On 21 February 1965, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, known as Malcolm X, a revolutionary civil rights leader, was assassinated during a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.
Despite his untimely death, the legacy of Shaheed Malcolm X continues, as do his principles of freedom, justice, Black power, and liberation. Black Power and Palestinian Liberation have always been fundamentally interconnected.
Examining America’s history of ingrained racism and white supremacy against Black individuals and African Americans reveals a profound reaction within Black society. Not only affected by segregation laws but also of being dehumanized, this catalyzed a mental process of striving for freedom until reaching the breaking point. This journey, advocated by Shaheed Malcolm X across America and globally, resonated deeply.
The oppression faced by the Palestinian people, enduring occupation by a European-Jewish settler colonial state rooted in Jewish supremacist racism, embodies the very elements Malcolm X addressed in his speeches to the American government. As a large number of Zionist regime officials and even settlers themselves are white European Jews, the suffering of African Americans and Palestinians originates from similar places and similar mentalities.
He denounced not only the oppression of Black people and individuals of colour at the hands of the US government, but also their role as perpetrators of criminal acts.
Shaheed Malcolm X on Violence: By Any Means Necessary
Today, we witness the pervasive influence of Eurocentrism, a concept spoken about by Shaheed Malcolm X. As observed in The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X: “This ‘Negro’ was taught of his native Africa that it was peopled by heathen, black savages, swinging like monkeys from trees. This ‘Negro’ accepted this along with every other teaching of the slavemaster that was designed to make him accept and obey and worship the white man (109).”1
In America and beyond, the Black individual is indoctrinated to believe that their skin colour and background render them inferior to the White man. This indoctrination instills a sense of self-loathing and perpetuates a cycle of internalized racism. Similarly, in the context of Palestine, Palestinians (even children) are dehumanized and labelled as “terrorists,” reinforcing the notion of their inferiority based on their identity. This parallels the Eurocentric ideology that devalues non-white identities.
When individuals from marginalized communities seek liberation, they are often vilified as violent or radical. However, history teaches us that liberation rarely comes without resistance.
Historically, liberation movements have often required armed resistance, challenging oppressive systems and institutions. Therefore, labeling these individuals as violent or radical fails to acknowledge the systemic violence and oppression they are combating. Shaheed Malcolm X was in support of liberation by any means necessary: “I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man’s problem just to avoid violence. I don’t go for non-violence if it also means a delayed solution. 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,” (278).2
Additionally, Shaheed Malcolm X even stated: “I don’t advocate violence, but if a man steps on my toes, I’ll step on his,” (278) Malcolm X was not a man in support of indiscriminate violence. His stance was not morally grounded in violence but rather in advocating for armed struggle as a strategic means to achieve specific goals. If violence were to be employed as a solution, he believed it should be done strategically and ethically, with a precise aim toward attaining particular objectives. It is essential to distinguish between strategic resistance aimed at combating a violent and racist system compared to impulsive and emotion-driven violence. While liberation struggles may necessitate confronting violence with violence, this should be undertaken purposefully and with moral integrity, not as a result of irrationality or emotional impulse.
When the Zionist-West labels Black individuals fighting for human rights or against police brutality as “violent,” or characterizes Palestinian resistance as “terrorism,” it is essential to challenge this narrative. We must remember that the Zionist-West, which has inflicted violence and caused the deaths of tens of thousands globally, particularly in Africa and Asia, that liberation often requires the use of force. If violence is necessary to secure freedom and justice, it becomes a legitimate tool for advancing a just cause.
Shaheed Malcolm X’s View on Arab Palestine: The British and Zionist Jewish Relations
“Right after the war, the Jews’ Haganah mediating body stepped up the longtime negotiations with the British. But this time, the Stern gang was shooting the British. And this time the British acquiesced and helped them to wrest Palestine away from the Arabs, the rightful owners, and then the Jews set up Israel, their own country,” (278).3
Malcolm X explicitly points out that the Jewish Haganah terrorist group negotiated with the Zionist British authorities. He also highlights the complicity of the British in handing over Palestine to the Zionists, with the intent of displacing the native Arab population and transferring control to white Jewish settlers. This parallels the systemic elevation of white individuals to positions of power, both in America and in Palestine. It’s as if the lives of the Arab Palestinians were being weighed on a scale between British and American interests, with their rights and sovereignty being taken away for the benefit of white supremacy, Jewish supremacy, and colonial ambitions.
