Muhammad Ali’s death this past week brings to mind something that I hadn’t considered until, oh, just a few minutes ago.
The legendary fighter’s religious conversion became the subject of considerable discussion — and scorn — when he made that conversion … in 1964!
Which brings to mind this thought: The anti-Muslim sentiment we’re seeing in the present day is nothing new in this country. It’s been there for decades, maybe centuries.
Cassius Clay won the heavyweight boxing championship by scoring a technical knockout over Sonny Liston. Clay then announced he was becoming a Muslim and would change his name; he became Cassius X and later Muhammad Ali.
Sure, over time Ali’s stature would rise to heights not seen in professional athletes. He became a revered figure not so much because he changed his religious affiliation, but because of the courage he displayed in the face of the hatred that was slung at him.
The mid to late 1960s brought a level of turmoil that we hadn’t seen since, perhaps, the Civil War.
The Vietnam War was going badly. Ali became a spokesman against that war. That he became a Muslim — let alone a member of the Nation of Islam — and changed his name to that foreign-sounding moniker only inflamed many people’s passions against him.
Was there religious and racial bigotry coming to the fore then?
I believe there was.
Which brings us to what many Americans are feeling today about people who worship Islam.
Yes, it’s different now. Terrorists have perverted a great religion and committed unspeakable acts in that religion’s name. A leading presidential candidate — Donald J. Trump — has declared his desire to impose a moratorium on all Muslims entering this country; how in the world he would enact such a thing is beyond me.
As Ali’s death has revealed, though, the anti-Muslim sentiment in this country is far from anything that was ginned up by those 9/11 attacks and by the Islamic State’s hideous actions.
The bigotry and intolerance has been wrong for a long time.
