Editing Malcolm X (section)

== Nation of Islam period ==
{{Further|Nation of Islam}}

=== Prison ===
{{Quote box|width=23em|{{shy|Between Mr. Muhammad's teachings, my cor|re|spond|ence, my vis|i|tors{{nbsp}}... and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being impris|oned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life.}}|salign=right|source=—Malcolm&nbsp;X<ref>{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=199}}.</ref>}}

When Malcolm was in prison, he met fellow convict John Bembry,<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=121}}.</ref> a self-educated man he would later describe as "the first man I had ever seen command total respect{{nbsp}}... with words".<ref>Malcolm&nbsp;X, ''Autobiography'', p.{{nbsp}}178; ellipsis in original.</ref> Under Bembry's influence, Malcolm developed a voracious appetite for reading.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=108–110, 118}}.</ref>

At this time, several of his siblings wrote to him about the [[Nation of Islam]], a relatively new religious movement preaching Black self-reliance and, ultimately, the return of the [[African diaspora]] to Africa (which was then undergoing the [[Decolonisation of Africa|process of independence]]), where they would be free from White American and European domination.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pages=127–128, 132–138}}</ref> He showed scant interest at first, but after his brother Reginald wrote in 1948, "Malcolm, don't eat any more pork and don't smoke any more cigarettes. I'll show you how to get out of prison",<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=128–129}}.</ref> he almost instantly quit smoking and began to refuse pork.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=113}}.</ref>

Following a visit during which Reginald detailed the group's teachings, including the notion that White people are considered devils, Malcolm initially struggled to accept this belief. Over time, however, Malcolm reflected on his past relationships with White individuals and concluded that they had all been marked by dishonesty, injustice, greed, and hatred.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=134–135}}.</ref> Malcolm, whose hostility to Christianity had earned him the prison nickname "Satan",<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=104–106}}.</ref> became receptive to the message of the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=136}}.</ref>

In late 1948, Malcolm wrote to [[Elijah Muhammad]], the leader of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad advised him to renounce his past, humbly bow in prayer to [[God in Islam|God]] and promise never to engage in destructive behavior again.<ref name="Natambu138">{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pages=138–139}}</ref> Though he later recalled the inner struggle he had before bending his knees to pray,<ref>{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=196}}.</ref> Malcolm soon became a member of the Nation of Islam,<ref name="Natambu138" />
maintaining a regular correspondence with Muhammad.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=116}}.</ref>

In 1950, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] opened a file on Malcolm after he wrote a letter from prison to President [[Harry S. Truman]] expressing opposition to the [[Korean War]] and declaring himself a communist.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=95}}.</ref> That year, he also began signing his name "Malcolm&nbsp;X".<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=96}}.</ref> Muhammad instructed his followers to leave their family names behind when they joined the Nation of Islam and use "X" instead. When the time was right, after they had proven their sincerity, he said, he would reveal the Muslim's "original name".<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=139–140}}.</ref> In his autobiography, Malcolm&nbsp;X explained that the "X" symbolized the true African family name that he could never know. "For me, my 'X' replaced the white [[Slave name|slavemaster name]] of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears."<ref>{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=229}}.</ref>

=== Early ministry ===
{{Nation of Islam}}

After his parole in August 1952,<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=98}}.</ref> Malcolm&nbsp;X visited Elijah Muhammad in Chicago.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=142, 144–145}}.</ref> In June 1953, he was named assistant minister of the Nation's Temple Number One in Detroit.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=168}}.</ref>{{efn-ua|Nation of Islam Temples were numbered according to the order in which they were established.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=141–142}}.</ref> }} Later that year he established Boston's Temple Number{{nbsp}}11;<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=147}}.</ref> in March 1954, he expanded Temple Number{{nbsp}}12 in Philadelphia;<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=152}}.</ref> and two months later he was selected to lead [[Mosque No. 7|Temple Number{{nbsp}}7]] in Harlem,<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=153}}.</ref> where he rapidly expanded its membership.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=161–164}}.</ref>

In 1953, the FBI began surveillance of him, turning its attention from Malcolm&nbsp;X's possible communist associations to his rapid ascent in the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Carson|1991|p=95}}.</ref>

During 1955, Malcolm&nbsp;X continued his successful recruitment of members on behalf of the Nation of Islam. He established temples in [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], Massachusetts (Number{{nbsp}}13); [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], Connecticut (Number{{nbsp}}14); and [[Atlanta]] (Number{{nbsp}}15). Hundreds of African Americans were joining the Nation of Islam every month.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=122–123}}.</ref>

