Shabazz (name)

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Shabazz was a name taken by El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (aka Malcolm X), and the surname borne by his wife Betty Shabazz and his children.

Although part of the name Malcolm took as an orthodox Sunni Muslim, he also used it as an alias in his Nation of Islam days. The name's origin is based in the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. In his book Message to the Blackman in America, Muhammad wrote that all Blacks are descended from an ancient tribe by that name:

[God] has declared that we [the so-called Negroes] are descendants of the Asian Black Nation and the tribe of Shabazz. [1]

The name may be related to the Arabic words šaʻb, "a people", and ʻazz, "to be mighty or glorious".

An important U.S. Supreme Court case, dealing with the extent to which the government (specifically, the prisons) must go to accommodate private practice of religion, is O'Lone v. Shabazz (1987). [2] The respondent (originally the plaintiff) in this case was Ahmad Uthman Shabazz, who was not related to Malcolm X.

The Tribe of Shabazz discovered the Nile River, the fertile crescent, and the Holy City of Mecca according to this tradition.

There is also a similar Persian name, Shahbâz, meaning "royal falcon". Indicating "royalty and nobility", the name is popular with Indian and Pakistani Muslims.

A number of rappers have taken "Shabazz" as part of their stage names to express their belief in Elijah Muhammad's vision or in homage to Malcolm X. Among them are Shabazz the Disciple, a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, and Lakim Shabazz of Flavor Unit.

A character named Shabazz appeared in the TV series The Boondocks, in the episode "The Passion of Ruckus".