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Thursday 10 Dec 2015 - 09:52 Makkah mean time-28-2-1437
Image from independent
Washington, (IINA) - Boxing legend Mohammed Ali Clay on Wednesday criticized U.S. Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, calling on Muslims "to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda," according to media reports.
Ali, one of the most famous Muslims in the world, issued a statement saying, "True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called extremists goes 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."
The 73-year-old Ali, whose previous name Cassius Clay, converted to Islam and changed his name in 1964.
The statement never mentions Trump by name, but its headline is "Presidential Candidates Proposing to Ban Muslim Immigration to the United States."
"We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda," Ali said. "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."
From his side, President Barack Obama, in a televised address to the nation on Sunday night, called on Americans to reject discrimination, saying, "Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes."
Another Muslim sports icon, basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, weighed in Wednesday with an essay on Time.com. He described Trump as the Islamic State group's "greatest triumph," a candidate who "preys on the fears of the public, doing ISIS's job for them."
Also Wednesday, Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah, who is Muslim, spoke with reporters about Trump's proposal.
"When you have someone like him say some things -- he has a very large following -- it's kind of disappointing from my perspective," Abdullah said. "I just encourage everyone to educate yourself before you take a stance on something that you may not really know about."
SM/IINA
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