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| Ali |
Muhammad Ali, one of the most
famous and beloved athletes on the planet, died Friday in the US state of
Arizona, at the age of 74.
The three-time world heavyweight champion
boxer passed away after a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, a progressive
disease of the nervous system marked by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow,
imprecise movement.
Today, because of the growing
menace of terrorism, many people associate Islam with violence, but Ali showed
that as a Muslim he abhorred killing. That is the reason he refused to be
drafted for the Vietnam War. That decision cost him his world heavyweight boxing
title and millions of dollars, but Ali didn’t mind. He said the Vietnamese
never caused him any harm so there was no reason he should go to war against
them.
His stance angered Americans at the
time but today the boxing legend has been vindicated. The war cost America a
lot – in men and money – and the Vietnamese disgraced the US. It is instructive
that President Obama recently visited Vietnam, the first US President to do since
US forces withdrew from the Asian country in 1973.
At a time when Muslims in the USA
are facing scorn and bigotry, Al Jazeera said Ali “should be remembered as the
true, peaceful face of Islam.”
How the world would be a much
better place if the likes of ISIS and Boko Haram, who go on a mindless killing
spree in the name of Islam, would drop their weapons and embrace peace.
Ali was not just a boxer. He was a
poet, an activist and a philanthropist. He was everyone’s hero. He was larger
than life. When he pronounced himself “The Greatest” many people laughed with
derision. But today he has proved that he is really the greatest boxer that
ever lived. He took boxing to dizzying heights, turning it into an art form.
No one has even come close to
having Ali’s charisma and charm. Not Mike Tyson. Not Evander Holyfield. Not
even Sugar Ray Leonard. And definitely not the loquacious show-off called Floyd
Mayweather. The way all the great boxers have poured encomiums on Ali shows the
man is really the greatest.
Ali transcended sport. He dined
with kings and presidents. Rock stars, sportsmen, movie stars and other
celebrities where proud to be called his friend.
In his prime Ali fought and
defeated every opponent in the ring. Then came Parkinson's disease, which many say was
because of the heavy blows he took on his head as a boxer.
True, Ali faced some ferocious hitters like
Smokin’ Joe Frazier and George Foreman. He took their best blows and came out a
winner. And not even Parkinson's could stop him – until last weekend. A great
fighter, Ali fought the disease for over three decades, finally succumbing on
June 3, 2016.
After Ali's organs failed, his daughter
Hana wrote on Twitter that his heart continued to beat for another 30 minutes:
"A true testament to the strength of his Spirit and Will!"
Adieu Muhammad
Ali, you made boxing look like poetry and dance...
And now, here are
my top three Ali quotes:
"Float like a
butterfly, Sting like a bee.
Your hands can't
hit, what your eyes can't see."
"I am so
fast that last night I turned off the light switch and was in bed before the
room was dark."
"I done
wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale, handcuffed lightning,
thrown thunder in jail; only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone,
hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean I make medicine sick!"
