Malcolm and the Cross: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Christianity

Despite his association with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X had an intimate relation with Christianity and Christians, which influenced his personal life and spirituality as well as his career. Lou Decaro's Malcolm and the Cross thoroughly explores the relation between Malcolm, the Nation of Islam, and Christianity. After revealing the religious roots of the Nation of Islam in relation to Christianity, DeCaro examines Malcolm's development and contributions as an activist, journalist, orator, and revolutionist against the backdrop of his familial religious heritage. In the process, DeCaro achieves nothing less than a radical rethinking of the way we understand Malcolm X, depicting him as a religious revolutionist whose analysis of Christianity is indispensable--particularly in an era when cultic Islam, Christianity, and traditional Islam continue to represent key factors in any discussion about racism in the United States.

Library Journal

In this study, DeCaro presents a "fine appreciation of Malcolm X's life and work that not only shows him as a religious revolutionary but clarifies his contribution in affirming the religious community in its glorious diversity." (LJ 8/98)

LOUIS A. DECARO, Jr., is a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary and New York University and author of On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X (also available from NYU Press).