"I was always a man trying to face the facts and accept the realities of life as revealed by new knowledge and experiences."
[Malcom X]
On the evening of February 21, 1956 [1], the fortieth man heads to the platform of the New York conference hall, to ascend in front of the audience and begin his lecture, which was not calm at all. Around the middle of the lecture, two ninth-grade men were quarreling with nothing to attract the audience.
It is only moments that the lecturer's personal guard was heading to settle the conflict, allowing Thomas Hagan to approach the four-year-old brown man, displaying his weapon before accompanying him and two others on the mission of finishing the "Malcolm X" or Hajj "Malik Al-Shabaz" As he called himself at that time.
However, about forty years before that scene in Omaha, Nebraska, Mrs. Louise Little was putting her son - a little light skinned - on May 19, 1965, to accompany a family that would be completed with a father, mother and eight children, all black , In an American society riven by racism.
The young "Malcolm" and his family were suffering from the worst forms of discrimination and racial discrimination by virtue of their brown skin, so that the successful in their town was a shoe shine or gatekeeper in the best conditions [2]. And in an atmosphere like that, "Malcolm" was facing an unknown fate, and his ilk would only ask him to stay safe and alive. It did not happen anyway.
Because you are a nigger!
"Good treatment does not mean anything, as long as the white man will not look at me as he looks at himself, and when he penetrates deep into himself, you find that he is still convinced that he is better than me."
[Malcom X]
Mr. Ariel Little, a Baptist priest and father of eight children including Malcolm, was black enough to have white racists kill four of his six siblings, as well as harassment, in his political capacity in the World Negro Society. It was this racism that prompted him to move his family to Lansing, Michigan, where they stayed for months until their house was burned down by the racist "Coclux" organization [3], and the family moved back to the outskirts of the city.
And it is only three years - almost - until Mr. "Ariel" folded the soil after being killed by the brutality of another racist group, which the authorities denied to claim that he had run over in an unintended accident [3], and he was even accused of committing suicide to carry his blood in his hands instead of his killers [4].
Hence, Malcolm began a series of racist persecution based on his skin color, only his skin color and nothing else; After that, the events accelerated, after the father's absence, the mother was the other - her children separated due to a health crisis deposited by a psychiatric institution for a long time after the heavy costs on her of the social organizations refusal to provide aid to her [5], in addition to being expelled from work as a maid for reasons not She differs from the causes of her husband's death.
Fourteen years after his birth, Malcolm - and his seven brothers - found themselves without parents because of the simple reason that they were “niggers” and nothing else above that. That was the reason why Mr. Strausky, the Malcolm teacher with whom he had a good relationship, told him to give up his dream of law because he is a Negro, and that he must work as a carpenter - despite his superiority - or any other business that suits Negroes [1].
Refinement .. discipline .. repair!
So I had no hope of the job, so the same "Malcolm" was speaking after his teacher thwarted him, so he decided to change course, leaving his school, and heading to his half-sister "Ella" in Boston, where he worked as a shoe scanner [1], in addition to many simple actions , Until it took him the appearances of luxury and dazzling in one of the discos of the new city, so he decided to change his rough appearance to receive the life of Majoun.
From Boston to New York, "Malcolm" moved to railroad work as a young man in his twenty-first year [2], and in the Harlem neighborhood specifically, where he got to know black communities, the young Asmar practiced "various types of criminality, including theft, pimping, drug trafficking, and even pretending to be mad to avoid Compulsory recruitment during World War II "[1], by declaring his desire to create a Negro army, which led to his exclusion from the US Army [2].
That criminal journey that finally ended in the hands of the police - he and two companions - so his share of the punishment was ten years, while his two companions received half of that period because they were white [5], and his friendship with a white girl - at that time - alone was a crime worth punishing [6].
In the old Charles Town prison, "Malcolm" was in severe pain from the prison bars, which he could not bear to restrict, and he was confronted with his riot and stubbornness with solitary confinement, which - luckily - caused his thinking to be transformed into a new path for his many hopes of being alone at the time.
A year later, Malcolm got acquainted with Bembi's bars fellow who had always been talking about religion and justice, which moved the same young brown man - nicknamed the devil - to the idea of believing in the creator of this universe, so that he would transfer, after another year, to Concorde prison, and his brother's message would reach him "Philbert" “Who told him to convert him to the natural religion of a black man, and advise him not to smoke or eat pork [7].
In his letter also, "Philbert" told his brother that they all - his brothers - had converted to this religion at the hands of the most central figure - later - in the life of "X", Mr. "Elijah Muhammad", and that they wished to catch up with them. And the life of prisoner "Malcolm" has shifted from the life of crime outside the prison, and the crime inside it, to other concerns.
The discussions of his friend “Bemby” with the prisoners about the idea of religion, in addition to the letters of his brothers speaking about their Islam, had the most impact in transforming this devil inside him into a body that is ablaze with research. He read thousands of volumes and books, and declared his Islam and his adherence to “Elijah Muhammad”, and his morals improved He was named and became involved in speeches and debates within the prison for the call to Islam. [7]
Malcom X
"The X stands for what you were and what you have become, as it means in unknown and unknown mathematics."
[Malcolm X, after changing his name]
After a period of "Philbert" message, "Malcolm" moved to the diluted prison of Enorfolk, famous for its lectures and huge library that holds about 10,000 rare and old volumes, in which its brother, "Wigaland," who joined the Nation of Islam movement [2], visited him. Under the leadership of "Elijah Muhammad".
That man who collected scattered parts of the religion of Islam and claimed prophethood, invoking his racist vocation inversely, “where it was built primarily for the black race of men, believing that whites are nothing but demons that rule the earth and that God is only a god of the blacks” [5]. He attributed to Islam misconceptions and racist foundations contrary to his origins, and his group displayed good morals and a militant spirit for the sake of the blacks, which provoked in Malcolm a person other than what he was.
In the huge prison library, "Malcolm" was working on voracious reading, even as he was reading until the lights were turned off, and in his cell he was reading in the light of the corridor until the morning [5], about fifteen hours of daily reading, during which he read the story of civilization and the history of the world, and what Austrian Mendel wrote it in genetics, as well as studying the lexicon to enrich his linguistic output.
He also read about the suffering of blacks, slaves, and Amerindians from the white man and the slave trade, so "reading changed the course of his life, and his goal was to lead him to an intellectual life because he realized that blacks in America lived deaf-blind deaf because of his distance from reading or learning" [5].
After seven years, the authorities decided to reduce the period of imprisonment and pardon of "Malcolm" after he succeeded in attracting large numbers of prisoners to the "Elijah Muhammad" movement [7], to come up with ideas that were prepared for all that is white, and they are keen to fight for the Negroes, to start his actual activities with The Ilega movement, which calls for the supremacy of black sex and its supremacy, and the demonization of all white.
It was a doctrine in which "Elijah" declared his prophethood, in addition to a set of legislations that do not relate to Islam from any side. This movement "viewed Islam as a spiritual heritage only that would save blacks from white control over them [8], and because of its rhetorical capabilities And the culture "Malcolm" gradually included in the organization until it became the arm of "Elijah" and its first deputy, and the official spokesperson for the movement, "It is also thanks to him in increasing the members of the organization from 500 people to 300,000 within nine years [1], most notably the legendary boxer" Muhammad Ali Clay. "
Hence, "Malcolm" decided that the "Malcolm" that his ideas made, not that which was subject to the stereotyping of white racists, so the first thing he revolted with was the substitution of his family's title "Little", whom the whites called them after bringing them from Africa as slaves [1], and chose Instead "X", which symbolizes a redefinition of itself, just like the mathematical unknown "X" who seeks to search for its value.
Indeed, Malcolm has activated a radioactive element whose energy does not diminish, and it has emerged in the American media through the "Hatred Generated Hatred" program, in addition to the many debates and articles that were written about it; Even the Federal Office closely monitored his activity, eavesdropped his calls and planted a number of spies in the movement, and his ideas found wide convergence with the Negro fighter, the American "Martin Luther King" [1].
Islam and the dream of innocence first
"From one thing to another, this is Podortz's horizontal movement. But Malcolm is moving and developing in a completely different way."
[Abdul Wahab Al-Masiri]
Malcolm's progression in the structure of the organization was rapid and increasing, until he was appointed a national imam in it one year before the assassination of US President John Kennedy, who warned Elijah not to comment on his killing, but the raised Malcolm was not to be silent about this, Then he released his famous statement that “Kennedy’s weapon” had reverted to his death and harvested what he had planted faster than he himself expected [3], after which a dispute broke out between him and Elijah, who froze his membership in the organization. Malcolm decided to establish the Islamic Mosque Foundation in 1964. A little roaming on a journey to the world of first innocence.
After reading about the Hajj pilgrimage, he decided to respond to the call moving to Mecca, and there he found what he did not know about his incomplete religion. Islam is not just the religion of black people as claimed by Elijah and his group, but it is the religion of all people. In Hajj he found the black and white “Malcolm”, and he spent “in Mecca twelve days, horrified by what he saw as white and black Muslims, all of whom saw the heart of one man and among them all feelings of equality And love ”[8].
"In my life, I have never seen anything more true than this brotherhood among people of all colors and genders. America needs to understand Islam because it is the only religion that has the solution to the problem of racism in it."
