Of all the countries through which Malcolm X had been on his first world of tour, Sudan stood out as the most fascinating and captivating place on earth for the young man, and he remembered Sudan as the place that had left the greatest impression on him with regard to piety and culture, as a matter of fact, it was during his first visit to the Sudan that his ideas about Islam were first being challenged, leaving a long-lasting impressing in the heart and mind of the 34 year old minister.

Of all the countries through which Malcolm X had been on his first world tour, Sudan stood out as the most fascinating and captivating place on earth, and he remembered Sudan as the place that had left the greatest impression on him with regards to piety and culture. As a matter of fact, it was during his first visit to the Sudan that his ideas about Islam were first being challenged, leaving a long lasting impression in the heart and mind of the 34 year old minister. The ancient Nubian civilization and its cultural legacy had long captivated the imagination of the Nation of Islam. Occupying a venerated place in the mythology and worldview espoused by Elijah Muhammad, who first introduced this narrative to the African-American community through his famous book entitled message to the Black Man in America, in which the author declares that the tribe of Shabazz had originally appeared on Earth some 60 trillion years ago and had settled in the Nile Valley. Elijah Muhammad then informs his readership that the Tribe of Shabazz were an Afro Asiatic people who had constructed great pyramids in ancient times.

The said descendants of these mighty people were supposedly enslaved and transported to the Americas, where they eventually came to be known as the Lost Tribe of Shabazz. Malcolm X and several other leading figures within the Nation of Islam then began to openly identify themselves as members of the Shabazz clan, which is where his adopted surname was derived from. It was not surprising for Malcolm X to have developed such a fascination with the Sudan, considering the centrality of Nubia within Elijah Muhammad's mythology and that of other Afrocentric movements of the era. Cult leaders such as Doctor Malika York had famously declared himself a descendant of Sayid Abdul Rahman al-Mahdi, who was one of Sudan's leading religious and political figures during the Anglo Egyptian era of Sudan. Between 1898 and 1955.

For many who are strange to me, you are Nubian, you not Africans. I begin by taking the. You are Sudanese. You have a dress code? It just passed down from heaven to you. 

Following in the footsteps of Elijah Muhammad. Doctor York went on to establish his own cult, which he named the Nubians. Ever since then, a number of books, films, and organizations have arisen bearing variations of the word Nubia. In fact, many artists of the era and those who followed in their footsteps have incorporated Nubian instruments, subtle terminologies, and iconography into their songs, films and publications. The deep influence of Nubian symbolism and representation is still faintly detectable in contemporary African American artistic expression. Prior to his arrival in the Sudan, Malcolm X had already been in close correspondence with Malik Badri, a 27 year old Sudanese student who at the time was actively pursuing advanced studies in psychology. Malik Battery was Malcolm's local guide in the Sudan. The pair met outside a grand hotel in Khartoum before going on a tour of historic sites and cultural landmarks in Omdurman and Haughton. Malcolm's advanced knowledge of Nubian culture and history had quite impressed Malik Badri, who was astounded by Malcolm's special interest in the life and legacy of Muhammad al-Mahdi. In regards to him, Malcolm spoke with great enthusiasm and admiration. Mohamed al-Mahdi was the Nubian leader who launched a rebellion against Sudan, took over Egyptian rulers and defeated the British to create the Mahdi state media, which encompassed the regions between the Red Sea to Darfur between 1885 to 1899. However, when he visited the cartoon, Malcolm X expressed his disapproval with the presence of Caucasians there, informing Malik Battery of his discomfort with the false propaganda being promoted as fact by Caucasians back in America, who had insisted that the continent of Africa and its peoples were without any culture or civilization, prompting Malcolm to bring a journal and a camera to the Sudan in order to gather intelligence and to document his findings pertaining to the real history and the legacy of ancient artifacts and monuments still present in Nubia. Malcolm was hoping to return back to America with firsthand experience and evidence with which to dispel the misconceptions about Africa, and to educate his people about the glorious civilizations that had once flourished on the continent.