Besides his skill as a speaker, Malcolm&nbsp;X had an impressive physical presence. He stood {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m}} tall and weighed about {{convert|180|lb|kg}}.<ref name="Marable301">{{harvnb|Marable|2009|p=301}}.</ref> One writer described him as "powerfully built",<ref>{{harvnb|Lincoln|1961|p=189}}.</ref> and another as "mesmerizingly handsome{{nbsp}}... and always spotlessly well-groomed".<ref name="Marable301" />

=== Marriage and family ===
In 1955, [[Betty Shabazz|Betty Sanders]] met Malcolm&nbsp;X after one of his lectures, then again at a dinner party; soon she was regularly attending his lectures. In 1956, she joined the Nation of Islam, changing her name to Betty{{nbsp}}X.<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=36–45, 50–51}}.</ref> One-on-one dates were contrary to the Nation's teachings, so the couple courted at social events with dozens or hundreds of others, and Malcolm&nbsp;X made a point of inviting her on the frequent group visits he led to New York City's museums and libraries.<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=61–63}}.</ref>

Malcolm&nbsp;X proposed during a telephone call from Detroit in January 1958, and they married two days later.<ref>Shabazz, Betty, "Malcolm&nbsp;X as a Husband and Father", {{harvnb|Clarke|1990|pp=132–134}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=73–74}}.</ref> They had six daughters:
[[Attallah Shabazz|Attallah]] (born 1958; Arabic for 'gift of God');<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=109–110}}.</ref>{{efn-ua|Attallah Shabazz has said she was not named after Attila, rather her name is Arabic for "the gift of God".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/their-fathers-daughters-19891130 |title=Yolanda King and Attallah Shabazz: Their Fathers' Daughters |first=Ellen |last=Hopkins |date=November 30, 1989 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=June 19, 2016 |archive-date=February 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206190158/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/their-fathers-daughters-19891130 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-QCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 |title=X Patriot |last=Miller |first=Russell |date=November 23, 1992 |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |access-date=June 19, 2016 |archive-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727125239/https://books.google.com/books?id=3-QCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 |url-status=live }}</ref> }}{{efn-ua|"People have to understand the [''Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X''] was written at a time when indeed African Americans were likening themselves to warriors to underscore our revolutionary fervor. And Attallah was close to Attila the Hun, the warrior. But I'm named Attallah, which in Arabic means 'Gift of God.' I've never been Attila."<ref>{{harvnb|Barboza|1994|pp=205–206}}.</ref> }} [[Qubilah Shabazz|Qubilah]] (born 1960, named after [[Kublai Khan]]);<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=122}}.</ref> [[Ilyasah Shabazz|Ilyasah]] (born 1962, named after Elijah Muhammad);<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=123}}.</ref> Gamilah Lumumba (born 1964, named after [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and [[Patrice Lumumba]]);<ref>{{harvnb|Assensoh|Alex-Assensoh|2016|p=xxi}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=197}}.</ref> and twins Malikah (1965–2021)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/23/malikah-shabazz-dead-malcolm-x-daughter/|title=Malikah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm&nbsp;X, found dead at her home in New York|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 22, 2021|access-date=November 24, 2021|archive-date=November 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123182000/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/23/malikah-shabazz-dead-malcolm-x-daughter/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Malaak (born 1965, both born after their father's death and named in his honor).<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=286}}.</ref>

=== Hinton Johnson incident ===
The American public first became aware of Malcolm&nbsp;X in 1957, after Hinton Johnson,{{efn-ua|Some sources, including ''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X'', give the name ''Johnson Hinton'', but Benjamin Karim (one of Malcolm&nbsp;X's top aides) and former ''[[Newsweek]]'' editor and Malcolm&nbsp;X biographer Peter Goldman both give the name ''Hinton Johnson''.<ref>{{harvnb|Karim|1992|pp=47–48}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Abdullah |first=Zain |date=Autumn 2012 |title=Narrating Muslim Masculinities: The Fruit of Islam and the Quest for Black Redemption |journal=Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=169 |doi=10.2979/spectrum.1.1.141 |s2cid=162371130}}</ref>}} a Nation of Islam member, was beaten by two [[New York City Police Department|New York City police officers]].<ref name="Marable127">{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=127}}.</ref><ref name="Perry164">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=164}}.</ref> On April{{nbsp}}26, Johnson and two other passersby{{mdashb}}also Nation of Islam members{{mdashb}}saw the officers beating an African American man with nightsticks.<ref name="Marable127" /> When they attempted to intervene, shouting, "You're not in Alabama{{nbsp}}... this is New York!"<ref name="Perry164" /> one of the officers turned on Johnson, beating him so severely that he suffered brain contusions and subdural hemorrhaging. All four African American men were arrested.<ref name="Marable127" />

