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Talk:Muhammad Ali/Archive 4

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Feedback request

  • I think Ali's relationship with Malcolm X was probably the most important one in his life, despite its brevity. That's probably too much detail for this article, though. Maybe a new article about the relationship is warranted.
    By the way, see what I wrote on the subject last summer. — MShabazz Talk/Stalk 15:43, 18 December 2016 (UTC)
Malik Shabazz, although i agree that Ali's relationship with Malcolm was very special, I believe his relationship with Elijah Muhammad was also very special. After all, he had chosen Elijah over Malcolm when Elijah and Malcolm were in conflict. Ali also went on to continue having respect for Elijah in later life despite rejecting many of Elijah's beliefs. Further, the fact that Ali went on to choose Sufism as his chosen religious and spiritual path means that he had evolved from whatever Malcolm had to offer. There is no indication of Malcolm having any interest in Sufism. The book "Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X" from which you give a lengthy extract has been criticized for leaving out important details:

Also, their ending feels rushed. While Ali’s regrets about his treatment of Malcolm X, articulated in a book of “reflections” he co-authored with his daughter in 2003, are duly recorded here, the disposition of the paternity lawsuits filed against Elijah Muhammad before his death, in February 1975, so central to Elijah’s split with Malcolm X, goes unreported. Similarly, very little space is devoted to Ali’s conversion, following Elijah’s death, to Sunni Islam, and none at all to his conversion, three decades later, to Sufi Islam.

And the authors make no attempt to connect Ali’s immersion in the NOI — which persisted to the end of his boxing career, with Elijah’s son Herbert Muhammad as Ali’s omnipotent manager — to the boxer’s ultimate fate: fighting too long, taking too many blows to the head, and having his mouth and movement, once his hallmarks, cruelly stilled by Parkinson’s syndrome. Are we to assume that Ali was receiving sound advice from Herbert Muhammad when the ex-champ, bloated at 38 and coming off a two-year layoff, signed to fight Larry Holmes? Was Ali at that point being driven solely by his own boredom and ego, or by financial straits worsened by the untold sums he had been compelled to fork over to the NOI? Here is the ultimate evidence that Malcolm X failed to instill in Ali a capacity for judging the motivations of those around him.

https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/431161/champ-and-mr-x

If this material is deemed too detail oriented, I'd like to see a separate article outlining the evolution and progression of Ali's religious and spiritual beliefs. Soham321 (talk) 16:14, 18 December 2016 (UTC)

Thank you for the link to the book review. Unfortunately it won't display properly on my phone, so I'll have to read it later.
The reason I wrote what I did is that there is no relationship with Elijah Muhammad without Malcolm X. The fact that Ali became a Sufi 40 years after Malcolm's assassination tells me nothing about their relationship. But it's my opinion -- note that I started my comment with "I think" -- and I'm not going to get into a pissing match over it. You asked for feedback and I provided some . — MShabazz Talk/Stalk 16:52, 18 December 2016 (UTC)
I think it is far too much detail for the article; it reads like an in-depth magazine profile of these aspects of Ali's life. Interesting material, to be sure, and nicely constructed. I haven't tried to make microscopic comparisons, but major points seem to be already included in the article, summarized briefly in each instance by a sentence or two. Perhaps the material could be added to the Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammed articles. I think the only way to include all of it together would be to create a standalone article. Title could be: "Religious and spiritual beliefs of Mohammad Ali." The material you present, however, also covers details of the Ali-Malc X personal relationship and their views on U.S. society, in addition to the development of Ali's religious beliefs. I'm not sure exactly how all that information could be characterized in the title of a new article. DonFB (talk) 02:26, 19 December 2016 (UTC)
DonFB, If I create a new article titled "Religious and spiritual beliefs of Mohammad Ali" I would be excluding some of the material in the present writeup, and including some additional material. Soham321 (talk) 03:12, 19 December 2016 (UTC)
I agree with DonFB that it is a little magaziney and that it's too long for the main article. I agree a new article would be better, perhaps tightened up a little, and care could be taken to mention all the main points in the main article. Would Religious and political beliefs of MA cover the right ground? Spicemix (talk) 15:18, 20 December 2016 (UTC)
I prefer Don's title of "Religious and spiritual beliefs of Mohammad Ali" since the material about the progression/evolution of his religious and spiritual beliefs is sufficient to deserve an article on its own. Politicals beliefs of MA, in my opinion, deserve a separate article. You would have to include material about the political stance that he took during his younger days (because of which he was banned for boxing for three and half years), and would have to include the fact that he had gone on to endorse Reagan: Link. I suppose any article about his political beliefs should mention every presidential candidate he ever endorsed. It should also give details about his views on racism and incidents in which he experienced racism first hand during his younger days (which may have been an important reason as to why he became attracted to NOI). And also the fact that Ali, after he became the heavyweight champion, may have played a significant role in combating racism. Soham321 (talk) 16:18, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