Shaheed Malcolm X’s Impact on Black Power and Palestinian Liberation
Malcolm X undoubtedly played a pivotal and influential role in addressing the occupation of Palestine, and his impact remains profound. His legacy resonates particularly with Palestinians who stand in solidarity with the Black struggle against unjust and racist systemic oppression, which brutalizes and claims the lives of Black individuals.
The presence of banners and slogans advocating for “Black Lives for Palestinian Liberation” at rallies and protests, along with murals honouring George Floyd in Palestine—who was killed in 2020 by a White police officer who used a “knee on the neck” tactic taught to US police by “israeli” troops, echoed the brutality faced by Palestinians at the hands of “israeli” occupation forces—underscore the enduring relevance of Malcolm X’s message and the interconnectedness of struggles against oppression worldwide.
Malcolm X was not just a political revolutionary, but he was a Muslim revolutionary who understood that for a successful revolution, the people had to be moral, upright, God-fearing, and disciplined.
The Shared Struggle in the Modern Day
Another significant figure in the struggle for Black liberation, whose efforts intersected with the Palestinian cause, was the Palestinian-American activist, Bassem Masri. As a Muslim racial justice activist, he played a crucial role in amplifying awareness of racial injustice and the militarized tactics employed by police during the Ferguson protests against Police Brutality in 2014.
Night after night, Bassem fearlessly placed himself in harm’s way to document the protests following the tragic killing of unarmed African-American teenager, Mike Brown, by the American police. Unyielding in the face of police brutality, he fearlessly challenged institutional racism and proudly identified as a Palestinian who grew up in Jerusalem. His friends and family emphasized, “In his short life, he did as much if not more to unite the fight for Black liberation and Palestinian liberation.”
Tragically and suspiciously, Masri and most of the original Black Lives Matter founders mysteriously died one by one. The BLM national organization was then co-opted with big money from foundations such as the Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation, and the leadership replaced with people with an entirely different mindset, as well as different sets of goals and tactics which may even be harmful to the black community.
We must be attentive to what certain social movements signify and their true purpose. Malcolm X’s grandson, Shaheed Malcolm Latif Shabazz, once warned about the co-opting of legitimate movements in an interview with Press TV, stating “what I advise the people to do – one of the things that my grandfather stated – is that you should never join a movement unless you are completely aware of what that movement is about, because a lot of times we have outside forces that orchestrate these movements and get us to do things that we wouldn’t ordinarily do.”
“The media is a tool that the enemy uses to control, manipulate, and mold the popular opinion of the masses. Therefore, people should be very leery of the movements they join and the actions that they take,” the young Malcolm emphasized about his suspicions of co-opted movements and organizations.
These suspicions are not unwarranted, as the organization and movement that Masri and his African American comrades built with their blood, has been misused by its new leaders to misappropriate massive funds from the people to buy large mansions in white neighborhoods, with many local activists from BLM and other African American rights organizations complaining that they never saw any of the money that was supposed to help the Black communities in the US.
Palestinians are also no stranger to movements being co-opted. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) eventually capitulated to the principles of Palestinian resistance, known as Al-Thawabet, by normalizing with the Zionist occupation regime in the Olso and Camp David accords. The outcome of this capitulation was the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which acts as an arm of the Zionist occupation and frequently arrests revolutionary Palestinians.
In addition to a shared struggle, African Americans and Palestinians also share a significant burden and responsibility to maintain the independence and sincerity of their liberation movements.
(Image: David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The violence perpetrated by “israeli” occupation forces in Palestine in 2021 sparked a powerful reaction and activism among Black individuals in America, who proudly stood in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Zellie Thomas, a local BLM organizer and pro-Palestine advocate, stated: “We know occupation, we know colonization, we know police brutality.” This statement underscores the shared experiences of oppression faced by marginalized communities worldwide and explains the necessity of collective action against oppressive regimes, whether in Occupied Palestine or America.
The Historical Partnership of Racist European Imperialists and Jewish Supremacists
The partnership between racist European empires and powerful Jewish supremacists goes back centuries, with Africans experiencing the majority of the bloodshed and misery due to the Transatlantic Slave Trade which both aforementioned groups took part in.
