Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Know Any Muslim Athletes

[GMDino]

Muhammad Ali says Muslims must stand up to people using Islam for 'their own personal agenda'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/donald-trump-muhammad-ali-says-muslims-must-stand-up-to-people-using-islam-for-their-own-personal-a6767466.html

Quote:Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has become the latest public figure to criticise Donald Trump’s proposed on ban Muslims entering the US.

The former heavyweight champion, who converted to Islam in 1964, issued a rare public statement calling on Muslims "to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda".

He insisted the statement was not directly towards Mr Trump but all "presidential candidates proposing to ban Muslim immigration to the United States".

The Republican candidate’s pledge to prevent any Muslim from entering or reentering the US "until Congress can figure out what is going on" has caused outrage around the world.

In a statement released on Tuesday, he claimed a poll by the Center for Security Policy showed 25 per cent of Muslims polled "agreed that violence against  Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad".

But Mr Ali said "true Muslims" knew the violence of Isis went "against the very tenets of our religion".

"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", he added.

The billionaire businessman made the call just months after calling Mr Ali his 'friend' in a Facebook post from May alongside a photo of the pari from 2007 when the boxing champion presented Mr Trump with the Muhammd Ali Award for entrepreneurship.





Political leaders in the US and the UK have condemned Mr Trump’s comments with President Barack Obama calling on Americans to reject discrimination in a televised address to the nation on Sunday night.

He said: "Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes".