After Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, India-born Google head Sundar Pichai came out against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent anti-Muslim tirade.

"Let's not let fear defeat our values", Pichai wrote on Friday on Medium, a blog platform. "... it's not just about opportunity. The open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance of new Americans is one of the country's greatest strengths and most defining characteristics. And that is no coincidence -- America, after all, was and is a country of immigrants."

Pichai, however, didn't name Trump directly. But he did make a reference to the controversy. "That is why it's so disheartening to see the intolerant discourse playing out in the news these days -- statements that our country would be a better place without the voices, ideas and the contributions of certain groups of people, based solely on where they come from, or their religion," Pichai wrote.

Earlier this week, Trump advocated a ban on all new immigration of Muslims to the US. The idea was widely condemned, including by some of his fellow Republicans.

Pichai himself is an immigrant. He moved to the US almost 22 years ago. "I was fortunate enough to gain entry to a university here, and time after time, I saw that hard work opened other doors. I have built a career and a family and a life here. And I've felt as much a part of this country, as I felt growing up in India," he wrote.

Facebook CEO Zuckerberg had written about supporting Muslims, saying that they should not fear being "persecuted for the actions of others." Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post that the Muslim community should not face discrimination following attacks in Paris and elsewhere linked to extremists.

"After the Paris attacks and hate this week, I can only imagine the fear Muslims feel that they will be persecuted for the actions of others," he wrote. "As a Jew, my parents taught me that we must stand up against attacks on all communities. Even if an attack isn't against you today, in time attacks on freedom for anyone will hurt everyone."


Complete text of Pichai's letter:

Let's not let fear defeat our values

I came to the US from India 22 years ago. I was fortunate enough to gain entry to a university here, and time after time, I saw that hard work opened other doors. I have built a career and a family and a life here. And I've felt as much a part of this country, as I felt growing up in India.

My experience is obviously not unique. It's been said a million times that America is the "land of opportunity" -- for millions of immigrants, it's not an abstract notion, but a concrete description of what we find here. America provided access to opportunities that simply didn't exist for many of us before we arrived.

And it's not just about opportunity. The open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance of new Americans is one of the country's greatest strengths and most defining characteristics. And that is no coincidence -- America, after all, was and is a country of immigrants.

That is why it's so disheartening to see the intolerant discourse playing out in the news these days -- statements that our country would be a better place without the voices, ideas and the contributions of certain groups of people, based solely on where they come from, or their religion.

I walk around the campus where I work and see a vibrant mix of races and cultures. Every one of those people has a different voice ... a different perspective ... a different story to tell. All of that makes our company an exciting and special place to be, and allows us to do great things together. We are urgently working to become much more diverse, because it's so important to our future success. I firmly believe that whether you're building a company or leading a country, a diverse mix of voices and backgrounds and experiences leads to better discussions, better decisions, and better outcomes for everyone.

I debated whether to post this, because lately it seems that criticism of intolerance just gives more oxygen to this debate. But I feel we must speak out -- particularly those of us who are not under attack. Everyone has the right to their views, but it's also important that those who are less represented know that those are not the views of all.

Let's not let fear defeat our values. We must support Muslim and other minority communities in the US and around the world.