Malcolm X on Self-Defense

“There is nothing in our book, the Koran, that teachers us to suffer peacefully. Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. That’s a good religion.

Message to the Grass Roots” (Speech), Detroit, Michigan, 10 November 1963″

Excerpted from: Schapiro, Fred, ed. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.