Personally, I have easily come to appreciate Malcolm X’s willpower, dedication and his ability to grow as a human being. I never understood how much change he encountered throughout his short life. It only shows me how open-minded he was and how willing he was to except the truth. Being a Muslim myself, I am very proud to have had a leader such as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
You notice that I didn’t say a leader like Malcolm X, for he did not teach the real religion of Islam at that point of his life. I had a few problems with Malcolm X’s views while he was a part of the Black Nation of Islam. While being a member of the Black Nation of Islam, Malcolm X taught racism and discrimination which I have a big problem with. If he knew the true religion of islam at that time, we would have never said such ridiculous and hatred speeches against the white people. I do understand that he was frustrated and in fact I can even understand where his hatred of the whites came from. He had lost his father, his mother and all his siblings to people who believed in white supremacy.
But whatever the case, I do not believe in violence and hatred, especially coming from such a powerful and respected leader of a very large number of people. Non-violence is what attracted me and made me respect Ghandi as leader. Ghandi also had so much will power and dedication to his tribe yet never hurt anyone. I did appreciate Malcolm’s willingness to change! From a rebellious child, to a leader of the Black Nation of Islam, to becoming the leader of Muslim Mosque Inc, and finally a founder of the Afro-American Unity. From inheriting the name Malcolm Little and then adopting the name Detroit Red, later on voluntarily changing it to Malcolm X and finally chose to be called El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. As you ca easily see Malcolm was a man of change.
It didn’t seem to matter to him how often he changed his name or what organization he was a leader of as long as he was getting to the truth. I admire his passion and commitment to learn and teach the truth about God. It’s very encouraging to see how much a person can change. From being convicted of a crime and sentenced to ten years in prison, to becoming an unforgettable religious leader.
I think his story gives a lot of hope for those youth who are struggling through their rebellious adolescents. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone as fearless as El-Hajj Malik E-Shabazz. He had his house burned down and constant threatening phone calls made to him, yet he never even considered giving up on his tribe. He lost his life fighting for a good cause. I will never forget or devalue Malcolm’s story. I do wish there were more people like Malcolm in this world.
Over the years I have often heard the name Malcolm X, yet I never appreciated what he really did over his life span. Malcolm X’s most well-known quote is .”.. by and means necessary. .” what many don’t understand including myself when I started researching Malcolm X was that he stressed the fact about knowing what is necessary in each situation. He didn’t believe that you should kill a white man that disagrees with your ideas for there are other alternatives to choose from. Yet he did believe that it was necessary to kill someone thet was going to kill you.
Malcolm was an aggressive leader, yet he wasn’t violent. In fact if you try to find situations that he had physically hurt anyone, you won’t! It was never necessary for him to do so. Malcolm’s Story is very touching and very educational. A very important question that comes to mind when speaking of Malcolm X is did he reach his goal The answer to this question is very simple to me especially being a Muslim. Islam is the truth and the right religion for me; therefore, Malcolm reached his goal for he did end up teaching Islam while discouraging racism and discrimination. Malcolm also improved the position of the black tribe for many had to take them more seriously.
I am very happy to have chosen Malcolm X for my presentation. Now I know more of a very important individual in our history. He also gave me much hope that people could change for the better. More people should learn about Malcolm’s quest because it is bound to have an impact on anyone. Malcolm did not only have an impact on those of his time, but it seems he has an even bigger impact on those like me who came years later.