The Political Theology of Malcolm X: Between Human Dignity and Returning the Gaze

Research output

Complete citation

Poljarević, Emin. “The Political Theology of Malcolm X: Between Human Dignity and Returning the Gaze.” Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift 96, no. 1 (2020): 11–27.

Status

Published (2020)

Publication type

Peer-reviewed journal article

Overview

This article interprets Malcolm X as a political-theological thinker whose struggle for Black freedom joined religious transformation to human dignity, moral resistance, and the recovery of agency. The phrase “returning the gaze” captures his refusal of racial domination’s power to define the oppressed and his insistence that unjust social orders themselves be subjected to ethical judgment. The analysis follows the interaction between Malcolm’s Islamic commitments, critique of white supremacy, and evolving internationalism. It argues that his significance exceeds conventional categories of activism or nationalism: his public thought offers a practical theology of liberation formed through conversion, disciplined self-reconstruction, solidarity, and truth-telling. The article contributes to political theology by treating Malcolm X as a constructive Muslim voice on dignity, domination, and emancipatory agency.

Research question or central concern

How does Malcolm X’s Islamic thought transform experiences of racial domination into a political theology of dignity, resistance, and agency?

Main argument, approach, and contribution

Through interpretive analysis of Malcolm X’s religious and political development, the article argues that returning the gaze is an emancipatory practice that exposes domination and reconstructs moral subjectivity.

Keywords

Malcolm X; political theology; human dignity; Islam; Black liberation; moral resistance; agency

Related publications

Malik al-Shabazz’s Practice of Self-Liberation
Towards an Understanding of the Political Theology of Malcolm X
Malcolm X and Blackamerican Islamic Liberation Theology