Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 'Violence committed in the name of religion is never about religion'

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 'Violence committed in the name of religion is never about religion'
(Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

"Another horrendous act of terrorism has taken place and people like myself who are on media speed-dial under 'Celebrity Muslim' are thrust in the spotlight to angrily condemn, disavow, and explain — again — how these barbaric acts are in no way related to Islam," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes in an opinion piece for Time.

The NBA legend and now-author and -filmmaker addresses the three days of terrorist attacks in Paris, saying that the gunmen were "thugs disguising themselves as Muslims."

"When the Ku Klux Klan burn a cross in a black family's yard, prominent Christians aren't required to explain how these aren't really Christian acts," Abdul-Jabbar writes. "Most people already realize that the KKK doesn't represent Christian teachings…I look forward to the day when an act of terrorism by self-proclaimed Muslims will be universally dismissed as nothing more than a criminal attack of a thuggish political organization wearing an ill-fitting Muslim mask."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Read the full piece over at Time.

Explore More

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.