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| [May 17, 1962, Age 20] |
To understand Muhammad Ali, one must dig into how he understood the issues of race and religion, which were intertwined for him. However, no one cared much about his views until he shocked the boxing world by winning the heavyweight title on February 25, 1964.
Almost all boxing experts rank Muhammad Ali as the greatest boxer of all time. However, in his first fight with Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title, he was no better than a 7-to-1 underdog. Comedienne Jackie Gleason, a fight fanatic, wrote in the New York Post: “I predict Sonny Liston will win in 18 seconds of the first round, and my estimate includes the three seconds Blabber Mouth will bring into the ring with him.”
Ali’s style was extremely unorthodox. He kept his hands down and did the “Ali Shuffle,” moving in a clockwise circle around Liston, daring him to punch him. He knew exactly what Liston’s reach was, and whenever Sonny would punch, he would move his head back just far enough not to be hit. He purposely had the word spread to Liston’s camp that he was scared to death of Liston, in the hope that this would lead Liston to slack off on his training. His goal was to wear Sonny down, who had trained to go only 3 rounds, and had predicted a knockout in Round 2. When Round 7 was to begin, Sonny remained in his chair, unable or unwilling to go any further, and Ali, in his 20th professional fight, was now the heavyweight champion of the world by TKO (Technical Knockout). Now the boxing world was forced to take Muhammad Ali seriously, and they wasted little time in getting down to business.
The day after winning the title, Muhammad was confronted at his press conference. The question was direct, “Are you a card- carrying member of the Black Muslims?”
When I visited the Clay family home in Louisville, there was a picture of Odessa Clay, Cassius’ and Rudy’s Mother, dressing them up in their Sunday best to go off to her Baptist church. This is how Muhammad’s spiritual journey began, but not how it would end.
Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, had his headquarters in Chicago. In 1959 at a Golden Gloves Tournament in Chicago, Ali came across a copy of the Nation’s newspaper, Muhammad Speaks. He explains the effect on his views: “I didn’t pay much attention to it, but lots of things were working on my mind. When I was growing up, a colored boy named Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman. Emmett Till was the same age as me, and even though they caught the men who did it, nothing happened to them. . . . . In my own life there were places I couldn’t go, places I couldn’t eat. I got a gold medal representing the United States at the Olympic Games, and when I came home to Louisville . . . .there were restaurants I couldn’t get served in. Some people kept calling me ‘boy.’ Then in Miami [in 1961] I . . . .met a follower of Elijah Muhammad named Captain Sam. He invited me to a meeting, and after that, my life changed. . . . .For three years, up until I fought Sonny Liston, I’d sneak into Nation of Islam meetings through the back door. . . . .I was afraid, if they knew, I wouldn’t be allowed to fight for the title.” [Thomas Hauser, Muhammad Ali, p. 89, 97]
It was while Muhammad was training in Miami that he starting spending time with Malcolm X, who treated him like a younger brother. Rumors floated around before the fight that Cassius had converted from Christianity to Islam, but the promoters of the fight did not want that word to get out, for fear it would hurt interest in the fight. Cassius went along with this request, and avoided saying anything about his religious allegiances before the fight. But, now that the fight was over, and he was the champion, he confronted the issue head on, stating:
“‘Card-carrying.’ What does that mean? I believe in Allah and in peace. I don’t try to move into white neighborhoods. I don’t want to marry a white woman. I was baptized when I was twelve, but I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m not a Christian anymore. I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I am.”
The next day Clay explained his views further. He rejected the term “Black Muslim” as a “press word,” explaining, “It’s not a legitimate name. The real name is ‘Islam.’ That means peace. . . .I ain’t no Christian. I can’t be, when I see all the colored people fighting for forced integration getting blowed up." [Remnick, pp. 205-208].
Ten days later Elijah Muhammad in a radio broadcast announced, “This Clay name has no meaning. I hope he will accept being called by a better name. Muhammad Ali is what I will give him for as long as he believes in Allah.”
In the words of Ali himself, “Changing my name was one of the most important things that happened to me in my life. It freed me from the identity given to my family by slave masters.” [Hauser, 102] “‘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 and of me.”
For Ali, then, his religious faith tied directly into his understanding of race. He chose to stand on the side of “”black pride” and “black is beautiful.” In his words, “I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”
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| [With Rahaman Ali, June 2016 |
When I visited Muhammad’s childhood home, and met his brother, Rudy, I asked him when he became Rahaman Ali, and he said at the same time that Cassius became Muhammad Ali. We then discussed the reasons behind this change in faith, and it is impossible not to see the irony in reference to the conflict between Christianity and Islam today, along with the struggle of blacks today to achieve equality within our society.
Cassius and Rudy experienced Christianity as the religion that stood behind slavery in the past, and now supported segregation. And it was Christians who resorted to violence in the attempt to destroy the civil rights movement. The Nation of Islam thought Martin Luther King, Jr. and the other civil rights leaders were naive to believe that white people would ever really accept blacks as equals.
For Cassius and Rudy, Islam accepted everyone and was the religion of peace. It was also opposed to alcohol and adultery. Now, one can find examples where these ideals were not upheld, but it is significant to note that it was those ideals that Cassius found to be much more attractive than his experience of Christianity, and were the reasons behind his conversion, a conversion that would cost him dearly. Within months of winning the title, the World Boxing Association stripped him of his title because of his name change and conversion to Islam.
But what will cost him even more is the stand that he would take on the Vietnam War and his refusal to be drafted, which will be discussed in the next blog.
In the three Judeo-Christian religions that dominate the Western world, over and over again we see that each of these historic faiths has been used to justify violence, subjugation, and oppression, and each also can be the bedrock on which forgiveness, understanding, peace and reconciliation can be built. Nelson Mandela experienced oppression at the hands of mostly Christian whites, but then, when released from prison, found in Christianity the forgiveness and love that would lead to reconciliation and truth in South Africa.
In the case of Muhammad and Rahman Ali, they found acceptance and peace by turning to Islam. As Muhammad once said, “I learned something from people everywhere. There’s truth in Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, all religions. And in just plain talking. The only religion that matters is the real religion — love. I’m color blind. I love people. Black, white, rich or poor.”
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