Malcolm X was a great proponent and student of history. He considered knowledge of the past to be a very critical and powerful means by which to empower people who had for so long been deprived and denied knowledge of their true selves. Malcolm X's interest in the landscape and culture of Sudan was evident in the large number of photographs he took, and the film footage he recorded during his stay there. However, Malcolm X's ideology and worldview at the time had been entirely shaped by Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. This was evident to his local guide, Malik Badri, who was very much aware of these theological divergences between Sunni Islam and the theology of the Nation of Islam. Although Malcolm X's Sudanese company was concerned with the interpretation of Islam being propagated by Malcolm and that of the nation itself, the young man did not instigate any debates or overtly challenged Malcolm about his beliefs. Instead, he subtly conveyed the core Islamic tenets of the head that is, the absolute unity of God, which is central to Islamic theology. Malik would share photographs of some of the children he had been teaching basic Islamic lessons to, all the while explaining these fundamental theological concepts to Malcolm as they looked at the photographs together. Despite his youth and inexperience, Malik was very sensible and considerate in his approach.

Rather than cut at the roots of what he believed to be a heretical manifestation of Islam. Malik decided instead to embed a few seeds of contemplation into Malcolm's fertile and inquisitive mind, which in time would grow and blossom. It was these seeds that in fact took root and eventually blossomed in the heart and mind of Malcolm X five years later, when he officially severed ties with the Nation of Islam and embraced Sunni Islam. The suggested tea and grace experienced by Malcolm in his interaction with Malik Badri in 1959, left an indelible mark of respect and admiration in Malcolm's memory, as he would later continue to praise the people of Sudan for their loving kindness, genuine piety, and their unwavering solidarity with the plight of African Americans. His travel diaries and letters are replete with hearty references to the Sudanese, and in what he referred to as their quiet confidence. Malcolm X even makes an entry in his journal, stating that he would never cease to be impressed by the Sudanese. 

Malcolm's international assignment and journey through the Middle East and Africa in 1959 was primarily orchestrated in order to establish and publicize the Nation of Islam s credibility as a real Muslim organization that was affiliated with leading Islamic organizations across the world. Yet, despite the fact that several Sunni organizations and public figures within the United States were fully aware of the Nation of Islam heterodox theology and beliefs, very few people condemned them publicly or challenged them in regard to their unorthodox statements and racial theories. At that time, the only known orthodox Sunni Muslim to openly challenge Elijah Muhammad and his Nation of Islam was Yahia Hira. He was another young Sudanese man who was in the United States in pursuit of advanced studies at the University of Pennsylvania. According to records, Yahaya maintained direct correspondence with Malcolm X during his time within the Nation of Islam. It was in 1962 that the Yahaya authored a sharp refutation of Elijah Muhammad. The brazen denunciation of Elijah Muhammad was published by the Pittsburgh Courier, prompting Malcolm X to take on the challenge in defense of his mentor's honor. Malcolm X personally responded to hiring in a private letter before publicly chastising him via the same newspaper publication the Pittsburgh Courier were in. Malcolm criticized Yahaya for his colonialist minded outlook on race relations, before criticizing him for having adopted the American mentality instead of maintaining his own cultural identity. Though well-intentioned yet, his public and confronted approach was apparently ineffective, as it had only fueled debate and hostility between himself and Malcolm X. Unlike the more genteel exegesis approach that Malik battery had applied with Malcolm back in the Sudan. Although we do not know to what extent your higher is open challenge had influenced Malcolm to look into Sunni theology, Hyori was certainly not going to be the last Sudanese student who would cross paths with Malcolm X in such a brazen and confronted manner. Whether it was the kind and considerate approach of Malik Battery or the bold and challenging tone of Yahaya.

