Faith and Freedom: Malcolm X's Journey
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When Malcolm X was incarcerated, he started questioning his life choices and searching for a new direction. Letters from his family played a big role in this shift, encouraging him to give up pork and cigarettes, practices forbidden by the Nation of Islam (NOI). In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, he recalls how these letters introduced him to the NOI’s teachings, which they described as the “natural religion for the Black man.” For Malcolm, the NOI wasn’t just a set of rules. Indeed, it was a path toward dignity and a powerful way to push back against the racism he and other Black Americans experienced.
Malcolm found that the NOI offered more than just personal transformation. Led by Elijah Muhammad, it connected him to a movement for Black empowerment. The NOI promoted Black pride, self-reliance, and a sense of identity that ran counter to a society where Black people were devalued and stripped of their heritage. Thus, joining the NOI meant a way to reclaim an identity that had always been denied before.
By the 1950s and ’60s, many Black Americans found peace in reverting to Islam, particularly because of the discrimination they faced, even within Christianity, which had a history tied to slavery and segregation. Turner’s chapter on bebop jazz highlights how Black musicians were also drawn to Islam, especially through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which emphasized racial equality and openly challenged systemic racism. The Ahmadiyya’s vision of Islam as a universal brotherhood offered Black Americans a place within a global community, helping them resist isolation and find solidarity beyond the borders of the U.S.