Oh Hell No! Al Qaida's No. 2 Calls Barack Obama a "House Negro"

In his latest audio, Ayman al-Zawahiri Al-Qaida's number 2, has the gall to call President-elect Barack Obama "dishonorable" and a "house negro." According to the Associated Press:

CAIRO,Egypt (AP) - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri insulted Barack Obama in the terror group's first reaction to his election, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites.

The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies. Al-Zawahri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, that Obama is "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader.

Al-Zawahri also called Obama-along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice-"house negroes."

Speaking in Arabic, al-Zawahri uses the term "abeed al-beit," which literally translates as "house slaves." But al-Qaida supplied English subtitles of his speech that included the translation as "house negroes."

The message also includes old footage of speeches by Malcolm X in which he explains the term, saying black slaves who worked in their white masters' house were more servile than those who worked in the fields. Malcolm X used the term to criticize black leaders he accused of not standing up to whites.

The 11-minute 23-second video features the audio message by al-Zawahri, who appears only in a still image, along with other images, including one of Obama wearing a Jewish skullcap as he meets with Jewish leaders. In his speech, al-Zawahri refers to a Nov. 5 U.S. airstrike attack in Afghanistan, meaning the video was made after that date.

Al-Zawahri said Obama's election has not changed American policies he said are aimed at oppressing Muslims and others.

Clearly this is a cynical attempt to dampen the renewed global optimism about America's role in the world going forward. Al-Qaida operatives know that if there is hope and not simply desperation, it will be harder for Al-Qaida to raise funds and tactical support for its terrorist expeditions.

Further, Ayman al-Zawahiri must not fully understand Malcolm X and the spiritual journey he traveled once he returned to the United States from his pilgrimage to Mecca.

True Islam taught me that it takes all of the religious, political, economic, psychological, and racial ingredients, or characteristics, to make the Human Family and the Human Society complete.

Since I learned the truth in Mecca, my dearest friends have come to include all kinds -- some Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, and even atheists! I have friends who are called capitalists, Socialists, and Communists! Some of my friends are moderates, conservatives, extremists -- some are even Uncle Toms! My friends today are black, brown, red, yellow, and white!

I said to my Harlem street audiences that only when mankind would submit to the One God who created all -- only then would mankind even approach the "peace" of which so much talk could be heard...but toward which so little action was seen. Adapted from the pamphlet - Malcolm X: Why I Embraced Islam by Yusuf Siddiqui.

So it is hard to understand why al-Zawahiri would believe Malcolm X's views of 'True Islam' would condone blowing up innocent men, women and children just going about their daily lives. How dare al-Zawahiri take an American icon so dear to many of us and attempt to link Malcolm X to al-Qaida? It is disgusting and it reeks of some kind of scrambling, sloppy attempt to grab attention and goodwill away from Barack Obama.