“Its application in the nominative (naming) sense was intentionally used to portray persons in a position of objects or “things.” It stamps the article as being ‘all alike and all the same.’ It denotes: a ‘darkie,’ a slave, a subhuman, an ex-slave, a ‘negro.’” – Malcolm X

One of the most irritating qualities I find among Muslims, and actually more generally, Desi Americans (whether they be Hindu, Christian, Bhuddist, let’s be real, you all do it), is the fact that they think it’s alright to use the N-word. For the sake of this article though, I’ll interchange Desi and Muslim, so remember anytime you read one of those words, I mean both.

I did it myself when I was younger. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been watching a basketball game and a player will make a mistake like jacking a dunk. And then I’ll hear one of the guys go, “Look at that nigger, fucking shit up,” or “He’s such a nigger.” I’m not even exaggerating; those are literal quotes. Or they’ll see some black guy talking some trash on the basketball court, and under their breath the Muslim kid mutter that beautiful racial slur. But I guarantee you they’ll be up in arms when they’re called a towel head.

Let’s first talk about some of the arguments I hear for the use of the word. I’m not even going to discuss the straight racists, who unabashedly think it’s okay just because they own it. Owning wrong is still wrong. I’ve heard a guy once say, “Yeah, I’m a racist, so what?” Guarantee that coward won’t say a word when a larger black man steps up to him. So forget that guy, let’s talk about some of the more nuanced defenses for using the word.

The above quote leads to the most common argument I hear for the use of the word. It’s that Muslims or Desis are not referring to the good black people, just the ones that they view as degenerates. They’re the “niggers”. It’s a term of art used to differentiate between the hard working African Americans and the lowly blacks who buy a rack of ribs on food stamps. I first heard this reasoning used by southern whites, but when I heard this from the mouths of my fellow Muslims, I was ashamed. But let’s be honest here: people who use these arguments are only trying to seem logical while defending their use of the word. The truth is they’re clearly trying to be inflammatory; they’re using the n-word to illustrate the strong feelings they have towards these “degenerates”. But you know what: maybe they are degenerates; maybe they are the scum of the Earth, but the use of the word more speaks to their lack of intelligence and inability in conveying their emotions like intelligent people than a classification.

Another minor justification I’ve heard is that they’ve gotten approval from African blacks in the use of the term. That they’ve talked to African blacks who have agreed with the use of the N-word to refer to the degenerates, and as they’re black, it’s okay. Not to point out the obvious, African Americans and Africans are not the same thing. Honestly, African immigrants going to school in the U.S. have more in common with Asians than American blacks. They’ve had a completely different experience in life, and I’m not taking away from that. But the African American experience is so unique, the culture is so different from anything those Africans have experienced, that the opinion of Africans on African Americans doesn’t mean shit.

So let’s move on – another common argument I’ve heard for the use of the word is that it’s just a word, they use, and so what’s the big deal. As another minority, and the fact that I’ve gotten permission from my sole black friend, means I can use it. No it doesn’t. The problem with that argument is that it’s not just a word. It may have just started out as just a word, but there has been so much meaning attributed to the word by us as a society that it’s become a whole different monster. Like how there’s is no real scientific basis for race doesn’t make race less real. We as a society have made race real, just as we’ve (well, more so white Americans) made the n-word an incredibly offensive word. And the fact that your friend said it was okay doesn’t make it okay. Your black friend doesn’t speak for the entire race when he gives you that permission.

Another common practice I’ve seen is friends referring to other friends by the n-word, not blacks directly. They think this is also okay as it’s the same as referring to a friend as a mother fucker, or an asshole. It’s just another curse word they’re using with each other. Except for the fact that fucker isn’t generally used to devalue someone based solely on a characteristic they were born with. Asshole isn’t generally used to dehumanize an entire type of person. So really, it’s not the same.

But let’s take a step back. I’ve been talking a great deal about specific arguments, but how about more general reasons why we as Muslims or desis shouldn’t be using the word. Obviously after 9-11 Muslims have been under greater scrutiny by the majority of Americans, and a great deal of it negative. We feel marginalized and some of us even feel oppressed. Non-Muslim desis have been victims of hate crimes. But what we face today is still only a fraction of what African Americans face. African Americans can’t even get a job without being questioned about whether it was on their own merit or the fact that they’re black. They can’t walk down a street without people being afraid of them. The crap other minorities in America, whether they be Muslim, gay, brown, Arab, etc, face isn’t shit compared to what African Americans deal with, or have dealt with. You’d think we’d have a bit of empathy, and respect that for the most part, blacks don’t want that word used by outsiders.

I’m of the camp that the word shouldn’t be used by anyone, black or non-black, but that’s a whole different issue. I just don’t understand how Muslims can use the n-word yet still love Malcolm X. I don’t understand how they brag so much about how Islam accepts people of all races yet use the n-word. We claim to be such a cosmopolitan bunch, point to how Islam awakened our hero Malcolm X from his racist ways, yet for some reason we can’t seem to grasp the African American perspective on the word. How can we preach pluralism yet not respect this view?

So maybe you’re not a racist, and maybe you only refer to your friends and not black people by the n-word. But please, for the sake of your own intelligence, stop using the n-word.

“We accept the use of Afro-American, African, and Black man in reference to persons of African heritage. To every other part of mankind goes this measure of just respect. We do not desire more nor shall we accept less.” – Malcolm X