Editing Malcolm X (section)

=== 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>