Sickening. Nauseating. Horrible. Unsettling. Hypocritical.
These are a few of the words that came to mind when I watched the video issued by Al-Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahri.
What was the most offensive part of the 11-minute 23-second video? Not the blatant anti-Semitism (showing Barack Obama wearing a yarmulke while meeting with Jewish leaders), which -- fifty years after Kristallnacht, is about what you'd expect from these hatemongers. Nor was it al-Zawahri's use of the term "abeed al-beit" or "house slaves" to describe Obama (whom al-Zawahri lumps in with Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell, his fellow "house slaves"). Nor was it his blind refusal to give Obama the benefit of the doubt ("America has put on a new face, but its heart full of hate, mind drowning in greed, and spirit which spreads evil, murder, repression and despotism continue to be the same as always," he said).
No. Without question, the most offensive moment in this twisted video is al-Zawahri's evocation of Malcolm X. Of Obama, al-Zawahri said that he is the "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans," and he gave the example of Malcolm X as one of them.
Well, at least al-Zawahri and I can agree on one thing: Malcolm X was an honorable black American. In fact, I'll take it the next step: Malcolm X was one of the greatest Americans of the Twentieth Century.
Malcolm X was many things. Visionary. Fighter. Liberator. A man who stirred people, awakened them, and not only pointed out the need for change, but also pointed the way.
After Malcolm converted to Islam and was released from prison, he made some unfortunate statements -- hateful statements -- that he came to regret. He spoke of "blue-eyed, white devils" and made some anti-Semitic remarks. Malcolm was angry... angry at hundreds of years of African Americans being enslaved and treated as third-class citizens. Angry about the lack of opportunities that blacks in America faced in the mid-20th Century. Most importantly, he was angry that generations and generations of African Americans were made to feel ashamed of the color of their skin.
But Malcolm X never called for the sort of hateful violence employed by Al-Qaeda, which he would undoubtedly characterize as "cowardly" if he were still alive.
What would Malcolm say about al-Zawahri's remarks?
As someone who has taught about Malcolm to university students, counts his autobiography as one of the most meaningful books I've ever read in my life and has watched films of him and listened to his speeches for years, I am certain Malcolm would be disgusted.
Malcolm X would be proud of Obama. Malcolm went on his life-altering pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca in 1964. It was in Saudi Arabia that he saw the best that Islam had to offer: Men and women of all colors, of all nationalities, coming together as brothers and sisters, without hate or violence.
Upon his return home from Saudi Arabia, Malcolm reflected:
You're asking me "Didn't you say that now you accept white men as brothers?" Well, my answer is that in the Muslim world, I saw, I felt, and I wrote home how my thinking was broadened! Just as I wrote, I shared true, brotherly love with many white-complexioned Muslims who never gave a single thought to the race, or to the complexion, of another Muslim.
My pilgrimage broadened my scope. It blessed me with a new insight. In two weeks in the Holy Land, I saw what I never had seen in thirty-nine years here in America. I saw all races, all colors, -- blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans -- in true brotherhood! In unity! Living as one! Worshipping as one! No segregationists -- no liberals; they would not have known how to interpret the meaning of those words.
In the past, yes, I have made sweeping indictments of all white people. I will never be guilty of that again -- as I know now that some white people are truly sincere, that some truly are capable of being brotherly toward a black man. The true Islam has shown me that a blanket indictment of all white people is as wrong as when whites make blanket indictments against blacks.
This was the vision that Malcolm embraced after he returned from Saudi Arabia. He spent the remaining months of his life struggling against poverty, racism (in all of its ugly forms), war and imperialism.
Growing up, Barack Obama saw in Malcolm many qualities he admired. Obama once wrote of Malcolm X: "Only Malcolm X's autobiography seemed to offer something different. His repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me. The blunt poetry of his words, his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order, martial in its discipline, forged through sheer force of will. All the other stuff, the talk of blue-eyed devils and apocalypse, was incidental to that program, I decided."
When Malcolm X was murdered on February 21, 1965, in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, delivering a speech on behalf of his new group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity, he was considered a dangerous man by the leaders of the Nation of Islam. They hated Malcolm for the same reason al-Zawahri hates America: Because they regarded him as a threat. They didn't understand him. And they didn't want to understand him.
If Malcolm X were alive today (he'd be in his early eighties), in addition to being a critic of the Iraq War and other disastrous policies of the Bush administration, he would also speak out against Al-Qaeda. Malcolm envisioned a struggle of the world's poor and marginalized -- people of all colors, shapes, sizes, beliefs, genders, etc. -- coming together into a diverse, worldwide movement to challenge entrenched power.
The Ayman al-Zawahri's of the world are as threatened by this philosophy as the George W. Bushes. It is a belief, a worldview, that asks people to leave their ancient dogmas and prejudices and hatreds at the door and come together to support a more just world.
So al-Zawahri can celebrate Malcolm X's achievements all he wants from afar. But he'd better watch out if his underlings get a hold of Malcolm's autobiography, because they might just start whistling a different tune.
