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James Russell McGregor, also known as James 3X, James Shabazz, and Son of Thunder, was a leader of the Black Muslims and an associate of Malcolm X. [1] [2] Shabazz was a minister and spiritual leader of thousands of Muslims in Newark and Jersey City and had been a member of the Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims, for more than 30 years. [3]
He was murdered in the driveway of his home on September 4, 1973, in Newark, NJ. [2]
Shabazz was originally from Southern Pines, North Carolina and was the father of 13 children. [2]
Shabazz was the head of Muslim Mosque No. 25 in Newark and in Jersey City at the time of his murder. [2] [4]
Shabazz was shot several times in the face while opening the door of his 1973 Cadillac in the driveway of his South Seventh Avenue home in Newark. [4] Two gunmen ran off on foot. [2] [5] Police reports indicated that was a power struggle among the Black Muslims and discontent due to several Muslims being recently disbarred from membership. [4]
Shabazz's funeral at Mosque No. 25 was attended by over 3,000 people. [3]
McGregor's murder was one of three related incidents within a year that involved Black Muslims. The Hanafi Murder and the murder of Major Coxson were the other two. Police believed the killing was motivated by internal strife. [2]
After the murder, three reportedly Black Muslims, abducted an off‐duty policeman from the street near Mr. Shabazz's home. He was driven around in a car, questioned him about Mr. Shabazz, and released. [4] They were arrested later that day and were charged with kidnapping. [4]
The day following the kidnapping and release of the police officer, a black man was abducted nearby, driven around in a car for 24 hours, questioned about the Shabazz murder, and released. [4]
A Chicago Tribune article reported, "Internal disputes, including burning of mosques, have characterized the Black Muslims, also known as the Nation of Islam during the last decade. Some of the dissent has been between supporters of Elijah Muhammad, of Chicago and those who think it is time to replace the 75-year old leader of the sect which preaches racial separation. Previously another racial separatist group known as the Black Nationalists rivaled the [Black] Muslims for control of New York during the mid-1960s." [2]
On October 18, 1973, the decapitated bodies of Warren Marcell and Michael A. Huff were found in a Newark Park. Their heads were found four miles away and one block from the home of Shabazz. Sources within the police told the Chicago Tribune, "they suspected the deaths were linked to a violent internal struggle within the Muslims. Twin brothers, Roger and Ralph Banston were killed one month earlier on September 18. [4]
A prison brawl occurred in October 1975 that involved four people from the New World of Islam that were serving life sentences for the murder. One prisoner was killed and six were stabbed with sharpened chisels. A Chicago Tribune article referred to the incident as "a preplanned attack by the Black Muslims on the Bellites," and that "Bellites were identified as members of the New World Muslim faction."[ citation needed ]
Fourteen people were indicted for murder in an alleged conspiracy to seize control of Newark's Mosque No. 25. [6]
Malcolm X was an African American revolutionary, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1965. A spokesman for the Nation of Islam (NOI) until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the African American community. A controversial figure accused of preaching violence, Malcolm X is also a widely celebrated figure within African American and Muslim communities for his pursuit of racial justice.
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African Americans. While describing itself as Islamic and using Islamic terminologies, its religious tenets differ substantially from orthodox Islamic traditions. Scholars of religion characterize it as a new religious movement.
Louis Farrakhan is an American religious leader who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI), a black nationalist organization. Farrakhan is notable for his leadership of the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, D.C., and for his rhetoric that has been widely denounced as antisemitic and racist.
Elijah Muhammad was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1933 until his death in 1975. Muhammad was also the teacher and mentor of Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Muhammad Ali, and his son, Warith Deen Mohammed.
Betty Shabazz, also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was married to Malcolm X.
Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI) was an Islamic organization formed by Malcolm X after he left the Nation of Islam. MMI was a relatively small group that collapsed after its founder was assassinated.
Noble Drew Ali, possibly born as Timothy Drew or Thomas Drew,, was an American religious leader who, in the early 20th century, founded a series of organizations that he ultimately placed under the umbrella title, the Moorish Science Temple of America; including the Canaanite Temple (1913–1916), the Moorish Divine and National Movement (1916–1925), the Moorish Temple of Science (1925–1928), and the Moorish Science Temple of America. Considered a prophet by his followers, he founded the Canaanite Temple in 1913 while living in Newark, New Jersey. From there, he made his way westward and eventually settled in Chicago between 1922 and 1925. Upon reaching Chicago, his movement would gain thousands of converts under his instruction. Upon the murder of a rival Moorish Science Temple leader, Drew Ali was arrested and sent to jail; he died on July 20th, 1929, shortly after being released.
