Thesis: Mohammad Ali will not only be remembered as charismatic and fearless boxing champion but also the advocator of social justice through his perspective against war, injustice, and his support for peace and Islam.
Introduction
Mohammad Ali, born as Cassius Marcellus Clay, took the personal fear and tribulations of the Black people in American history to transform himself into a world champion.
The heroic years in his boxing career were the years between 1964 and 1974 where Ali "shook up the world with his tremendous boxing and verbal skills.
Mohammad Ali was one of the most influential celebrities who had a significant impact on American people especially the oppressed African Americans.
Ali was a social activist who fought inside and outside the ring and took a revolutionary stand against the social injustice without the fear of losing his title or reputation.
Mohammad Ali will not only be remembered as charismatic and fearless boxing champion but also the advocator of social justice through his perspective against war, injustice, and his support for peace and Islam.
Background
Cassius Marcellus Clay was born on January 17, 1942, in Kentucky. He was the son of the Cassius Clay Sr. and Odessa.
Later in 1954, Ali at the age of 12 years became interested in learning how to fight and approached a police officer who a boxing coach at a neighboring Gym.
His boxing career came to the limelight in 1960's and 1970's. However, after even a gold medal at Olympics held in Rome, he was still encountering incidents of racial discrimination (Reed, 2004)
Mohammad Ali became one of the polarizing and controversial figures in America while he refused to join the armed forces during the Vietnam War and his decision to accede to the Islam.
His charisma and courage have made Ali one of the most renowned and loved people in the world.
Mohammad Ali and his campaign against injustice
Through the influence of Malcolm X, Ali expressed his stand on the civil rights movement during his persuasive public performances in the 1960s.
Although Ali was a violent man inside the ring, promoted justice and peace nonviolently outside the ring.
He utilized his ego to express and speak his mind in public instead of adhering to the traditionally second-class status of the African Americans (Gorsevski & Butterworth, 2011).
Ali took a strong and revolutionary stand against the imperialism in the United States and recognized this system as "the white power structure" (Chrisman, et al. 2012).
Ali became the generic advocate of "black pride" as he fought for the black oppression by the whites in the United States.
He created philosophies and practices during his successful decade between 1964 and 1974, and later became the universal humanitarian (Chrisman, et al. 2012).
His social and political opinions were ideologically extreme and influenced by the racism exhibited in Jim Crow South and the Nation of Islam.
The connection between Mohammad Ali boxing career and race
Ali utilized sport as the only opportunity where the blacks were in a position to assert themselves (Saeed, 2002).
Ali became the Black Nationalist and repeatedly asserted that blacks have to live in their own black nation to fulfill themselves.
He strongly opposed the white culture and believed that the American States such as Georgia or Alabama should be the Black Nation.
Ali was focused on fighting against the hypocrisy and injustices of the white Americans (Doyle, 2006).
However, showed the American patriotism in which he described the United States of America as the best country in the world (Saeed, 2002).
Mohammad Ali’s campaign against the war
Mohammad Ali's view against the war in the United States was depicted when he refused to join the armed forces during the period of War in Vietnam.
His membership in the Nation of Islam and the racial ideology were the contributing factor behind his rejection to engage into war.
Instead, Ali pursued to be the heavyweight champion and a defiant black nationalist (Chrisman et al. 2012).
Fundamentally, Nation of Islam shaped his conscientious objection to fighting the people of color and the Asian brothers.
Ali explained that engaging into a war was a contradiction to his strong religious beliefs.
Ali asserted that he was the greatest and he had no quarrel with the Vietnam and hence no apparent reason to engage in war with them.
He suggested, "My new job is freedom, justice, and equality for black folks, to bring them the knowledge of their true selves" (Ali, 2012, p.21).
Ali's persistent support for Islam and peace
Ali converted from Christianity to Muslim to show his support and solidarity to the Muslim brothers.
He developed a new identity and changed his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay to Mohammed Ali after joining the Nation of Islam.
He joined the Nation of Islam, also known as the Black Muslims, and started to study its doctrine related to the Muslim Faith.
He believed that that the white people were more proficient about the Islam religion, and they could not let the black know about it.
Ali proclaimed that he believe in peace and Allah but suggested that he would not like interacting with the white neighborhoods.
Ali showed his support for the Islam despite the fact that the country was hostile to the Muslim community (Reed, 2004).
For instance, the World Boxing Association stripped his title after converting to Islam.
However, he was determined to risk the material possession and have a valuable possession of conscience at peace.
Having found the conscience within himself, allowed him to perceive war as unjust and immoral.
Reed asserts, "Ali was torn between his civil duty and his religious obligation, and his internal dialogue would not allow him to disregard his loyalty to his faith" (2004, p.109).
Conclusion
Mohammad Ali will not only be remembered as charismatic and fearless boxing champion but also the advocator of social justice through his perspective against war, injustice, and his support for peace and Islam.
Ali expressed his stand on the civil rights movement during his persuasive public performances in the 1960s.
Mohammad Ali's stand against the war in the United States was depicted when he refused to join the armed forces during the period of War in Vietnam.
Through his faith and conscience, Mohammed Ali became one of the most influential figures of peace in the Muslim community.
His fight inside and outside the ring made him a universally loved and admired heavyweight champion and fighter for social justice.
Significantly, Ali aspired millions of individuals to believe in themselves and accomplish the things that would be seen as undoable or impossible.
References
Ali, M. (2012). Interviews: Muhammad Ali. The Black Scholar, 42(2), 14-21.
Chrisman, L., Cha-Jua, S. K., & Chude-Sokei, L. (2012). Introduction to Black Scholar classics: remembering the 1970s. The Black Scholar, 42(2), 3-7.
Doyle, K. (2006). Muhammad goes to hollywood: Michael Mann's Ali as biopic. The Journal of Popular Culture, 39(3), 383-406.
Gorsevski, E. W., & Butterworth, M. L. (2011). Muhammad Ali's fighting words: The paradox of violence in nonviolent rhetoric. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 97(1), 50-73.
Reed, T. L. (2004). Peace profile: Muhammad Ali. Peace Review, 16(1), 107-111.
Saeed, Amid. "What's in a Name? Muhammad Ali and the Politics of Cultural Identity." Sport in Society 5, no. 3 (2002): 52-72.
