Muslims mourn passing of Muhammad Ali

After Muhammad Ali's conversion to Islam in 1964, his religion brought both new attention to the faith – and strong criticism for changing his name and citing religion in defying the draft during the Vietnam War.

As his faith evolved from the Nation of Islam's separatism to Sunni Islam and an embrace of interfaith inclusion, Ali remained one of the world's highest-profile and important Muslim figures, a role that continued well into the post-9/11 era, said Muhammad Babar, a Louisville Islamic leader and physician.

"Ali's silent presence was a great source of strength for Muslim Americans in the current environment of Islamophobia," Babar said. "He was a father figure for Muslims. I think many are feeling that they are orphaned."

Officials with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, said Ali "stood by his principles despite criticism and hardship" and "exemplified a true patriot and a true Muslim."

According to reports by the Courier-Journal, Ali as a boy worshiped at his mother's Centennial Olivet Baptist Church in Louisville. But he questioned why Jesus and other biblical characters were always depicted as white in church paintings, including those painted by his father.

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Then-named Cassius Clay encountered preachers from the Nation of Islam who boldly called for black self-empowerment. The group blended traditional Islam with novel doctrines including calls for blacks to separate from a white race it said was created by an evil scientist.​

"The Nation of Islam taught that White people were devils," Ali wrote in 2004. "I don't believe that now; in fact, I never really believed that. … But when I was young, I had seen and heard so many horrible stories about the White man that this made me stop and listen."

Ali cited his beliefs to refuse as a conscientious objector to be drafted, leading to a legal fight he eventually won at the Supreme Court.

Ozair Shariff, a board member at both the Louisville Islamic Center and the Ali Center, said he remembers meeting Ali for the first time as a child at the River Road Mosque. He was awed by the charismatic, champion athlete who shared his faith, he said.

"He was very much a hero and a source of inspiration," he said.

Ali later used his high-profile role to weigh in on the terrorist attacks of 2001 as radicals "doing things God is against." Last year, after terror attacks in Paris, and with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump proposing to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., Ali issued a statement that both decried extremism and cautioned against misperceptions they bred about Islam.

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“Speaking as someone who has never been accused of political correctness, I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people's views on what Islam really is," he said.

Shariff said Ali was able to get his message out because of his stature, even as his health declined.

On Sunday, an interfaith prayer service is planned for 6:30 p.m. at the Louisville Islamic Center at 4007 River Road. Organizers said citizens are "requested to join hands in unity to celebrate the life of the greatest son of Louisville."

Reporter Chris Kenning can be reached at ckenning@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4697.