Alerted by a witness, Malcolm&nbsp;X and a small group of Muslims went to the police station and demanded to see Johnson.<ref name="Marable127" /> Police initially denied that any Muslims were being held, but when the crowd grew to about five hundred, they allowed Malcolm&nbsp;X to speak with Johnson.<ref name="Perry165">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=165}}.</ref> Afterward, Malcolm&nbsp;X insisted on arranging for an ambulance to take Johnson to Harlem Hospital.<ref name="Marable128">{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=128}}.</ref>

Johnson's injuries were treated and by the time he was returned to the police station, some four thousand people had gathered outside.<ref name="Perry165" /> Inside the station, Malcolm&nbsp;X and an attorney were making bail arrangements for two of the Muslims. Johnson was not bailed, and police said he could not go back to the hospital until his [[arraignment]] the following day.<ref name="Marable128" /> Considering the situation to be at an impasse, Malcolm&nbsp;X stepped outside the station house and gave a hand signal to the crowd. Nation members silently left, after which time the rest of the crowd also dispersed.<ref name="Marable128" />

One police officer told the ''[[New York Amsterdam News]]'': "No one man should have that much power."<ref name="Marable128" /><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=166}}.</ref> Within a month the New York City Police Department arranged to keep Malcolm&nbsp;X under surveillance; it also made inquiries with authorities in other cities in which he had lived, and prisons in which he had served time.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=132}}.</ref> A [[grand jury]] declined to indict the officers who beat Johnson. In October, Malcolm&nbsp;X sent an angry telegram to the police commissioner. Soon the police department assigned undercover officers to infiltrate the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=134–135}}.</ref>

=== Increasing prominence ===
By the late 1950s, Malcolm&nbsp;X was using a new name, Malcolm Shabazz or el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz ("The Pilgrim Malcolm the Patriarch"),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of hajj {{!}} Dictionary.com |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hajj |access-date=March 9, 2023 |website=www.dictionary.com |language=en |archive-date=March 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309211213/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hajj |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Krutzsch-2021">{{Cite web |last=Krutzsch |first=Brett |date=April 5, 2021 |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X: Why El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Matters |url=https://therevealer.org/malcolm-x-why-el-hajj-malik-el-shabazz-matters/ |access-date=March 9, 2023 |website=The Revealer |language=en-US |archive-date=March 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309211213/https://therevealer.org/malcolm-x-why-el-hajj-malik-el-shabazz-matters/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Angelo Gomez |first=Michael |title=Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |page=367}}</ref> although he was still widely referred to as Malcolm&nbsp;X.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=135, 193}}.</ref> His comments on issues and events were being widely reported, in print and on radio and television.<ref name="Perry, pp. 174–179">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=174–179}}.</ref> He was featured in a 1959 New York City television broadcast about the Nation of Islam, ''[[The Hate That Hate Produced]]''.<ref name="Perry, pp. 174–179" />

In September 1960, at the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in New York City, Malcolm&nbsp;X was invited to the official functions of several African nations. He met [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] of Egypt, [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]] of Guinea, and [[Kenneth Kaunda]] of the [[Zambian African National Congress]].<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=231–233}}.</ref> [[Fidel Castro]] also attended the Assembly, and Malcolm&nbsp;X met publicly with him as part of a welcoming committee of Harlem community leaders.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=172}}.</ref> Castro was sufficiently impressed with Malcolm&nbsp;X to suggest a private meeting, and after two hours of talking, Castro invited Malcolm&nbsp;X to visit Cuba.<ref>{{harvnb|Lincoln|1961|p=18}}.</ref>

=== Advocacy and teachings while with the Nation ===
[[File:Elijah Muhammad and Cassius Clay NYWTS.jpg|thumb|[[Muhammad Ali]] (second row, in dark suit) watches [[Elijah Muhammad]] speak, 1964|alt=Elijah Muhammad is speaking at a podium and people are listening intently]]

