Malcolm X at 100 : When Malcolm visited Gaza

On this day, May 19, a hundred years ago, Malcolm Little was born in Nebraska.
He would later become known as Malcolm X, and eventually as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz — a pioneering Black African American Muslim activist who emerged as a global icon in the struggle for human rights and justice.

On the occasion of his 100th birthday, I believe it’s the right moment to revisit the op-ed he wrote for The Egyptian Gazette following his visit to Gaza in September 1964, just months before his assassination in February 1965. 

The article, titled “Zionist Logic,” remains a powerful reflection of his evolving worldview.

I will be sharing it with you.
I only wish The Egyptian Gazette’s remarkable archives were available online.

Zionist Logic

By Malcolm X

The Zionist armies that now occupy Palestine claim their ancient Jewish prophets predicted that in the "last days of this world" their own God would raise them up a "messiah" who would lead them to their promised land, and they would set up their own "divine" government in this newly-gained land, this "divine" government would enable them to "rule all other nations with a rod of iron."

If the Israeli Zionists believe their present occupation of Arab Palestine is the fulfillment of predictions made by their Jewish prophets, then they also religiously believe that Israel must fulfill its "divine" mission to rule all other nations with a rod of irons, which only means a different form of iron-like rule, more firmly entrenched even, than that of the former European Colonial Powers.

These Israeli Zionists religiously believe their Jewish God has chosen them to replace the outdated European colonialism with a new form of colonialism, so well disguised that it will enable them to deceive the African masses into submitting willingly to their "divine" authority and guidance, without the African masses being aware that they are still colonized.

Camouflage

The Israeli Zionists are convinced they have successfully camouflaged their new kind of colonialism. Their colonialism appears to be more "benevolent," more "philanthropic," a system with which they rule simply by getting their potential victims to accept their friendly offers of economic "aid," and other tempting gifts, that they dangle in front of the newly-independent African nations, whose economies are experiencing great difficulties. During the 19th century, when the masses here in Africa were largely illiterate it was easy for European imperialists to rule them with "force and fear," but in this present era of enlightenment the African masses are awakening, and it is impossible to hold them in check now with the antiquated methods of the 19th century.

The imperialists, therefore, have been compelled to devise new methods. Since they can no longer force or frighten the masses into submission, they must devise modern methods that will enable them to maneuver the African masses into willing submission.

The modern 20th century weapon of neo-imperialism is "dollarism." The Zionists have mastered the science of dollarism: the ability to come posing as a friend and benefactor, bearing gifts and all other forms of economic aid and offers of technical assistance. Thus, the power and influence of Zionist Israel in many of the newly "independent" African nations has fast-become even more unshakeable than that of the 18th century European colonialists...and this new kind of Zionist colonialism differs only in form and method, but never in motive or objective.

At the close of the 19th century when European imperialists wisely foresaw that the awakening masses of Africa would not submit to their old method of ruling through force and fears, these ever-scheming imperialists had to create a "new weapon," and to find a "new base" for that weapon.

Dollarism

The number one weapon of 20th century imperialism is Zionist dollarism, and one of the main bases for this weapon is Zionist Israel. The ever-scheming European imperialists wisely placed Israel where she could geographically divide the Arab world, infiltrate and sow the seed of dissension among African leaders and also divide the Africans against the Asians.

Zionist Israel's occupation of Arab Palestine has forced the Arab world to waste billions of precious dollars on armaments, making it impossible for these newly independent Arab nations to concentrate on strengthening the economies of their countries and elevate the living standard of their people.

And the continued low standard of living in the Arab world has been skillfully used by the Zionist propagandists to make it appear to the Africans that the Arab leaders are not intellectually or technically qualified to lift the living standard of their people...thus, indirectly inducing Africans to turn away from the Arabs and towards the Israelis for teachers and technical assistance.

"They cripple the bird's wing, and then condemn it for not flying as fast as they."

The imperialists always make themselves look good, but it is only because they are competing against economically crippled newly independent countries whose economies are actually crippled by the Zionist-capitalist conspiracy. They can't stand against fair competition, thus they dread Gamal Abdul Nasser's call for African-Arab Unity under Socialism.

Messiah?

If the "religious" claim of the Zionists is true that they were to be led to the promised land by their messiah, and Israel's present occupation of Arab Palestine is the fulfillment of that prophesy: where is their messiah whom their prophets said would get the credit for leading them there? It was [United Nations mediator] Ralph Bunche who "negotiated" the Zionists into possession of Occupied Palestine! Is Ralph Bunche the messiah of Zionism? If Ralph Bunche is not their messiah, and their messiah has not yet come, then what are they doing in Palestine ahead of their messiah?

Did the Zionists have the legal or moral right to invade Arab Palestine, uproot its Arab citizens from their homes and seize all Arab property for themselves just based on the "religious" claim that their forefathers lived there thousands of years ago? Only a thousand years ago the Moors lived in Spain. Would this give the Moors of today the legal and moral right to invade the Iberian Peninsula, drive out its Spanish citizens, and then set up a new Moroccan nation...where Spain used to be, as the European Zionists have done to our Arab brothers and sisters in Palestine?

