pilgrimage
This news item on a study suggesting that performing the hajj makes Muslims more tolerant reminds me that Malcolm X had the same experience, near the end of his life. In the Autobiography, he talks about how when made the hajj, he felt his heart opening to the white Muslims he encountered there, and to people everywhere.
Something I haven't heard many people talk about, when they contrast Malcolm X and Dr. King, is how the two men were actually drawing closer to each other's perspectives over time. But it's evident in Malcolm's book. Dr. King was losing his patience with non-violent protest and starting to wonder if it was time to change tactics. While Malcolm, transformed by the hajj, was thinking about softening his stance.
As saddened and angered as I am by the assassination of both men, it's even more awful for me when I wonder about what would have happened if bullets hadn't found them both before they could reconcile their approaches. Both powerful, articulate, passionate, and deeply engaged with making needed change--what could they have accomplished together?
Something I haven't heard many people talk about, when they contrast Malcolm X and Dr. King, is how the two men were actually drawing closer to each other's perspectives over time. But it's evident in Malcolm's book. Dr. King was losing his patience with non-violent protest and starting to wonder if it was time to change tactics. While Malcolm, transformed by the hajj, was thinking about softening his stance.
As saddened and angered as I am by the assassination of both men, it's even more awful for me when I wonder about what would have happened if bullets hadn't found them both before they could reconcile their approaches. Both powerful, articulate, passionate, and deeply engaged with making needed change--what could they have accomplished together?