WASHINGTON – America must find a way to keep the country safe without demonizing Muslims, Hillary Clinton has said.

“We cannot demonize, demagogue and declare war on an entire religion. That is just dangerous,” Clinton said. 

Speaking on Monday following the massacre at an Orlando nightclub, the Democratic presidential candidate, called for “statesmanship, not partisanship”.

Clinton also called for steps to prevent people who are on the US no-fly list from purchasing guns and said possible restrictions on assault weapons needed to be part of the debate.

The former US secretary of state has also said in several television interviews that she would support stronger measures to prevent so-called lone wolf attacks and urged closer internet monitoring. 

She said she was committed to protecting the rights of Muslim Americans at the same time.

In an interview on CNN, Anchor Chris Cuomo started the interview by pointing out that Clinton is under increased scrutiny for her refusal to talk about radical Islamic terror. He said, “[Many point out that] President Obama won’t use the words ‘radical Islamic terror,’ that it seems to be either a fear or a protective instinct about blaming the religion. You are now coming under scrutiny about what you will call this.”

He asked pointedly, “Do you believe that this is radical Islamism or radical Islamic terror?”

Clinton quickly sidestepped the question by saying, “First all, it matters what we do more than what we say. It mattered that we got bin Laden, not what name we called him.” She went on to say, “We face terrorist enemies who use Islam to slaughter innocent people,” the implication being that it’s not Islam’s fault, but the fault of those who hijack Islam.