ATH: Imam Mohammed's "The History of NOI" Temple University, Philadelphia

"Is there a single figure most responsible for the remarkable career of Islam among African-Americans?Undoubtedly, the most common reply to this question would name the man who was born as Malcolm Little and died as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, and is best known as Malcolm X (1925-65). Charismatic, eloquent, honest, a martyred seeker of true faith, Malcolm X did play a major role in the development of black Islam, and to this day many American blacks cite his 1964 Autobiography as a powerful factor in their own conversion to the faith. Yet Malcolm X's active career as a Muslim lasted not much over a decade; his real contribution lies elsewhere, as an apostle of secular black nationalism. Today, he is a pop-culture icon, his memory kept alive by Spike Lee's movie about him and by baseball caps sporting his "X," T-shirts emblazoned with his face, and a U.S. postal stamp in his honor.

In the final analysis, it was another man, Malcolm X's mentor, who had the greater impact on establishing Islam among African-Americans. This was the uncharismatic, inarticulate, heterodox, and long-lived Elijah Muhammad." Daniel Pipes (Expert Islamophobe)