I condensed and tweaked the original writeup and intend to use this for the new article "Religious and spiritual beliefs of Mohammad Ali". See Ali's Religion for the new writeup. Pinging DonFB, Spicemix and MShabazz for feedback. (This is too important a topic, in my opinion, for me to create this article unilaterally.) Not pinging the other regulars since they didn't respond last time (presumably because of lack of interest in this topic).Soham321 (talk) 15:08, 22 December 2016 (UTC)

Thanks Soham, you've done a good job, I think it merits standing alone. Can you say what you judge the spiritual, as opposed to the religious, elements of the content to be, if the title is to include both? Spicemix (talk) 21:34, 22 December 2016 (UTC)

Spicemix, I used the word "spiritualism" to denote Sufism. Go to the WP page on Sufism and do a control-F on 'spiritualism' and you will see 42 matches. Doing a control-F in this article for 'mystic' gives 24 matches. You also have some idea about this from the quote of his friend and biographer which I gave in the writeup. The relevant passage about sufism in the CNN article is:

"But there still remains an element of intrigue surrounding the three-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist -- as his biographer and lifetime friend Davis Miller tells CNN....Early on Ali was closely involved with the often militant pro-African American goals of Nation of Islam, but later in life switched to a more mystical Muslim sect. Ali announced that he is a Sufi around 2005, saying that of all of the sects of Islam, he feels the closest connection to Sufism," says Miller, whose book "Approaching Ali" was released in late 2015. "Sufism is arguably the most peaceful sect of any major or minor religion. Sufis believe that to purposely harm any person is to harm all of humanity, to harm each of us and to damage the world. "It is the perfect fit for Ali, who had been living in the ways that Sufis do for decades before he'd heard of the religion. "Few people have heard about the profound ways Ali's faith has evolved over the years. He has been a world soul for many decades; he has grown from separatist to universalist." http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/28/sport/muhammad-ali-five-things-boxing/

  • Also, I mentioned in the writeup that his daughter, who co-authored his biography 'Soul of a Butterfly', says he developed an interest in Sufism after reading the works of Inayat Khan. I find 10 matches if I do a control-F on 'Spiritualism' in the WP Inayat Khan article.
  • Sufism is a very distinct religious sect and quite different from orthodox Islam. The distinctive feature in sufism is that sufis believe that it is possible to attain some kind of a mystical communion or union with God through some kind of mystical ecstasy. (Sufis claim the mystical ecstasy can be achieved through the medium of music.) In orthodox Islam, and also in most religions which postulate a personal God, there is a very clear demarcation/distinction between the individual and the absolute (God), and talking of a union or communion of the individual with God (in which the individual and the absolute(God) become indistinguishable and undifferentiable) is considered blasphemous.
  • It was important to give details of the Nation of Islam as taught by Elijah Muhammad, and as understood by Ali. But Sufism is well understood, and the different orders only have very minor differences amongst themselves chiefly pertaining to which Sufi saint's teachings they claim to follow.
  • This much said, I have no objection to the title being 'Religious Beliefs of Muhammad Ali' (dropping the 'spiritual' word). It could be argued that the word 'spiritual' is contained within the word 'religious' in that spiritualism is a particular kind of religious viewpoint. Soham321 (talk) 22:19, 22 December 2016 (UTC)
Thanks, I think Sufism is part of the religion of Islam. It's true it's highly spiritual, but still within that framework of Islam and religion, so I think spiritual in the article name is unnecessary. I don't think it impacts on the article, but note that spiritualism is contacting the spirits of the dead, different from spirituality. Cheers! Spicemix (talk) 19:52, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
Thank you. I created the article and added it to the template. Thanks also for the clarification about spiritual vs spiritualism. Soham321 (talk) 20:26, 23 December 2016 (UTC)

