Malcolmx to his wife

 

 

Malcolm X was a fiery orator and radical African American leader who, after falling out with his mentor Elijah Muhammed and his Nation of Islam, founded Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organisation of Afro-American Unity. He instilled Black pride in his people and inspired Cassius Clay to become Mohammed Ali. Malcolm X went to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, where he discarded his anti-white militant racism and became a humanist. He wrote this letter from Jeddah to Betty Shabazz, his wife, and the press corps.

April 20, 1964.

Dear Betty,

Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans, here in this ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see all around. There were tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world of all colors, but were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe could never exist between the white and non-white.

Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have encountered Muslims, who would have been considered “white” in America, but the religion of Islam in their hearts has removed the “white” from their minds, behavior, and attitude. I felt the same sincerity in the words, actions and deeds of these “white” Muslims, all the way from Cairo to Jedda and even in the Holy City of Mecca, which I felt among the African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana. America needs to understand Islam, because this is the religion that erases the racism plaguing it like an incurable cancer which can destroy America, the same destruction brought upon Germany by racism that eventually destroyed the Germans themselves. The spiritual path of truth is the only way left to America.

You may be shocked by these words coming from me, but despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experiences and knowledge unfold. This pilgrimage has forced me to re-arrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. I have always kept an open mind, the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search of truth. Never have I been so highly honored and made to feel more humble and unworthy. Who would believe the blessings that have been heaped upon an American Negro? A few nights ago, a man who would be called in America a ‘white’ man, a United Nations diplomat, an ambassador, a companion of kings, gave me his hotel suite, his bed. Never would I have even dreamt that I would ever be a recipient of such honors, that in America would be bestowed upon a King, not a Negro. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.

Sincerely,

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz

(Malcolm X);