Islamic Discussion Thread ٥: Free Tajweed, Absolutely Halaal

[Insaanistan]

On the topic of the Moors...

I think a basic problem here lies in attempting to interpreting a historical term via modern concepts of ethnicity and nationality.

In the historical sense, it's a European term - not a term used by North Africans or Muslims - used to describe the Muslims of the Maghreb, Spain, and the insular Western Mediterranean (the Balearics, Sicily, Malta, etc.) in the medieval period. It's not supposed to be an ethnological term in the modern sense, and was never used to categorise people on the basis of their skin tone - only their religion and geographical origin.

The link between 'moor' and 'black' in the English language is down to a combination of Shakespeare and the early modern 'blackamoor' art style (the latter term is now considered offensive; I only use it in a narrow historical context). But this is a largely post-medieval phenomenon.

As far as Shakespeare is concerned, it's down to Othello; the Moor of Venice is explicitly portrayed as black, and his race is integral to the play. But in Elizabethan England didn't automatically classify moors as black. Elizabeth's government was actively seeking a Moroccan alliance as a counterweight to Catholic Spain, and the most prominent 'Moor' in Elizabethan England was Muhammed al-Annuri, a white Morisco (Spanish convert to Islam) who allowed his portrait to be painted despite the Islamic prohibition on figurative art. So Shakespeare wasn't reacting to an existing cultural understanding; instead Othello essentially reifies the Black / Moor connection in the English imagination. See Jeremy Brotton's 2016 book This Orient Isle; Elizabethan England and the Islamic World for a more detailed discussion.

"Blackamoor" art is a form of originally 17th- and 18th-century decorative art that portrays Black Africans, usually in stylised positions that are problematic in modern terms. Many of them wear turbans, so seem to be based on an assumption that at least some of them are supposed to be Muslims. But note the qualifier in the name; the very use of the prefix "black" before "moor" demonstrates that both producers and consumers knew that not all Moors were black; only that some of them were.

So it's important to understand three points of historical linguistics when discussing any potential link between 'Moor' and 'Black': 1) no such link existed or was intended when the term was first used, or for the majority of the period when the term was in common use; 2) in English, the link between the two is a largely post-medieval phenomenon; and 3) other European languages often conceptualise the term differently, or allow it a range of meanings depending on sociocultural context.

Indeed. And the idea of Othello has changed over the centuries: some performances have portrayed him as an Arab, Berber or Turk who converted to Christianity. Some modern ones portray him as a black man pretending to be Muslim while in private actively practicing Islam.

[Insaanistan]

The Spaniards and Portuguese got a head start in the invasion of the Americas and subjugation of its peoples. Indeed, the pope even drew a line on the map that basically gave Spain all of one side and Portugal all of the other (this would also surprisingly lead to the Falklands War). And as natives began dying, they employed (read bought and/or captured) Africans to work as slaves in the Americas. These empires would eventually ban Muslims from the Americas altogether. One would assume because of historical conflict with the Muslims: after all, the Moors had ruled them for 700, and they engaged in the Reconquista to kick them out. However, the reason isn’t that. It’s that Muslim slaves revolted too much.

The first recorded slave revolt in the Americas was orchestrated by 20 African Muslims on Christmas of 1522, when Christopher Columbus’s son governed Hispaniola. They killed several Spaniards and freed many Native American slaves there. Despite the fact it quickly was suppressed, it scared the recently crowned King Charles V of Spain, who ordered they begin to stop accepting Muslim slaves. Many ignored the warnings: Muslim slaves were more likely to be educated, skilled and literate, making them more valuable. However, the Spanish, Portuguese and French seemed to often forget this made them more dangerous. Literate and skilled, and motivated by the anti-slavery messages of the Qur’ân, Muslim slaves would often be the ringleaders of slave revolts. May 11, 1526, the Spanish Crown sent decreed that Spaniards should not import “black Wolof slaves, or those from the Levant, or those raised with Muslims.”

