On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X
ISBN: 9780814721001
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / NYU Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: X Malcolm 1925–1965; Black Muslims -- Biography; Afro-Americans -- Biography;

Until recently, general ignorance about Islam has been a limiting factor in both preparing and reading accounts of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and of Malcolm X, who was the chief spokesman for NOI founder Elijah Muhammad until late 1963; but things have changed of late, and this book makes good use of those changes. By the time of his assassination in February 1965, Malcolm X had himself become the most prominent spokesperson for black nationalism. DeCaro, in his first book, has produced a groundbreaking study of Malcolm's relationship to Islam as a religion. Included as well is an account of the often contentious interaction between NOI and more orthodox Islamic groups, as well as a revealing account of early Islamic evangelism in African American communities. This is the best, most thorough account we have of Malcolm X as a religious leader. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Louis A. DeCaro, Jr., is Associate Professor of Church History at Alliance Theological Seminary, and is the author of "Fire from the Midst of You": A Religious Life of John Brown and Freedom's Dawn: The Last Days of John Brown in Virginia.

hidden image for function call