Malcolm would maintain regular correspondence with Sudanese students who would inevitably express their concerns to him regarding his theology and the message he was preaching on behalf of the Nation of Islam. In the same year in which Yahya openly challenged Elijah Muhammad teachings. Yet another Sudanese student entered into the fray and would soon cross paths with Malcolm X, though this time the encounter would be far more personal and unabashedly critical. It would seem as if with each subsequent encounter, Malcolm Sudanese counterparts were becoming less and less subtle with their concerns and grievances. Malcolm's third encounter with a Sudanese student was when he met Ahmed, Said Dick Osman, a native of Elgin, which is a Nubian village situated approximately 20km south of Abu Simbel. Ahmed Osman was a prodigious and gifted student who drew the attention of key American institutions when he was selected to represent the Sudan in the New York Tribune's World Youth Forum, before attending the University of Khartoum and securing scholarships to pursue advanced studies in America at the universities of Brandis and Dartmouth. Ahmed finally settled with the offer of Dartmouth College, on the condition that he would spend all his vacations with an American family as part of the program. Ahmed Siddiq Osman arrived in the United States in the autumn of 1962, aged approximately 20 years old. The young scholar was well informed about the plight of African people across the world, and more so in America. He was also aware of the teachings of the Nation of Islam prior to meeting with Malcolm X in person. Ahmed's first direct encounter with Malcolm X was on a Sunday afternoon in July 1963, where he and a friend were walking near Muhammad's Temple Number seven in Harlem, where Malcolm served as a minister and used to deliver public lectures to large audiences. It so happened that Malcolm was engaged in delivering a four hour lecture to approximately 500 congregants, while Ahmed and his friend passed by the venue and decided to enter. Out of curiosity, Ahmed joined the audience and was captivated by Malcolm's charisma and intelligence. However, towards the end of the lecture, Ahmed raised his hand and challenged Malcolm X in regard to his radical racial theories, supposedly based on the teachings of the Koran.

Having recognized Ahmed to be yet another Sudanese student, Malcolm X reassured the crowd and encouraged the young questioner to continue with his line of inquiry after informing him that he too had studied the history of the African continent and its ancient civilizations, which included those of the mighty empires that arose within the Nile Valley, including the Nubian and Kushite empires, the Exmouth Empire, and the great Sudan empires. In fact, Malcolm even recounted his visit to the University of Um-dearborn and have had college, which was Sudan's first university for women. Malcolm recounted how he drew inspiration and had great admiration for the Sudanese youth, whose support for fellow African nations striving for independence from the colonial powers would be manifest through student led protests and open denunciation of the racist apartheid system, which was being practiced in South Africa. While decrying the brutality of the racist policies in Congo that had resulted in the brutal assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Malcolm's words resonated deeply with Ahmed, city councilman, who was himself a high school student during the first wave of African decolonization and was an active participant in those demonstrations through the streets of Hartwell. However, Ahmed did not forgo his rare opportunity to correct Malcolm X before the congregation, as he wanted to challenge the idea that the Koran endorsed the notion of the white race or any other race being referred to as the devil. Malcolm cheerfully accepted Ahmed's challenge and proceeded to read the following verse from a copy of an English translation, which he had attained.

Malcolm X had always been taught by his mentors in the Nation of Islam that this verse was in specific reference to the European race. Ahmed, a native Arabic speaker, boldly challenged Malcolm's interpretation of the word zarqa, insisting that it was not meant to be interpreted with the distorted meaning by which the Nation of Islam were conveying to the people. Malcolm X was so impressed by Ahmed Osman's audacity and courage, before the unsettled audience of almost 500 people that he was not intimidated by the challenge and signaled to the audience to calm down and allow Ahmed to continue with his questioning. Though the young Sudanese student was not convinced with the racist theology of Malcolm X, he was nevertheless impressed by the remarkable grace with which Malcolm articulated his thoughts while maintaining his composure. Following the encounter, Malcolm X exchanged correspondence details with Ahmed Osman, and the two became friends from that day onwards. They would maintain contact and confide in one another for the rest of Malcolm's life. Ahmed said Dick Osman is even referenced in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and was later solicited by spike Lee for the role of lead consultant in the film. However, due to the unexpected invasion of Kuwait at the time, Ahmed Osman was not accessible as he was in the process of leaving Kuwait for Saudi Arabia. He also lost many of the personal letters and correspondences that had been left in his home during the war. Sadly, his insights, archives and experiences with Malcolm X never made it into the movie. As the two men continued to exchange thoughts and ideas by mail, Osman would send literature from the Islamic Center of Geneva, which was established in 1961 by Sir Ramadan, the son in law of Hassanal Belder, who was the ideological founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ahmed Osman continued to send such literature to Malcolm, encouraging him to learn more about true Islam. Malcolm was very impressed by the ideas and principles he was studying through these publications, and would request more books and pamphlets. While on his travels, Malcolm would consult Ahmed Osman about the Arabic verses in the Koran, for which he sought clearer insights from a native speaker of the language. In one such correspondence, dated November 13th, 1963, Malcolm requested Ahmed's help in translating two Arabic verses into English, one of which was the same verse he had quoted as evidence for the white man being the devil. When Ahmed Osman had challenged him in front of his congregation on April 20th, 1964, Malcolm wrote the following letter to his friend Ahmed Osman. [00:19:12][176.1]

Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood, as it was practiced by the people of all colors and races here, and that ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Mahomet, and all other prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.

