How Islam Played In Malcolm’s Life
Islam influenced and changed Malcolm X’s life. As Malcolm was sent to prison he experienced a change, he was converting to the Nation of Islam. He learned that they have great focus of discipline and responsibility. A little bit before his assassination he realized that to become a true Muslim, learning different virtues and leaving the Nation of Islam would benefit his life. Islam lead Malcolm through life until the end.
On May 19, 1925 Malcolm Little was born. Later in his life he changed his name to Malcolm X, “X” as a symbol that his true African American name had been lost. Malcolm was a child of eight brothers and sisters, he had gotten evicted twice just before his fourth birthday, he had his home burnt down and only two years later his father’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks. When his family took the cases of homicide and arson the Police all said it was an accident. Eventually Louise Little (Malcolm X’s mother) suffered from emotional breakdowns, and got committed into a mental institution. Unfortunately that meant that Malcolm and his seven other siblings were split apart into different foster homes and orphanages. Malcolm’s mom wasn’t the only one that was affected With all of the horrible stuff that was going through his head he wasn’t making the best decisions. In 1946 Malcolm met up with an old friend named Malcolm “Shorty” Jarvis, they moved to Boston, very quickly they got submitted into prison for robbery and sentenced to 10 years.
As Malcolm was in prison he had an inmate that went by the name of Bimbi. Bimbi and Malcolm’s brother Reginald were the two that got Malcolm to see the Nation of Islam the way it was. Malcolm’s brother Reginald would visit Malcolm in prison and converse the topic of the Muslim religion. Reginald was a member of the Nation of Islam and that is another reason why Malcolm got interested, so when Malcolm’s brother did come they would be able to talk about the Nation of Islam. As Malcolm was in prison there was a lot of free time on his hands, during that free time he would study on the Nation of Islam. Malcolm would study on the beliefs and the leader Elijah Muhammad. In the Nation of Islam they believed that any white society always works to keep all African-Americans away from empowering themselves or achieving and type of political, economic or social success. For those beliefs the members of the Nation of Islam fought for a space and their own state and inhabit for themselves. As Malcolm got released he changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X. Malcolm was soon to be appointed the minister and the national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah then decided to make Malcolm established with the mosques, as well as the radio and the television to get the message of the Nation of Islam across to the United States. With Malcolm becoming a new member and spreading the word around about the Nation of Islam, within eleven years, more than 25,000 people joined the Nation of Islam.
There was an astonishing amount of focus on Malcolm. He even had his own television special with Mike Wallace! When being done with the television show Malcolm was watched by cameras, FBI agents and wire tapes. The leader of the Nation of Islam Elijah Muhammad was having secret relations with 6 women and some even having children. Since Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam he was staying true to his beliefs and would remain celibate until marriage. In 1958 Malcolm married a women named Betty Shabazz, while they got married the leader Elijah asked Malcolm to cover up the affairs and the children, thankfully Malcolm refused. He was very saddened by the actions that Elijah took because previously Malcolm thought of Elijah like a prophet. Shortly after the assassination of John. F Kennedy, Malcolm made a comment that created a motion in his followers. Elijah silenced Malcolm for 90 days. In Malcolm’s point of view he thought he was silenced for a different reason so for that he then left the Nation of Islam. Officially in March of 1964 Malcolm finally terminated his connection with the Nation of Islam. Malcolm wasn’t able to see through what Elijah Muhammad did, so eventually he founded his own organization which was called the Muslim Mosque Inc.
The very same year Malcolm took a pilgrimage to Mecca, which changed his life even more. For the first time ever in Malcolm’s life he shared his beliefs and his thoughts with other cultures and found some very eye opening responses. As Malcolm returned from Mecca he said “Blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers” which was very strange and rare back then because white men, women or children were hated to have those genes. Later then Malcolm re-announced Elijah’s relations and then their relationship became even worse.