Malcolm Latif Shabazz was the grandson of civil rights activists Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, through their daughter, Qubilah Shabazz. Shabazz made headlines for multiple arrests during his life, including setting a fire that killed his grandmother, Betty. He was murdered in Mexico on May 9, 2013, at the age of 28.
The Hayer affidavits are two affidavits made by Talmadge Hayer—also known by the name Thomas Hagan—the convicted assassin of Malcolm X. The statements give Hayer's account of his involvement in the planning and execution of the murder.
Yusuf Bey was an American Black Muslim activist and leader who was a member of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, an offshoot of Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam (NOI).
Ilyasah Shabazz is an American author, community organizer, social activist, and motivational speaker. She is the third daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, and wrote a memoir titled Growing Up X.
Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, formerly known as Mosque No. 7, is a Sunni Muslim mosque in Harlem, New York City. It was formerly a Nation of Islam mosque at which Malcolm X preached, until he left it for Sunni Islam in 1964.
Seven Songs for Malcolm X is a British documentary film about the life of Malcolm X, the influential civil rights activist who was assassinated in 1965. The film was written and directed by John Akomfrah, with co-writer Edward George, and produced by Lina Gopaul. The Black Audio Film Collective, Akomfrah's London-based company, and Channel 4 Television Corporation were both involved in the production of the film. It was first aired at the Toronto Festival of Festivals in Canada, on 15 September 1993, and then at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 1993. On 15 March 2009, it was released in the Czech Republic at the One World Film Festival. The film was distributed by Channel 4 Television Company. It was filmed in London and has a runtime of 52 minutes.
Abdullah H. Abdur-Razzaq was an African-American activist and Muslim known for being one of Malcolm X's most trusted associates.
African-American Muslims, also known as Black Muslims, are an African-American religious minority. African-American Muslims account for over 20% of American Muslims. They represent one of the larger Muslim populations of the United States as there is no ethnic group that makes up the majority of American Muslims. They mostly belong to the Sunni sect, but smaller Shia and Nation of Islam minorities also exist. The history of African-American Muslims is related to African-American history in general, and goes back to the Revolutionary and Antebellum eras.
The 1973 Hanafi Muslim massacre took place on January 18, 1973. Two men and a boy were shot to death. Four other children ranging in age from nine days to ten years old were drowned. Two others were severely injured. The murders took place at 7700 16th Street NW, a Washington, D.C. house purchased for a group of Hanafi Muslims to use as the "Hanafi American Mussulman's Rifle and Pistol Club". The property was purchased and donated by then Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Mosque No. 12, also known as Masjid Makkah, is a mosque in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It came to prominence in the early 1960s when a building was leased by the Nation of Islam, converted for use as a mosque, and placed under the direction of Malcolm X, who was a minister there and at Mosque No. 7 until he left the organization for Sunni Islam in 1964.
Mosque No. 25 is a former Nation of Islam (NOI) mosque in Newark, New Jersey, which was presided by Minister Louis Farrakhan and James Russell McGregor.
Muhammad Abdul Aziz is an American man who was convicted, and later exonerated, for the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X – a conviction that was overturned in November 2021, decades after he was paroled in 1985. Aziz maintained his innocence; and Mujahid Abdul Halim, who confessed to the murder, insisted that Aziz and Khalil Islam, another man who was convicted along with them, were innocent.
Malcolm X, an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement, was shot multiple times and died from his wounds in Manhattan, New York City on February 21, 1965, at age 39. While preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, Malcolm X was shot multiple times and killed. Three members of the Nation of Islam—Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Khalil Islam, and Thomas Hagan—were charged, tried, and convicted of the murder and given indeterminate life sentences, but in November 2021, Aziz and Islam were exonerated.
Seated behind Malcolm X at the rally are three NOI ministers (from left): James 3X Shabazz (formerly McGregor), Muhammad's Temple of Islam No. 25, Newark, N. J.; Thomas J. X. (formerly Ridges), Temples No. 13 and 14, Springfield, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., respectively; and Louis X (formerly Walcott), Temple No. 11, Boston. The latter is now known as Louis Farrakhan.