Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar respond to Donald Trump's call to block Muslims from entering America

As Republican presidential contender Donald Trump continues doubling down on his strident anti-Muslim stance, two world-famous Muslim athletes are taking him to task for his views.

Earlier this week, Trump proposed an all-out ban on Muslims entering the United States, resulting that rarest of feats in America these days: criticism from both sides of the aisle. Now, one of America's most famous and beloved Muslims, Muhammad Ali, has stepped into the fray, calling for peace amid the toxic atmosphere swirling around Muslims in America.

"True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion," Ali said in a statement. "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."

Ali did not mention Trump by name, but indicated that the statement was aimed at "presidential candidates proposing to ban Muslim immigration to the United States"—in other words, Trump and any other candidates who would follow in his wake to pander to anti-Muslim sentiment.

Fellow Muslim and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, writing for Time.com, did not dance around the issue in any way: "Trump’s irresponsible, inflammatory rhetoric and deliberate propagation of misinformation have created a frightened and hostile atmosphere that could embolden people to violence," he wrote. "He’s the swaggering guy in old Westerns buying drinks for everyone in the saloon while whipping them up for a lynching."

Not that he likely cares, but Trump has only himself to blame for drawing heat not just from Muslims, but specifically sports legends. In a speech on Sunday night, President Obama urged Americans to remember why exactly America is exceptional, noting that discrimination runs counter to pretty much everything the country stands for. "Muslim-Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes," Obama said, "and, yes, they are our men and women in uniform."

Trump took to Twitter and responded:

Given that Trump has appeared on multiple occasions with Ali, and has surely heard of Jabbar over the last four decades, the most generous interpretation of that tweet is that Trump typed without giving the idea even a second's thought.

"Electing him," Abdul-Jabbar wrote, "would be like asking the clown at a child’s birthday party to start juggling chainsaws."

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.