Muhammad Ali: 'There is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people'

Muhammad Ali pulled no punches when it came to calling out both the terrorists behind the Paris and San Bernardino attacks and those who want to keep Muslims out of the United States.

"I am a Muslim, and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people," the former heavyweight champion of the world told NBC News. "True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion." Ali called on his fellow Muslims to "stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda," and said such extremists "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."

The statement was titled "Presidential Candidates Proposing to Ban Muslim Immigration to the United States," but did not mention by name the man behind the idea, frontrunner Donald Trump. Instead, Ali asked that all of the country's leaders use their prominent voices to "bring understanding about the religion of Islam and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people's views on what Islam really is."