Malcolm X’s daughter to visit WVU

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of African American Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X, will present the legacy of her father to West Virginia University students tonight at 7 in the Mountainlair Ballrooms.“Growing Up X: A Pilgrimage to Freedom, Equality and Peace,” will reveal Malcolm X and Shabazz’s journey to promote freedom and equality for African American Muslims.“I think it’s great that the University is having Malcolm X’s daughter come to speak to students,” said Mathias Ngang, a petroleum and natural gas engineering student. “It’s good for the awareness of the many different cultures we have here at WVU.”The event is part of the third annual Leading Afro-American Muslim Professionals event series and is sponsored by the WVU Center for Black Culture and Research, the WVU Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Student Government Association, and the Islamic Center of Morgantown.Shabazz will discuss her Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city located in Saudi Arabia, her experiences as an African American Muslim woman, women’s rights in Islam and human empowerment.Shabazz is recognized as one of the top 500 influential Muslims in the world.She accompanied Bill Clinton to support and commemorate the election campaign of Nelson Mandela following his imprisonment and is the author of “Growing Up X,” “Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X” and “The Diary of Malcolm X.”Shabazz witnessed her father’s murder at the age of three and devoted her life to passing on his ethics and principles.2013’s LAMP speaking event featured Hussain Muhammed Abdullah, a Kansas City Chiefs safety who sat out of the 2012-13 NFL season to perform the Hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and the largest gathering of Muslim people in the world every year.The WVU Center for Black Culture and the WVU Office of Diversity will also host a film screening of “Malcolm X,” and a panel discussion on his life Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Gluck Theatre./129