Between the Secular and the Sectarian: Malcolm X’s Afro-Arab Political Imaginary

This article explores the combined spiritual and political transformations Malcolm X’s thought underwent during his two tours of the Middle East and North Africa in 1964. Drawing on personal communications with figures who met with Malcolm X in the region, I uncover the religious and political influences on Malcolm X while he was there. I pay special attention to Malcolm X’s two visits to Beirut, where I argue he encountered a particular form of cosmopolitan sectarianism that both challenged and perhaps influenced his evolving worldview.