Educating Ibrahim Ali

Ibrahim Ali says that Malcolm X was assassinated for preaching Islam to the Christians. I wonder what ITM has been teaching its students. I would like to educate Ibrahim Ali so that he knows that Malcolm X was assassinated by Muslim members of the US Chapter of Perkasa (Black Power movement) for ‘murtad’ (apostasy) when he left the Nation of Islam.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Kit Siang flays Ibrahim Ali for Malcolm X analogy

(The Malaysian Insider) – The DAP today lashed out at Datuk Ibrahim Ali for attempting to draw analogy an between the assassination of Malcom X and Teo Nie Ching’s visit to a surau last Sunday.

“Is he suggesting that Teo should be killed like Malcolm X?” said DAP parlimentary leader Lim Kit Siang today.

Ibrahim in a short text message yesterday to The Malaysian Insider said that “In America, Islamic preacher Malcom X, who preached to Christians and entered their churches was shot dead but in Selangor an ‘unclean DAP politician’ was dragged into the surau’s prayer room.”

“Rational Malaysians must recoil at the intemperate language and irresponsible imagery used by the Perkasa chief,” said the Ipoh Timor MP.

Lim pointed out that there was no consensus up till now on who was responsible for shooting Malcolm X in Manhattan’s Auduborn Ballroom in New York on February 2, 1965 although three black Muslims were convicted for his murder.

“But why was Malcolm X’s assassination raised in this context?” said Lim.

He said the invoking of Malcolm X’s assassination must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all Malaysians as it has gone beyond the pale of acceptable public discourse.

Lim pointed out that Ibrahim’s statement was also an affront to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s inclusive 1 Malaysia, where Malaysians accept and not just tolerate the nation’s richest asset which is its ethnic, cultural and religious diversity.

Yesterday Ibrahim called for “strong action” to be taken against Teo, saying that she must be charged for “desecrating” the Surau Al Huda.

He called on the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) to charge the Serdang MP and pointed out that the council had previously charged former Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainul for preaching without accreditation and there was no reason not to act against Teo.

Ibrahim also said failure to take action would be an affront to Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah who reportedly is upset over the incident.

Teo yesterday issued an apology to the Selangor Sultan and expressed dismay that the issue was being politicisied by Umno and Utusan Malaysia.

“I fully support her apology for any unintended offence caused by her visit to the Surau Al Huda in her constituency in the course of her parliamentary duties to help her constituents,” said Lim today.

Ibrahim yesterday also used the incident to lashed out at DAP ‘s coalition partners.

He pointed out that those who invited Teo to the surau were PAS and PKR members who are Muslims and that she delivered a Ramadan Ceramah to a Muslim congregation.

Ibrahim accused PAS of selling out Islam in Malaysia for its political survival and added it was the work of Satan who had succeeded in confusing those who claim to be religious but does not follow Islam.”

Yesterday Teo explained that the surau committee had asked her office for a donation to upgrade their premises which she agreed to.

She pointed out that she was invited to the Surau and was also invited in to say a few words by the congregation and denied speaking on politics during her address.

Mais yesterday announced that they would be sending a warning letter to Teo.

Its chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said they had taken over the management of the surau.

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On March 8, 1964, Malcolm X publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam. He said that he was still a Muslim, but he felt the Nation of Islam had “gone as far as it can” because of its rigid religious teachings. Malcolm X said he was going to organize a black nationalist organization that would try to “heighten the political consciousness” of African Americans. He also expressed his desire to work with other civil rights leaders and said that Elijah Muhammad had prevented him from doing so in the past.

One reason for the separation was growing tension between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad because of Malcolm X’s dismay about rumors of Muhammad’s extramarital affairs with young secretaries. Such actions were against the teachings of the Nation. Although at first Malcolm X ignored the rumors, he spoke with Muhammad’s son Wallace and the women making the accusations. He came to believe that they were true, and Muhammad confirmed the rumors in 1963. Muhammad tried to justify his actions by referring to precedents by Biblical prophets.

Another reason was resentment by people within the Nation. As Malcolm X had become a favorite of the media, many in the Nation’s Chicago headquarters felt that he was over-shadowing Muhammad. Louis Lomax’s 1963 book about the Nation of Islam, When the Word Is Given, featured a picture of Malcolm X on its cover and included five of his speeches, but only one of Muhammad’s, which greatly upset Muhammad. Muhammad was also envious that a publisher was interested in Malcolm X’s autobiography.

After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X founded Muslim Mosque, Inc., a religious organization, and the Organization of Afro-American Unity, a secular group that advocated Pan-Africanism. On March 26, 1964, he met Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C., after a press conference which followed both men attending the Senate to hear the debate on the Civil Rights bill. This was the only time the two men ever met; their meeting lasted only one minute, just long enough for photographers to take a picture.

In April, Malcolm X made a speech titled “The Ballot or the Bullet” in which he advised African Americans to exercise their right to vote wisely. Several Sunni Muslims encouraged Malcolm X to learn about Islam. Soon he converted to Sunni Islam, and decided to make his pilgrimage to Mecca.

On February 21, 1965, in Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm X began to speak to a meeting of the Organization of Afro-American Unity when a disturbance broke out in the crowd of 400. A man yelled, “Nigger! Get your hand outta my pocket!” As Malcolm X and his bodyguards moved to quiet the disturbance, a man rushed forward and shot him in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men charged the stage and fired handguns, hitting him 16 times. Furious onlookers caught and beat one of the assassins as the others fled the ballroom. Malcolm X was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m., shortly after he arrived at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Talmadge Hayer, a Nation of Islam member also known as Thomas Hagan, was arrested on the scene. Eyewitnesses identified two more suspects, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, also members of the Nation. All three were charged in the case. At first Hayer denied involvement, but during the trial he confessed to having fired shots at Malcolm X. He testified that Butler and Johnson were not present and were not involved in the assassination, but he declined to name the men who had joined him in the shooting. All three men were convicted.

Butler, now known as Muhammad Abdul Aziz, was paroled in 1985. He became the head of the Nation of Islam’s Harlem mosque in New York in 1998. He continues to maintain his innocence. Johnson, now known as Khalil Islam, was released from prison in 1987. During his time in prison, he rejected the teachings of the Nation of Islam and converted to Sunni Islam. He, too, maintains his innocence. Hayer, now known as Mujahid Halim, was paroled in 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X