29 Mar 2024
Sunday 5 June 2016 - 16:24
Story Code : 217096

Sanders: You can't praise Ali and disparage Muslims

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said those mourning Muhammad Ali must remember the boxers deep Muslim faith.

Ive been all over this country and Im talking to Muslim people who say, You know, Bernie, our kids are now afraid, he said during a press conference in Los Angeles on Saturday. I say to those people, one of the great American heroes in modern American history was Muhammad Ali, a very proud Muslim."

Dont tell me how much you love Muhammad Ali and yet youre going to be prejudiced against Muslims in this country," he said, according to the Hill.

Sanders cited Alis opposition to the Vietnam War as an example of the pugilists bravery and integrity in and out of the ring.

The reason that Ali struck a chord in the heart of so many Americans was not just his great boxing skill, he said. "It was his incredible courage. At a time when it was not popular to do so, Ali stood up and said, I am opposed to the war in Vietnam and Im not going to fight in that war.'"

And that incredibly courageous decision cost him three and a half years of his prime fighting life. But he chose to stand by his ideals, his views. What a hero. What a great man.

Ali on late Friday died in Scottsdale, Ariz., following respiratory problems complicated by his long-standing battle with Parkinsons disease. He was 74.

Born Cassius Clay, he shocked Americans by winning the heavyweight title in 1964 and changing his name to Muhammad Ali the following day.

Ali announced he had joined the Nation of Islam and would later oppose the Vietnam War on racial, religious and social grounds.

My conscience wont let me go and shoot my brother, some darker people, some poor hungry people, in the mud, for big powerful America, he said in one famous interview. "And shoot them for what?

Ali was stripped of the world heavyweight title over his stance, but the fighter remained firm and would ultimately reclaim the championship twice more.

Donald Trump on Saturday praised Ali, calling him a truly great champion and a wonderful guy in a Twitter post.

Ali late last year warned against Islamophobia after Trump suggested a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US.

By Tasnim News Agency
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