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Matthew Champion
Dec 10, 2015
We are almost sorry to still be talking about Donald Trump, days after he called for all Muslims to be banned from entering the US.
His plan has been condemned in almost all quarters, but none have put it so eloquently, or succinctly, as arguably America's most famous Muslim.
Muhammad Ali didn't even have to name Trump in a 132-word statement that instead denounced Islamic extremists.
He said:
I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world. True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion.
We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda. They have alienated many from learning about Islam. True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anybody.
Speaking as someone who has never been accused of political correctness, I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people's views on what Islam really is.
While Ali, a three-time world heavyweight champion who converted to Sunni Islam in 1975, did not explicitly refer to Trump, the statement was issued under the headline: Presidential Candidates Proposing to Ban Muslim Immigration to the United States’.
Overall:
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