Encyclopedia of Islam

Malcolm X

  

453  J

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exchanged the surname “Little,” perceived as a 

“slave name,” for the symbolic “X” to denote his 

lost African heritage. Soon he became a provoca-

tive public figure and militant spokesperson for 

the Nation of Islam. With Elijah Muhammad’s 

health declining it appeared logical that Malcolm 

X would take over as head of the Nation. Jealousy 

among other group members led to insinuating 

rumors circulating about Malcolm. At the same 

time, some began to question Elijah Muhammad’s 

character, with charges of adultery and hypocrisy 

leveled against him.

Under pressure from these charges, Mal-

colm was marginalized within the Nation and, 

in 1964, he formally announced he was leaving 

the organization to start his own group, Mus-

lim Mosque, Inc. He also announced that he 

planned to travel through Africa and the Middle 

East and make a 

haJJ

, or pilgrimage, to m

ecca

,

the Muslim holy city. Following this pilgrimage 

Malcolm underwent another phase of transforma-

tion. During his journey abroad he encountered 

white Muslims who openly embraced him, as 

well as the spectacle of Muslims of different skin 

colors and cultures praying in unity. With this 

new understanding of i

slam

 Malcolm was forced 

to reconsider his separatist views and, upon his 

return to America, he adopted the name El Hajj 

Malik el-Shabazz to express his new identity. 

While giving a speech in Harlem on February 

21, 1965, Malcolm was assassinated by three 

members of the Nation of Islam, leaving his wife, 

Betty Shabazz, a widow. Despite Malcolm’s shift-

ing views toward orthodox Islam near the end of 

his life, his charismatic leadership gave African 

Americans a model in expressing the right to 

feel anger and new viewpoints concerning white 

domination. Malcolm’s ideologies, preserved in 

The  Autobiography of Malcolm X, continue to 

influence ongoing debates concerning racial rela-

tions and African American identity.

See also  a

Frican

  a

mericans

,  i

slam

 

among

; 

U

nited

 s

tates

.

Mehnaz Sahibzada