exchanged the surname “Little,” perceived as a
“slave name,” for the symbolic “X” to denote his
lost African heritage. Soon he became a provoca-
tive public figure and militant spokesperson for
the Nation of Islam. With Elijah Muhammad’s
health declining it appeared logical that Malcolm
X would take over as head of the Nation. Jealousy
among other group members led to insinuating
rumors circulating about Malcolm. At the same
time, some began to question Elijah Muhammad’s
character, with charges of adultery and hypocrisy
leveled against him.
Under pressure from these charges, Mal-
colm was marginalized within the Nation and,
in 1964, he formally announced he was leaving
the organization to start his own group, Mus-
lim Mosque, Inc. He also announced that he
planned to travel through Africa and the Middle
East and make a haJJ, or pilgrimage, to mecca,
the Muslim holy city. Following this pilgrimage
Malcolm underwent another phase of transforma-
tion. During his journey abroad he encountered
white Muslims who openly embraced him, as
well as the spectacle of Muslims of different skin
colors and cultures praying in unity. With this
new understanding of islam Malcolm was forced
to reconsider his separatist views and, upon his
return to America, he adopted the name El Hajj
Malik el-Shabazz to express his new identity.
While giving a speech in Harlem on February
21, 1965, Malcolm was assassinated by three
members of the Nation of Islam, leaving his wife,
Betty Shabazz, a widow. Despite Malcolm’s shift-
ing views toward orthodox Islam near the end of
his life, his charismatic leadership gave African
Americans a model in expressing the right to
feel anger and new viewpoints concerning white
domination. Malcolm’s ideologies, preserved in
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, continue to
influence ongoing debates concerning racial rela-
tions and African American identity.
See also aFrican americans, islam among;
United states.
Mehnaz SahibzadaFurther reading: Martha F. Lee, The Nation of Islam:
An American Millenarian Movement (Syracuse, N.Y.:
Syracuse University Press, 1996); Eric C. Lincoln, The
Black Muslims of America. (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World
Press, 1994); Clifton E. Marsh, From Black Muslims to
Muslims: The Transition of Separatism to Islam, 1930–1980
(Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1984); Jane I. Smith,
Islam in America (New York: Columbia University Press,
1999); Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, with
the assistance of Alex Haley (London: Penguin, 2001).Malik ibn Anas (ca. 708–795) leading jurist of
Medina and eponymous founder of the Maliki
legal school
Malik ibn Anas lived most of his life in medina,
the city of the prophet mUhammad. In contrast to
other early Muslim scholars, he is said to have left
the city only in order to go on the hajj to Mecca.
He specialized in the study of the hadith and
became famous for developing the idea that cus-
tomary practice (sUnna) of the Muslims of what
Marshal G. S. Hodgson called “pristine” Medina
should serve as a fundamental basis for Islamic
law. Students traveled from great distances to
study with Malik, and they carried his teachings,
which were compiled in a book, the Muwatta, to
the major centers of Islamic learning in egypt,
iraq, North Africa, and andalUsia (Spain). This
book, whose title means “well-trodden path,” is
one of the most important sources for the study
of the development of early Islamic legal tradition.
It contains not only the hadith of Muhammad and
his Companions, but also reports on the practices
of Medina’s inhabitants in later generations. Like
the hadith collections of al-Bukhari (d. 870) and
Muslim (d. 875), it is organized by subject, begin-
ning with the Five pillars and followed by family
law, business transactions, and criminal law. It also
has chapters on miscellaneous subjects. Malik’s
opinions on legal matters were compiled later and
became part of the tradition of the maliki legal
school, which bears his name.
See also companions oF the prophet; sharia.K 454 Malik ibn Anas