What Role Does Malcolm X Play in American Islam?

Scholarly reference entry · Forthcoming

Complete citation

Emin Poljarević. “What Role Does Malcolm X Play in American Islam?” In Islam in Five Minutes, edited by Edith Szanto. Equinox, forthcoming 2026.

Publication status and type

Forthcoming; scholarly reference entry.

Overview

This scholarly reference entry examines Malcolm X’s significance for American Islam, racial justice, religious transformation, and Muslim political thought. It situates its subject within relevant historical, social, and intellectual contexts while connecting the particular case to wider questions of interpretation, institutional life, and collective action. The publication considers how concepts, actors, traditions, or political conditions acquire significance within changing social settings. Its scholarly contribution lies in placing a clearly defined research problem in a broader interdisciplinary conversation. Read alongside related publications, it also illuminates enduring questions about religion, political inquiry, ethical reasoning, social transformation, and the circumstances under which knowledge, belonging, and collective agency take shape in public life.

Research question or central concern

How can Malcolm X’s significance for American Islam, racial justice, religious transformation, and Muslim political thought be understood in context?

Main argument, approach, and contribution

A context-sensitive scholarly examination of Malcolm X’s significance for American Islam, racial justice, religious transformation, and Muslim political thought.

Keywords

Malcolm X; American Islam; racial justice; Black Muslim history; liberation theology.