Malcolm X

Many Muslims who have been blessed to make Hajj often speak of how the journey is a life-changing experience. This is more the case for some than others. Malcolm X is one Muslim who saw the light of true Islam through his Hajj in April 1964. As a former member and speaker for the Nation of Islam, a black spiritual and nationalist movement, he believed that the white man was the devil and the black man superior. After leaving the Nation of Islam in March 1964, he made Hajj, which helped change his perspective on whites and racism completely.

By Sajid Iqbal

What can be said about a man who has been called many things? He is known as a role model to Muslims. A religious fanatic. A father for black power. A menace to society. An inspirational leader and a legend.

Malcolm X was born in America in 1925, during a time when race relationships were strained. His mother was a housewife and his father was a Baptist Minister who was killed in a fire at a young age - which the family claimed was caused by a white supremacist organisation. After this, his mother had an emotional breakdown and was admitted to a mental institution and the children were split up and sent to various foster homes and orphanages. According to Malcolm, three of his father's brothers also died violently at the hands of white men, and one of his uncles had been lynched.