Muhammad Ali received guidance from Sunni-Sufi Islamic scholars such as Grand Mufti of Syria Almarhum Asy-Syaikh Ahmed Kuftaro, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, and Dr. Timothy J. Gianotti, who was at Ali's bedside during his last days and ensured that his funeral was in accordance with Islamic rites and rituals.[29][30]. Ive changed my religion and some of my beliefs since then, but her God is still God; I just call him by a different name. Odessa Clay (Ali's mum) was a Baptist, and Cassius Clay SNR (Ali's dad) was a Methodist. He sought to raise public interest in his fights by reading childlike poetry and spouting self-descriptive phrases such as float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. He told the world that he was the Greatest, but the hard realities of boxing seemed to indicate otherwise. . Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. They never called me nigger, they never lynched me, they didnt put no dogs on me, they didnt rob me of my nationality, rape and kill my mother and father. (Getty). Muhammad Ali died in June 2016. When his beloved bicycle was stolen, a tearful 12-year-old Clay reported the theft to Louisville police officer Joe Martin (1916-1996) and vowed to pummel the culprit. One of his daughters, however, Laila Ali, pursued a career as a professional boxer during which she went undefeated in 24 bouts between 1999 and 2007 while capturing a number of titles in various weight classes. Uncle of Laila Ali, and Hana Ali. Ali grew up at 3302 Grand Avenue in Louisville's West End and was introduced to boxing at a young age by a city policeman after the boy's bicycle was stolen. Although he remained free on bail, four years passed before his conviction was unanimously overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on a narrow procedural ground. Ali was the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions; he successfully defended this title 19 times. He played collegiately at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before becoming an amateur mixed martial artist. Muhammad Ali's Conversion to Islam Changed the World FYI. Muhammad Ali said that he first heard of the Nation of Islam when he was fighting in the Golden Gloves tournament in Chicago in 1959, and attended his first Nation of Islam meeting in 1961. Ali spent his later years embracing a more spiritual faith rather than adhering to religious doctrine. Maryum Ali showed interest in music. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. He claimed that as a minister of the Black Muslim religion he was not obligated to serve . It was a different time. Both . Ex-brother-in-law of Vernica Porche Ali, Sonji Roi, and Khalilah Camacho Ali. Finally granted a license to fight in 1970 in Georgia, which did not have a statewide athletic commission, Ali returned to the ring at Atlantas City Auditorium on October 26 with a win over Jerry Quarry. Seven months later Ali regained the championship with a 15-round victory over Spinks. While the first two are true the third certainly isnt. He met with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (1937-2006) in 1990 to negotiate the release of American hostages, and in 2002 he traveled to Afghanistan as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In his interview with Plimpton, Ali stated that Wallace Fard had prophesied that the holocaust would arrive in 1970, leveling everything, and leaving only 154,000 black survivors to "get things going again.". His mother, Odessa Grady Clay, worked as a household domestic. "It. On February 15, 1978, an aging Ali lost his title to Leon Spinks (1953-) in a 15-round split decision. Then, with the Vietnam War raging, Ali showed up for his scheduled induction into the U.S. Armed Forces on April 28, 1967. On March 8, 1971, Ali took on Joe Frazier in what has been called the Fight of the Century. Frazier and Ali went toe-to-toe for 14 rounds before Frazier dropped Ali with a vicious left hook in the 15th. His earlier adherence to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad (e.g., that white people are devils and there is no heaven or hell) were replaced by a spiritual embrace of all people and preparation for his own afterlife. The fighter kept his affiliation with the NOI a secret for three years, but revealed his membership soon after his match with Liston. Alis religious views also evolved over time. On one of his pilgrimages in 610, he was meditating in a cave on. Actor Will Smith played Ali in the biopic film Ali, released in 2001. [14] Ali's biographer David Remnick noted that everything "threatening or obscure" about the Nation of Islam's teachings, including the space platform, Yakub, and racial separatism, had long been forgotten by Ali. They are Rasheda, Jamillah, Maryum, Miya, Khaliah, Hana, and Laila. The pair met in June 1997 and have been married for over two decades. Parkinsons syndrome severely impaired Alis