Malcolm X (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz)

Malcolm X (1925–1965) was an African American civil rights leader, a human rights advocate, a Pan-Africanist and a Pan-Islamist, and an enduring icon of the American civil rights movement and its many offshoots that continue into the 21st century. A convert to Islam, Malcom at one point was the most famous Muslim in the United States, and his leadership during the Black freedom struggle placed him at the forefront of the international discourse on race, Muslim identity, and the various and often competing strategies for achieving and maintaining justice and coexistence during the age of segregation. Malcolm X rooted his policy positions in his Islamic religious tradition, and this motivation has attracted the attention of scholars, primarily for the ways in which it evolved. Though Malcolm’s introduction to the religion was through the Nation of Islam (NOI)—a uniquely African American interpretation tied to the causes of Black liberation and self-improvement—Malcolm eventually made gestures toward a more inclusive version of the faith, including adopting the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, which referred to his pilgrimage to Mecca and subsequent spiritual awakening. How far he moved in this direction remains open to speculation, however, as this apparent evolution of his practice was cut short by his assassination in 1965. Moreover, most people still know him by the name Malcolm X, adopted during his days with the NOI.