After his release in 1952, Malcolm Little, now known as Malcolm X, went to Detroit and began to actively preach to the frustrated African-American population about what Islam had to offer. It made no difference where he conducted his sermons and teachings, whether on the streets, or in a temple. He spread the word to anyone who would listen. It was not long before Malcolm became a favorite of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. He was made a minister and began to travel from city to city, preaching the message, founding new temples and converting thousands of people to the faith. Two years later, Malcolm X became minister of Temple Number Seven in Harlem, New York.
Elijah Muhammad & bodygards
Malcolm X knew he was a marked man after the split with Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam (NOI). He had formed the Muslim Mosque Incorporated (MMI) and made the comment that the NOI leaders got to kill me. They cant afford to let me live ... I know where the bodies are buried. And if they press me, Ill exhume some.
Malcolm then formed the OAAU (Organization of Afro-American Unity) and began embarking on a course in opposition to the capitalist system, according to Roland Sheppard in his The Assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Malcolms plans to create a black nationalist party integrated with his travels
throughout Europe, the Middle East, the UAR, and Africa where he readily exposed the oppression of African-Americans to the world through the United African Nationalist movement. This was the last thing the U.S. government wanted since it would make the nations racial problems an international human rights issue.
In April of 1964, Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Mecca which led to his second conversion. He met brothers of the faith who were from many nations and of many races, black, brown, white, and all the sons of Allah. The reality dawned on him that advocating racial cooperation and brotherhood would help resolve the racial problems in America and, hopefully, lead to a peaceful coexistence throughout the world. Malcolm Xs transformed ideas and dreams reached full fruition and were ready for both national and international implementation. Again he changed his name, this time to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. And again he found himself going against the system. But this time he would not be alone in the fight for equality and justice.
