Last night, as part of Islam Awareness Week, Zaheer Ali of Columbia University, spoke to a group of Penn State students about Malcolm X and the evolution of his conversion to Islam.

The Muslim Student Association sponsored the speech, which preceded another speech by Ali entitled "Islam and the African-American Experience."

The speech focused on the evolution of Malcolm X's ideals in regards to his religion. Ali spoke about events in Malcolm X's life that led to his acceptance of the teachings of the Nation of Islam, a movement known for rejecting the idea of white supremacy and promoting black nationalism. It was also criticized for being a black separatist group, he said.

"Malcolm is known now as the man who called the white man the devil," Ali said.

This changed when Malcolm X traveled to Mecca, from where he sent a letter back to the United States in which his ideals had obviously changed. He wrote to promote the "redemption, reformation, and internationalism" of Islam, and a "secular campaign for justice," Ali said.

"He didn't want religion to be the reason that people did not pursue justice," Ali said.

Ali referred to Malcolm X as Martin Luther King Jr.'s "iconic equal," saying that Malcolm X was to black nationalism what King was to integration. He also compared the letter sent by Malcolm X from Mecca to King's "I have a dream" speech, because both show the men's softer, non-challenging sides.

About 25 people attended the speech, a few of which participated in a question and answer session with Ali afterward.

"It promotes diversity," said Danielle Wallick (freshman-elementary education), who found out about the speech from an English teacher.