Malcolm was deeply influenced by the Kaaba scene, the voices of meeting, simplicity, and brotherhood of Muslims, “So he saw the correct Islam closely and recognized his truth, and realized the misguidance of the racist doctrine that he was embracing and calling for, as you know there is the correct prayer that he was completely ignorant of” [8], and after a number of meetings With Islamic and political flags in the Arab region, "Malcolm", or Hajj "Malik Shabaz," as he called himself, concluded that "condemning all whites is equal to condemning all blacks" [2].
In the Arab / Islamic world, "Malcolm" found the dream of innocence that it sought, so that Islam was revealed as true, but the Arab nation was not the paradise that "Malcolm" searched for; Because "every nation has its dark sides, like any other part of the world. But" Malcolm "was dealing with this Arab nation from his perspective, as a black American, he suffers the ravages of racial discrimination." [9] "
For this reason, "Malcolm" was able to find in the Arab Islamic world a partial fulfillment of his dream of innocence and a world free from racial discrimination, "as well as" the construction of the CV as a whole can be seen as embodiment of Malcolm's evolution from being a materialistic person without a soul or conscience, to a person capable of The discovery of "ideal tendencies" in himself [9].
He established the Afro-American Unity Organization after a number of tours in African countries [5], and another Arab tour during which he met King "Faisal", the Algerian President "Ahmed Bin Bella" and a number of heads and leaders of Arab countries, and entered Egypt, Sudan, Hijaz and Tuhama, and his visit to Al-Azhar was a break In his remaining life, he announced his conversion to Islam again [8], and carried him in his heart to the stronghold of his vocation.
Haj Malik
"Malcolm X's autobiography is a hymn that glorifies the human spirit that can survive and continue to face the most corrupt and destructive conditions."
[Abdul Wahab Al-Masiri]
To America again, but with a psychological treatment that Hajj handled, and racism had completely disappeared, so Hajj "Malik" reached the equilibrium area between the two trends, and as usual, he went to "Elijah Muhammad" to persuade him to invalidate his call and that Islam does not call for what he calls for, but rather called him To visit the Kaaba, which is an invitation that was met only by extreme anger and expulsion [8].
However, with his previous enthusiasm, he continued his new call after its evaluation, to include a large number of black and non-black people to Islam, to aggravate the discord between him and "Elijah", who threatened him if he did not stop his call, and sparked a media campaign against him that only added "Malcolm" insistence and continuity between People [8].
What was one of the newspapers and channels that facilitated the way for him when he came to the organization "Elijah" except war and attack when he abandoned his previous call and spread in the parts of America calling for Islam he knew in Mecca and Al-Azhar.
“The Hajj expanded my thinking and opened my insight, so I saw in two weeks what I had not seen in thirty-nine years.”
In one year, Malcolm earthquake the rules of the Elijah group in America, and he became the loudest and most powerful argument, planting the seeds of hatred and grudge in the hearts of the "Nation of Islam" and its founder and its balance began to decline, to take the decision to silence him by continuous threat or killing him If necessary, all of this is being heard and heard by the CIA. [5]
After the organization expelled him from his home, on the pretext of his ownership of it, Malcolm vowed to his new call entirely, which is the call to non-racial Islam as he called it [7], and he responded to calls for distortion accusing him of inciting blacks that "when the factors of social explosion exist, you do not need The masses are those who incite them, and worshiping the one God will bring people closer to the peace that people talk about and do nothing to achieve it. [10]
Then, a few months later, until the conflict intensified strongly between "Malcolm" and "Elijah", and after a fire that ignited his home - just as it happened in his boyhood - "Malcolm" was standing on his podium in the New York conference hall, and it was only minutes until the noise broke out In his last lecture before the guards were distracted.
If by him he finds himself in front of a mouth pointed to his chest with sixteen bullets, none of which made a mistake, before Hajj "Malik Shabaz" fell with his famous smile that did not leave him until he was buried. Leaving behind him a cultural and militant legacy that - despite his short period - had the greatest impact on modifying the status of blacks in American laws after 400 years of struggle against the slavery of the white man [3].
Malcolm also developed many ideas and initiatives that changed the course of the struggle of black people in America and paved the way for the emergence of several organizations and ideas on the political scene after his absence, such as the Black Panther Party and the idea of black power, so his ideas formed an essential and indispensable component of the struggle of black people in America ”[3].
With this, the last curtain in the biography of the boy "Little", who was attracted by the criminality after the brutality he had witnessed, was closed. With these bullets, the page of Mr. "X" who searched for his definition in the world of struggle was closed, so he guided it in the world of first innocence as Hajj "Malik al-Shabaz" who was - and last His moments - standing on his feet, teaching people to be worshipers of God, not separated by a color that neither of them chose for himself.
Thus, “Malcolm” spent his life expecting his fate, when he said: “I am now living in a time of martyrdom, and if it happens and I die, I will die the martyr of brotherhood, and it is the only thing that can save the country. ]. However ... it seems that the biography did not end with the body going.