In short the Zionist argument to justify Israel's present occupation of Arab Palestine has no intelligent or legal basis in history...not even in their own religion. Where is their Messiah?

Published in The Egyptian Gazette

Cairo, September 17, 1964.

Malcolm X in Gaza

Few are aware that Malcolm X visited Palestine twice. His first visit was in 1959, during which he toured the West Bank and Jerusalem. Details of this trip remain scarce.

In early September 1964, while travelling in Egypt, Malcolm X visited Gaza, then under Egyptian administration, for a two-day trip. On September 5, he crossed into Gaza, where he visited the Khan Younis refugee camp. There, he met renowned Palestinian poet Harun Hashim Rashid, who recounted his harrowing escape from the 1956 Khan Younis massacre.

This encounter profoundly impacted Malcolm, revealing aspects of the Palestinian struggle previously unknown to him.

Rashid accompanied Malcolm throughout his visit to Gaza, which included stops at a local hospital and meetings with religious leaders, notably Gaza's chief judge at the time, Sheikh Muhammad Bseiso. Impressed by Malcolm's knowledge and humility, Judge Bseiso ensured he was present during Malcolm's tours of Gaza's mosques and national institutions.

On September 6, Malcolm visited Gaza's parliamentary building and held a press conference with various local figures. After his visit, Judge Bseiso personally escorted him to the Arish airport in Egypt. As Malcolm boarded his plane, he turned to those gathered and declared, "We shall return! We shall return!"

The sole surviving photograph from Malcolm's Gaza tour captures his handshake with Sheikh Muhammad Bseiso. 

Malcolm X and Sheikh Muhammad Bseiso of Gaza 

Regrettably, other photographs that may have documented this significant visit could have been lost amidst the ongoing Israeli genocide that continues to erase everything Palestinian in the strip, especially heritage and history.

In his memoirs, Poet Harun Hashim Rashid wrote: "Malcolm X came to Gaza with a strong desire to understand the Palestinian cause. He was a true Muslim who shed tears multiple times upon hearing of the Palestinians' tragedies. He was a humanist and a Muslim in essence."

Following his return to Cairo, on September 15, 1964, Malcolm met with members of the newly formed Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including its co-founder, Ahmad al-Shukeiri, at Cairo’s Shepheard Hotel. The next day, The Egyptian Gazette published Malcolm's op-ed titled “The Zionist Logic,” wherein he articulated his views on Zionism and its implications.

Despite the significance of these events, the U.S. mainstream media has largely overlooked Malcolm X's visit to Gaza and the transformative personal and spiritual journey he undertook through the Middle East and West Africa in 1964.

The U.S. mainstream media has long ignored Malcolm X’s transformative journey—a journey that took him from being a member of an Afrocentric cult to becoming a true Muslim who saw the world beyond the narrow confines of American media narratives and the deep-rooted racism of both white supremacy and reactionary Afrocentrism.

I believe that this very trip—through Egypt, Gaza, and other parts of the Muslim world—was one of the key reasons someone decided he had to be silenced. He was no longer just the “angry Black militant” stereotype imposed on him, but a sophisticated, globally conscious thinker and activist gaining international recognition.

Yet, to this day, the U.S. mainstream narrative continues to trap Malcolm X in that limited frame: the angry, militant, ex-cult member who had a falling-out with Elijah Muhammad. They focus almost exclusively on the few years Malcolm spent as a convicted felon, rarely mentioning that he was the son of two committed Black activists.

His father, Earl Little, was a local leader in Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and his mother, Louise Little, served as the branch secretary and reporter, contributing to the Negro World newspaper. Together, they instilled in their children a deep sense of self-reliance and Black pride.

Malcolm himself once stated that four of his uncles were killed by white violence. In 1926, due to threats from the Ku Klux Klan—who considered Earl’s activism “troublemaking”—the family was forced to move, first to Milwaukee and then to Michigan. 

There, they faced constant harassment from the white supremacist Black Legion, whom Earl accused of burning down their home in 1929. When Malcolm was just six years old, his father died in what authorities called a streetcar accident, but his mother always believed it was a politically motivated murder by the Black Legion.

I only came to learn all of this from his Wikipedia page, because most mainstream outlets begin his story at the point where he was introduced to the Nation of Islam and its controversial leader, Elijah Muhammad, while serving time in prison. 

But Malcolm Little was already an activist in the making. The seeds were planted by his parents—he simply needed direction.

He never glorified his criminal past. In fact, he openly disavowed it. Yet media portrayals continue to focus on the image of a violent, angry ex-convict turned cult militant.

And yet, despite all of this, Malcolm X has outlived his enemies—whether in the Nation of Islam, the FBI, or the CIA—through the power of his ideas. You can kill a man, but you cannot kill a truth whose time has come.