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sparknotes.com/lit/malcolmx/section1.html) states a fragment from his autobiography, referring to the status of his father. Religion was and is a powerful means for the motivation of the masses. Once you have got their approval and their enthusiastic support, you have the opportunity of becoming an important figure in the social and thus, political arena.
The Nation of Islam was in a certain way, a movement based on beliefs and values which encouraged revolutionary changes for the status of the blacks. Malcolm wants to change things and this is the tool which comes in most handy.
Let us assume that he was looking for a religious movement to support his career and his desire for change. The Nation of Islam was the best because it was "the one religion that erases the race problem from its society" (Malcolm X, Haley).
And race seemed indeed to be the main problem in a highly unfair America. Malcolm X became a preacher of this religion because it best expressed his beliefs regarding the social realities surrounding him.
To me a delayed solution is a non-solution. Or I'll say it another way. If it must take violence to get the black man his human rights in this country, I'm for violence exactly as you know the Irish, the Poles, or Jews would be if they were flagrantly discriminated against." (Malcolm X) What Malcolm X wanted to teach the masses and his rivals about was not violence, but a more decisive manner of acting in the desired direction. His purpose...
That was mutually advantageous, since after all the movement would have supported him all the more.
I believe that first and foremost Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam because it was a movement with a lot of potential to change things. It responded to the needs of the black people in a period of painful inequality in a powerful manner, addressing the spiritual needs (it was a religion), but also the social needs (it was a political movement).
The beliefs at its core allowed it to be a social and a political instrument of change. Once Malcolm X became an important figure within it, he realized its potential not only to help his career, but most importantly, to help him make the desired changes for the benefit of all the men he spoke for.
Bibliography
Malcolm X, Haley, Alex, Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, Randomhouse, 2006
Malcolm X, 19 March 2008. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmalcolmX.htm
The legacy of Malcolm X, 19 March 2008. http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/MSA/find_more/m_x.html
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, the Nation of Islam, 19 March 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_of_islam
Bibliography
Malcolm X, Haley, Alex, Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, Randomhouse, 2006
Malcolm X, 19 March 2008. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmalcolmX.htm
The legacy of Malcolm X, 19 March 2008. http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/MSA/find_more/m_x.html
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, the Nation of Islam, 19 March 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_of_islam
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