The memorial service will be held in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, on June 10.
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Ali died at the age of 74 a week ago.
Apart from Will Smith, Lewis, and Ellis, the other pallbearers will include Ali’s family and close friends.
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston, shouting and gesturing shortly after dropping Liston with a short hard right to the jaw on May 25, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine.
Ali’s second wife, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, and fourth wife, Lonnie Ali, were both in attendance, as was his daughter, Laila Ali, her husband, former National Football League player Curtis Conway, and their two children, son Curtis Jr. and daughter Sydney. You can hear more about their relationship here.
The death of the boxing icon has resonated around the world, but perhaps no more so than within his own communities: African-Americans and American Muslims. We welcome our sisters, our elders, our youngsters and of course our distinguished heads of state who have joined us.
“All were beloved to Muhammad Ali”.
“The Nation of Islam played a big role in the early religious disciplines in Muhammad Ali – his sense of sacrifice, his values”, Jackson said. Both Crystal and Gumbel shared a friendship with the boxer that spanned decades.
Muslims sit on the floor to as they arrive for the Jenazah prayer service to celebrate the life of boxing legend Muhammad Ali at Freedom Hall on June 9, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky.
The abrupt departure came after organizers refused to allow Erdogan to lay a cloth from the Kaaba – the cube-shaped structure at the center of Islam’s most sacred mosque – on Ali’s coffin during Muslim funeral prayers Thursday, the Hurriyet Daily News reported, citing information from the president’s office. It was a bold statement for Ali, who was then at the pinnacle of his athletic career. “He just loved people”, said Riley.
“But he went from being reviled and rejected to being revered”, Jackson said.
The funeral will continue on Friday with an interfaith memorial service and procession through Louisville passing key locations such as Ali’s childhood home, and a museum dedicated to him.
Kirby Adams bikes “The Greatest” bike route Thursday evening that stops at various landmarks significant to Muhammad Ali’s life in Louisville.
The burial was to be followed in the afternoon by a grand memorial service attended by over 15,000 people, including hundreds of celebrities and dignitaries. Still, many Muslim leaders say they are glad for the chance to highlight positive aspects of the religion through the example of Ali, one of the most famous people on the planet.
It isn’t clear what the Secret Service would do with such information. Throughout downtown Louisville, police and security vehicles jostled Thursday with tour buses full of fans. But beyond what Islam did for Ali, Ali did something for Islam, especially in America.
Boasting a record of 56 wins and five losses including 37 knockputs, Ali, nicknamed ‘The Greatest, ‘ is the only boxer as of today to be named five times by respected boxing magazine The Ring as the “Fighter of the Year”.
Jesse Jackson harkened back to that victory at the Olympics in Rome, when he talked about the procession.
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“It was a serious time in American history”, Lewis said.
