I was really surprised by Malcolm's reaction to this hospitality. I mean, he was always a fiercely independent, wanting to do everything himself. Then he was just accepting help left and right, trying to cheat the system to complete his pilgrimage faster. They kicked someone off a plane for him, and cut the line at the high court to allow his admittance into Mecca. Coming from someone who was such a strong advocate of equality, he was quick to accept any unfair advantage that came his way.
Also, shouldn't some survival instinct in Malcolm kicked in? People in the US were constantly planning to kill him, and it never occurred to him people in the Middle East would try to do the same. All of the people Malcolm met seemed to idolize him, but it could have been an act. Malcolm could have been walking straight into a trap set by the NOI on his travel route.
This speech is about Malcolm recognizing that people want to kill and he knows that he is going to die. http://www.malcolm-x.org/speeches/spc_12__62.htm
I really thought Malcolm would have been more cautious and wary of strangers. Normally, in foreign countries (besides in tourist areas), the locals are not exactly thrilled to see you. And Mecca is not the place to go and relax on the beach.
When I went to Canada, the people were nice in the tourism run Niagara Falls area, because our money was what was driving the economy. But as soon as we left the tourist area, the locals were kind of cold towards us. Not that they were mean, just that they were like "why are you here?"
Now, I know that when going to Mecca, Muslims all feel a sense of unity and family, but Malcolm should have been more cautious : he was a wanted man. So that "why are you here?" could have quickly turned into "I am going to kill you to shut you up!" for him because he was such a controversial figure.
Well, whatever. It was his life that he was not protecting while trusting foreign hospitality when many, many people wanted to see him dead.
I both agree and disagree with you. First of all, I was not shocked at Malcolm's acceptance of the hospitality that he was shown. I felt that Malcolm would accept the hospitality that was shown to him for a couple of reasons. First of all, he was in the Holy Land...a place where everybody could be trusted without being hustled. Second of all, as Malcolm later stated, mostly all the people in Mecca were dark skinned; the white skinned people did not act with white superiority was did the whites in America. Also, I did not think that Malcolm was trying to teach the system. Malcolm stayed for a lot of time in the place provided for him and every one waiting for a audience to the Chief Musharaff.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I disagree with you on your observation that Mecca was not the place to relax. Mecca was a holy city that many came to in order to gain enlightenment and experience bliss. In the aspect that it was not the quietest, I agree with you. But I think it would do the city of Mecca injustice to call it a place of hostility. However, you are definitely right your observation that in most places where you go, the people are mean to you after you pass the chief province where revenue is collected. I had this same experience on my trip to Virginia. I also found the website to be very interesting. Great research and ideas!