Muhammad Ali's Response To Trump's Proposed Muslim Ban

The photo at left (from npr.org) is of a young Muhammad Ali with Malcom X. It was taken soon after Ali had become a muslim -- the religion he professed for the rest of his life.

So it is no surprise that when Donald Trump made his bigoted proposal to ban all muslims from entering the United States, Muhammad Ali, like all decent Americans, was offended. But he did not engage in the same kind of bigotry that Trump reveled in. Ali was a gentleman, and that showed in his response.

Ali said: And for those of you

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.

And for those of you who think our problems are too big -- that we cannot change our country and the world to be a better place for all of us -- I present another bit of wisdom from Ali: