After his release in 1952, Malcolm Little, now known as Malcolm X, went to�Detroit and began to actively preach to the frustrated African-American population about what Islam had to offer.� It made no difference where he conducted his sermons and teachings, whether on the streets, or in a temple.� He spread the word to anyone who would listen.� It was not long before Malcolm became a favorite of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam.� He was made a minister and began to travel from city to city, preaching the message, founding new temples and converting thousands of people to the faith.� Two years later, Malcolm X became minister of Temple Number Seven in Harlem, New York.�
Elijah Muhammad & bodygards
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Malcolm X knew he was a marked man after the split with Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam (NOI).� �He had formed the Muslim Mosque Incorporated (MMI) and made the comment that the NOI leaders got to kill me.� They cant afford to let me live ... I know where the bodies are buried.� And if they press me, Ill exhume some.�
Malcolm then formed the OAAU (Organization of Afro-American Unity) and began embarking on a course in opposition to the capitalist system, according to Roland Sheppard in his The Assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.� �Malcolms plans to create a black nationalist party integrated with his travels
throughout�Europe, the Middle East, the UAR, and Africa where he readily exposed the oppression of African-Americans to the world through the United African Nationalist movement.�� This was the last thing the U.S. government wanted since it would make the nations racial problems an international human rights issue.�
In April of 1964, Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Mecca which led to his second conversion.� He met brothers of the faith who were from many nations and of many races, black, brown, white, and all the sons of Allah.� The reality dawned on him that advocating racial cooperation and brotherhood would help resolve the racial problems in America and, hopefully, lead to a peaceful coexistence throughout the world.� Malcolm Xs transformed ideas and dreams reached full fruition and were ready for both national and international implementation.� Again he changed his name, this time to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.� And again he found himself going against the system.� But this time he would not be alone in the fight for equality and justice.