Sir Richard Branson has urged people not to blame the Muslim community for the Paris attacks.
Writing in a blog on Virgin’s website, the entrepreneur said he was “frustrated” by the way some have passed judgement “on entire populations, based on the actions of a radical few.”
He compared those blaming the global Muslim community for the Paris attacks to blaming “all Americans for the past actions of the Ku Klux Klan”.
The 65-year-old criticised Republican governors who sought to block Syrian refugees entering the country in the wake of last week’s attack.
“These positions fuel a collective paranoia that tends to be more interested in confirming existing biases rather than the truth.”
Calling Isis a “gang of murderous thugs pretending to act in the name of faith”, Sir Richard advocated looking at the causes of extremist violent movements.
He suggested: “More often than not, weak governance, corruption, poor economic conditions came long before things turned bad. Extremism became an outlet, not a source.”
However, the Virgin founder praised the “sensible humanity” offered by 18 mayors who pledged to allow refugees settlement.
Sir Richard previously expressed sadness at the “anti-refugee and anti-immigrant rhetoric” which was taking place during the refugee crisis – which he called a “moral crisis”.
