Thousands of people came together across creeds and nationalities for a Muslim prayer service in remembrance of Muhammad Ali on Thursday, the start of a two-day farewell to the beloved boxing legend and civil rights hero.
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In the end, it was Ali himself who planned his own funeral. Three days of funeral proceedings began Wednesday with a downtown festival called “I Am Ali”, in his hometown of Louisville, KY, and continued Thursday with a public Muslim service at the city’s Expo center.
The diversity of participants and well-wishers at the funeral, and beyond, speaks to the span and depth of Mr. Ali’s legacy. Scholar Sherman Jackson said Ali did more than any sheik, theologian or imam to normalize Islam in the U.S. At Ali’s service, Muslims lining up to join the recitation will be separated by gender, but the wider audience will not, Gianotti said.
“Muhammad Ali put the question as to whether you could be a Muslim and an American to rest”, Jackson said.
The US city of Louisville has been mourning its greatest son. Still, many Muslim leaders say they welcome the chance to highlight positive aspects of the religion through the example of the boxing champion, one of the most famous people on the planet.
Ads for the sale of the free tickets began popping up on the website Craigslist soon after it was announced that the event had no more seats available to the public.
Lewis told the Press Association: “It’s such a privilege and such an honour to be able to send the greatest and say farewell to him”.
“Muhammad Ali wanted this to be a free event, an event that was open to all”. Scholar and Imam Zaid Shakir led the roughly 30-minute service. He remembers how the whole community would gather for Ali’s fights – typically broadcast at around 4 am – in one of the two houses in the village with a television set. At its essence was a prayer of seeking forgiveness for the deceased, showing support to the family, and praying to the prophet Muhammad and Allah.
Before the service, attended by more than 14,000 people, Novak talked to several people outside Freedom Hall.
“Muhammad planned all of this”, Shakir said. “If no one fulfills those rights, then the entire community has fallen into sin”. Will Smith, who portrayed Muhammad Ali in the film Ali, will also attend.
Former US President Bill Clinton, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and comedian Billy Crystal are expected to speak during Friday’s memorial at a sports arena.
For those who would like to pay their respects but who can not attend the Friday service, there will be a live telecast on Muhammad Ali’s website at 2 p.m. EST.
He said Ali “meant the world” to him: “He was my idol, my friend, my mentor”. You saw this shining soul. It is nearly impossible to confine him to a single identity; he was a proud black man who grew up in a segregated South, a Muslim at a time when Islam was still finding itself in North America, a conscientious objector, a gifted boxer, a poet, and so much more.
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“In this climate we live in today, with Islamophobia being on the rise and a lot of hate-mongering going on, I think it’s incredible that someone of that caliber can unify the country and really show the world what Islam is about”, said 25-year-old Abdul Rafay Basheer, who traveled from Chicago for the service.
