Malcolm X Was Denied Entry to Mecca. What Happened Next Changed History.

A century after his birth — and 60 years after his assassination — El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, or Malcolm X, continues to exert a powerful influence on efforts against racism and oppression from the United States to Africa. After enduring the cruelty of overt and systemic racism at a young age, Malcolm made a lifelong commitment to uplifting himself and all African-Americans. Bold and uncompromising, but also a sincere seeker of truth, he embraced Islam, performed Hajj, and traveled widely. Malcolm found inspiration and solidarity in Africa’s decolonization movements, from Ghana to Algeria. And his little-known visit to Gaza and his sharp critique of Zionism were among these efforts, even while he continued to forcefully challenge anti-Black racism in America. We highlight various points in Malcolm’s winding journey, relying primarily on his own ever-insightful words, and reflect on why he remains an inspiration today. Works referenced: – Maytha Alhassen, “The ‘Three Circles’ Construction: Reading Black Atlantic Islam through Malcolm X’s Words and Friendships,” Journal of Africana Religions 3, no. 1 (2015): 1–17 – Maytha Alhassen, “To Tell What the Eye Beholds: A Post 1945 Transnational History of Afro-Arab ‘Solidarity Politics,’” PhD dissertation, University of Southern California, 2017 – Hamzah Baig, ““Spirit in Opposition”: Malcolm X and the Question of Palestine,” Social Text 140 37, no. 3 (2019): 47-71 – Louis A. DeCaro, On the Side of My People : A Religious Life of Malcolm (New York: New York University Press, 1996) – Malcolm X and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Ballantine Books Mass Market Ed.), (New York: Ballantine Books, 2015) – Michael R. Fischbach, Black Power and Palestine: Transnational Countries of Color (Stanford University Press, 2019) – Patrick Parr, Malcolm Before X (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2024) 0:00 - Introduction 1:03 - Malcolm X’s youth and prison years 1:49 - The Nation of Islam 2:33 - Malcolm’s Hajj and evolving views on race 4:29 - Malcolm and decolo