Ali, Muhammad

Muhammad Ali was the most famous American Muslim of the 20th century, and one of the most famous persons on earth at the pinnacle of his career. Known as “The Greatest of All Time,” Ali is regarded by many as the greatest boxer in history, and was named by Life, Sports Illustrated, and Time magazines as the greatest athlete of the 20th century. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky (January 17, 1942), he won several amateur boxing titles before winning an Olympic gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the age of 18 at the Rome Olympics in 1960. Shortly after that, he turned professional, and in 1964 won the world heavyweight boxing championship, defeating Sonny Liston in Miami, Florida. After that victory, he announced that he was a member of the Nation of Islam, and changed his name to Cassius X and then to Muhammad Ali. Malcolm X was one of his close friends, and he helped Ali in his transition to the Nation of Islam. As a Black Muslim, Ali declared that he was a conscientious objector, and in 1967 he refused induction into the US Armed Forces and service in the Vietnam War. He was stripped of his boxing titles, found guilty of a felony for violating the Selective Service Act of 1948, and although he was never imprisoned, he was unable to box and earn a living at doing what he was the best in the world. In 1971, the US Supreme Court heard his case, and overturned his conviction in a unanimous vote. Ali was able to return to boxing, and regained the world heavyweight title by defeating George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974. In 1978, he became the first heavyweight boxer to win the championship a third time with a defeat of Leon Spinks. Ali moved from the Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam in 1975, and became a prominent spokesperson for Islam in America. His name change, and the lack of recognition of that new name by the American establishment, was a key point in the US Civil Rights Movement, as was his refusal to be inducted into the US Armed Forces. Ali performed the Hajj several times, visited several Muslim majority countries as a goodwill ambassador, and in 1988 did humanitarian aid work on famine relief in Sudan. He spoke out against the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and received many honors from Muslim organizations around the world. After his death on June 3, 2016, he was given a Muslim funeral (janazah) on June 9 before his public memorial service on June 10, 2016 in his hometown of Louisville.