Wealthy Jewish merchants worked side-by-side with their white Anglo-American and Dutch counterparts to enslave Africans in the Americas for centuries.4 The bloody African Holocaust lasted for over 400 years before slavery was abolished on the surface level. While much attention is rightfully given to the Europeans’ role in this grave crime, the Zionist lobby exerts much effort to censor any reference to their involvement as “antisemitism,” despite the majority of historical evidence coming from Jewish scholarly, academic, and historical sources.
After slavery was seemingly abolished, new ways of suppressing newly freed African slaves were invented to keep them on the bottom rungs of society. In the initial years of reconstruction, freed slaves became semi-autonomous within the US, establishing their own socio-economic infrastructure and owning their own resources like businesses, banks, and farms. This gave them a degree of freedom as well as political power. This became too much of a threat for the racial supremacists who had owned them as slaves only a few decades prior, and so various sabotage efforts were carried out, including the destruction of Black Wall Street.
Malcolm X always pointed out how the majority of businesses in black ghettos were owned by Jews and whites, not blacks. They used their economic control of black America to perpetuate their systems of oppression and racism, keeping people poor and only selling things that caused harm to people, such as unhealthy food, liquor, and illicit drugs. When asked if such views made Malcolm “antisemitic,” he refuted such claims by saying he was only anti-exploitation, regardless of who was doing the exploiting.
Malcolm X worked hard across the US to establish the foundations for socio-economic independence of black communities which lessen the effects of the racial supremacist system in the US. The revival of the concept of black-owned enterprises has continued until today, and much of these establishments owe their existence to the seeds planted by Malcolm X during his lifetime.
Malcolm would often note that it is white liberals who are the most opposed to African American economic independence, because it would take away their economic and political control.
The fact that the same oppressive power structure has been causing untold atrocities for African Americans going back centuries is all the more reason for African Americans and Palestinians to connect their struggles in the modern day. While this centuries-old power structure is still alive today, it is weaker than ever and on its last legs, given the developments of the past few years. The glimmer of hope for the oppressed is on the horizon – the righteous shall inherit the earth, as the Bible and the Qur’an both state.
The Movement for Liberation is Eternal
Malcolm X advocated unity among oppressed peoples, emphasizing the importance of solidarity and brotherhood in overcoming systems of oppression. The cause of Palestine transcends its borders and resonates with all oppressed communities, as demonstrated by the unwavering support of the Black community for Palestine and vice versa. This solidarity, rooted in Malcolm X’s teachings, is a powerful testament to the resilience and enduring spirit of liberation and justice. Unity is the ultimate defiance against the oppressor, and the solidarity between Black and Palestinian struggles is a defiant symbol against injustice.
It was his uniting of African Americans within the US; uniting African Americans with other oppressed groups around the world; and his building of diplomatic relations with independent, anti-imperialist leaders and governments in Africa and West Asia that ultimately made him a threat to the imperialists and Zionists, and led to his assassination.
As Malcolm himself said, “the ultimate price of freedom is death.” He certainly held fast to the same culture of martyrdom – the preference for a dignified death over a life of humiliation – that is present among the Palestinian resistance factions.
Malcolm X’s legacy inspires oppressed peoples worldwide to fight for their causes and reclaim their freedoms by any means necessary. The truth remains a guiding light for those who seek justice. It is our duty to uphold these principles and carry forward the legacy of Malcolm X, paving the way for liberation and justice for all oppressed peoples, no matter where they may be.
Sources:
1 X, Malcolm and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.. New York, Grove Press, 1966.
2 X, Malcolm and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.. New York, Grove Press, 1966.
3 X, Malcolm and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.. New York, Grove Press, 1966.
4 Nation of Islam Research Group. Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, Vol. 1. NOI Publications, 1991.
Editor’s note: Both Martyr Malcolm X (ra) and Martyr Malcolm Latif Shabazz (ra) will be included in the upcoming debut print publication from Basira Press, entitled The Firmest Handle: The Converts to Islam Who Became Martyrs. Follow our website and social media channels for details on the release of this title which will cover the lives of those who accepted Islam out of firm belief and conviction and attained the loftiest of heights through martyrdom. Read the only publicly-available excerpt here.