motor skills and speech, but he remained active as a humanitarian and goodwill ambassador. After losing his title to Leon Spinks on February 15, 1978, Ali defeated him months later in a rematch on September 15. Jones described the platform as "a bright light darting in the sky." Pallbearers included Will Smith, who once portrayed Ali on film, and former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. The end of his friendship with Malcolm because one of Alis greatest regrets in life, wrote Randy Roberts, the co-author of Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. People say a Muslim caused this destruction. Muhammad Jr. has a wife named Shaakira and they are both parents to Amerra and Shakira. Having refused induction into the U.S. Army, he also stood for the proposition that unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong. As Black activist Julian Bond later observed, When a figure as heroic and beloved as Muhammad Ali stood up and said, No, I wont go, it reverberated through the whole society.. Ali lived the final decade of his live in the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley, Arizona. Ali considered his Christian upbringing empty and sought out a new spiritual home, which he found in the Nation of Islam. Ali defeated Norton in a rematch. Muhammad Alis Religion: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. He taught that we're responsible for our own lives and it's no good to blame our problems on other people. Then he retired from boxing, but two years later he made an ill-advised comeback and suffered a horrible beating at the hands of Larry Holmes in a bout that was stopped after 11 rounds. Islam is a religion of peace. In 1970 the New York State Supreme Court ordered his boxing license reinstated, and the following year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a unanimous decision. Drafted into the military in April 1967, he refused to serve on the grounds that he was a practicing Muslim minister with religious beliefs that prevented him from fighting. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. All of them have grown up currently and are focused on their own lives. Fans line the path of Muhammad Alis funeral procession in 2016 near his childhood home in Louisville, Kentucky. Muhammad Ali holds the torch before lighting the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta on July 19, 1996. After graduating high school, he traveled to Rome and won the light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Muhammad Ali Jr is the first son born to Muhammad Ali by his second wife Khalilah Camacho Ali. His final record of 56 wins and 5 losses with 37 knockouts has been matched by others, but the quality of his opponents and his overwhelming success during his prime placed him among boxings immortals. Six weeks later, Clay won his first bout in a split decision. The platform contains bombs which would be dropped at Armageddon which would begin after a threshold in the earth's collective guilt had been breached. My father, Muhammad Ali, knew Islam is about peace. Following the win, the two held an evening of reflection in a hotel room with Jim Brown and Sam Cooke that became the inspiration for the One Night in Miami stage play and 2020 drama film. In his retirement, Ali devoted much of his time to philanthropy. There are consequences when you commit adultery., Eig says he paid Camacho-Ali $600 for the letter. Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has criticised US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering America. He baited Foreman into throwing wild punches with his rope-a-dope technique, before stunning his opponent with an eighth-round knockout to reclaim the heavyweight title. June 4, 2016. Ali said at the time (via Vice): Well I figured they would pressure me if I revealed it so I kept it quiet for about three years. He also spoke out against the Islamic extremists who carried out the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. One night at a skating rink in Louisville (I was on my way home), the skating rink was located at 9th and Broadway St., while I was standing outside the building in a crowd of about 400 people, all black people, like most boys [I was looking] for a pretty girl to say something to. In 1984, Ali announced that he had Parkinsons disease, a degenerative neurological condition. Clay often daydreamed in class and shadowboxed in the hallshe was training for the 1960 Olympics at the timeand his grades were so bad that some of his teachers wanted to hold him back from graduation. Bob was an executive chef when he met Rasheda, who is Muhammed Ali's daughter. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! How can you force a person for your own religion? Ali traveled to numerous countries, including Mexico and Morocco, to help out those in need. "[6] According to Dennis and Atyeo: Malcolm X firmly implanted in Ali's mind the belief that he was invincible which must have been of enormous psychological advantage to a young fighter facing the awesome Sonny Liston. Khaliah Ali (daughter with Aaisha Fletcher) Date of birth: 1974 Boyd and Alis divorce was finalized in 1977. I sneaked into meetings, sneak in the back door, look around for the police officer, pass me in, before going in. Thus, purists cringed when Clay predicted the round in which he intended to knock out an opponent, and they grimaced when he did so and bragged about each new conquest. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. But he never became embittered enough to quit or to engage in violence., Clinton spoke about how Ali found self-empowerment: I think he decided, before he could possibly have worked it all out, and before fate and time could work their will on him, he decided he would not ever be disempowered. He made a statement saying: Islam is a religion of peace. Muhammad Alis mother was his greatest supporter despite their separate spiritual paths. At the age of 12, Clay discovered his talent for boxing through an odd twist of fate. On November 14, 1966, Ali fought Cleveland Williams. I wanted a place that would inspire people to be the best that they could be at whatever they chose to do, and to encourage them to be respectful of one another.. Muhammad Ali, original name Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., (born January 17, 1942, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.died June 3, 2016, Scottsdale, Arizona), American professional boxer and social activist. In addition to being a police officer, Martin also trained young boxers at a local gym. Al, in full Al ibn Ab lib, also called Al al-Murta, (born c. 600, Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia]died January 661, Kufa, Iraq), cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, and fourth of the "rightly guided" (rshidn) caliphs, as the first four successors of Muhammad are called. Alis description of the cartoon matches a strip printed in the December 1961 edition of Muhammad Speaks, below. And it made sense. (Getty). The next year, his friend Sam Saxon introduced him to Malcolm X. Ali and Malcolm X became good friends and Malcolm was ringside when Ali defeated Sonny Liston in 1964 to become the world heavyweight champion. Prior to the memorial service, a funeral procession traveled 20 miles through Louisville, past Alis childhood home, his high school, the first boxing gym where he trained, and along Ali Boulevard as tens of thousands of fans tossed flowers on his hearse and cheered his name. In 2005, Ali received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. Ali's father, Cassius Clay Sr., was a Methodist, but he allowed his wife, Odessa O'Grady Clay, a devout Christian, raised their sons Cassius Jr. (Ali) and Rudolph "Rudy," as Baptist. Three years later, he won the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, as well as the Amateur Athletic Unions national title for the light heavyweight division. The pair had two daughters together, Hana and Laila Ali. Muhammad Ali converted to Islam in the early 1960s. For the performance, Smith received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. That would seem to suggest, at the very least, that it was a key moment in his journey., Camacho-Ali sees the first anniversary of Alis passing as another chance to celebrate him, flaws and all. Surprisingly, his allegiances were with supreme leader Elijah Muhammad and not the exiled Malcolm X. Ali and Malcolms friendship quickly fractured, and the two went their separate ways by that spring. After his bike was stolen, Clay told police officer Joe Martin that he wanted to beat up the thief. In 1996, he lit the Olympic cauldron at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, an emotional moment in sports history. father: Muhammad Ali mother: Khalilah Camacho Ali siblings: Asaad Amin, Hana Ali, Jamillah Ali, Khaliah Ali, Laila Ali, Maryum Ali, Miya Ali, Muhammad Ali Jr. children: Biaggio Ali Walsh Family Members Black Miscellaneous U.S. State: Pennsylvania, African-American From Pennsylvania City: Philadelphia More Facts Recommended Lists: American People Also known as: Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. Thomas Hauser graduated from law school in 1970 and began writing in 1977. One of Alis greatest regrets and he said as much is that he never patched things up with Malcolm, that he never told Malcolm how important he was to him. Ali married his fourth wife, Lonnie (ne Yolanda Williams), in 1986. Wallace would go on to change the name of the Nation of Islam to, initially the World Community of al-Islam in the West, and later to the American Muslim Mission. Muhammad Ali, original name Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., (born January 17, 1942, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.died June 3, 2016, Scottsdale, Arizona), American professional boxer and social activist. In 1996 Ali was chosen to light the Olympic flame at the start of the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta, Georgia. Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, lands a punch during a 1963 bout against Doug Jones. In the letter, which Camacho-Ali says her ex-husband wrote some time in the late 1960s, Ali describes seeing a cartoon in the Nation of Islam newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, outside a skating rink in his hometown of Louisville. Muhammad Ali was a piece of shit terrible person. But youre not bigger than Allah. Uncle-in-law of Curtis Conway. Like Malcolm X before him, Ali left the Nation and embraced the more mainstream Sunni Islam in 1975 following the death of Elijah Muhammad. But I've changed what I believe, and what I believe in now is true Islam. Magazines, Digital Ali died at the age of 74 on June 3, 2016. She had a short career in the music industry and later graduated Magna Cum Laude. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}10 Things You Might Not Know About Jimmy Butler, Celebrities & Notables Running the Boston Marathon, 7 Facts About Gymnast and TikTok Star Olivia Dunne, Nat Sweetwater Cliftons First NBA Season, 8 Negro League Legends Featured in a New MLB Game, Get to Know NCAA Tournament Star Caitlin Clark, 10 Things You Might Not Know About Shohei Ohtani. Boyd and Ali had four children together: Maryum, born in 1969; Jamillah and Rasheda, both born in 1970; and Muhammad Ali Jr., born in 1972. The same day, he had an interview scheduled with Readers Digest conducted by Howard Bingham, his former public relations manager. However, the schools principal Atwood Wilson could see Clays potential and opposed this, sarcastically asking the staff, Do you think Im going to be the principal of a school that Cassius Clay didnt finish?. A member of Ali's entourage, Cody Jones, who was also present during this interview, corroborated what Ali said and claimed he had seen the platform together with Ali at five A.M. one morning when the two were out jogging. He still tries to convert people to Islam, but its not the same. Born: January 17th, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. She taught us to love people and treat everybody with kindness. Just take me to jail. The dramatic period of his life from 1964 to 1974 was the basis of the film Ali (2001), in which Will Smith starred as the boxer. Resting Place: Cave Hill Cemetery. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Bob Gunnell . Then Muhammad brought Ali in as a close confidant and offered him his new name, Muhammad Ali, which the boxer adopted in 1964. The eight-hour docuseries premieres on PBS on Sept. 19, and before you tune in, check out our list of the many ways the heavyweight . Subsequently, he encouraged all mosques affiliated with his organization to "be independent under the leadership of the Muslim American Society, or the Ministry of W. Deen Mohammed. The three-time heavyweight boxing champion, who passed away on June 3 at age 74, spent 15 years as a Black Muslim (as the Nations members were often called) before converting to Sunni Islam. Seen here in 1966, Muhammad Ali was against the Vietnam War even before he famously refused to fight with the U.S. military. Clay infuriated devotees of the sport as much as he impressed them. Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest boxers in history, the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions. Rashedas son Nico Walsh Ali became a boxer like his grandfather and aunt. The former champions motor skills slowly declined, and his movement and speech were limited. Muhammad Ali Jr.'s Wife: Shaakira Ali. After advancing through the amateur ranks, he won a gold medal in the 175-pound division at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and began a professional career under the guidance of the Louisville Sponsoring Group, a syndicate composed of 11 wealthy white men. Explain, she instructed him, why you embraced Islam in the first place. In his later life, Ali continued to try and convert others to Islam, but he spent more time doing charity work, his daughter Hana said. True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anybody. [20] Around 2005, Ali adopted Sufi Islam, and announced that out of all Islamic spiritual schools of thought, he felt most strongly inclined towards Sufism.[21][22][23][24][25][26]. Alis relationship with Malcolm X is explored in the fictionalized 2020 drama One Night in Miami and the 2021 documentary Blood Brothers: Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali. Following Ali's death, I graciously witnessed my own family's story on television and social media. It also ended Ali and Malcolms friendship when Ali decided to stay loyal to Muhammad. Ali has been married four times and has seven daughters and two sons.
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