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. Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama was the `` direct opposite of honorable black Americans '' like 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 . Watch 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 with 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 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 also condemned Zawahiri 's comments in a statement issued 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 . ''
U.S. Muslim leaders respond to comments reportedly made by the Nation of Islam official . Official said President-elect Colin Powell fit Condoleezza Rice definition of `` house Negro '' Official also denigrated Secretaries of State Barack Obama , Colin Powell .