Shortly after he defeated Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight championship in February 1964, Muhammad Ali announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam. Here Ali meets with Malcolm X, who led Ali to the Nation of Islam, in New York.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: John Peodincuk/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Shortly after he defeated Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight championship in February 1964, Muhammad Ali announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam. Here Ali meets with Malcolm X, who led Ali to the Nation of Islam, in New York.

Flanked by fellow pilgrims, Muhammad Ali prays inside the Holy Mosque in Mecca during a January 1972 pilgrimage to the spiritual center of the Muslim world. After visiting the Prophet Mohammed's tomb in Medina, Ali said he became convinced that he could defeat Joe Frazier in a rematch.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Flanked by fellow pilgrims, Muhammad Ali prays inside the Holy Mosque in Mecca during a January 1972 pilgrimage to the spiritual center of the Muslim world. After visiting the Prophet Mohammed's tomb in Medina, Ali said he became convinced that he could defeat Joe Frazier in a rematch.

Muhammad Ali kisses the Holy Black Stone in the Kaaba during his pilgrimage to Mecca in January 1972. The stone is said to have been given to Abraham by the archangel Gabriel.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Muhammad Ali kisses the Holy Black Stone in the Kaaba during his pilgrimage to Mecca in January 1972. The stone is said to have been given to Abraham by the archangel Gabriel.

Ali addresses a Nation of Islam meeting in London in December 1974. The following year, Ali left the Nation of Islam and embraced Sunnism, a more mainstream Islamic faith.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: Tim Graham/Evening Standard/Getty Images

Ali addresses a Nation of Islam meeting in London in December 1974. The following year, Ali left the Nation of Islam and embraced Sunnism, a more mainstream Islamic faith.

Muslims reach out to shake hands with Muhammad Ali during his visit to a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in June 1975. After leaving the Nation of Islam, Ali followed Sunni Islam.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: TEE/AP

Muslims reach out to shake hands with Muhammad Ali during his visit to a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in June 1975. After leaving the Nation of Islam, Ali followed Sunni Islam.

Ali prays at a mosque in Cairo in October 1986.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: MIKE NELSON/AFP/Getty Images

Ali prays at a mosque in Cairo in October 1986.

Muhammad Ali prays in a mosque at his former training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvaina, in June 1991. By 2005, Ali had embraced Sufism, a strand of Islam that emphasizes a personal connection with the divine.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: RICHARD DREW/AP

Muhammad Ali prays in a mosque at his former training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvaina, in June 1991. By 2005, Ali had embraced Sufism, a strand of Islam that emphasizes a personal connection with the divine.

After the attacks of 9/11, Muhammad Ali spoke out against terrorism, saying that true followers of Islam are peaceful.

Photos: Muhammad Ali's religious journey

PHOTO: Mario Tama/Getty Images

After the attacks of 9/11, Muhammad Ali spoke out against terrorism, saying that true followers of Islam are peaceful.

Story highlights

Hana Ali: Two days after a funeral celebrating life of my father, Muhammad Ali, the Orlando shooting subverts a religion of peace

"My father raised us to respect all religions," she says; he'd urge us not to judge entire religion for deeds of a few

Editor’s Note: Hana Ali is the third-youngest of Muhammad Ali’s nine children and the co-author, with her father, of “The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey,” his autobiography.

(CNN) —

My family and I were deeply troubled to hear of the tragic disregard for human life that took place in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday morning, just two days after my father’s funeral.

His funeral had been a celebration of his life where world leaders and religious figures of different faiths came together in the spirit of peace, love and religious tolerance to honor the life of the world’s most famous Muslim, Muhammad Ali, a man who loved his religion and dedicated himself to spreading its truths and many wisdoms.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Hana Ali

Hana Ali and Muhammad Ali

Our father would be profoundly saddened and disappointed by the cowardice and heartless displays of inhumanity shown by the so-called Muslim gunman who took the lives of so many innocent people in the name of a religion which has as its very meaning: peace.

As much as my father loved his faith, he raised us to respect all religions and all people and to judge no one. He taught us that no man has the knowledge and understanding God has, and he often quoted one of his favorite Islamic sayings when teaching us this spiritual lesson. “If all the oceans were ink and all of the trees were pens, it still would not be enough to write the knowledge of God.”

My father condemned no one, forgave everyone and always kept love in his heart.

“Hana,” he’d say, “There is only one true religion, and that is the religion of the heart. God never named it Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc. Man gave the titles, and that’s what separates and divides us. My dream is to one day see a world that comes together to fight for one cause – the human cause…”