The mother of a murdered British backpacker has accused Donald Trump of using her daughter’s death to further the “persecution of innocent people” by falsely claiming she was the victim of a terrorist attack.

Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, and Tom Jackson, 30, were killed in a knife attack at a hostel in Queensland last August. Smail Ayad, 29, from France, has been charged with the pair’s murder.

On Monday the White House released a list of 78 attacks that it described as “executed or inspired by” Islamic State to support a claim by Trump that the media has been under-reporting terrorist atrocities.

The list, which was designed to bolster the case for Trump’s ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, included the killing of Ayliffe-Chung and Jackson.

In a defiant open letter to Trump, Rosie Ayliffe pointed out that police discounted the possibility that the attack was terror related.

“My daughter’s death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people,” she wrote.

Ayliffe, from Wirksworth in Derbyshire, has repeatedly challenged what she says is the myth of a connection between her daughter’s death and Islamic fundamentalism. She insisted that Mia’s funeral should include a reading from the Qur’an to help discount the myth.

In her letter to Trump, she added: “The circumstances of Mia and Tom’s deaths prove that those with the strength of character to travel the world and learn about other cultures should be cherished as brave, resilient characters who have so much to offer if they are nurtured and give opportunities rather than defeated by adverse circumstances.”

She said of Trump’s travel ban: “This vilification of whole nation states and their people based on religion is a terrifying reminder of the horror that can ensue when we allow ourselves to be led by ignorant people into darkness and hatred.”

The letter concludes: “Treating immigrants as disposable commodities and disregarding their safety causes deaths throughout our so-called civilised world, and my daughter was not just a victim of a lone-wolf attacker with a possible predisposition for schizophrenia, but of this disregard.”