Page 5 The Islamic Bulletin Volume XXX No. 30 from the perspective of the white supremacy. He asked his mother, “Why is everything white?”, “the Angels’ food cake was the white cake and the Devil’s food cake was the chocolate cake. The president lives in a White House and Santa Claus was white. Everything bad was black, the little ugly duckling was black duck, the black cat was the bad luck and if I threaten you I’m going to blackmail you, I said ‘Mum, why don’t they call it white-mail, they lie too?” He started questioning his beliefs and while touring around the world he realized that six hundred million people were Muslims. He noted that every third person was named Muhammad. He has said that even though he had found it extremely difficult to read at a younger age, and was probably dyslexic he started reading profusely after his conversion to Islam. He read the Quran, Islamic books and research books in order to find contradictions in the Bible. He kept notes on all that he discovered in his readings and spoke profusely at various events and lectures when invited. The link between Christianity and white supremacy is what caused Ali to drift away from the Christian faith and to oppose white supremacy with all his might. After all, African Americans had been robbed of their true religion, Islam, and that is one of the reasons why he rejected the name given to him at birth and opted to be named Muhammad Ali, after the prophet. The slaves had been named after the people who had bought them and had not kept their own names. In 1964, shortly after he won the coveted title, Ali joined the Nation of Islam. It was then that he said, “Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it and I don’t want it,” “I am Muhammad Ali, a free name – it means beloved of God, and I insist people use it when people speak to me.” Muhammad Ali is the most well known American to convert to Islam. Later on, he met Malcolm X who became his spiritual mentor at that time. During a mass conversion of the Nation into Sunni Islam in 1974, organized by the son of the founder of the Nation of Islam Elijah Muhammad, Muhammad Ali converted to Sunni Islam. Muhammad Ali ceaselessly exalted the virtues of Islam as a universal and anti-racist religion. The absoluteness of Islam is embodied in the Hajj( pilgrimage) and the spirit of brotherhood and Ali endlessly spoke about it. Ali was touched when he saw how many different cultures and races converged in one place to honor Islam. He was always warmly accepted wherever he went and was very articulate about the way Islam connected humanity; no matter what race or ethnicity they were. He once said, “You can go to any country and say, Asalaamualaikum. Walaikum salaam and you’ve got a home, you’ve got a brother.” The reason Ali chose to follow the Islamic path was because he “never saw so much love, never saw so many people hugging each other, kissing each other and praying five times a day.” Muhammad Ali was a person that most people felt deeply connected to because he was very approachable and had a wonderful way of transcending any prejudices that he encountered on his travels. We all know that racism exists worldwide and in many variations, but Ali’s graceful manner reminded the Born in Louisville, Kentucky to a Baptist mother and a Methodist father, Ali was named Cassius Clay. His father was a sign painter and his mother, Odessa Clay, was a housemaid. The American South was racially segregated at that time and the young Ali grew up with all the humiliations and restrictions that the Jim Crow laws enforced on African Americans. When Muhammed Ali was 12, his bicycle was stolen and he reported it to a local police officer. He boldly declared to Officer Joe Martin that he ‘would whip the thief’ who stole his bike when he caught him. Officer Martin, who was quite amused by this bold and resolute young man, advised young Muhammad that he had better learn to fight and invited him to come and train at the gym he owned. Muhammed Ali took him up on his offer and the legen began. He would become the greatest ever heavy weight champion, winning the title 3 times and defending it 16 times. Ali was opposed to war and refused to fight in the Vietnam War. This resulted in him been banned from boxing for nearly four years. Throughout his life his battles in and out of the ring were many as he strove for perfection in every sphere of his life. From a very young age Ali would question many aspects of the Christian faith and he challenged the idea of having to see himself as inferior because of his race and color. His mother was often bombarded by him with questions such as “Why is Jesus white with blonde hair and blue eyes?”, and “Why are all the men at the last supper white?” The fact that white people were always portrayed in a positive way and that African Americans were given subordinate positions did not miss his keen observational qualities. Muhammad Ali’s fierce fighting skills were not only put to use in his boxing matches, but also against white supremacy and social injustices. Ali could not accept that the Christian faith interpreted the bible in a way that allowed for the degradation and subordination of anyone that was not white. Having been bothered from a very young age that beauty, goodness, truth and many other virtues were seen Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) Allah is the Greatest; I am just the greatest boxer.” Ali once said he wanted to be remembered “as a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him”
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