The Maroons were slaves who had run away from their slavers and set up their own communities, and often, their own militias. In the communities, Islam and animism were practiced freely, as opposed to the faiths they were forced to practice. One noticeable exception was Haiti. Called Saint Domingue at the time, the French were incredibly cruel, often not even bothering to feed the slaves because they died so quickly from the harsh conditions, opting instead to just purchase new ones. But one thing they did do was allow them religious services, be they Catholic, voudou or Muslim. What they didn’t count on was these ceremonies being breeding ground for revolution. The man who started the Haitian Revolution was Dutty Boukman. Kidnapped from Senegambia, he was taken to Jamaica by the British, then illegally brought to Saint-Domingue. He was called “Boukman” as a pronunciation of “Book Man”, or “Man of the Book.” In West Africa even today, both “Book Man” and “Man of the Book” are commonly used to refer to huffaz, people who have memorized the Qur’ân. Boukman practiced a syncretic version of Islam, and is often portrayed as a voudou priest. The ceremony where he started the Haitian Revolution is commonly known as Bois Caïman, meaning in Kreyol “Alligator Forest”. However, it’s actual name has been found to be “Bwa Kaye Imam”, Creole for “the Forest by the Imam’s House”. In his speech, he would claim his God and “the God of the whites” were not the same, and he encouraged the slaves to revolt and “cast off” Christianity, at least Christianity as practiced by the French. According to some, the date of Bwa Kaye Imam corresponds with when Ēid al-Fitr was that year, and that Boukman sacrificed either a white pig (signifying the French), or a black lamb (possibly signifying the subservience of Africans, possibly as part of Ēid celebration.)

Sylviane Diouf writes in Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas, “Direct trade [to the Americas] with the African coast was forbidden for fear that with Africans coming straight from Africa, Islam would find its way into the new colonies. … The Crown’s fears were well expressed in a royal order of 1543, which stated that the Muslims should not be introduced to Spain’s American possessions because “in a new land like this one where faith is only recently being sowed, it is necessary  not to allow to spread there the sect of Mahomet [Islam] or any other.” … After the first slave uprising in the New World, led by the Wolof in 1522, a royal decree of May 11, 1526, specifically forbade the introduction of “Gelofes” (Wolof), negros (blacks) from the Levant (or Middle East), those who had been raised with the Moors, and people from Guinea without a special license from the Casa de Contratación, which regulated the slave trade and put levies on the slaves. All the groups that the decree prohibited were either completely or mostly Muslim. Within fifty years, five decrees were passed to forbid the introduction of African Muslims to the Spanish colonies. This insistent reissuing of the prohibition shows that Muslims nevertheless continued to arrive and to cause concerns and problems in the New World. The colonists claimed that the Muslims incited the other nations to rebellion, and it was feared that they would take Islam to the Indians.” While a few Native Americans did convert to Islam, most never made contact with Muslims slaves, let alone converted en mass to the religion.

Another instance it the largest urban slave revolt in the history of the Americas: the Malê Rebellion. Yoruba, Nupe and Hausa slaves and freedmen, motivated by Islam and the success of the Haitian revolution, revolted against their masters in Bahia, Brazil. While it was during Ramadhaan, it also took place on the feast of Our Lady of Guidance. A majority of the participants were converts to Islam. It was suppressed, but remained the largest slave revolt in Brazil’s history and the largest urban slave revolt in the Americas. It would influence the abolishment of the slave trade in Brazil in 1851. Many African Muslims were deported to Togo, Nigeria, and Ghana as a result (not to be confused with the Agudas, freed African slaves who were Catholic, Muslim and animist who moved to Nigeria other parts of West Africa much later). Even though a crackdown ensued, Islam in Brazil didn’t die out: A hundred thousand at least still remained by 1910.

Able to hide their plans by writing them in Arabic or in the Arabic script of their native tongue, educated enough to organize revolts, and fueled by the African spirit of freedom, as well as the Islamic one no one should be owned by anyone but God, these African slaves, though often not successful, would change history in the Americas.

[Insaanistan]

A Frenchman is awoken by his dog barking. He goes back to sleep, thinking nothing of it. He then is awoken by more noise. Going to his window to see what the ruckus was, he sees a crowd holding torches, guns, and sharp tools.
“Who goes there?” he calls.
A thundering voice replies, “C’est mort!”
“It is death!”
The French Revolution had officially come to an end, though the true chaos was just beginning. Whites in Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti, celebrated. However, blacks weren’t celebrating this new so-called freedom. They were plotting to achieve liberation one way or another. They had come from many places on Africa’s coasts. Many had different languages and customs, but what they were United in was their opposition to their enslavement at the hands of the French.

