Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Malcolm X di dalam sebuah masjid di Kaherah
Tarikh lahir:	19 Mei 1925
Tempat lahir	Omaha, Nebraska, Amerika Syarikat
Nama Islam:	El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
Meninggal dunia:	21 Febuari 1965

Malcolm X (19 Mei 1925 - 21 Febuari 1965) -- juga dikenali sebagai: El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), pengasas Muslim Mosque, Inc. dan Organization of Afro-American Unity (Organisasi Perpaduan Afro-Amerika) dan juga pada suatu ketika menjadi jurucakap pada kumpulan Nation of Islam. Beliau dibunuh pada Febuari 1965. Semasa hayatnya, Malcolm X dikenali sebagai seorang ketua gerakan nasionalisme kulit hitam yang terkemuka di Amerika Syarikat.

Tahun-tahun awal

Dia dilahirkan sebagai Malcolm Little di Omaha, Nebraska. Ayahnya, Earl, seorang paderi Baptist yang lantang dan penyokong kepada Marcus Garvey, telah dibunuh di Lansing, Michigan pada 1931.

Malcom kemudiannya telah berhenti dari sekolah menengah, dan berpindah ke Boston untuk tinggal dengan kakak tirinya. Dia telah mendapat kerja sebagai pengilat kasut di sebuah kelab malam Lindy Hop; dalam autobiografinya, Malcolm berkata dia pernah mengilat kasut Duke Ellington dan beberapa pemuzik kulit hitam yang terkenal. Setelah beberapa ketika, dia berpindah ke Harlem, New York, di mana dia mula terlibat di dalam pengedaran dadah haram, berjudi, pelacuran, memeras ugut, dan merompak (dirujuk secara menyeluruh oleh Malcom sebagai hustling); dia juga sanggup berlakon gila untuk mengelakkan dari dihantar menyertai kerahan tenaga Perang Dunia II.

Tahun-tahun kemudian

Penjara

Malcolm telah ditahan pada 12 Januari, 1946 pada umur 20 tahun dan telah dipenjarakan selama lapan hingga sepuluh tahun atas kesalahan memecah masuk, membawa senjata api, dan merompak. Dia mendapat gelaran Setan di Penjara Negeri Charlestown disebabkan sifatnya yang suka menyumpah seranah terutamanya terhadap Tuhan dan Bible.

Pada 1948, keluarganya memeluk ajaran Islam. Saudara lelakinya Reginald telah menulis surat meminta dia menyertai Nation of Islam. Jadi Malcolm mula mempelajari ajaran Elijah Muhammad dengan gigihnya dan telah mula mengembangkan pemikiran inteleknya. Kakaknya Ella telah menolong memindahkannya ke koloni penjara berkawalan rendah di Norfolk, Massachusetts di mana dia telah mula minat membaca dan menemui kebenaran di dalam ajaran Elijah Muhamman dan Nation of Islam dalam sejarah dan falsafah. Dia menyertai debat mingguan di koloni perjara itu. Dia telah menyalin seluruh kamus daripada perpustakaan di situ untuk menambahkan pengetahuannya dan memperbaikan tulisannya.

His first contact with Elijah Muhammad was in prison, where he corresponded with Muhammad by mail. As he progressed in his self-education, he began to write to the leader daily.

After his release on parole on August 7, 1952, he bought a suitcase, eyeglasses, and a watch, later saying that these were the items he used most in his later life.

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In 1964, Malcolm X watched for assailants with an M1 Carbine.

Nation of Islam

Setelah dilepaskan dari penjara pada 1952, Malcolm berjumpa dengan Elijah Muhammad di Chicago. Di sinilah dia menerima tanda X, yang bermaksud menolak nama perhambaannya, dan oleh kerana tiada nama Islam Afrika-Amerika.

In 1953, Malcolm left his half-sister Ella in Boston to stay with Elijah Muhammad in Chicago. He soon returned to Boston and became the Minister of the Nation of Islam's Temple Number Eleven.

His active membership in the Nation led to him opening several temples around the country, of which he often became Minister. His rousing, incendiary and inspirational speeches and spotless personal example led to the ranks of the Nation of Islam burgeoning. He was soon seen as the number two man in the movement, next to Elijah Muhammad himself.

