Between 1957 and his assassination on April 4, 1968, at age 39, Martin Luther King Jr. gave 2,500 speeches, wrote sermons and homilies and published five books. Meanwhile, the number of books written about King surely number in the thousands.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s courage, hope, and determined commitment to end segregation is why he’s one of the most influential figures of all time. There are plenty of movies to watch on Martin Luther King Jr.

King’s fight for racial equality was built on the idea that all people are created in God’s image. It was the reason he believed every person — regardless of their race — deserved dignity, respect and equal rights. In Islam, the idea that we are created from a single soul highlights our shared humanity (Quran 4:1).