“True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion”.
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Since making his statement about a blanket Muslim ban for the US, Trump has shown no remorse and repeated the statement many times insisting that “some of his best friends who are Muslims” agree with him.
“These misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is”.
Most Republican voters said they were not bothered by his remarks, though many said the comments could still hurt Trump’s chances of becoming president.
Facebook creator and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also expressed solidarity with Muslims in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
In a statement, the three-time heavyweight boxing world champion said: “I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world”.
He’s 25 percentage points higher than his nearest rival, Ben Carson, who stands on 13 per cent, and 26 percentage points ahead of Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, who has 12 per cent.
For Trump, who has been for years striving to expand his brand in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai’s real estate sector, the hostile reactions his comments had sparked could prove to be a major setback for several iconic projects he is now associated with, particularly with Damac Properties.
Earnest said other Republican presidential candidates, who have pledged to support the person who eventually wins their party’s nomination, should disavow Trump “right now”.
The former boxer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, after quitting the sport.
Ali, 73, was somewhat thrust into the debate when President Barack Obama mentioned Muslims were USA soldiers and citizens and sports heroes, and Trump challenged people to think of a Muslim sports hero. Born by the name of Cassius Clay, he converted to Islam and changed his name in 1964.
Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University, said Trump’s comments on Muslims were not that different from previous statements, pointing to Trump’s idea to establish a registry of Muslims in the United States as an example.
London mayor Boris Johnson dismissed the comments were “complete and utter nonsense” and the city’s Metropolitan Police added: “We would not normally dignify such comments with a response, however on this occasion we think it’s important to state to Londoners that Mr Trump could not be more wrong”.
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He also alluded to running as an independent in a tweet linking to a USA Today poll which found 68% of his supporters would vote for him if he left the Republican party.
