Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you, but do not attack them first. God does not love the aggressors. Slay them wherever you find them. Drive them out of the places you from which they drive you.
-The Qu’ran
During the 1960’s, aggression ran through the blood and hatred flowed through the words of many Americans, both black and white. Malcolm Little’s story began like many, a broken family creating a life of trouble that led him to conviction. It was in prison that Malcolm found faith in the teaching of the Nation of Islam (NOI). The practice appealed to Malcolm and when he was released, he met with Elijah Muhammad and eventually become one of the most influential leaders of the NOI.
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| Malcolm X Starring Denzel Washington Directed by Spike Lee |
The Autobiography of Malcolm X was turned into a feature film by director Spike Lee in 1992. Starring Denzel Washington as Malcolm X, the film won numerous awards and was nominated for two Academy Awards. Spike Lee and Arnold Perl adapted the screenplay from The Autobiography of Malcolm X written by Malcolm X and Alex Haley, completed in 1965.
The film has fascinated me because of the changing life of Malcolm X and the influence he had on Americans and the Islamic faith.
How did one man lead so many Americans to find faith in Islam during one of the most violent times in American history? The simple answer is faith itself. Although Al-Bakri’s story of the African king who converted to Islam was written a thousand years ago, the theme of the story still exists in films such as Malcolm X. In the story, the king’s country is affected by drought every year. The inhabitants pray for rain and sacrifice cattle, hoping for relief. Muslim guest arrives, practicing the traditions of the Sunni. The guest tells the king he must believe in Allah and testify that He is the One and acknowledge Muhammad as His prophet. If he does so, the king will be delivered under Allah’s mercy. The king converted to Islam that Friday and at dawn, “God caused abundant rain to descend upon them.”
So how are the teachings of Islam seen a thousand years later through the lens? The African king was one of the first Africans to convert to Islam, leading Africa to become one of the largest Muslim populations a thousand years later. Throughout history trade routes had been established through Timbuktu, mosques erected in Kilwa, and the spread of Islam continued to other corners of the continent and the world. In the film Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam gained popularity with African Americans because it believed America was not their home. In a time of struggle such as the civil rights movements, black was not the color of America. Like the story of the African king, the NOI came as the Muslim messenger, promising mercy from Allah during a time of distress.
African Americans had been attacked for hundreds of years and Allah was giving them the power to fight back. Malcolm X used the teachings that had been taught to African men a thousand years before to fight for his people against the “white devils” in 1960s America. As he famously said in a public address, “we didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, the rock landed on us.”
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However, aggression became the main teaching of the NOI and Allah’s true message was distant. In the film, Malcolm X sees the corruption among the NOI and struggles with his true path in Islam. Following the pillars, he makes his pilgrimage to Mecca. In Mecca, Malcolm finds completion between himself and Allah. As he writes to his wife Betty, he explains that there are no colors, no races, only one God and one humanity. He now sees that racism will lead to disaster.
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| Malcolm X during his hajj |
Upon his return, Malcolm used the words of the Qur’an, not the interpretations of the NOI, to find resolution during the civil rights movement and to teach that being African did not mean that one could not be American. He wanted equality for all, not hate for the few.
A thousand years after Allah’s name was first chanted in prayer throughout Africa, Malcolm X awakened the spirit of Islam in Americans. No one could have imagined that a troubled man from Omaha had the potential to become one of the most famous public figures during the civil rights movement, and later a Muslim martyr. Spike Lee’s Malcolm X has always been one of my favorite films because of its historical accuracy as well as religious context. Within three hours, a man experiences the joys of life, the power of faith, and the tragedy of death.
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| Malcolm X during a prayer in Mecca |
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