From his adoption of the Nation of Islam in 1952 until he broke with it in 1964, Malcolm&nbsp;X promoted the [[#Beliefs of the Nation of Islam|Nation's teachings]]. These included beliefs:
* That Black people are the original people of the world<ref name="Lomax55">{{harvnb|Lomax|1963|p=55}}.</ref>
* That White people are "devils"<ref name="Perry115">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=115}}.</ref> and
* That the demise of the White race is imminent.<ref name="Lomax57">{{harvnb|Lomax|1963|p=57}}.</ref>

[[Louis E. Lomax]] said that "those who don't understand biblical prophecy wrongly label him as a racist and as a hate teacher, or as being anti-White or as teaching Black Supremacy".<ref>{{harvnb|Lomax|1963|p=181}}.</ref> One of the goals of the [[civil rights movement]] was to end [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchisement]] of African Americans, but the Nation of Islam forbade its members from participating in voting and other aspects of the political process.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=260}}.</ref> The [[NAACP]] and other civil rights organizations denounced him and the Nation of Islam as irresponsible extremists whose views did not represent the common interests of African Americans.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=162}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=215–216}}.</ref>

Malcolm&nbsp;X had been equally critical of the civil rights movement.<ref>{{harvnb|Lomax|1963|pp=79–80}}.</ref> During this period, he denounced [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] as a "chump", and referred to other civil rights leaders as being "stooges" of the White establishment and was strongly against any kind of racial integration.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=203}}.</ref>{{efn-ua|King expressed mixed feelings toward Malcolm&nbsp;X. "He is very articulate{{nbsp}}... but I totally disagree with many of his political and philosophical views{{nbsp}}... I don't want to seem to sound self-righteous{{nbsp}}... or that I think I have the only truth, the only way. Maybe he does have some of the answer{{nbsp}}... I have often wished that he would talk less of violence, because violence is not going to solve our problem. And in his litany of articulating the despair of the Negro without offering any positive, creative alternative, I feel that Malcolm has done himself and our people a great disservice{{nbsp}}... [U]rging Negroes to arm themselves and prepare to engage in violence, as he has done, can reap nothing but grief."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://playboysfw.kinja.com/martin-luther-king-jr-part-2-of-a-candid-conversation-1502358645 |access-date=June 19, 2018 |title=The Playboy Interview: Martin Luther King |last=Haley |first=Alex |author-link=Alex Haley |date=January 1965 |work=[[Playboy]] |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619190052/https://playboysfw.kinja.com/martin-luther-king-jr-part-2-of-a-candid-conversation-1502358645 }}</ref> However, the veracity of this quote as recorded by [[Alex Haley]] has been called into question by [[Jonathan Eigs]], given that it does not appear on the original interview transcript.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marcus |first1=Josh |title=Famous Martin Luther King quote ripping Malcom X was fake, author discovers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/matin-luther-king-malcom-x-b2336601.html |website=Independent |date=May 10, 2023 |access-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511044631/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/matin-luther-king-malcom-x-b2336601.html |url-status=live }}</ref> }} He called the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|March on Washington]] "the farce on Washington",<ref>{{harvnb|Cone|1991|p=113}}.</ref> and said he did not know why so many Black people were excited about a demonstration "run by whites in front of a [[Statue of Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln Memorial)|statue of a president]] who has been dead for a hundred years and who didn't like us when he was alive."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/malcolmx/timeline/timeline2.html |title=Timeline |access-date=November 11, 2017 |date=May 19, 2005 |work=[[Malcolm&nbsp;X: Make It Plain]], [[American Experience]] |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050526135314/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/malcolmx/timeline/timeline2.html |archive-date=May 26, 2005}}</ref> 

