IMAGE: CNS photo/Action Images, MSI via Reuters
By Nancy Wiechec
PHOENIX
(CNS) — Muhammad Ali leaves an indelible mark on the world not only as a
fighter and athlete but as a man of faith, courage and generosity.
The
three-time heavyweight champion and self-titled “The Greatest” boxer
of all time died at a Scottsdale hospital June 3. He was 74.
In
Phoenix, where Ali lived his last years, people recalled his kindness and
bravery in his struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
“I’ve
watched him face the disease with grace and humor, and he has inspired
countless patients to do the same,” said Dr. Holly Shill in a statement from
the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute. “We
have lost a great warrior in the battle of Parkinson’s, but hope continues.”
Founded
in 1997 by Ali and his wife, Lonnie (Yolanda), along with philanthropist Jimmy
Walker and Dr. Abraham Lieberman, the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center offers
advanced treatments for Parkinson’s and other movement disorders as well as
therapy and support for patients and caretakers. It is part of St. Joseph’s
Hospital and Medical Center in the Sisters of Mercy-founded Dignity Health
network.
Patient
Ida Stanford reflected on the center and its famous namesake in a Dignity
Health video.
“I
can’t imagine having Parkinson’s and not having place like the center,”
she said. “Muhammad Ali stood up for what he believed in. He was
one-of-a-kind and still is one-of-a-kind.”
Parkinson’s
disease is a chronic disorder that affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans.
Its symptoms — tremors, slowness of movement, rigidity and impaired balance
and coordination — worsen over time.
According
to The Arizona Republic newspaper, the former champ came to the Phoenix area in
the mid-1990s seeking medical treatment for his condition. He lived quietly in
the valley devoting time to philanthropy and making occasional appearances at
charity and sporting events.
Ali made several visits to the Society
of St. Vincent de Paul’s family dining room in Phoenix, according to the
society. He and his wife would serve meals and mingle with the guests.
The couple also made several donations to the charity.
“It mattered little that Muhammad lost his ability to speak, for he communicated to our guests through his heart and soul,” said executive director Steve Zabiliski in a letter to The Arizona Republic. “At St. Vincent de Paul, we will remember him for his grace, his kindness, his courage and his love. It’s what made him so special.”
His
last public appearance was in early April at Celebrity Fight Night, an annual
Phoenix fundraiser that has given millions of dollars to the Ali Parkinson
Center and other charities.
A
public interfaith funeral service for Ali was to take place June 10 in Louisville,
Kentucky.
Born
and raised in Louisville, Ali came from a Christian household. His father was
Methodist, his mother a Baptist. He was named Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., a
family name traced back to a white slave owner.
He
started boxing at age 12.
In
1964, after grasping the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston, Cassius Clay
announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam. He took a new name, Muhammad
Ali.
In
his 2004 memoir “The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey,”
Ali told the story of his “spiritual being.”
“It
was after I retired from boxing that my true work began,” he wrote,
observing that his religion and spirituality changed and evolved over years.
As
a young man, he had questioned his Christian heritage and its portrayals of a
white Jesus and white apostles. He said one thing that attracted him to Islam
was that the faith had no images of God, angels or prophets.
“No
single race should be able to identify with God through the color of its skin,”
he wrote.
The
Nation of Islam’s belief in black self-empowerment struck a chord with the
boxer.
“When
I became a Muslim, I was on my way to entering what I called ‘The Real Fight
Ring,'” he said. “The one where freedom and justice for black people
in America took place.”
In
1967, during the Vietnam War, Ali refused induction into the Army citing
religious grounds.
“I
didn’t agree with the reasons why we were in Vietnam in the first place,”
he wrote in his memoir. “I couldn’t see myself trying to injure or kill
people whom I didn’t even know, people who had never done any harm to me or my
country.”
His
dissent cost the boxer his heavyweight title. He was convicted of draft
evasion. His passport was revoked, and his fighting career came to a halt.
Many
Americans looked down on the fighter, and he said the Nation of Islam turned
its back on him. He discovered a new “spiritual home” in mainstream
Sunni Islam and embraced Sufism, a mystical dimension of the faith.
Ali
returned to the ring in 1970 and in 1971 his draft evasion conviction was
overturned by the Supreme Court. He took his second and third heavyweight
titles in 1974 and 1978. He retired in 1981 with a 56-5 record.
In
1982, Ali met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. They reportedly exchanged
autographs. Little did each know that they would later both suffer from
Parkinson’s, serving as public faces of the disease.
A
2003 meeting with the Dalai Lama left a marked impression on Ali. He said they
both held a deep respect for people of different beliefs and agreed that
spirituality should be central to daily life.
Ali
and wife Lonnie established the Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of
Louisville to promote the fighter’s legacy and his six core values: confidence,
conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality.
Although
his connections to Catholicism may have been few, the quick-witted Ali once
smacked back a question about his prowess in the ring with “Can I dance?
Is the pope Catholic?”
In
his 2004 book, Ali reflected on the afterlife and how he’d like to be
remembered after death.
“What
really matters in life is prayer, living right, and good deeds, because this
life is just practice for our eternal life,” he wrote.
And
on how he would like to be remembered: As the three-time heavyweight champion,
as humorous, and as someone “who treated everyone right. … As a man who
stood up for his beliefs no matter what. As a man who tried to unite all humankind
through faith and love.”
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