He was born to Muslim immigrants from Pakistan.
But after the Ypsilanti teenager descended into alcohol abuse, he was lifted up by the words of Malcolm X -- a man usually seen as a paragon of black nationalism.
"I'm the product of his legacy," said Muddasar Tawakkul, now an assistant corporation counsel for Wayne County. "I went from smoking and drinking ... to cleaning myself up and disciplining myself."
It might seem surprising for Asian Americans and Arabs to follow a man who focused primarily on the empowerment of African-Americans. But Malcolm X was also a Muslim who increasingly sought connections with the Middle East and Asia in the last year of his life as he moved towards mainline Islam. And so today, a number of nonblack Muslims have turned toward the words of the Michigan-raised leader assassinated 40 years ago last month.
Tawakkual admires Malcolm X so much that he came up with the idea for a seminar on Malcolm's influence on Islam and America. It will be held Saturday in Detroit and features Ilyasah Shabazz, a daughter of the slain leader who has become a visible spokesperson for his family. Benjamin Karim, Malcolm's chief assistant at the time of his death, also plans to speak. It's an event that resonates for many in metro Detroit, where its large black, Arab and Muslim populations often intersect, especially when it involves the memory of Malcolm. [...]
| I enjoyed Niraj Warikoo's Detroit Free Press article "Malcolm X's impact felt across area"
posted in articles on March 4, 2005 2:58 PM | t (0)
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