Boxing Champ Muhammad Ali Defends Islam, Says Muslims must Stand Up

Muhammad Ali has spoken out to defend his religion amid tensions over how certain Republicans want to deal with Muslims in America.

In a statement that was initially released via NBC News, the boxing champion wrote:

"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."

Although Ali does not call out any names, the fact that his statement is titled, "Presidential Candidates Proposing to Ban Muslim Immigration to the United States," suggests that his words are directed toward Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

In Trump's speech on Monday, the billionaire businessman proposed a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States. He stated repeatedly, "We have no choice."

Since announcing his proposal, Trump has been met with a lot of criticism, especially from world leaders in Britain and France.

French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, had tweeted, "Trump, like others, stokes hatred and conflations: our ONLY enemy is radical Islamism."

In the United Kingdom, a petition was started to ban Trump from entering the country. That petition has received more than 430,000 signatures.

Trump has also been heavily criticized by the other presidential candidates as well as Republicans who do not want the public to believe that the party supports Trump's ban.

This is not the first time that Ali has spoken out to defend his religion. Ali's speech also comes just a few days after Trump tweeted that he could not think of any Muslim sport heroes in response to President Barack Obama's speech. Trump has met Ali several times.

The end of Ali's speech reads:

"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."