LETTERS: Tribute to Muhammad Ali

The South African Muslim Network acknowledges and pays tribute to a great human being, Muhammad Ali. It would be remiss of us to simply think of  Ali as the greatest boxer of all time when he was, in fact, larger than life and one of the finest human beings in our living memory.
He first faced opposition and ridicule for abandoning his slave name and rejecting all that it represented and speaking for the rights of black people in the USA and then for converting to Islam.
At a time when racial prejudice was at its peak in the United States and when the Government and public opinion was still in favour of the Vietnam War, took a principled stance of gigantic proportions in spite of facing the entire wrath of the US Government, the media and white public.
Rarely have we seen an individual, so young, so talented with such conviction have the courage to stand by them in the face overwhelming opposition and resistance and at the cost of personal enrichment and fame.
Ali showed his character, wisdom and statesmanlike qualities during his college lecture tours during his period of banishment from boxing. His repeated comebacks in boxing to confound all his critics and naysayers proved his greatness as an athlete but his work during and after his boxing career to touch the ordinary person, to avail himself for any cause that would uplift humanity and transcend the boundaries of race, religion and social class is what made him a truly unique and magnificent human being.
Hamba kahle, Muhammad Ali.
ANNISA ESSACK
Durban