I am the greatest
I am the Prettiest
Muhammad Ali
THE CHAMP OF FREEDOM AND EQUALITY
By Dy Raiss dyraiss@hotmail.com
Muhammad Ali was not born into greatness, nor was it thrust upon
him like it was upon the late Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, as he
claimed. Ali used every sinew in his body and mind to achieve his
greatness, freedom and equality for all people.
His real opponent were the state, powerful people and
organisations. Ordinary people whether white or coloured were
part of him, a part of his brotherhood of mankind.
Ali the tiger had the grace of a butterfly, the sting of a bee, and the
roar of a lion. His eyes burned like a furnace before, after and at
the Rumble in the Jungle. Outside the ring he was a kind gentle
hulk of a man.
Like Oscar Wilde, Ali believed stone walls do not a prison make.
His heart and brain were to leonine for any prison walls to
contain. He was the tiger come to fulfill William Blake's vision
of a just world.
Even Parkinson's Disease could not defeat indefatigable Ali. He
lived for his boxing, his championship of his people, racial equality
and his religion.
He had the DNA of Thomas Payne, Abe Lincoln and Ghandi to
bring to fruition the Gettysburg speech. De facto he changed the
American Constitution to actually mean all men are born equal,
with equal opportunity to work and prosper for a happy life.
He was colour-blind, he saw neither white nor black. He only saw
justice or injustice.
But his race had been tamed to enslaved like animals. Although
slavery had existed from Biblical times, it had no palce at a time of
enlightenment and freedom since the American Civil War and the
French Revolution.
Ali was an exceptional gifted man, a genius with a perfect body
and a great heart and mind. He called himself the Greatest and the
Prettiest.
In Coleridge's word, he had fed on honey and drunk milk of
paradise. His thought flowed like a torrent and his eyes flashed
like a tiger's in the jungle of Malaysia.
In 1960 in Rome he won Olympic Gold Medal for boxing. He
now felt as a national hero of America he could go to places
frequently by white people. He draped himself in the Stars and
Stripes and walked into a white only restaurant only to be thrown
out onto the street with a cry of 'out nigger!'
Enough is enough, Ali said to himself, now I must begin my
crusade for justice and fairness.
He refused to go and fight the Vietnamese for, he said, they were
not his enemies nor had they called him a nigger. He threw his
gold medal into a river as a protest against injustice and unfairness.
The establishment sent him to hell. He was totally disgraced and
dismissed. He could no longer box in any professional match.
He was economically castrated.
Nevertheless his madness, his joy, went on endlessly.
In search of justice and fairness, he had become a follower of
Elijah Muhammad and become a Muslim. He felt at home with
Islam. He felt equal, valuable and valued.
He shattered some of the evil norms of the world. He put the
punch where his mouth was. He punches for himself, black
people and for justice and fairness for all people.
He boxed and shocked US.
'I am the Greatest', he shouted and fought in the footsteps of
Moses, Abe Lincoln, Ghandi and Uncle Ho Chi Minh for Justice
and Freedom.
In the end he shattered the societal norm around him and re-
moulded it nearer his heart's prayer. Proverbially he walked on
water. He boxed, roared and reached the pinnacle of human
achievement. He was the epitome of the American Dream come
true.
President Baraka Obama has a pair of Ali's boxing gloves in the
White House as a regular reminder of Muhammad Ali's greatness.
Ali was not tame at all, he was a ferocious tiger fighting for his
people. He was untameable. There was no chink in his armour.
He was an impregnable fortress.
To achieve justice and fairness for all, he screamed at the
Establishment of his country with uninhibited energy. He wanted
to be seen and heard loud and clear in his fight for his people.
He was born leader with a beautiful body and a beautiful mind.
Despite his crippling Parkinson's Disease, Muhammad Ali lived
happily in his Xanadu, Louisville, his Shangri-La, with his faith and
principles, his loving family and friends including Hilary Clinton
and her husband.
At his funeral in Louisville the entire world gathered together to
celebrate this genius. All Religions alike called blessings on him
for his human and political achievements for the human race.
At the funeral Ali's wife and children spoke with admirable
eloquence and dignity. President Bill Clinton's unstinting eulogy
praised Ali's inclusiveness and his mischievous sense of humour.
It was uplifting to see how far the coloured races had progressed
socially, intellectually and in dignity. Ali had indeed become a
Nelson Mandela, equally with no rancour or racial prejudice.
The blessings and honours would serve his memory and humanity
best if some person or country were to set up Muhammad Ali
Free International University for International Studies such as
International Affairs, International History, Inter-Religion Studies
and International Law - perhaps in Kentucky or London or
Istanbul or South Africa or Malaysia under the auspices of Dato'
Sri Najib bin Tun Razak.
Comparisons are odious, in any case he was incomparable and
unconquerable. He strove with none, for none was his equal. He
had opponents whom he fought, but he had no rivals or equals.
He warmed both hands before the fire of life and departed with
peace in his heart.
He is there looking down on the world listening to the world
singing his praises. One would hope the world will remember his
achievements through blood, sweat and tears to create a better
world for all.
An International Muhammad Ali University somewhere in the
world would make Muhammad Ali and his followers and all good
people of the world so happy, so proud and so secure because the
world will be educated to avoid international and racial conflicts.
The world must remember policeman Martin who taught Ali at the
age of 12 how to box to the top of the world. Great oaks from
little acorns grow.
Ali's legacy: more love, less hate, more generosity, less
selfishness, a great nation is built on great love, not to be
complacent, A human being is neither a slave nor a monster.
Hitch your wagon to the starts and do not be afraid of failure or
greatness, cowards die many times before their death, a man's
colour is only skin deep, only his heart, mind and deeds counts
when he dies. Faith is the guiding star of our lives. The path to
success is strewn with difficulties and problems. try
again and again with a laser-like mind till you success like Robert
the Bruce.
May he rest in peace, may he have joy all his eternal life.
