While scrolling through Minister Farrakhan’s social media posts, there seems to forever be at least one person saying “You killed Malcolm”or some negative myth about the Nation of Islam in relation to our brother. Before I get the comment “Well why do you care what someone online thinks?”, let me say that this is more than just one troll on Twitter. The harmful rhetoric of The Nation of Islam killing Malcolm X, or The Honorable Elijah Muhammad being an immoral man, has led many away from the Nation, and has been used for propaganda to write The Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s name, and the nation, badly in history. It has been a falsehood that many have used to justify any harm they wish to do to the Nation of Islam. It has shaped the thinking of a lot of people and has created misconceptions for years. Lies are powerful. I hope to help debunk some of the myths I see, and have been told face to face.
By Nzinga Muhammad
1. “Minister Farrakhan had Malcolm X killed and conspired his death.”
This is a complete lie with little to no evidence that it actually happened. The minister speaks highly of Malcolm X and has said countless times that if he had his mentor killed, he would have faced some sort of trial already. The fact of the matter is that The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave strict orders to leave him alone. If you know anything about the Nation of Islam, you know that once the leader tells his followers something, you’re obligated to obey. He explained this already in his lecture “Malcolm X: 28 Years Later What Really Happened?”
2. “Elijah Muhammad was a pedophile who preyed on teenage secretaries and Malcolm X exposed him then moved on to Orthodox Islam.”
“Teenage secretaries” was a term that was used by Malcolm X to deceptively describe his teacher’s wives he found out about. “Wives” as in legal and consensual marriage. He didn’t “expose” anyone. He knew exactly what polygamy was and why it was permitted in the Holy Quran for Allah’s Messenger (under certain circumstances of course). Malcolm X was very intelligent and well versed in the scriptures. It also makes no sense that he would give up the Nation of Islam because he found out about a man having more than one wife, to go follow a more traditional way of Islam under strictly Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) who had nine wives. And some say his wife Aishah was between 10-19 when they got married. Clearly, it’s something else that caused the split.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s wives talked about their husband 28 years after the assassination of Malcolm X during a lecture that Minister Farrakhan gave. They denied all accusation of pedophilia, sexual harassment, or any negative propaganda against them and their husband.
3. “The killer of Malcolm X was a Nation of Islam member.”
In an interview with Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter, she says that the killer was not in the Nation of Islam. She points to Abdul Razzaq, who was our brother’s secretary as a source. She says that Abdul Razzaq always said who the real trigger men were, and they were not Nation of Islam members. Even if they were, the government has never been a friend of black leaders, and they often send agents in organizations to disrupt them.
In the interview, there is mention that her father was being watched during his trip to Mecca, who he suspected was the CIA, not the Nation. He was poisoned in Egypt and said that he did not think that the Nation were the ones doing this. There is a document of J. Edgar Hoover, former director of the FBI, telling the agency’s New York office to “Do something about Malcolm X”. There are different events that took place leading up to the assassination, that were not of the Muslims.
The story behind the split between Malcolm X and The Nation of Islam, and the assassination has been twisted and fabricated to frame an entire nation of people, and justify the hatred towards them. NO, The Nation of Islam didn’t kill Malcolm X.
(Nzinga Muhammad is based in Rochester, NY. Follow her on Twitter @QueenNzinga13)
