A champion in boxing and life, the late Muhammad Ali never shied away from injecting himself into the issues of the day.
This was true until the very end.
After the terrorist attacks in Paris last year, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" until the U.S. achieved the super specific goal of figuring out "what the hell is going on."
“We have no choice,” Trump added.
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Well, yes we do, said Muhammad Ali.
In a statement titled "Presidential Candidates Proposing to Ban Muslim Immigration to the United States," Ali took Trump to task.
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“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.
"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.
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“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.”
The former Cassius Clay converted to Islam in 1964, changing his name to Muhammad Ali.
>> Click here to see a photo Trump posted to Instagram featuring Ali
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