Fowards his final days in Mecca, Malcolm X was recognized by a group of Sudanese pilgrims who embraced him enthusiastically and informed him that his friend Malik Battery, the young psychologist who had hosted Malcolm in Sudan during his 1959 visit to the country, had now become a leading professor and a prominent academic at the American University of Beirut. Malcolm then rearranged his plans to accommodate a short trip to the Sudan, where he would reunite with his comrade, Doctor Malik. Battery know that the seeds of wisdom he had gently planted into Malcolm's mind, by means of the most subtle and considerate words, had finally taken root and blossomed. However, the seeds the Doctor Malik battery had planted in Malcolm's mind were soon to be watered and nourished by the protective rays of light emanating from another prominent Sudanese acquaintance of Malcolm X, who is described in Malcolm's own travel journals as having been a tall, black, alert and commanding man whose piercing intellect and authoritative presence earned him the unofficial recognition among his peers as the real King of the Hejaz. His Excellency Muhammad saw Sabeen embodied all the attributes that Malcolm X admired and respected in a man. Saban inspired such hope and admiration in the mind of Malcolm X, that he planned to rename his own mosque after the minister in hopes of empowering the African American community through the example of Muhammad saw the burn.

 Everyone respects Mohammed or Saba. I've heard several say he's the real King of the Hejaz.

 In chapter 18 of Malcolm's autobiography, mention is made of his encounter with a Sudanese high official who hugged him and said, you champion the American black people. Though the actual name of this Sudanese man was not identified in the final publication, notes in Malcolm's personal travel journal revealed, the name of the Sudanese official Mohamed zero seven. Mohamed, zero seven, was a leading minister serving in the Saudi kingdom's Ministry of Finance, becoming the first ever person to hold the position in Saudi history. Sir Bernard was also a member of the Saudi political elite, who had very close ties to the King and his royal family. An accomplished poet, intellectual and a patron of sports across Saudi Arabia. Mohamed Salah Roseburn captivated Malcolm's attention and became a living testament to the kingdom's commitment to racial inclusivity, even at the highest echelons of power, something that was not imaginable at the time within America's elite political hierarchies. However, the fascination was not unrequited. Mohammed zero seven was equally impressed by Malcolm's life story and by his resilience, intelligence and courage as a fellow black man who had managed to survive under the system of oppression and discrimination that had crushed so many others. Sir Ben took Malcolm under his wing and leveraged his position within the Muslim World League, where he also served as the organization's first secretary general. Mohammed Saw sir Ben also appointed a guide for Malcolm in the person of Share. Ahmed Hassen, an erudite and what accomplished Islamic scholar from the Sudan. Shia Ahmed Hassan had an illustrious career in Saudi Arabia, having been appointed to teach at Mecca's Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram for approximately 35 years before being charged with accompanying and teaching Malcolm X personally acting as Malcolm's mentor, mufti and guide. During the final months in Malcolm's life, it is possible that Shia Ahmed Hassen had been especially assigned with the task of teaching and accompanying Malcolm X through the remainder of his life. Given the fact that the Shia had authored several books in English and Arabic and was fluent in both languages. Additionally, Sheikh Hassan had also a sizable following in Britain and America, which could have been of vital importance for Malcolm's development and growth as a Sunni Muslim imam and representative. Despite his very central and direct influence on Malcolm's latter stages of development, and in his new identity as a Sunni Muslim, Western historians and academics have largely neglected or paid very little attention to the background and life of Ahmed Hassen, who may have been the closest and most influential person in Malcolm's life following his famous pilgrimage in 1964. 

She, her son was born in the year 1898 and belonged to a prominent family in the Sudan. He attended Gordon Memorial College in his youth before being hired as a postman. In fact, Chair Hassell was very well known to Doctor Malik Badri as he remembered him from his childhood days in Sudan. Like most people in the Sudan Share Ahmed Hassen belonged to a family who were deeply rooted in Sufism. One of his brothers was exceptionally committed to Sufi teachings and rituals. At the time, Ahmed was not particularly religious, and he spent much of his early adult life raising his family alongside his wife, Zainab Hassan Abdul Jalil, who taught at the Radical Don't Go to School. As one of the first Sudanese teachers to teach Arabic and English to schoolgirls in the Sudan. The couple gave birth to seven sons and three daughters together. It was only upon his return from his pilgrimage to Mecca that Cher affirmed her soul had a profound epiphany and found a new commitment to Islam. He was reportedly going through a rapid transformation and had begun memorizing passages from the Koran. Wearing traditional Islamic gowns instead of his usual European attire, and took to preaching the message of fear which he had come into contact with whilst in Saudi Arabia. Sher Ahmed has soon soon enrolled himself into a local Salafi organization known as the Answer Sunnah Salafi Group, which will learn to propagate the virtues of Salafi while also challenging the teachings and rituals practiced by certain Sufi fraternities. Ahmed Salafi identity was certainly at odds with the conventional values and principles practiced by his own family. However, he never stopped visiting and interacting with his relatives. Despite their unwavering commitment to Sufism. It has been reported that Shah Ahmed has soon became more and more discontent and vocal about the British colonization of the Sudan.

He was especially concerned with the overt racial segregation laws that had been imposed on the Sudanese by the British administration, who had forced travel restrictions prohibiting people of the south of Sudan from traveling to the north, except for very few rare exceptions. Likewise, the inhabitants of Sudan's northern regions were not permitted to travel to the south without a permit issued by the British. Which meant that she soon was unable to travel to the southern regions. In order to convey that the message of Islam to its people share. Ahmed her soon grew tired of the situation, which only became more complicated with the outbreak of civil wars and infighting. Therefore, he decided to leave Sudan and emigrated to Saudi Arabia instead, finding employment as a teacher in Mecca's Grand Mosque, where he would continue to teach for 35 years. Sher Ahmed Hassen was a man of many talents and was known for his passion for literature and languages. In addition to English and Arabic. He spoke a number of Sudanese dialects and also enjoyed reciting Arabic and Sudanese poetry. Following his appointment as Malcolm's personal guide and teacher, Shah Ahmed has soon accompanied his students back to New York, where he served as the resident mufti. She has lived in the Theresa Hotel building with Malcolm's headquarters and offices for the Muslim Mosque Incorporated relocated. It was also where Malcolm had famously hosted Fidel Castro when he visited Harlem. According to those around him, Chef Ahmed Hassell was a jovial and very humorous man who delivered Islamic lectures and classes at the Muslim Mosque and in churches, as well as on the streets of Harlem. During his brief stay in the United States, Shah hasn't worked diligently to spread the Sunni teachings across several communities and is still remembered by the elders in Harlem, who described him as resembling the prophet Moses. As he traveled on foot down 125th Street, dressed in a white gown turban holding his walking stick. Sheikh Ahmed experience and Knowledge as a senior scholar of Islam, was a great resource for Malcolm's inquisitive and relentless mind. He now had direct and unrestricted access to a qualified elder, who was fluent in Arabic and adequately equipped to answer all of Malcolm's pressing questions pertaining to certain verses of the glorious Koran, for which he had previously relied on the correspondence and translations of his friend Ahmed Osman, for example, in reference to one of two Quranic verses seemingly prohibiting Muslims from becoming friends with Christians and Jews. Contrary to the interpretations and meanings attributed to this Koranic verse. Malcolm came to learn from his share, Ahmed Hassam, that Muslims were indeed permitted to work alongside Christians and Jews for the common good of society, further emphasizing the fact that both the Torah and the gospel were essentially considered sacred texts as per the core teachings of Islam. This new outlook on Islam and his teachings opened Malcolm to a new perspective that had a direct and transformative influence over his rapidly evolving thoughts and on his outlook, until his views on race and religion were in close alignment with those of his erudite and experienced guide and mentor. Ahmed has some who contributed heavily towards Malcolm's more inclusive and co-operative strategies, and willingness to work with members of the Christian and Caucasian community towards the common good of American society. However, Malcolm remained determined on the principle that he was not prepared to force himself upon anyone who was not ready to reciprocate his enthusiasm or share his objectives. Malcolm remained very loyal to his black nationalist roots. 

In 1959, I visited Khartoum, an optimist in the Sudan, and I also visited the Muslims in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and Arabia. I was most impressed by the Muslims of the Sudan. Their religious piety and hospitality are unmatched anywhere. I really felt at heaven and at home there. 

(source: HISTORYUN)