The students gathered at the invitation of the Queens College Chapter of the NAACP and heard Minister Malcolm say, “the American black man faces a unique situation because of his unique position in America. This is why so many American black men are turning to Islam and also why Islam must be presented to them in a form peculiar to the circumstances they face. This causes many people to say we are not teaching the orthodox form of Islam.” Minister Malcolm continued, “This is not true. We are teaching the true Islamic faith but we are making it applicable to the peculiar conditions faced by the American black man.” Asked to comment on Mr. Muhammad’s twelve point program for the salvation of the American Negro, Minister Malcolm said, “our central teaching as far as the social action of the American black man is concerned is that he should be separated from his slave masters. As the Bible says, ‘let every man be under his own vine and fig tree.’ Mr. Muhammad teaches that the American black man, like the children of Israel, are strangers, not in a land of their own.” “Much of the unrest now current would be eliminated,” Minister Malcolm said, “if the request of Mr. Muhammad were granted. Once the slave is educated he wants to be equal with his master, to share his master’s property. If the slave is as well educated as the master then the slave will no longer be content to serve. That is the core of the racial unrest in America today. That is why we must be separated and allowed to become a people self-sufficient and self-supporting.” The appearance of Minister Malcolm was scheduled to last for fifty-five minutes but the interest was such that scores of students remained out of classes to continue discussions with Minister Malcolm for an hour past the stated deadline. The following is a complete transcript of Minister Malcolm’s Queens College speech: We thank you for inviting us here today to present our views on this topic: “The Negro’s Position in the Recent American Society.” But, to understand our views you must first know something about our religion, Islam. The Creator of the Universe, whom many of you call God or Jehovah, is known to the Muslims by the name ALLAH. Since the Muslims believe all prophets came from that ONE GOD and therefore all taught one and the same religion, rightly called ISLAM, which means the complete submission and obedience to ALLAH. One who practices this Divine Obedience is called a Muslim (commonly known, spelled, and referred to here in the West as Moslem). There are over 600 million Muslims on this earth, predominantly in Africa and Asia, and we here in America under the Divine Guidance of Mr. Elijah Muhammad are an integral part of the vast World of Islam that stretches from the China Seas to the sunny shores of West Africa.