By LONNIE ALI
ASSALAMUALAIKUM, peace be upon you.
You know, I said something to Matt Lauer yesterday that I firmly believe Muhammad had something to do with all of this. And I think we are right. Thank you all for being here to share in this final farewell to Muhammad. On behalf of the Ali family, let me first recognise our principal celebrant Imam Zaid Shakir and also Dr. Timothy Gianotti. We thank you for your dedication to helping us fulfill Muhammad’s desire that the ceremonies of this past week reflect the traditions of his Islamic faith. And as a family, we thank the millions of people who through the miracle of social media, inspired by their love for Muhammad, have reached out to us with their prayers.
The messages have come in every language, from every corner of the globe. From wherever you are watching, know that we have been humbled by your heartfelt expressions of love. It is only fitting that we gather in a city to which Muhammad always returned after his great triumphs. A city that has grown as Muhammad has grown. Muhammad never stopped loving Louisville, and we know that Louisville loves Muhammad. We cannot forget a Louisville police officer, Joe Elsby Martin, who embraced a young 12-year-old boy in distress when his bicycle was stolen. Joe Martin handed young Cassius Clay the keys to a future in boxing he could scarcely have imagined.
America must never forget that when a cop and an inner-city kid talk to each other, then miracles can happen. Some years ago during his long struggle with Parkinson’s in a meeting that included his closest advisers, Muhammad indicated that when the end came for him, he wanted us to use his life and his death as a teaching moment for young people, for his country and for the world. In effect, he wanted us to remind people who are suffering that he had seen the face of injustice. That he grew up in segregation, and that during his early life he was not free to be who he wanted to be. But he never became embittered enough to quit or to engage in violence. It was a time when a young black boy his age could be hung from a tree. Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, in 1955, whose admitted killers went free. It was a time when Muhammad’s friends, men that he admired, like brother Malcolm, Dr. King, were gunned down, and Nelson Mandela imprisoned for what they believed in. For his part, Muhammad faced federal prosecution. He was stripped of his title and his license to box, and he was sentenced to prison. But he would not be intimidated so as to abandon his principles and his values.
Muhammad wants young people of every background to see his life as proof that adversity can make you stronger. It cannot rob you of the power to dream and to reach your dreams. This is why we built the Muhammad Ali Centre, and that is the essence of the Ali Centre message. Muhammad wants us to see the face of his religion, al-Islam, true Islam, as the face of love. It was his religion that caused him to turn away from war and violence. For his religion, he was prepared to sacrifice all that he had and all that he was to protect his soul and follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. So even in death, Muhammad has something to say. He is saying that his faith required that he take the more difficult road. It is far more difficult to sacrifice oneself in the name of peace than to take up arms in pursuit of violence. You know, all of his life Muhammad was fascinated by travel. He was childlike in his encounter with new surroundings and new people. He took his world championship fights to the ends of the earth, from the South Pacific, to Europe, to the Belgian Congo. And of course with Muhammad, he believed it was his duty to let everyone see him in person, because after all he was the greatest of all time. The boy from Grand Avenue in Louisville, KY., grew in wisdom from his journeys. He discovered something new, that the world really wasn’t black and white at all. It was filled with many shades of rich colours or languages and religions. And as he moved with ease around the world, the rich and powerful were drawn to him. But he was drawn to the poor and the forgotten.
Muhammad fell in love with the masses, and they fell in love with him. In the diversity of men and their faiths, Muhammad saw the presence of God. He was captivated by the work of the Dalai Lama. By Mother Teresa and church workers who gave their lives to protect the poor. When his mother died, he arranged for multiple faiths to be represented at her funeral. And he wanted the same for himself. We are especially grateful for the presence of the diverse faith leaders here today, and I would like to ask them to stand once more and be recognised. You know, as I reflect on the life of my husband, it’s easy to see his most obvious talents. His majesty in the ring as he danced under those lights enshrined him as a champion for the ages. Less obvious was his extraordinary sense of timing. His knack for being in the right place at the right time seemed to be ordained by a higher power.
Even though surrounded by Jim Crow, he was born into a family with two parents that nurtured and encouraged him. He was placed on the path of his dreams by a white cop, and he had teachers who understood his dreams and wanted him to succeed. The Olympic gold medal came, and the world started to take notice. A group of successful businessmen in Louisville, called the Louisville Sponsoring Group, saw his potential and helped him build a runway to launch his career. His timing was impeccable as he burst into the national stage just as television was hungry for a star to change the face of sports. You know, if Muhammad didn’t like the rules, he rewrote them. His religion, his name, his beliefs were his to fashion no matter what the cost. The timing of his actions coincided with a broader shift in cultural attitudes across America. Particularly on college campuses.
When he challenged the U.S. government on the draft, his chance of success was slim to none. That the timing of his decision converged with a rising tide of discontent on the war. Public opinion shifted in his direction, followed by a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in a stunning reversal of fortunes, he was free to return to the ring. When he travelled to Central Africa to reclaim his title from George Foreman, none of the sportswriters thought he could win. In fact, most of them feared for his life. But in what the Africans call the “miracle at 4 a.m.,” he became a champion once more. And as the years pass, and those slowed by Parkinson’s, Muhammad was compelled by his faith to use his name and his notoriety to support the victims of poverty and strife. He served as a U.N. Messenger of Peace and travelled to places like war-torn Afghanistan.
He campaigned as an advocate for reducing the yoke of third-world debt. He stunned the world when he secured the release of 15 hostages from Iraq. As his voice grew softer, his message took on greater meaning. He came full circle with the people of his country when he lit a torch that seemed to create new light in the 1996 Olympics. Muhammad always knew instinctively the road he needed to travel. His friends know what I mean when I say he lived in the moment. He neither dwelled in the past, nor harbored anxiety about the future. Muhammad loved to laugh, and he loved to play practical jokes on just about everybody. He was sure-footed in his self-awareness, secure in faith and he did not fear death. Yet his timing is once again poignant. His passing and its meaning for our time should not be overlooked. As we face uncertainty in a world and divisions at home as to who we are as a people, Muhammad’s life provides youthful guidance. Muhammad was not one to give up on the power of understanding, the boundless possibilities of love and the strength of our diversity. He counted among his friends people of all political persuasions, saw truth in all faiths and the nobility of all races as witnessed here today.
Muhammad may have challenged his government, but he never ran from it or from America. He loved this country and he understood the hard choices that are born of freedom. I think he saw a nation’s soul, measured by the soul of its people. For his part, he saw the good soul in everyone. And if you were one of the lucky ones to have met him, you know what I meant. He awoke every morning thinking about his own salvation, and he would often say, “I just want to get to heaven, and I’ve got to do a lot of good deeds to get there.” And I think Muhammad’s hope is that his life provides some guidance on how we might achieve for all people what we aspire for ourselves and our families. Thank you.