As Malcolm worked tirelessly for the Nation of Islam, he was increasingly exposed to rumours of Elijah Muhammad's extra-marital affairs with young secretaries. Adultery is severely shunned in the teachings of the Nation. Although this news unsettled Malcolm, he often brushed it aside. But soon he investigated these allegations and saw that they were true, and they were eventually affirmed by Elijah Muhammad himself, who claimed that it was legitimate for him as he was the messenger of God. Despite being unsatisfied with the excuses, and being disenchanted by other ministers using Nation of Islam funds to line their own pockets, Malcolm's faith in Elijah Muhammad did not waver.

By 1963, tension in the Nation of Islam grew to a boiling point. Elijah Muhammad was jealous of Malcolm's popularity (as were several other senior ministers). Malcolm watched the March on Washington critically, unable to understand why black people were excited over a demonstration "run by whites in front of a statue of a president who has been dead for a hundred years and who didn't like us when he was alive." Later in the year, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm delivered a speech as he regularly would. However, when asked to comment upon the asssassination, he replied that it was a case of "chickens coming home to roost" -- that the violence that JFK had failed and at times refused to reign in had come around to claim his life. This comment led to widespread public outcry and led to the Nation of Islam publicly censuring Malcolm X. He was banned from speaking for six months, effectively a suspension order. Malcolm obeyed and kept quiet.

In 1964, Malcolm started collaborating on the now legendary The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Alex Haley. He also publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam, and founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. At this point, Malcolm still adhered to the teachings of the Nation of Islam. In April, he made the famous Ballot or the Bullet speech.

Malcolm was in contact with several orthodox Muslims, who encouraged him to learn about orthodox Islam. He soon converted to orthodox Islam, and as a result decided to perform Hajj.

Ibadah haji

In the spring of 1964, Malcolm made the Haji (pilgrimage to Mekah). The trip proved life-altering. The fellowship he witnessed between Muslims of all races shattered his long-held belief that such communion was impossible. He returned to the United States as a convert to orthodox Islam (and with a new name - El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) and founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity preaching a new interracial acceptance in addition to his belief in black nationalism.

Kematian dan selepasnya

Ketegangan meningkat antara Malcolm dan Nation of Islam. Perintah diberi oleh anggota Nation untuk membunuh Malcolm. Pada 14 Februari, 1965 rumahnya di New York dibaling dengan bom api oleh Nation of Islam, tetapi Malcolm dan keluarganya terselamat.

Seminggu kemudian pada 12 Februari, di Audubon Ballroom, Manhattan, Malcolm baru sahaja memulakan ucapannya apabila kekecohan berlaku dalam himpunan 400 orang. Seorang lelaki menjerit, "Get your hands off my pockets! Don't be messin' with my pockets!" As Malcolm's bodyguards rushed forward to attend to the disturbance, a black man rushed forward and shot Malcolm in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men quickly charged towards the stage and fired handguns at Malcolm.

Malcolm X dikebumikan di Ferncliff Cemetery di Hartsdale, New York. Three people were arrested for his murder: Nation of Islam members Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler, and Thomas 15X Johnson. All three were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. An FBI memo uncovered during the COINTELPRO investigations, however, takes credit for creating the factional dispute that led to Malcolm X's assassination. The exact role of the FBI in his death has never been made clear although it is known that at least one of Malcolm's bodyguards was an undercover NYPD police officer reporting back to the FBI. Hayer himself appears to be the only man guilty of the assassination; he later gave the names of the other assassins as Albert Thomas, Leon Davis, William Bradley, and Wilbur McKinley.

Petikan

• You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.
  (Anda tidak seharusnya dibutakan dengan semangat patriotisme sehingga tidak menyedari kenyataan. Apa yang salah itu adalah salah, tidak kira siapa yang melakukan atau mengatakannya.)

Biografi dan Ucapan

The Autobiography of Malcolm X ( ISBN 0345350685 ) was written by Alex Haley between 1964 and 1965, based on interviews conducted shortly before Malcolm's death (and with an epilogue for after it), and was published in 1972. The book was named by Time magazine as one of the 10 most important nonfiction books of the 20th century.

Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements ISBN 0802132138

The film Malcolm X was released in 1992, directed by Spike Lee. Based on the autobiography, it starred Denzel Washington as Malcolm with Angela Bassett as Betty and Al Freeman Jr. as Elijah Muhammad.

The 2002 film 'Ali', about boxer Muhammed Ali, also features Malcolm X, as played by Mario Van Peebles.

Pautan luar

• The Official Web Site of Malcolm X
• Malcolm X : A Research Site
• malcolm-x.org