The start of the Haitian Revolution was made with haste before the scheduled deadline. Some slaves had spilled the beans, telling their masters of the plan and details of attack. However, a combination of racism and the widespread deception tactics of Saint-Domingue’s slaves since they had first been brought to the island’s shores had long led the slave owners to see their slaves as lazy and stupid, and they dismissed the treacherous slaves, thinking the plan was far too complex for slaves to orchestrate. At the meeting, a priest would sacrifice an animal after making a proclamation/prayer. This event is known commonly as “Bois Caïman”, or alternatively “Bwa Kayiman”, meaning “Alligator Forest”. However, no caimans live in the area surrounding the event. Why? It’s real name is “Bwa Kaye Imam”. “The Forest by the Imam’s House”. The man who led the group was Dutty Boukman.

Dutty had been kidnapped from his home in Senegambia and transported to Jamaica. Illegally, he was then taken to Saint-Domingue. Boukman’s last name was the Francophone pronunciation of “Book Man”, a variation of “Man of the Book”. Even now in West Africa, many areas still use the terms “Book Man” and “Man of the Book”. In reference to a hafiz, a person who has memorized the entire Qur’ân. Dutty was one of those men. Diouf writes “It is likely that Boukman was a Jamaican Muslim who had a Quran, and that he got his nickname from this. As many Muslims had done, and would continue to do, he had climbed the echelons of the slaves' power structure and had reached the top. He was a trusted, professional slave.” Literate as well, he also taught many slaves to read, which is why his owners decided to take him to Saint-Domingue instead. He had been a religious leader in his homeland, and was both an Imam (Muslim religious leader) and a voudou priest, a practitioner of a syncretic blend of the two faiths. The ceremony that night had happened near his home by a fireplace. According to historical Haitian narratives, he reportedly said “The Good Lord who created the sun which gives us light from above, who rouses the sea and makes the thunder roar–listen well, all of you–this god, hidden in the clouds, watches us. He sees all that the white people do. The god of the white people demands from them crimes; our god asks for good deeds. But this god who is so good demands vengeance! He will direct our hands; he will aid us. Throw away the image of the god of the whites who thirsts for our tears, and listen to the voice of liberty which speaks in the hearts of all of us.”

However, in the book Written in Blood, it’s translated as, “Good Lord who hath made the sun that shines upon us, that riseth from the sea, who maketh the storm to roar; and governeth the thunders, The Lord is hidden in the heavens, and there He watcheth over us. The Lord seeth what the blancs have done. Their god commandeth crimes, ours giveth blessings upon us. The Good Lord hath ordained vengeance. He will give strength to our arms and courage to our hearts. He shall sustain us. Cast down the image of the god of the blancs, because he maketh the tears to flow from our eyes. Hearken unto Liberty that speaketh now in all your hearts.”

According to some, the date Bwa Kaye Imam took place was Ēid of that year. With his prayer and sacrifice of an animal, Boukman had just started the Haitian Revolution. Slaves rose up, killing their masters, burning fields and mansions, and taking over land. However, the violence was not indiscriminate: the narrative I gave in the first paragraph was from a firsthand source. The Frenchman it happened to lived to tell the tale because Boukman intervened to save his life. Many slaves helped masters who they considered to be fair to escape the violence.

The Maroons would soon join in, many being Muslims like Boukman himself. Ultimately, however, Boukman would eventually be captured and executed November 7, 1791, his head place on a pike along with many others lining the way to the French controlled city of Le Cap. But the revolution did not die with the man who started it. It would succeed in expelling the French and defeating the armies of multiple European nations, and be the second American state to have a successful revolution, and the first state in the Americas run by slaves. The entirety of Hispaniola, including the Spanish half, known then as Santo Domingo (it was named the Spanish equivalent of the French part’s name) would fall under Haiti’s control under Toussaint L’Overture.

[The Archregimancy]

A Frenchman is awoken by his dog barking. He goes back to sleep, thinking nothing of it. He then is awoken by more noise. Going to his window to see what the ruckus was, he sees a crowd holding torches, guns, and sharp tools.
“Who goes there?” he calls.
A thundering voice replies, “C’est mort!”
“It is death!”

Minor point of fact, but I think your quote - or the translation - must be off here.

'It is death' would be 'c'est la mort'. 'C'est mort' without the definite article instead means 'it's dead'; a significant shift in meaning.


Edit:

More significantly, after a further look, the final sentence of your post is inaccurate:

The entirety of Hispaniola, including the Spanish half, known then as Santo Domingo (it was named the Spanish equivalent of the French part’s name) would fall under Haiti’s control under Toussaint L’Overture.

