“Cinque’s debut novel can only be summed up as earth-shattering.  Single fathers will be high-fiving after reading this book.” Lamont Page, Publisher, Prevail Magazine (read excerpt)

Dr. Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid

Overview
"Unique in its conception, intriguing in its insights, and remarkable in its execution, Between Cross and Crescent is sure to become a classic work on the ideas of Malcolm and Martin. Engaging and well-written . . . the authors have shown tremendous judgment and objectivity in their analyses."--Molefi Kete Asante, Temple University

"Baldwin and Al-Hadid have taken a gigantic step in lifting the veil of confusion regarding the religious and cultural heritages of King and El-Shabazz. These scholars have given new dimension and profound dignity to the barrier of the Cross and the Crescent in the persons of King and El-Shabazz."--Imam Heshaam Jaaber, author of The Final Chapter . . . I Buried Malcolm

"A holistic appreciation of the dialectical tension between Martin's and Malcolm's . . . ideas regarding integration and nationalism, Christianity and Islam, the black church and the Black Muslims, African and American, urban North and rural South. . . . A compelling and riveting read [that] certainly makes interfaith dialogue more accessible."--Ira G. Zepp, Jr., professor emeritus, Western Maryland College

A collaborative effort of Christian scholar Lewis Baldwin and Muslim scholar Amiri Al-Hadid, Between Cross and Crescent details the interconnections between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.: their faith claims, their perspectives on culture, and their visions of the ideal society and world.

The authors reject two common tendencies: to reduce Malcolm and Martin to "misguided, angry Muslim imam" and "gentle, harmless Christian preacher" and to treat the two men as polar opposites. The result is the most comprehensive and detailed work in print about the two leaders and the first to bring together a Muslim and a Christian scholar in dialogue about their relationship to such significant issues. Particularly original are the insights into how Martin and Malcolm viewed each other, family and children, and women (an entire chapter is devoted to the "character of womanhood").

"Al-Qur'an and Sunnah" offers a new and creative interpretation of Malik El-Shabazz as a Sunni Muslim and statesman. Of special importance is the skillful delineation of the historical and cultural forces underpinning the two leaders' religious and cultural perspectives--not the least being their common roots in traditions based in the American South. The authors also turn a careful scholar's eye to their perspectives on religion, interfaith dialogue, and the relationship between the African-American struggle and global liberation movements.

There is no more detailed resource about the relationship between Martin King and Malcolm X. The depth of scholarship in this volume extends even to the extraordinary amount of information relegated to footnotes, themselves a gold mine of documentation for all readers interested in the interface between faith claims, politics, and social and cultural transformation.

Lewis V. Baldwin is professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt UniversityAmiri YaSin Al-Hadid is professor and chair of Africana studies at Tennessee State University.

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid

Dr. Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid is Chairman and Professor of Africana Studies at Tennessee State University. He is the principal organizer of the department’s Annual Africana Studies Conferences. Dr. Al-Hadid is Founder and Emir of the Great Debate Honor Society, which is based on the philosophies of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He earned his B.A. degree in Sociology and Psychology from Alabama State University and his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California-Santa Barbara. Dr. Al-Hadid did advanced undergraduate studies at Yale University in 1966 and advanced graduate work at the University of Nairobi in Kenya in 1969-1970.
Dr. Al-Hadid became a Sunni Muslim in 1969 while doing graduate work at the University of Nairobi. He completed the Hajj or the Fifth Pillar of Islam in 1970. Al-Hajj Amiri Al-Hadid has traveled in East, North and West Africa as well as Europe.

Some of his published essays, speeches and book chapters are “Apartheid, the Great Debate and Martin Luther King, Jr.” in the A.M.E. Journal; “Illuminating the Path to Community Self-Reliance,” Journal of Social and Behavioral Sciences; “Africana Studies at TSU: Diversity and Traditions” in Delores P. Aldridge and Carlene Young (editors) Out of the Revolution: The Development of Africana Studies. New York: Lexington Books, 2000 and his most recent publication is “Griots and Rites of Passage: From Graduate School to Professor with Tenure’ in Darrell Cleveland (editor). A Long Way to Go: Conversations about Race by African American Faculty and Graduate Students. New York: Peter Lang Publishers, 2004.

The most recent book by Dr. Al-Hadid and Dr. Lewis V. Baldwin is Between Cross and Crescent: Christian and Muslim Perspectives on Malcolm and Martin. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002. This major work in the emerging field of the Dr. King and El-Hajj Shabazz scholarship breaks new ground in inter-faith dialogue and the cultural and political dialectics of these two scholar- activists.

Dr. Al-Hadid has a relentless commitment to “Academic Excellence and Social Responsibility.” In addition to his professional and scholarly activities, he serves on several Boards of Directors. Some of the Boards of Directors that he serves on are the Islamic Center of Nashville and National Student Leadership Conference.

Al-Hajj Amiri Al-Hadid is a 1998 recipient of the Delta Sigma Theta Project Cherish Award for African American Men Making a Difference. He received “The Ordering of Moses” Award from Bethlehem Centers of Nashville for Violence Prevention Advocacy and Devotion to Youth in 1997 and the Eduardo Mondlane Award for Excellence in Africana Studies from Pan-Africa. Dr. Al-Hadid served as keynote speaker for the 47th Independence Day Celebration, Ghanaian Association of Middle, TN and the 28th Annual Awards & Scholarship Brunch, Tennessee State University Alumni Association, Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Al-Hadid has lectured extensively at colleges, conferences, churches, festivals, mosques, and other civic, political, social and cultural groups. He has appeared on radio and television problems and has been interviewed by local and national media. Among the subjects discussed by Dr. Al-Hadid are Africa, the African Diaspora, Education, the Great Debate, Inter-Faith Dialogue, Islam and Pan-Africanism.