Funeral ceremonies for Muhammad Ali began Thursday with a Muslim prayer service in the Kentucky hometown of the beloved boxing legend. The funeral started with a Quran recitation at Muhammad Ali’s memorial service.
Muslim, Christian, Jewish and other speakers spoke of his fight for civil rights, while a message from President Barack Obama praised his originality.
Thousands of mourners and fans gathered at Freedom Hall in Kentucky on Thursday for a traditional Muslim prayer service to pay their final respects to the former fighter.
The venue was the site of Ali’s first professional fight.
Former manager Don King and civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson, who were among mourners, praised the boxing great’s influence.
“He did what he had to do irrespective and regardless of whatever the challenges and the consequences. And that’s why I loved this man more than anything else,” King said.
“He used that platform to illuminate the darkness from which he came — racial, segregation, law — to project the future peace, because he chose dignity over dollars. He gave up wealth and risked going to jail,” said Jackson.
An interfaith memorial ceremony and procession in Ali’s hometown are planned for Friday, with former President Bill Clinton and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected to speak.
A private funeral will then be held at the historic Cave Hill cemetery