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

"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."

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Read the full piece over at Time.