In What Way Was Al-Zawahiri's Statement "Racist" ?

I woke up this morning and the news was that al-Qaida's No. 2 had used a racial epithet against Obama. All day long Talk Radio was announcing that Al-Qaida is racist. I thought it was the "N" word but then found out that al-Zawahir had simply used a term (House Neg*o) that Malcolm X had used in one of his speeches. I am all confused. How is that racist? I must have heard that Malcolm X speech three times but never thought of that term as racist. I thought it was meant to be funny. Is that racist against Whites or Blacks?