In 1961, Malcolm&nbsp;X spoke at a NOI rally alongside [[George Lincoln Rockwell]], the head of the [[American Nazi Party]]. Rockwell saw overlap between black nationalism and white supremacy.<ref name="Jeet">{{cite magazine |last=Heer |first=Jeet |author-link=Jeet Heer |date=May 11, 2016 |title=Farrakhan's Grand Illusion |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/133385/farrakhans-grand-illusion |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |access-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-date=April 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404035954/https://newrepublic.com/article/133385/farrakhans-grand-illusion |url-status=live }}</ref> While the civil rights movement fought against [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial segregation]], Malcolm&nbsp;X advocated the complete [[Black separatism|separation]] of [[African Americans]] from Whites. He proposed that [[Back-to-Africa movement|African Americans should return to Africa]] and that, in the interim, a separate country for Black people in America should be created.<ref name="Lomax149-152">{{harvnb|Lomax|1963|pp=149–152}}.</ref><ref name="Supremacy78">{{harvnb|Malcolm X|Karim|1989|p=78}}.</ref> He rejected the civil rights movement's strategy of [[nonviolence]], arguing that Black people should defend and advance themselves "[[by any means necessary]]".<ref name="Lomax 173-174">{{harvnb|Lomax|1963|pp=173–174}}.</ref> His speeches had a powerful effect on his audiences, who were generally African Americans in [[Northern United States|northern]] and [[Western United States|western]] cities. Many of them{{mdashb}}tired of being told to wait for freedom, justice, equality and respect<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=182}}.</ref>{{mdashb}}felt that he articulated their complaints better than did the civil rights movement.<ref name="Cone99-100">{{harvnb|Cone|1991|pp=99–100}}.</ref><ref name="West">{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Cornel |author-link1=Cornel West |editor1-last=Sayres |editor1-first=Sohnya |editor2-last=Stephanson |editor2-first=Anders |editor3-last=Aronowitz |editor3-first=Stanley |editor3-link=Stanley Aronowitz |editor4-last=Jameson |editor4-first=Fredric |editor4-link=Fredric Jameson |title=The 60s Without Apology |year=1984 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=978-0-8166-1336-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/60swithoutapolog0000unse/page/51 51] |chapter=The Paradox of the Afro-American Rebellion |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/60swithoutapolog0000unse/page/51}}</ref>

=== Effect on Nation membership ===

Malcolm&nbsp;X is widely regarded as the second most influential leader of the Nation of Islam after Elijah Muhammad.<ref>{{harvnb|Cone|1991|p=91}}.</ref> He is largely credited with helping the group's dramatic increase in membership between the early 1950s and early 1960s{{em dash}}from around 1,200 to between 50,000 and 100,000 members, with up to 25,000 actively attending, according to estimates.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=123}}.</ref>{{efn-ua|"Estimates of the Black Muslim membership vary from a quarter of a million down to fifty thousand. Available evidence indicates that about one hundred thousand Negroes have joined the movement at one time or another, but few objective observers believe that the Black Muslims can muster more than twenty or twenty-five thousand active temple people."<ref>{{harvnb|Lomax|1963|pp=15–16}}.</ref>}}{{efn-ua|"The common response of Malcolm&nbsp;X to questions about numbers{{mdashb}}'Those who know aren't saying, and those who say don't know'{{mdashb}}was typical of the attitude of the leadership."<ref>{{harvnb|Clegg III|1997|p=115}}.</ref>}}

He inspired the boxer [[Muhammad Ali]] to join the Nation,<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=296–297}}.</ref> and the two became close.<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Remnick |author-link=David Remnick |title=King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero |year=1999 |orig-date=1998 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-375-70229-7 |page=165}}</ref>
In January 1964, Ali brought Malcolm&nbsp;X and his family to Miami to watch him train for [[Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston#Liston vs. Clay I|his fight against Sonny Liston]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=165}}.</ref>
When Malcolm&nbsp;X left the Nation of Islam, he tried to convince Ali (who had just been renamed by Elijah Muhammad) to join him in converting to [[Sunni Islam]], but Ali instead broke ties with him, later describing the break as one of his greatest regrets.{{efn-ua|"Turning my back on Malcolm was one of the mistakes that I regret most in my life. I wish I'd been able to tell Malcolm that I was sorry, that he was right about so many things. But he was killed before I got the chance{{nbsp}}... I might never have become a Muslim if it hadn't been for Malcolm. If I could go back and do it over again, I would never have turned my back on him."<ref>{{harvnb|Ali|2004|p=85}}.</ref> }}

<!--this paragraph needs to be expanded-->Malcolm&nbsp;X mentored and guided Louis{{nbsp}}X (later known as [[Louis Farrakhan]]), who eventually became the leader of the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011}}{{page needed|date=July 2021}}</ref> Malcolm&nbsp;X also served as a mentor and confidant to Elijah Muhammad's son, [[Warith Deen Mohammed|Wallace D. Muhammad]]; the son told Malcolm&nbsp;X about his skepticism toward his father's "unorthodox approach" to Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Marsh|2000|p=101}}.</ref> Wallace Muhammad was excommunicated from the Nation of Islam several times, although he was eventually re-admitted.<ref>{{harvnb|Marsh|2000|pp=58–59, 67}}.</ref>