Description:

X Malcolm 1925 - 1965 Malcolm X signed and importantly inscribed bible, while on his pilgrimage to Mecca. It is highly symbolic of his last and most important shift away from the hatred of Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam. This would shortly lead to his assassination.
Miniature book, inscribed and boldly signed by Malcolm X to the front fly leaf,"As Salaam Alaikum /Greetings from the Fountain /Bro Malcolm X". White textured luxurious covers with gilt titles to front and spine, 3" x 4.5". Full gilt outer page block. Stitched in white ribbon book mark. Near fine condition with slight discoloration to the lower front edge.


New Testament: "William Collins Sons and Company, LTD, Glasgow, November 1938. Printed and published by the authority of his majesty King George the Sixth, an edition of the New Testament in minion type, Quadragesimo-octavo size to consist of two hundred and fifty thousand copies ..."


An incredibly scarce and important signed New Testament bible, personally owned, signed and inscribed by Malcolm X during his voyage to "the Fountain" which was his reference for Mecca. Malcolm X had several epiphanies in his life with the first occurring when he converted to Islam as he was serving an 8 to 10 year prison sentence for robbery. According to Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam - an odd cult whose principles of racial hatred and separatism, and whose strange beliefs about whites being a genetically engineered race of "devils," stood it in contrast with Islam's more orthodox teachings.

However, it was his second epiphany during his pilgrimage to Mecca that altered his beliefs: First in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, then in Jeddah, the Saudi city, Malcolm witnessed what he claims he never saw in the United States: men of all color and nationalities treating each other equally. "Throngs of people, obviously Muslims from everywhere, bound for the pilgrimage," he'd begun to notice at the airport terminal before boarding the plane for Cairo in Frankfurt, "were hugging and embracing. They were of all complexions, the whole atmosphere was of warmth and friendliness. The feeling hit me that there really wasn't any color problem here. The effect was as though I had just stepped out of a prison." To enter the state of ihram required of all pilgrims heading for Mecca, Malcolm abandoned his trademark black suit and dark tie for the two-piece white garment pilgrims must drape over their upper and lower bodies. "Every one of the thousands at the airport, about to leave for Jedda, was dressed this way," Malcolm wrote. "You could be a king or a peasant and no one would know." That, of course, is the point of ihram. As Islam interprets it, it reflects the equality of man before God.

He entered Mecca in 1964 as "Malcolm X", but he left Mecca as "El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz", when he became an orthodox Muslim, adopted the Muslim name and distanced himself from the teachings of the black Muslims (which ultimately sealed his fate as he was assassinated in 1965 by members of the black Muslim group the Nation of Islam, the group with which Malcolm X had been a prominent minister for ten years before he split with them in March 1964.

Based on the inscription in this book, Malcolm X used the term "As-Salaam-Alaikum," the Arabic greeting meaning "Peace be unto you," the standard salutation among members of the Nation of Islam. The greeting was routinely deployed whenever and wherever Muslims gathered and interacted, whether socially or within worship and other contexts. The second line of his inscription directly referenced that his greeting were from "The Fountain". It is widely known that Malcolm X referred to Mecca as "The Fountain" and one of his ever lasting quotes refers to Mecca as The Fountain of "truth, love, peace and brotherhood" and "The holiest and most sacred city on Earth". The signing of his name as Malcolm X would date this inscription at about April 1964, while on his voyage to Mecca, yet before converting his name to "El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz".

An incredibly important book, with an extraordinary association and the only known authentic Malcolm X signed book of any kind we have ever encountered.

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