Malcolm X Religion

Malcolm X is one of the largest figures when it comes to civil rights for African Americans. He followed the Nation of Islam for a majority of his life. However, the Nation of Islam was not like Islam at all. NOI used the same symbols as Islam but it’s teaching were not alike. Its main teachings were for blacks to be brought up as the dominant race and considered whites a race of evil. As an outsider, you will see Islam in the title and just assume those are the values Islam provides. This would lead someone to believe that Islam is only about violence, especially to the white people those teachings are targeting. Looking at the poster child for the NOI only solidifies those ideas. After all, Malcom X did not like peaceful protests since he believed violence would solve the situation just as well. Despite all this, Malcolm X decided to participate in the Hajj, a major Muslim event. He had recently become a Muslim and decided to go to this event to cement that status. The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca with the goal being to reach the Ka’ba and show devotion to Islam. …show more content…
He witnessed millions of people performing the same acts in harmony. There was no difference of color, no difference of class, and no violence. All of this led Malcolm to say, “But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held’ (Malcolm X, pg. 499). Islam, the religion of violence, made a man no longer accept violence as the answer to his problems. He no longer had a need to follow the NOI because he believed he could change America through peace. Islam turned a man with a mindset of pure hate into a man who believed violence will not bring unity into a community. A religion of peace did this, religion thousands of years in the making did this. Now, let’s think about the Islam