Muhammed Ali ~ An American Icon Both In And Out Of Sports
Who is Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.? Well, we all know him as Muhammad “ The Greatest” Ali one of THE best boxers of all time. Early in his career in 1964, he changed his name to Muhammed Ali to reflect his Islamic religion. Most people know him for his iconic career in boxing and all the philanthropist work has done. However, not a lot of people are aware of the fact he lost his title or the reason he lost it in the first place.
This all started when he was 18 years old and registered himself to serve his country and was declared A-1. Which means that he was made fit to be drafted into war at any moment his services were needed. However that all changed in 1964, when they changed his classification to Y-1 ( fit for war if it were to be a national emergency), shortly after he failed the air force qualifying test, because of him having dyslexia. “ I said I was the greatest, not the smartest,” said Ali
Three years later they lowered the standards, which changed his classification once again back to A-1. That means that from then, on he is eligible to drafted to war at the time of the Vietnam war. Which made him at odds even more with white America, then he already was. When notified about this, he immediately declined to go fight for America and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector. He believed this war was against his Islamic religion and against the teachings of the Qu’ran.
He thought that if this war wasn’t called to happen by Allah, he has no place fighting in a war created by Christians or nonbelievers. Muhammed viewed it like this if Vietnam didn’t do anything personally, why should he go fight and kill them. When at the same time they are treating people back home in Louisville like animals.
In April of the year 1967, he showed up to his induction to the air force in Houston, Texas. When named being called at the ceremony, he refused to step forward 3 times. Being aware of the 10,000 dollar fine and a five-year prison sentence. Following this and his 4th refusal he was arrested, license to box taken, and stripped of his title.
Two months later, he was ruled guilty of breaking the selective service laws, but in 1971 appealed this conviction. As the people of the public views transformed against the war, causing this civil rights movement to gain a large amount of support behind it. This lead Ali, to become a very popular social activist speaker across the United States at colleges or universities.
