Boxer Amir Khan says young British Muslims being 'brainwashed'

Says British Muslims need to stand up against extremism in community

Claiming young Muslims are being 'brainwashed,' boxer Amir Khan called on British Muslims to ‘stand up’ against extremism in the community.

"I try and stand up and say the right things and get the message out. What's happening gives us all a bad name,” the boxer said, in response to a question regarding the radicalisation of British Muslims.

"It's why it's so important to stand up and be counted," Amir added.

The 28-year-old further said, “It's a very sensitive thing to talk about. And it's tough. I get questioned about this a lot, but I think we have to be brave about this.”

When asked about young British Muslim militants, Anir said, “People are brainwashing them. Kids don’t grow up thinking about going out and killing innocent people. It’s why I go to schools and tell them: ‘Look, you want to follow the right path. You want to represent your country in a good way. You want to build a name for yourself and your families.’”

“Obviously innocent people shouldn’t be killed. Obviously, this is wrong,” he continued.

Amir’s comments come after three schoolgirls from the Bethnal Green Academy in east London fled to join Islamic State in Syria.

Read: Police hunt for ‘IS-bound’ London girls

Amir also described himself as more British than Britain’s far right-wing, xenophobic party UKIP.

“... I’m probably more British than UKIP are because I represented the country in the Olympic Games,” he said .“I also fight for the country and I’ve won medals and titles for the UK. So I’m more British than them.”

Responding to claims regarding a decrease in cultural tolerance in his hometown of Bolton, where UKIP, the party strongly against immigrants is doing well, the boxer said, “I’ve got nothing but a lot of love here from a lot of people.”

This article originally appeared on Huffington Post