Louverture did briefly control most of the island, in c.1801 at the height of his success; but he was captured by the French in 1802 following a disputed agreement to reach a settlement over the conflict, and died in a French prison in 1803.

The Haitian Revolution came to an end, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared independence of the new Haitian Republic, on the 1st of January 1804.

So you have the broad outline of events more or less accurate, but many of the specifics are wrong; or at least misleading.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Tbh if most of the moors were North African, they probably looked like the North Africans of today.

[Insaanistan]

A Frenchman is awoken by his dog barking. He goes back to sleep, thinking nothing of it. He then is awoken by more noise. Going to his window to see what the ruckus was, he sees a crowd holding torches, guns, and sharp tools.
“Who goes there?” he calls.
A thundering voice replies, “C’est mort!”
“It is death!”

Minor point of fact, but I think your quote - or the translation - must be off here.

'It is death' would be 'c'est la mort'. 'C'est mort' without the definite article instead means 'it's dead'; a significant shift in meaning.


Edit:

More significantly, after a further look, the final sentence of your post is inaccurate:

The entirety of Hispaniola, including the Spanish half, known then as Santo Domingo (it was named the Spanish equivalent of the French part’s name) would fall under Haiti’s control under Toussaint L’Overture.

Louverture did briefly control most of the island, in c.1801 at the height of his success; but he was captured by the French in 1802 following a disputed agreement to reach a settlement over the conflict, and died in a French prison in 1803.

The Haitian Revolution came to an end, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared independence of the new Haitian Republic, on the 1st of January 1804.

So you have the broad outline of events more or less accurate, but many of the specifics are wrong; or at least misleading.

Should I add briefly to the final sentence?

Additionally, yeah, it is “la mort” just literally didn’t look well when I typed it, and my mostly English wired brain saw nothing wrong at first glance.

Anything else I mucked up?

And just to be clear: I didn’t go much into the later revolution because 1. The Haitian Revolution is freaking confusing, and 2. it wasn’t directly relevant to the Muslim aspect of it.

[Jolthig]

I'm still here guys. Just been busier on other social media. I'll try to get more active on here again

I have been working on my Urdu though to speak to my Pakistani brothers. Theek! (Alright!)

[Kowani]

I'm still here guys. Just been busier on other social media. I'll try to get more active on here again

I have been working on my Urdu though to speak to my Pakistani brothers. Theek! (Alright!)

you're alive!

[Insaanistan]

I'm still here guys. Just been busier on other social media. I'll try to get more active on here again

I have been working on my Urdu though to speak to my Pakistani brothers. Theek! (Alright!)

you're alive!

[Jolthig]

I'm still here guys. Just been busier on other social media. I'll try to get more active on here again

I have been working on my Urdu though to speak to my Pakistani brothers. Theek! (Alright!)

you're alive!

Jee, Kowani.

It means yes in Urdu and it rhymes with Si in Spanish.

Both mean yes.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

you're alive!

Jee, Kowani.

It means yes in Urdu and it rhymes with Si in Spanish.

Both mean yes.

Both are Indo-European, so that's probably why.

[Insaanistan]

Jee, Kowani.

It means yes in Urdu and it rhymes with Si in Spanish.

Both mean yes.

Both are Indo-European, so that's probably why.

Nah, I doubt it.
“No” in Spanish and “Nahin” in Urdu share a link, but I doubt “Sí” and “Ji” do, too.

[Insaanistan]

*Dresses in Hausa clothing*
Arewa priiiiiiiiide, bro!
Okay, brothers and sisters. Get ready for the story of the largest urban slave revolt in history.

The city of Salvador in Bahia, Brazil, was full of slaves primarily from Nigeria. The initial slaves were Hausa Muslims. However, a majority of the later slaves taken there by the Portuguese were animist Yorubas, who soon converted to Islam en masse upon hearing about it from the initial Hausa slaves. They didn’t work on Fridays, and some of them even became freedmen. They wore amulets with verses from the Qur’ân in them. They also had white coats they wore in secret as to not attract attention from Portuguese officials. Freedmen had mini-mosques where they allowed fellow freedmen and slaves to pray the five daily prayers in. In these rooms, they memorized Qur’ân and learned to read and write Arabic. However, discontent grew among the slaves, and their religious leaders told them there was only one solution: revolt.

