Friend of Malcolm X discusses Islam in U.S.

Former Nation of Islam minister and Malcolm X friend Abdul Malik Muhammad addressed the history and progress of Islam in the United States before nearly 40 students and area residents Saturday. Muhammad, who worked with Malcolm X in the 1960s, called Spike Lee's film on Malcolm a "big P.R. thing," adding the controversial minister's family is "still in the same condition as they were before [Malcolm's] assassination." The forum, sponsored by the Muslim Students Association, began with a reading from the Koran. Muhammad spoke for an hour and a half before opening up the forum to questions from his audience. Muhammad spoke on topics ranging from the increased awareness of Islam in the black community to the role American Muslims today should take. Muhammad said he found it difficult, however, to elaborate on his relationship with Malcolm. "I wish I could read every mind and tell you what you want me to say [about Malcolm ]," Muhammad said, adding that, for him Malcolm X was not a celebrity. "I thought [of him as] just someone else in the workforce," he said, adding that it was only later that he realized that Malcolm had become a celebrity. Muhammad, who works to further Islamic culture in Philadelphia, described Malcolm's spiritual development after his return from Mecca. Malcolm, who was known as El Hajj Malik Shabazz after his pilgrimage to Mecca, recanted many of his separatist statements. Muhammad asked the audience to think about the meaning of the movie and the renewed interest in Malcolm. "Why did they come at this time?" he said. "Do you know how much money has been made? The movie was just advertising for merchandise. What did it do in terms of religion?" "Will the movie be the powder keg waiting for someone to push the plunger?" he asked. "Will you say 'by any means necessary' ?" Muhammad discussed what he called the Western bias of the the American public school system. "Someone has used the educational system to become a great money maker," he said. "From pre-school to college and on -- nothing but money -- and when you're complete, what are you looking for? A job for the Western system." Muhammad is currently involved in a project to devise a curriculum for the public school system that would allow Muslim holidays to be observed. Speaking on religious conversion, Muhammad asked audience members if they "believed in God." "All you have to take out of the Jew is his egotism because he thinks he's the chosen one," Muhammad said. "All you have to do to the Jew is take away his materialism. You've got to teach him to be honest in his business dealings." "The reason [Muslims] are not making progress is because we're not doing it," he said. "The Jewish people have had an impact on the school system. We need to band together [like the Jewish community] and get our holidays observed." The question and answer session which followed the speech was a lively exchange between the audience and Muhammad. Not all the questions had been answered at the end of the three hour event and many audience members stayed to speak to Muhammad privately. "I thought it was a good talk," event co-organizer and College junior Kashif Munir said. "He was thought provoking and he tried to get people to think. He was a powerful speaker." "He gave depth and breadth to the Spike Lee Hollywood version of Malcolm X," said Social Work graduate student Christine Emry. "His portrayal of the Islamic religion was warm, inviting and intelligent." "It was even worth missing the basketball game," she added.