[Malcolm X on his return from Makkah. (Right) First page of the 3-page letter.]
London: A fascinating handwritten letter, urging white Americans to 'convert to Islam to stop racism' penned by black civil rights activist Malcolm X after his enlightening trip to Makkah in 1964 has gone on sale for $1.25 million.
The 3-page letter, which was found in a storage locker, was printed on stationery with Arabic writing and had illustrations of historic sites. It is being sold by Californian autograph and historic letter dealers 'Moments in Time', according to a report published by Daily Mail.
In the letter, which has on its top as title 'Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem', Malcolm mused that if white Americans converted to Islam it may stop the rampant racism that was inflicted on African Americans in the 1960's.
"I have just completed my pilgrimage (Hajj) here to the Holy City of Makkah . . . which is absolutely forbidden for non-Muslims to even rest their eyes upon", Malcolm X, who was a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam, wrote in his letter.
"I very much doubt that 10 American citizens have ever visited Makkah, and I do believe that I might be the first American-born Negro to make the actual Hajj itself", he added.
Giving an insight into his state of mind after the important and eye-opening trip - which he later credited with helping him to see Muslims of all races as one - he asserted that if white Americans converted to Islam, they 'could cease to measure others always in terms of their difference in color.'
"Muslims [are] here of all colors and from every part of this earth. If white Americans could accept the religion of Islam . . . they, too, could then sincerely accept the Oneness of Men, and cease to measure others always in terms of their 'difference in color". Malcolm X wrote in his letter
"And with racism now plaguing America like an incurable cancer, all thinking Americans should be more respective to Islam as an already proven solution to the race problem", he added.
The long lost letter is being sold by Gary Zimet who told Dailymail.com it "will be a fixed price sale- not an auction."
Malcolm X was famous in the 1960s for trying to empower the African American community with firebrand speeches during the height of their fight for civil rights in the United States.
The activist, was also well-known for statements, which many considered to be inflammatory, when he alluded to the idea that African Americans should fight for their rights 'by any means necessary' against an oppressive and racist country-wide system that made them second class citizens.
During his time as spokesman for the Nation of Islam, Malcolm was covered extensively by the international media who challenged his views, and probed and questioned him on his outlook about race.
Malcolm X infamously made controversial remarks after President John F. Kennedy's assassination - which led to widespread criticism.
After he discovered that the Nation of Islam leader had had secret relationships outside of marriage and fathered children out of wedlock - he began to distance himself. By 1964 he resigned from the Nation of Islam.
Later that year, he took a pilgrimage to Makkah - which was life altering for him.
Upon his return to the United States, he broadened his message to include all Americans. But while he preached his updated messages on race relations, the relationship between him and the Nation of Islam soured.
FBI informants revealed that he had become a target for assassination.
On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty, and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed. But the family escaped.
One week later, at a speaking engagement in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965, he was shot 15 times at close range. Malcolm, aged just 39, was dead.
His killers, Talmadge Hayer, Norman Butler, Thomas Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966.
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