‘Messenger’, a number of Elijah Muhammad’s followers were doing the very same thing to Malcolm. They wanted to be as dear to Mr. Muhammad as Malcolm was. Not being able to bear the thought that Elijah Muhammad believed he had suddenly left the NOI for no apparent reason, he set out to write this letter in order to clarify to his teacher his true situation which certain elements within the organization were preventing him from having knowledge of. Then about a month later, as I said, Malcolm went on pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca where he ‘discovered’ the difference between ‘global Islam’ and the Nation of Islam.

On that note, it is a myth that Malcolm did not know the difference between the teachings of ‘orthodox’ Islam and the Nation of Islam. He had already traveled to Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, and Ghana as early as 1959 and was probably aware of the way Muslims believed there in comparison to what the Nation of Islam taught. He had already known that ‘orthodox’ Islam taught many different ideas than the NOI, but stayed with the organization all the same. He accepted ‘true Islam’ only after realizing there was no way to get back into the organization’s grace. His own sister Ella had left the NOI to follow ‘orthodox’ Islam before Malcolm made his pilgrimage. It was in fact from her donation that he was able to make the hajj. That doesn’t mean his conversion was insincere or that it had no value on his life as a man and human being, but the truth of the matter must take precedence over a narrative that sounds cool.

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz: Malcolm X

One of my ‘heroes’ is Malcolm X, former national minister of the Nation of Islam during the 1960’s. I make it a point to read his autobiography at least once a year to refreshen my memory of his story. Although I don’t agree with every single opinion he held, I find the narrarative of his life to be immensely inspiring. It gives me reason to believe that anyone can change and transform themselves, as long as they believe in something enough to let it happen. Remember, Malcolm only became a ‘traditional’ Muslim in April 1964 and was killed in February 1965; amounting to ten months. He was a stern follower of Elijah Muhammad for twelve years prior to that shift. Why am I making something out of this? It makes me think that it does not matter what one believes, as long as they actually believe. This doesn’t exclude the fact that there may be certain ideas that are more true than others.

Malcolm is too big as a symbol to be the poster-man for anyone’s ideology. Ossie Davis’s euology was quite telling when ending it with “who didn’t hesitate to die because he loved us so…” Out of context one could easily infer that he was talking about Jesus, which is ironic because Malcolm was not big on people seeing other people as divine (except W.D. Fard in his NOI days.) His autobiography can be enraging at times, especially when the reader is a ‘member’ of the ‘devil race’ (i.e. me). But in context, I don’t find it that offensive. I probably would have if I lived in that era, but since some time has passed it is easier to put things into perspective objectively. I am of the thought that the Nation of Islam had to happen. Fard had to come. Elijah Muhammad had to be his messenger. The status quo and the ‘we all knows’ had to be overturned violently. Something needed to happen to give black people a sort of arrogant confidence because they had been brainwashed to hate themselves by those in power. There were even books written on how to break the will of a black slave so as to insure against rebellion and unrest. The ideas therein are written in such a matter-of-fact style, which makes it all the more chilling.

After the ‘civil war’, black slaves were technically ‘freed’ but the system was still very much against them. Fast forward sixty years, and there are all types of products for black people to make their hair look like white people’s hair. Malcolm used to get his hair ‘conked’, which entailed the use of lye and other mixtures to be placed on his head to ’smooth’ out the kinks. This would burn and hurt. Unlike the movie ‘Malcolm X’, these sessions would take a lot longer to cause the seering pain the movie depicts; but pain nonetheless. In that context, it was needed for someone to show up and say ‘You know what. You’re better than them. They’re evil by nature, and you’re righteous by nature.’ That doesn’t mean I accept all the doctrines of the Nation of Islam. No sir. If you dig deep enough into it, it can get quite scary. But all the same, this was an evolutionary process.

Much of Malcolm’s autobiography describes his understanding of the NOI teachings and how it changed his life, and the lives of many other black people. He talks about how he would speak in small meetings at peoples houses (just like his father!) to tell them about the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. Sometimes he would get so worked up, his voice would be scathing (which has happened to me a few times, it’s a strange sensation). He speaks of how Elijah Muhammad had to chide him many times to slow down and to be patient, because the growth of the NOI will take time. On that note, Alex Haley can be said to have saved the autobiography so many love so dearly. At one point, Malcolm was so upset about something that he wanted to turn the book into a polemic against Elijah Muhammad. Haley said that this book was meant to be an autobiography, and that the people have to know what Malcolm was thinking at specific times, not what he thinks about those events now (except for small descriptions after the old thought is explained.)

To be continued

Warith Deen Mohammed article: Still working on it.

I’m still working on my article about Warith Deen Mohammed. I don’t know why this is taking me so long to write. I think I am trying to be too descriptive, and to add every interesting tidbit of information because I’m geeky like that. But when I read it back to myself, it sounds very dry and boring. I might have to scrap yet another draft and start over again. When it gets done, it’s going to be good. If anyone has any suggestions or would like to throw some knowledge my way, I would be very happy to learn something new about the Imam.

Ya Imam

I have been writing an article about Warith Deen Mohammed since he passed away on September 9th, 2008. It’s taking me some time, but I’m almost finished and will post in separate parts so it will be easier to read.