12 Quotes From Muhammad Ali's Funeral Service

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
I disliked Dr Sherman Jackson's quote, although if he is Non Muslim its something we can expect from him when he chooses to judge Islam while being outside of it and possessing nothing short of the rudimentary basics of our religion.

It does seem from his remarks he has little good to say about Islam itself, but restrains himself out of respect for his hero, which, it seems, is the primary reason he has to speak about Islam with great reluctance in the first place.

My objections here are similar to my first post; Islam is not restricted to its greatness due to celebrities or anyone else being a model of humanity and showing it to be good, peaceful and just. Islam is dignified without major personages displaying wonderful traits and doing good for the former to be seen as all of these things and more.

Even if there were no Muhammad Alis or thousands of them, it would not make Islam higher, lower, better or worse. We should not keep on saying or thinking Islam needs a good image, someone to make it look presentable; what we do need is for Muslims not to be concerned that it does or it has. Allah takes care of His own religion and will make it successful without us. The difference is we need Islam. Islam does not need us. In the same way, Allah has dignified some people above others and one of whom are those trained in Islamic law-the Scholars. His hatred of the Ulema is self evident and Muhammad Ali's elevation above them is just as apparent.

Look at this quotation-

'here is a news flash: most people do not live in the world of the theologians or the scholars, most people live in the world of culture. And while religious scholars play a critical role in preserving the proper understanding of religion, if the prevailing culture does not reinforce and give practical meaning to their teachings, those teachings will find limited application among the masses.

It is one thing to teach that God wants people to be charitable to the poor, or that He does not want them to eat pork. It is quite another thing, however, to produce a cultural orthodoxy that makes generosity cool and eating pork uncool.

The same applies to standing up for what is right and standing against what is wrong. As a cultural icon Ali made being Muslim cool, Ali made being a Muslim dignified, Ali made being a Muslim relevant. In all of this, he did in a way that no one could challenge his belongingness to or in this country. Ali put the question of whether a person can be a Muslim and American to rest. Indeed he KO’d that question.

With his passing let us hope that that question will now be interred with his precious remains."

So there you have it, Muhammad Ali, as a cultural icon is the more important figure; first by virtue of being a cultural icon and an acceptable and likeable Muslim celebrity and second by taking what was and is Islam in its purest sense [which he is portraying as boring and traditional] and making or blending it to be respectable in the eyes of the masses. If I might add, he is inferring two types of masses; the integrated Muslim and the Non Muslim in the west.

The next point is quite significant; 'no one could challenge his belongingness to or in this country'. It is more important to be a citizen, someone whose values, beliefs, creed and faith does not conflict with his allegiance to the State, the national identity must not be compromised in any way. Muhammad Ali's legacy, his interpretation of Islam is there in a nutshell, he was a model of how to be a Muslim and an American at the same time and what it takes to be both and accepted as such today.
 
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