Two practicing Muslims on the Detroit Lions took to the press Thursday to bash Donald Trump and his anti-Islam rhetoric.
Safety Isa Abdul-Quddus and running back Ameer Abdullah both took offense at Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., an idea which has been in the national spotlight since the billionaire mogul first introduced it Monday.
“It was one of them things that I kind of look at the person before I look at the comment,” Abdul-Quddus told The Detroit News. “Because Trump says a lot of things for shock value to like get people to hear him and listen to him and stuff and just to put his face in public. So, I don’t really feel much disrespect when he said that because he already said he wanted to label us. He wanted to have every [Muslim] have an ID and everything, so I just kind of chalk it up as a guy that’s pretty ignorant.”
Abdullah, who like Abdul-Quddus practices Islam in his home, said he tries to stay out of politics and preached tolerance and acceptance.
“All I do is encourage people to educate themselves before taking a stance, before just listening to someone, before making a judgment or decision on how you should treat a person or talk to a person,” he said. “You can’t control everyone. All you can do is pray for them and hope that one day they’ll realize that everyone’s just people. You’ve got to love everyone; you’ve got to respect everyone.”
Both players said they had not experienced any bigotry in Detroit in the wake of Trump’s comments and Islamic State-affiliated terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., but Abdullah said he felt the effects of prejudice being a part of an African-American family who practices Islam growing up in Alabama.
“I’m sure it’s going to happen,” Abdullah said of the likelihood he will be racially profiled one day. “I’m sure it’s going to come, but I will be prepared and handle it accordingly when it comes.”
Neither player plans on voting for Trump, and Abdul-Quddus said he hopes people recognize how problematic having Trump, who currently sits at second place in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, in office would be for U.S. minorities.
“That’s the scary part,” he said. “I’m just hoping that either he can change his mindset to be a bit more open-minded, or people just realize we can’t have this ignorance in office.”
These aren’t the only two Muslim athletes to condemn Trump’s disparaging comments about Muslims.
NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar blasted Trump in a Time magazine op-ed on Wednesday.
“If violence can be an abstraction — and it can; that’s what a threat is — the Trump campaign meets this definition,” he wrote. “Thus, Trump is ISIS’ greatest triumph: the perfect Manchurian Candidate who, instead of offering specific and realistic policies, preys on the fears of the public, doing ISIS’ job for them.”
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali released a statement Wednesday dismissing the notion that the Islamic State has anything to do with the religion of Islam.
“Speaking as someone who has never been accused of political correctness,” he said, “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.”
