Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has condemned anti-Muslim rhetoric and discrimination, noting he is tired of people denigrating Muslims because of their faith.
Mr Clinton, who stated this at an event titled ‘Multiple Faiths, One Florida’ at Koinonia Worship Centre in Florida, cited a message from the Quran about people from different backgrounds getting to know and learn from one another.
“I’m tired of people denigrating Muslims for being Muslims,” he said.
Mr Clinton, who recalled her daughter’s interest in Islam’s holy book, noted that she read the Quran from start to finish when she was 15 and later encouraged him to read it.
The former president cited verse 13 of Surah Al-Hujurat, which explains that “humanity was created as different peoples and tribes so that they could know one another”.
Mr Clinton used the passage to highlight the importance of mutual understanding rather than hostility between communities.
“There are bad actors in every faith because we’re all flawed human beings,” he added.
Mr Clinton’s remarks came amid controversy over President Donald Trump’s comments about Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Mr Trump had used religiously charged language to criticise Mr El-Sayed, a former public health official, seeking to become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.
Mr El-Sayed’s campaign has faced criticism from political opponents who have attempted to associate him with extremist groups, as Mr Trump reportedly referred to him as a “jihadist”.
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