Stop bickering and instead continue the work of Malcolm X.

Stop bickering and instead continue the work of Malcolm X. May 19, 2016

The anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination and birthday often accompanies debates that I’ve regurgitated over malolmxhonoringand over again, since I was a kid: who is responsible for the assassination of Malcolm X?

In my family, which consists of both Sunni and NOI Muslims(as well as Christians), I witnessed the controversy over this particular issue sometimes grow intense. My grandma told me the first time that she heard Farrakhan speak in college that she began to cry because it was the first time in her entire life that she was proud to be black. My father formerly served as a secretary in the NOI, and I heard Louis Farrakhan speak often. I would repeat parts of the speeches back to my father in efforts to make my Dad proud.

As a kid, my only exposure to Sunni Muslims came outside my immediate family when I would occasionally visit my uncle and cousins.  My uncle was very much a follower of Malcolm X and at family gatherings i’d often over hear theological and political debates that went over my head. Some relatives and family associates would claim the NOI including Farrakhan were involved in the assassination of Malcolm X.  My Dad would respond asserting that Malcolm X was assassinated by a governmental program known as COINTELLPRO  who sought to frame the NOI.  Each would vigorously argue out their perspective sides and I would just listen having been to young  to fully understand  it all.

Malcolm X was such a great man that even decades after his assassination, I saw the details of his assassination still spark animosities among family. Even as I grew older, I’ve witnessed this same debate transpire over and over again throughout my life on television, social media..etc. In high-school I became agnostic, not over this particular issue per say, but it did solidify in my mind that religion was just a source of division which the world would be better off without.  When I came back to Islam, I find solace over this issue in reading about the Battle of Uhud.

Lessons from the Battle of Uhud

 At one point in the battle, the Prophet (PBUH) was injured and a rumor began to spread that he had in fact died. As a result, many in the Muslim army began to retreat, having been completely demoralized. In response to this incident, Allah (SWT) revealed in the Qur’an in al-Imran 3:144,“And Muhammad is no more than a messenger; the messengers have already passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful.”

In reflecting upon this ayat: I think about a fundamental weakness common in the human condition. When a great leader dies or is assassinated, it is in the human condition to fall into despair. Sulking in the alleged defeat, we begin to believe that if such a leader was still alive, we would in fact be victorious and perhaps the social conditions would be different.  We fail to realize that it is only when we abandon the principles that such a person stood for and retreat from our post, that we will face defeat. As long as there are faithful  followers who are willing to uphold and abide by what the leader represented and not abandon those principles simply because the leader is thought to be dead, then the possibility for victory is still there.

The Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) is still our eternal leader. I believe the best way to honor Malcolm X in his death is for all of us to enthusiastically strive to abide by the very same Prophetic characteristics that Malcolm X strove to live by—characteristics which he never turned his heel from following. This means we must boldly speak out against injustice, oppose oppression wherever we find it and we must seek to establish institutions that aim to transform society for the better. 

                                                                         Continue the Work of Malcolm X 

 Malcolm X viewed Islam as a means of black moral upliftment. After his first day in the Mosque, he was upset that the attendance was so low while “the surrounding streets [were] full of our brainwashed black brothers and sisters, drinking, cursing, fighting, dancing, carousing, and using dope.” Malcolm X began going out in Detroit’s ghettos speaking with  gang bangers, drug dealers, and a whole variety of poor blacks in disenfranchised communities to invite them into the Mosque.

Contrary to popular belief, Malcolm X did not become some liberal colorblind multiculturalist after his hajj either.Malcolm  X had an unwavering commitment to the black community that we must commit ourselves to. Let’s have halaqas at Mosques that are actually relevant to theological issues facing the black community. We need to be mass producing Islamic content articulating how principles in the Sunnah can inspire black brothers and sisters in the most marginalized area to morally transform their lives, make it out the ghetto and come back and rebuild their communities.  We can’t be content with just attending some Islamic nature retreat  or having Islamic conferences out in the suburbs,.We need to be in the streets reaching brothers and sisters in the most marginalized areas.  If we aren’t willing to continue the work  of Malcolm  X by showing an islamic commitment to the black community, we might as well be turning our heels in this battle against white supremacy. 


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