AP Photo/Scott Heppell
"There's a level of hatred within a certain community, in this case the Muslim community," Trump said during an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"There's a level of hatred that people don't want to talk about," he added.
The Republican presidential front-runner has sparked a number of controversies in recent weeks with his heated rhetoric about Muslims.
Among other things, Trump has appeared open to the idea of a database for Muslim Americans, called for the surveillance of mosques, and strongly supports a disputed claim that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheered as the World Trade Center towers fell on September 11, 2001.
During his "Morning Joe" interview, Trump was also asked if he believes Islam is an "inherently peaceful religion" or an "inherently violent religion." Trump said he saw both sides of the issue.
"There's something going on," he replied. "There's something definitely going on. I don't know that that question could be answered. It could be answered two ways. It could be answered both ways. But there's something going on there."
Trump pointed to both the September 11 terror attacks and the recent massacre in Paris that was linked to the Islamic State group.
"There's a lot of hatred coming out of at least a big part of it," he said. "You see the hatred. I mean, we see it every day. You see it whether it's in Paris, whether it's the World Trade Center. ... There's something nasty coming out of there. And you could answer it any way you want. But at least we have to know the problem."