LOUSVILLE: At a time when Muslims in America are facing scorn and bigotry, the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali should be remembered as the true, peaceful face of Islam, residents of his hometown say.
On Sunday, two days after the three-time heavyweight champion known simply as “The Greatest” died at age 74, hundreds of people filed past his childhood home in Louisville, now a museum dedicated to his remarkable life.
Mourners leaving flowers and other mementos remembered his sporting prowess and his activism, but also spoke of Ali and his Muslim faith — he converted in the mid-1960s — and how his example can help dispel stereotypes about Islam.
“As a Muslim, I think it’s definitely important for us that we have such a person in the respected world that’s known to everybody, that gives us a good image,” said Hamza Shah, a doctor in Louisville.
“With the stuff going on these days, most of the time, you see in the media there’s a bad image of Muslims,” Shah said.
“The one person we can definitely get a good image of was Muhammad Ali, and he portrayed what the real Islam is.”
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump sparked outrage at home and abroad in December when he suggested a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States.
“We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda,” Ali said in a sharp rebuke to the Trump proposal.
“I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam, and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is.”
Ali was respected throughout the Muslim world — from Pakistan to Indonesia, from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia and across Africa — for the values he espoused and promoted, the imam said.
After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, Ali sharply cautioned Americans against categorizing all Muslims as extremist killers.
“Islam is a religion of peace. It does not promote terrorism or killing people,” he said.
“I am angry that the world sees a certain group of Islam followers who caused this destruction, but they are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims, permitting the murder of thousands.”
He repeated the message in his December response to Trump, saying: “True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion.”
On Sunday, two days after the three-time heavyweight champion known simply as “The Greatest” died at age 74, hundreds of people filed past his childhood home in Louisville, now a museum dedicated to his remarkable life.
Mourners leaving flowers and other mementos remembered his sporting prowess and his activism, but also spoke of Ali and his Muslim faith — he converted in the mid-1960s — and how his example can help dispel stereotypes about Islam.
“As a Muslim, I think it’s definitely important for us that we have such a person in the respected world that’s known to everybody, that gives us a good image,” said Hamza Shah, a doctor in Louisville.
“With the stuff going on these days, most of the time, you see in the media there’s a bad image of Muslims,” Shah said.
“The one person we can definitely get a good image of was Muhammad Ali, and he portrayed what the real Islam is.”
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump sparked outrage at home and abroad in December when he suggested a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States.
“We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda,” Ali said in a sharp rebuke to the Trump proposal.
“I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam, and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is.”
Ali was respected throughout the Muslim world — from Pakistan to Indonesia, from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia and across Africa — for the values he espoused and promoted, the imam said.
After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, Ali sharply cautioned Americans against categorizing all Muslims as extremist killers.
“Islam is a religion of peace. It does not promote terrorism or killing people,” he said.
“I am angry that the world sees a certain group of Islam followers who caused this destruction, but they are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims, permitting the murder of thousands.”
He repeated the message in his December response to Trump, saying: “True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion.”
