Malcolm X's Islam

Happened to pick up Manning Marable's 2011 biography of African-American icon Malcolm X at the library. Thought I'd share this passage:

Finally, and perhaps most important, Malcolm X represents the most important bridge between the American people and more than one billion Muslims throughout the world. Before immigration law reform in 1965, the most prominent group of self-identified American Muslims was the heretical Nation of Islam. As Malcolm learned more about orthodox Islam, he was determined to propagate the meaning of that faith to audiences regardless of race. Even before his death, Malcolm became widely known and respected across the Islamic and Arab diasporas. He reached out to Islamic sects and organizations reflecting widely divergent opinions and theological tenets--Wahhabi Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Nasserite socialists in Egypt, African Sufis in Senegal, the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon, the Palestine Liberation Organization. He avoided arguments that pitted Muslims against one another; he emphasized Islam's capacity to transform the believer from hatred and intolerance toward love. His own remarkable life story personified this reinvention. (p. 486)

Yeah, those Wahhabis, Nasserites, MuBros and PLO-ers--they were chock-full of love. Stinking with it, in fact. But wait--there's more:

And what of Malcolm X's future life after death? As hip-hop culture was decisive in promoting his second renaissance in the 1990s, it seems probably that Islam will influence its future legacy.

The process of jihadist reinvention began with the Iranian revolution. The government of Ayatollah Khomeini was the first to issue a postage stamp featuring a likeness of Malcolm, which was released in 1984 to promote the Universal Day of Struggle Against Race Discrimination...

The al-Qaeda terrorist network is also sufficiently aware of American racial politics to make sharp distinctions between mainstream African-American leaders [Condi Rice, Colin Powell and even B. Obama] and black revolutionaries like Malcolm...

But to me, this constitutes the piece de resistance:

What is truly ironic is that Malcolm would certainly have condemned the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, as representing the negation of Islam's core tenets. A religion based on universal compassion and respect for the teachings of the Torah and the Gospels, Malcolm would have know, holds no common ground with those who employ terror as a tool for politics. Malcolm's personal journey of self-discovery, the quest for God, led him toward peace and away from violence.

First off, I don't think he has any idea of how Malcolm would have reacted to 9/11. Secondly: Islam is many things. A "religion based on universal compassion and respect for the teachings of the Torah and the Gospels" it most definitely is not.