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Why did Malcolm X adopt Sunni Islam after his pilgrimage to Mecca?
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Malcolm X
Prominent figure in the Nation of Islam Malcolm X, 1965.
Following his departure from the Nation of Islam in 1964, Malcolm X undertook the hajj—the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca. During this journey, he experienced a second conversion and embraced Sunni Islam.12
He adopted this faith because he came to believe that the solution to racial problems in the United States lay in orthodox Islam, rather than the separatist doctrines he had previously promoted. By renouncing the Nation of Islam's racial ideologies, he sought to move beyond the focus on civil rights toward a broader commitment to human rights, aiming to internationalize the plight of Black Americans and build solidarity with people across the developing world. Upon his conversion, he adopted the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.21