Talk:Malcolm X

NOI attitude to violence

I'm getting a feeling from this article and sources that prior to 1964 the NOI was actually trying to reign in Malcolm's agitation towards mayhem, and that this was a big initial part of their difference. If other sources bear this out, the article should clearly reflect it. Rumiton (talk) 16:20, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure about the NOI reining in Malcolm's inclination toward mayhem, but one of Manning Marable's points in Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention is that Malcolm was trying to become more politically active and the NOI was opposed to that. He cites the 1962 death of Ronald Stokes, a Muslim who was killed by the LAPD, as a real turning point in the relationship between Malcolm and Elijah Muhammad. You can read a relevant excerpt from A Life of Reinvention here. One of these days I'll add something about Stokes' killing to this article. — Malik Shabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 02:14, 13 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for that, I might have a go in the next few days. I think it illustrates that Malcolm was not always a moderating influence. Rumiton (talk) 07:08, 13 June 2015 (UTC)

Had a go. Like everything else, totally up for discussion. Rumiton (talk) 16:21, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

Death threats and intimidation from Nation of Islam

What is this REDIRECT stuff that has appeared in this section? Rumiton (talk) 14:00, 21 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Rumiton. Could you clarify? I don't see the word "REDIRECT" in the text of that section, nor do any of the Wikilinks there appear to be redirects. — Malik Shabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 18:13, 21 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Malik. Today it is not there anymore. One of those Wiki-mysteries. Thanks for your help. Rumiton (talk) 05:21, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

John Ali

I saw this part of the text : "John Ali (later exposed as an undercover FBI agent)" and the source provided does not prove him to be one, so I was wondering, was he really ?

I read never, ever read anything that proved he was an FBI agent, outside of blog posts and conspiracy theories, just that a lot of people believed him to be one. As anyone got an actual source ? Maybe an FBI FOIA or something ?

Thank you, Jhereem — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.193.129.176 (talk) 19:15, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Jhereem. Our article cites Louis Lomax's To Kill a Black Man: The Shocking Parallel in the Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., p. 198. Unfortunately, my copy is currently in storage and it's not searchable online. A Google search found a number of books that cite Lomax as a source for this information, of which this is one example:

• Clegg III, Claude Andrew (2014) [1997]. The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press. p. 323. ISBN 978-1-4696-1805-0.

I don't know whether anybody has reviewed Ali's FBI file, and I don't know if the FBI would acknowledge whether Ali was an agent in any event. If you're interested, here's a link to start. — Malik Shabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 03:30, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Happy to wait for your Lomax, but a half hour search just found only "former FBI agent" and "widely believed to be an informant." It appears the article statement may be too strong. Rumiton (talk) 03:44, 24 June 2015 (UTC) I changed the statement to remove the previous suggestion that Ali's agitation against MX was an FBI-led incitement to the NOI to murder him. Rumiton (talk) 04:32, 25 June 2015 (UTC)