Omar Mateen, killed 49 people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Picture: MySpace/AP

But who do you see as the face of this religion?

Is it September 11 terrorist Osama bin Laden, or Omar Mateen, the man who killed 49 people in the Orlando Pulse nightclub?

American Muslims say it shouldn’t be either, for they believe those people do not represent the faith and are nothing but “aggressors”.

Muslims from the United States released a joint statement expressing exactly how they feel about the horrific Orlando massacre on June 12 and said people should realise Muhammad Ali represents the true meaning of Islam.

Muhammad Ali should be the face of Islam, according to American Muslims. Picture: The Courier-Journal/APSource:AP

Ali was one of America’s greatest sportsmen of all time, and Muslims say he lived a life of love and tolerance and had respect for everybody.

He followed the Quran and was completely devoted to the faith.

According to American Muslims, people forget that people like Ali are what make up the Muslim community.

“We feel compelled to state it is an egregious offence against the culture and laws of America — as well as Islam’s — to place collective guilt on an entire community for the sin of individuals,” a joint statement from American Muslims said.

After Ali’s death earlier this month, American Muslims said they felt that he ended, once and for all, the claim a person couldn’t be both Muslim and American.

“We, as American Muslims, follow the open-hearted and inclusive Islam of Muhammad Ali and completely reject the hatred, provincialism, and intolerance of those who trample upon the rights of others, besmirching and defiling the name of Islam,” the American Muslims’ statement said.

“The criminal who took the lives of dozens of patrons of the Orlando nightclub and injured many others was an aggressor, plain and simple.”

The Quran states “do not be brutal or commit aggression, for surely God does not love brutal aggressors”.

American Muslims say Omar Mateen did not represent Islam. Picture: MySpace/APSource:AP

Mateen stormed the Orlando gay nightclub, Pulse, on June 12 about 2am (4pm AEST) and shot dead 49 people and injured dozens.

The 29-year-old called 911 and declared his allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group before gunning down partygoers and causing the worst mass shooting in US history.

Since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Muslims say they felt collectively guilty.

But a number of Americans stood by them, despite the differences in faith and lifestyle, and many of those people were of the targeted community.

“Difference is no justification for violence,” the statement said.

The American Muslims said there were extremists in America who viewed the world through tainted, “Manichean” lenses, which could be deadly.

“American Manicheans want Americans to see themselves as entirely ‘good’ and all Muslims as entirely ‘evil’,” the statement said.

“This is a catastrophic recipe for unrelenting violence, and it must be rejected.

“We will not allow the extremists to define us, mould us in their benighted image, or sow the seeds of discord among us. We are one people, so let us all in good conscience and human solidarity reject this extremist narrative and assert our shared humanity and mutual respect for the sanctity of all human life.”

American Muslims say it’s a time for people to come together and reject extremism. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFPSource:AFP

American Muslims extends their deepest condolences to the families and friends of victims of the “barbaric assault”.

“We unequivocally say that such an act of hate-fuelled violence has no place in any faith, including Islam. As people of faith, we believe that all human beings have the right to safety and security and that each and every human life is inviolable,” the statement said.

“We know that, given the tenor of the times, some will associate this tragedy with the religion of the perpetrator.”

The statement said as the killer was Islam, it added the religion to the long list of innocent victims.

“Any such acts of violence violate every one of our Prophet’s teachings,” the American Muslims said.

“For Muslims, that this carnage occurred in the blessed month of Ramadan — a month of charity, introspection, and self-purification — only adds to the foulness of this enormity.”