Islam leader speaks on Malcolm X

When Malcolm X went to Mecca, he drank from the same glass, ate from the same plate and prayed next to fellow Muslims who ranged from Africans to those with the bluest eyes and blondest hair.

Athar, the U.S. representative for the World Muslim Congress and a clinical associate professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, spoke as part of the 7th annual Malcolm X Memorial Lecture in celebration of Black History Month.

"The skin color you see is nothing more than the clothes you wear. The flesh is the same. The bones are the same," he said.

A recognized expert in Islam, Athar, a native of India, has written more than 60 articles on Islam.

Malcolm X was a leader in the fight for freedom to end racial discrimination. He was assassinated in 1965 soon after his pilgrimage to Mecca. Although before his conversion Malcolm X despised whites because of hundreds of years of racial discrimination, Athar said the pilgrimage erased his past and made Malcolm embrace his Muslim brothers from all races.

Athar said if people could "accept the oneness of God," they would be able to accept the oneness of human beings. Although this was the goal of Malcolm in the years before his death, Athar said sometimes he cannot sleep at night for fear the dream will not be realized.

"My greatest worry is that we will have Bosnia in this country," he said. "What will happen to my children when I leave this world?"

To prevent a situation of violent, ethnic cleansing taking place in America, Athar believes the "oneness" of Islam can unite all races.

"More and more African-Americans are turning toward Islam," he said. "More and more immigrant Muslims are embracing their African-American brothers."

Because Malcolm is often called the "prince of Islam in North America," Ken Clarke, acting director for the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs, said the center sponsored the speech to give an Islamic perspective on Malcolm.

"He had a global vision in the last 11 months of his life," Clarke said. It was around this time that Malcolm left the Nation of Islam to further a broader political agenda and to fight against oppression for all.

Majida Mehana (graduate-education) said the most important part of the speech was the importance of people from all races joining together.

"Either we are going to do it or we are gonna be destroyed," she said.

The event was sponsored by the Center For Ethics and Religious Affairs.