Before his death, Ali rebuked Trump in December when the businessman turned politician called for temporarily barring all Muslims from entering the United States. “He was a great and true ambassador of Islam, who has inspired Muslim youth around the world”.
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After a private family funeral on Thursday, Ali’s coffin will be transported through the streets of Louisville on Friday, before a public memorial service at an arena, with former president Bill Clinton among celebrities expected to offer eulogies. Heck, Ali may not even have been the greatest heavyweight.
It was one of several emotional remembrances Sunday as the city joined together to mourn its most celebrated son, the Louisville Lip.
About 30 men and children gathered at a northeast mosque to honour Muhammad Ali as a fighter in and out of the boxing ring.
Hassaan Rizvi, 15, says Muhammad Ali has been a huge inspiration to him as a Muslim.
Yeoh said that he was very touched that Ali decided to make an appearance on the night of the charity event, as the boxer had not attended it the previous two years.
When he was 12, Ali had a bicycle that was stolen and he told a police officer he wanted to “whoop” whoever took it, Fischer said.
Atendees used markers to write notes to the superstar boxer on a paper banner.
Ali’s funeral will be held Friday in his hometown Louisville, Kentucky.
An airplane carrying the boxing great’s body landed in Louisville on Sunday afternoon.
His spokesman Bob Gunnell said Ali died surrounded by his family for the last hour of his life. The casket was loaded into a hearse and taken to a local funeral home, where dozens of fans were waiting to show their respect.
After the Friday procession, a memorial service open to everyone will be held at Louisville’s KFC YUM!
Ali’s father, Cassius Clay Sr., a painter, was a member of King Solomon before his death decades ago.
Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s – a neurological disease with no cure – in 1984, when he was 42 years old and a few years removed from his boxing career.
At the city’s iconic Brown Hotel, the Muhammad Ali Suite, an opulent gold-and-black room dedicated in 2001 by The Greatest himself, was already booked. He recalled when he was raising money in the 1960s to keep a programme running to feed the city’s hungry, and Ali cut him a cheque. The building where they worked is long gone, knocked down in the early 1990s.
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In 2002, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce placed Ali’s star at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, honoring him in the “live performances” category for his fabulous success in the boxing ring. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I loved him.