The rebellion was meant to happen on January 25, 1835. However, several slaves who got wind of the rebellion reported the plans to their masters. But like the Haitian Revolution, the slave owners basically concluded the slaves weren’t smart enough to orchestrate such a plan or to constitute a real threat, so of the many reports of the impending rebellion, only one slave owner reported it to the police, who also didn’t take it seriously. However, the slaves decided to act a day before the planned date. Saturday, January 24. Not only was it during Ramadhaan (Ramadan), it was on the day of the Catholic feast of Our Lady of Guidance. But one woman, who had recently had a fight with her husband, later found out about the rebellion when he told her. She went to a fellow female slave, and the two told a couple slave masters, who then reported it.

The Chief of Police was warned, and the Palace defenses reinforced. The home of Domingos Marinho de Sá was searched, and the ringleaders were found, discussing last minute details of the attack, they quickly took car of the officers, and started the rebellion. The Malês (what the slaves were called, from the Yoruba word for Yoruba Muslims), wore their white cloths in public for the first time, as well as necklaces with the face of Haitian president Dessalines on them. The slaves had heard about the success of the Haitian revolution, and intended to do the same.

They faced major setbacks. The defenses around the city had been upped in anticipation of the revolt. They tried to take the jail and free a Muslim leader known as Pacífico Lucitan, but were repelled by the guards. The moved to Vitória neighborhood to free the also Muslim slaves of the English community there. After regrouping, they repelled an attack made by the police. Soon, slaves from outside of Salvador would join them, and the most crucial part of the revolt would take place: Água de Meninos. The rebels got there, forcing the foot soldiers back, who retreated into the barracks. Instead of following them directly in, the Malês sought to find some way to go around and surprise them. However, they were fired upon from inside the barracks, then their lines were destroyed by Portuguese Calvary. Soon, slaves fro surrounding plantations joined in, but they too were repelled and most killed.

Fearing that another rebellion would ensue that would be like the fate of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) the authorities quickly had the rebels punished. Many were deported to West Africa. After this, West African culture and Islam were cracked down on in Brazil, though in 1910, at least 100,000 Muslims still actively practiced the faith in Brazil.

The Malê Rebellion, often called the Great Revolt, was a turning point in Brazil’s history. A greater discussion over the abolition of slavery ensued, and while slavery would continue in Brazil for half a century, the Malê Revolt was instrumental in leading to the end of Brazil’s slave trade not too long after the revolt.

[Insaanistan]

Okay, my next long post will be multiple parts over multiple days.

And guess what it’s on?

“El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
Malcolm X”

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Okay, my next long post will be multiple parts over multiple days.

And guess what it’s on?

“El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
Malcolm X”

Didn't it come out the government helped kill him after all?

[Insaanistan]

Okay, my next long post will be multiple parts over multiple days.

And guess what it’s on?

“El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
Malcolm X”

Didn't it come out the government helped kill him after all?

From what I heard and saw on “Who Killed Malcolm X”, several Government informants were around him when he died (the guy who gave him CPR worked for the FBI). However, the guys who did it were part of the NOI. The Muslim guy in the series investigating it finally deduced who killed Malcolm, but before he could get to the guy, the killer died of natural causes.

[Kowani]

Didn't it come out the government helped kill him after all?

From what I heard and saw on “Who Killed Malcolm X”, several Government informants were around him when he died (the guy who gave him CPR worked for the FBI). However, the guys who did it were part of the NOI. The Muslim guy in the series investigating it finally deduced who killed Malcolm, but before he could get to the guy, the killer died of natural causes.

I believe Roj is referring to this

[Insaanistan]

From what I heard and saw on “Who Killed Malcolm X”, several Government informants were around him when he died (the guy who gave him CPR worked for the FBI). However, the guys who did it were part of the NOI. The Muslim guy in the series investigating it finally deduced who killed Malcolm, but before he could get to the guy, the killer died of natural causes.

I believe Roj is referring to this

Interesting. I dunno. Still not convinced.

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

Okay, my next long post will be multiple parts over multiple days.

And guess what it’s on?

“El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
Malcolm X”

Didn't it come out the government helped kill him after all?

Conspiracy hogwash. It's long been established it was members of Nation of Islam (a known extremist hate group) that bumped him off because he dared to return from his Hajj with a worldview that wasn't shrouded in hate and bigotry. They were literally caught in the act as it happened.

