On a crisp February afternoon, with gray clouds blanketing the sky and the wind rustling through the trees, Hamid briskly navigates the crowded book market near the University of Tehran. The master’s student in world studies moves with purpose, his eyes scanning the shelves of a bustling bookstore. Then, suddenly, his gaze lands on a familiar name—Malcolm X.

“There it is!” he exclaims, his excitement unmistakable as he reaches for a long-sought book about the towering civil rights leader.

Born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) became a defining figure in the American civil rights movement. Fearlessly speaking out against systemic oppression, he championed the rights of African Americans and inspired millions worldwide. But his activism did not stop at U.S. borders—Malcolm X was also an outspoken advocate for the Palestinian cause, condemning Zionism as an extension of colonialism.

His fight for justice made him a global icon, but it also drew powerful enemies. On February 21, 1965, at the age of 39, Malcolm was assassinated while addressing the Organization of Afro-American Unity at Columbia University in New York City.

Solidarity with Palestine

Malcolm X firmly believed that all oppressed people had the right to resist injustice. He saw through systems that disguised oppression as order while condemning resistance as violence. This belief extended to his support for Palestinians, whose displacement and suffering he denounced as a direct consequence of colonial ambitions.

In a 1964 speech in Cairo, Malcolm addressed the Palestinian struggle, stating: “It is a question of a people being deprived of their homeland. I would like to impress upon those who call themselves leaders the importance of realizing the direct connection between the struggle of the Afro-American in this country and the struggle of oppressed people worldwide.”

That same year, he visited Gaza, then under Egyptian control, where he witnessed firsthand the devastation of the Nakba and the resilience of Palestinian refugees. Touring a hospital and the Khan Younis refugee camp, he observed the scars of dispossession, experiences that deepened his commitment to the Palestinian cause.

“The spirit of Allah was strong in Gaza,” he later wrote in his diary.

During his visit, he met Palestinian poet Harun Hashim Rashid, whose account of the Suez Crisis and Israeli aggression left a profound impact on him. Malcolm later wrote about the encounter and even penned a poem titled We Must Return, a call for Palestinian liberation.

Condemnation of Zionism

Malcolm X openly rejected Zionism, recognizing it as a form of colonialism that sought to displace indigenous Palestinians. In his essay Zionist Logic, published in The Egyptian Gazette on September 17, 1964, he warned that Zionism was not just a threat to Palestine but to oppressed people worldwide.

“The Israeli Zionists are convinced they have successfully camouflaged their new kind of colonialism,” he wrote, arguing that Zionism operated through financial influence—what he called “dollarism.” He accused Zionist entities of using economic aid and political leverage to exert control, comparing their strategies to those of former European imperialists.

Rudolph Ware, a historian specializing in Malcolm X’s legacy, notes that Malcolm drew a direct connection between Zionism and white supremacy, stating that European powers had enabled the dispossession of Arabs from their homeland just as they had oppressed Black communities in America and Africa.

The Fight Against Colonialism

For Malcolm X, Zionism was simply another manifestation of European colonialism. He urged the Global South to unite against this new form of imperialism, warning that former colonial powers had rebranded their control under different names.

“Those who benefit most are the former colonial masters who have now supplanted the hated colonialism and imperialism with Zionism,” he observed, accusing Western powers of deliberately using Israel to divide Africa and the Arab world.

He also dismissed the Zionist claim to Palestine by drawing a historical parallel: “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? No more than European Zionists have the right to do so in Palestine.”

Resistance and Liberation

In a 1965 speech in Michigan, Malcolm X declared, “We need a free Palestine… We don’t need a divided Palestine. We need a whole Palestine.” He believed that freedom was never won through passivity.

“It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks,” he said, insisting that those who oppress others do not deserve a peaceful approach in return.

When asked how Malcolm X would have responded to the events of October 7, 2023, historian Prof. Ware reflected on Malcolm’s past statements. “We all know how he would have answered the question, ‘Do you condemn Hamas?’” he said with a knowing smile. “Malcolm never equated violence used to resist oppression with violence used to impose it in the first place.”

Meanwhile, back in the Tehran book market, Hamid finally finds the books he had long been searching for—The End of White World Supremacy, a collection of Malcolm X’s speeches, and Women in the Media in Capitalism and Socialism. He clutches them tightly, knowing that Malcolm’s words remain as relevant today as they were decades ago.