Synopsis
Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. In this riveting account, he tells of his journey from a prison cell to Mecca, describing his transition from hoodlum to Muslim minister. Here, the man who called himself "the angriest Black man in America" relates how his conversion to true Islam helped him confront his rage and recognize the brotherhood of all mankind.- ★★★★★
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- Learn more about the time period in which Malcolm X lived. How were African Americans treated? Why was there a revival of white supremacy groups like the Klu Klux Klan during the Jim Crow Era? Who was Marcus Garvey and what was the Universal Negro Improvement Association? What was the impact of the Great Depression on African American families?
- Malcolm’s daughter, Attallah Shabazz, writes in the forward: “If his first fourteen years hadn’t been rooted in a healthy diet of education and the richness of his heritage, Malcolm wouldn’t have found himself gravitating to the prison libraries after he was incarcerated.” What can we learn from this?
- What causes Malcolm to fall into the depths of “illegality and immorality”—hustling money, conning people, gambling, selling women, using drugs and alcohol to distance himself from his depravity, earning a prison sentence for armed robbery and ultimately becoming an atheist known to fellow prisoners as Satan?
- Discuss Malcolm’s job as a shoeshine boy at the Roseland State Ballroom (p. 48). What did he learn while he was there? How might Malcolm’s life have differed had he taken a different path? Whether seeking a temporary job or choosing a profession, as a Muslim it is imperative that the income is halal, that the environment is halal and that we choose according to that which would benefit us both in this world and in our afterlife.
- What type of people did Malcolm surround himself with. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Verily, the parable of good and bad company is that of a seller of musk and a blacksmith. The seller of musk will give you perfume, you will buy some, or you will notice a pleasant smell. As for the blacksmith, he will burn your clothes, or you will notice a bad smell” (Bukhari, Muslim). In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said, “A man is upon the religion of his best friend, so let one of you look at whom he befriends.” Reflect on the time Malcolm starts to drink, smoke and gamble (p. 53). Was he doing this alone or was he around others doing the same thing? While reading chapters 3-9, think about how Malcolm’s life might have differed if he was surrounded by those like the seller of musk as opposed to the blacksmith?
- Allah ﷻ, in His infinite wisdom, has forbidden gambling and the use of intoxicants. In chapters 3-9 find examples illustrating why gambling and the use of intoxicants are self-destructive.
- What can be learned from Laura’s demise? Malcolm recounts: “Defying her grandmother, she had started going out late and drinking liquor. This led to dope, and that to selling herself to men. Learning to hate the men who bought her, she also became a Lesbian” (p. 72). He later describes running into her again, “She was a lot more like me now, a good-time girl…She looked a lot older than she really was. She had no one man, she free-lanced around. She had long since moved away from her grandmother. Laura told me she had finished school, but then she gave up the college idea. Laura was high whenever I saw her, now, too; we smoked some reefers together” (p. 139). Would her life have been different had she listened to her grandmother?
- Malcolm’s transformation began in prison. Yet, in his reflections he states, “Any person who claims to have deep feeling for other human beings should think a long, long time before he votes to have other men kept behind bars—caged. I am not saying there shouldn’t be prisons, but there shouldn’t be bars. Behind bars, a man never reforms. He will never forget. He never will get completely over the memory of the bars” (p. 155). What is the purpose of prisons? What do they actually do to and for people? What should they be for and do they accomplish their purpose?
- The word ‘Islam’ means submission—submission to God. Malcolm says, “The hardest test I ever faced in my life was praying…bending my knees to pray—that act—well, that took me a week. You know what my life had been. Picking a lock to rob someone’s house was the only way my knees had ever been bent before. I had to force myself to bend my knees. And waves of shame and embarrassment would force me back up. For evil to bend its knees, admitting its guilt, to implore the forgiveness of God, is the hardest thing in the world” (p.172-173). Discuss how Malcolm’s climb out of the state of depravity began once he submitted.
- Learn more about Islam among black Americans. How did Islam reach American shores? What is the Nation of Islam (NOI)? What were the historical origins of NOI and how does it differ from traditional Islam in ideology and in practice? What became of most NOI followers. Who led them to traditional Sunni Islam?
- Discuss the stages and the pros/cons of the NOI rehabilitation program for drug addiction (p. 265-267).
- What was the civil rights movement? How did it begin? What were the root causes of this movement? How did Martin Luther King and Malcolm X differ?
- Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Compare this to Malcolm X’s reflections on travel (p. 352-353). Malcolm X’s travels outside the United States serve as the catalyst for changing the way he thinks about himself and African Americas. Through his travels he is exposed to a broad range of cultures and religions. He realizes the narrowness of his perspectives and points of view.
- Malcolm had two major turning points in his life: his incarceration and later his exile from NOI. The Quran reminds us: “And it could be that you dislike something, when it is good for you, and it could be that you like something when it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know” (2:216). How does this verse relate to Malcolm’s journey?
Mindful Muslim Review
“…I had sunk to the very bottom of the American white man’s society when…I found Allah and the religion of Islam and it completely transformed my life.” This best sums up the autobiography of leading African-American Muslim and human rights activist known as Malcolm X. He later changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. The autobiography is a quintessential story of human redemption—a recount of a young man as he falls into the depths of “illegality and immorality”—hustling money, conning people, gambling, selling women, using drugs and alcohol to distance himself from his depravity, earning a prison sentence for armed robbery and ultimately becoming an atheist known to fellow prisoners as Satan. His transformation begins in prison when he witnesses firsthand what it means to take one step toward Allah so that He will take 10 steps toward you. As he chronicles his transformation, he gives insight into his education in prison, his time with the Nation of Islam, his humility, his ability to connect with the most troubled members of the black community, his uncompromising nature and ruthless honesty calling for self-respect, self-reliance, and self-worth. At the end of the book, he chronicles his departure from the Nation of Islam, his journey to Hajj, and his ultimate conversion to Sunni Islam while continuously reflecting back on Allah’s ﷻ mercy and wisdom in all stages of his life.
Today, as our children face an endless deluge of shallow pop-culture icons and social media influencers, biographies of true heroes are critical to their upbringing as sound human beings. This story of Malcolm X’s metamorphosis directs our children’s hearts towards admirable character traits and ideas that are worth learning, earning this book our Gold Star. Note: This would make an excellent read-aloud as the content, particularly chapters 3-9, can be explicit as he details the lowest point of his life. See yellow flags for more details.