I make it no secret that I'm not a fan of Islam, and certainly not a fan of Malcolm X pre-Hajj, but I will give credit where it's due when I say that Islam isn't about race and I applaud Malcolm for putting his faith before his politics when confronted with the harsh realization that his immoral beliefs did not conform with his religion. He took his beliefs to heart and put them to practice when they contradicted his political views. He accepted and moved past his previous mistakes, drawing closer to Dr. King's philosophy. That made him an enemy of NOI. Hate groups don't like it when their members (or ex-members, in Malcolm's case) start seeing their toxic spiel for what it is. Elijah Muhammad was an opportunistic powermonger and cult leader, and Malcolm was seen as a threat to his power, so he had to be removed.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Trollzyn, you know the government uses proxies all the time right? Just look at the Mujahideen or the "Syrian rebels." NOI members could kill Malcom X and the government could still be behind it in some way.

[Insaanistan]

Didn't it come out the government helped kill him after all?

Conspiracy hogwash. It's long been established it was members of Nation of Islam (a known extremist hate group) that bumped him off because he dared to return from his Hajj with a worldview that wasn't shrouded in hate and bigotry. They were literally caught in the act as it happened.

I make it no secret that I'm not a fan of Islam, and certainly not a fan of Malcolm X pre-Hajj, but I will give credit where it's due when I say that Islam isn't about race and I applaud Malcolm for putting his faith before his politics when confronted with the harsh realization that his immoral beliefs did not conform with his religion. He took his beliefs to heart and put them to practice when they contradicted his political views. He accepted and moved past his previous mistakes, drawing closer to Dr. King's philosophy. That made him an enemy of NOI. Hate groups don't like it when their members (or ex-members, in Malcolm's case) start seeing their toxic spiel for what it is. Elijah Muhammad was an opportunistic powermonger and cult leader, and Malcolm was seen as a threat to his power, so he had to be removed.

Indeed. I agree with some of Malcolm’s general sentiments before he embarked on Hajj, such the fact the police at the time basically the KKK morphed, black people shouldn’t just sit down and quietly get beat, but not with statements such as the advocacy for segregation.

[Insaanistan]

I hope my dad gets Amazon Prime soon like he promised so I can watch “One Night in Miami”.

[Insaanistan]

Trollzyn, you know the government uses proxies all the time right? Just look at the Mujahideen or the "Syrian rebels." NOI members could kill Malcom X and the government could still be behind it in some way.

I dunno if the government killed Brother Malcolm, but one things for sure:
They watched him like bloody hawks.
Or rather, like bald eagles.

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

Trollzyn, you know the government uses proxies all the time right? Just look at the Mujahideen or the "Syrian rebels." NOI members could kill Malcom X and the government could still be behind it in some way.

The government had been monitoring Malcolm for most of his life, dude. Why they would make a move so late doesn't make much sense. Even if they were involved, we know for a fact it was NOI who did it. Muhammad practically gloated about it.

Elijah Muhammad told the annual Savior's Day convention on February 26 that "Malcolm X got just what he preached," but denied any involvement with the murder. "We didn't want to kill Malcolm and didn't try to kill him," Muhammad said, adding "We know such ignorant, foolish teachings would bring him to his own end."

He's basically all but confessing here. He was getting death threats for years even before he left NOI as he began to question Elijah more and more. He even said as much that NOI was actively trying to kill him. Even if the government did have a hand in it (which is doubtful) NOI certainly didn't seem to have a problem with it, and probably would've done it anyway without them.

[Kowani]

Trollzyn, you know the government uses proxies all the time right? Just look at the Mujahideen or the "Syrian rebels." NOI members could kill Malcom X and the government could still be behind it in some way.

The government had been monitoring Malcolm for most of his life, dude. Why they would make a move so late doesn't make much sense. Even if they were involved, we know for a fact it was NOI who did it. Muhammad practically gloated about it.

Elijah Muhammad told the annual Savior's Day convention on February 26 that "Malcolm X got just what he preached," but denied any involvement with the murder. "We didn't want to kill Malcolm and didn't try to kill him," Muhammad said, adding "We know such ignorant, foolish teachings would bring him to his own end."

He's basically all but confessing here. He was getting death threats for years even before he left NOI as he began to question Elijah more and more. He even said as much that NOI was actively trying to kill him. Even if the government did have a hand in it (which is doubtful) NOI certainly didn't seem to have a problem with it, and probably would've done it anyway without them.

Point: there’s a line between “the government did it” (which I don’t believe) and the new allegations that the FBI was involved in entrapping his bodyguards to get them out of the way