CNN.com
U.S. Muslim leaders denounce al Qaeda's slur toward Obama
* Story Highlights
* U.S. Muslim leaders respond to comments reportedly made by al Qaeda
official
* Official said President-elect Barack Obama fit Malcolm X's definition of
"house Negro"
* Official also denigrated Secretaries of State Colin Powell, Condoleezza
Rice
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim
communities lashed out Friday at a purported al Qaeda message attacking
President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language, comparing him
unfavorably to the late Malcolm X.
The imams called the recorded comments from al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman
al-Zawahiri, "an insult" from people who have "historically been disconnected
from the African-American community generally and Muslim African-Americans in
particular."
"We find it insulting when anyone speaks for our community instead of giving us
the dignity and the honor of speaking for ourselves," they said in a statement
read during a news conference at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial,
Educational and Cultural Center.
The al Qaeda statement, an 11-minute, 23-second audio message in Arabic with
subtitles in English, appeared on the Internet on Wednesday. Its authenticity
has not been confirmed.
The message said Obama represents the "direct opposite of honorable black
Americans" like Malcolm X. VideoWatch al Qaeda official criticize Obama »
The speaker also said Obama, former and current secretaries of state Colin
Powell and Condoleezza Rice and "your likes," fit Malcolm X's description of
"house slaves."
An English translation of the message used the term "house Negroes," Malcolm
X's term for blacks who were subservient to whites. The term refers to slaves
who worked in white masters' houses. Malcolm X said those slaves were docile
compared to those who labored in the fields. iReport.com: Should Obama react to
comments?
Malcolm X, the fiery African-American Muslim activist from the 1950s and 1960s,
was an early member and leader of the Nation of Islam. He left that group in
1963 over disillusionment with its then-leader, Elijah Muhammed, but remained a
Muslim.
After months of death threats, he was assassinated in 1965 by members of the
Nation of Islam who shot him 16 times at close range. The three men who were
convicted of the crime have since been paroled.
On Friday, Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, recalling Malcolm X's legacy, said
that he "stood for human rights and the principle of self defense ...
international law. He would have rejected, and we who are Muslim
African-Americans leaders reject, acts of political extremism."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also condemned Zawahiri's
comments in a statement issued on Thursday.
"As Muslims and as Americans, we will never let terrorist groups or terror
leaders falsely claim to represent us or our faith," the statement said. "We
once again repudiate al Qaeda's actions, rhetoric and world view and re-state
our condemnation of all forms of terrorism and religious extremism."
� 2008 Cable News Network.
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Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo
Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu
dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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