Template query

could we remove Malcolm X from the Muhammad Ali template: {{Muhammad Ali}}. Malcolm X is being mentioned in the Ali article, and if we also mention him in the template we would be obliged to mention many other people in the template including Elijah Muhammad, Warith Deen Muhammad, and Inayat Khan. Soham321 (talk) 20:50, 23 December 2016 (UTC)

Please go ahead, and thank you for your tireless and expert work. Spicemix (talk) 20:46, 24 December 2016 (UTC)
I'll give it another day and if nobody objects I'll do it. Thanks for the kind words and merry christmas and happy new year to you and all regulars editing this page.Soham321 (talk) 22:40, 24 December 2016 (UTC)

New article

i had an idea about a new article about Ali. Not decided yet about what the title will be, but this article is about Ali's health. it contains the following information:

  • 1. Assessment of Ali's general health and physique by Ferdie Pacheco before the three and a half year layover.
  • 2. Assessment of Ali's general health and physique by Ferdie Pacheco after the three and a half year layover. Detoriation in Ali's health. Ali's hands become soft and he develops bursitis because of which Pacheco has to give him injections on his hands(between each webbing of two adjacent fingers) to numb them so that Ali feels no pain during a fight. Ali's inability to move like he used to move before. His legs had "gone".
  • 3. Ali's health just before and during the Holmes fight. Since Pacheco was no longer his physician (Pacheco left Ali's entourage after the Shavers fight since Ali would not take his advise and stop fighting), there was one other doctor arranged by Herbert Muhammad who was Herbert's friend and who was highly incompetent according to Pacheco. This friend of Herbert misdiagnosed Ali and started giving him medication for a thyroid problem even though Ali did not have any thyroid problem. Besides everything else, the thyroid medication he took before the Holmes fight affected Ali's ability to fight. For one thing, it impeded Ali's body to release sweat. Ali was also given some diuretics to lose weight by Herbert's friend before the Holmes fight, and thinking them to be similar to vitamins, he overdosed on them which caused problems.
  • 4. Ali given a clean bill of health before the Holmes fight and again before the Drama in Bahama fight by top medical institutes in the US (they failed to diagnose the fact that Parkinson had already begun; a british doctor had predicted that Ali was suffering from neurological damage just by observing Ali on television. The slurring of speech had already begun.)
  • 5. Diagnosis of Parkinson
  • 6. Gradual decline of health. Besides the obvious problems (slurring of speech, frozen facial expressions, inability to move properly) the little things like having to wear special wide angled shoes to maintain his balance.
  • 7. Pacheco's lament after Ali's death that had Ali stopped fighting earlier he would probably have been alive today.

Wanted some advise and feedback on how to proceed, and also on what the article should contain and what its title should be. Soham321 (talk) 09:36, 28 December 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 March 2017

84.143.248.33 (talk) 09:29, 2 March 2017 (UTC)
Not done: as you have not requested a change.
Please request your change in the form "Please replace XXX with YYY" or "Please add ZZZ between PPP and QQQ".
Please also cite reliable sources to back up your request, without which no information should be added to, or changed in, any article. - Arjayay (talk) 12:21, 2 March 2017 (UTC)

Ali refused to serve because he feared being killed by the Nation of Islam, per Paul Beston WSJ

The Truth About Muhammad Ali and the Draft, WSJ 4/28/17

Interesting op-ed, with good quotes. Should be added to the article, I think. If it's paywalled, I'd be happy to send a copy. --Pete Tillman (talk) 18:22, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

It's in the opinion section -- that tells us all we need to know about whether it's included in this encyclopedia article. However, if such an opinion gains wider currency in reliable sources, we would be obligated to seriously consider it at that point. Stevie is the man! TalkWork 19:04, 28 April 2017 (UTC)
Stevietheman is right -- as an opinion column, it can be cited as a source for its author's opinion but not for facts. See WP:RSOPINION. However, the byline at the bottom says the author has a book that will be published in September. His book, when it is available, may be a reliable source for facts. — MShabazz Talk/Stalk 12:40, 29 April 2017 (UTC)

When did he change his name to Muhammad Ali?

Could someone clarify when he changed his name to Muhammad Ali? DBlomgren (talk) 02:38, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

March 1964. When Cassius Clay joined the Nation of Islam, which he announced publicly in February 1964 although he had almost certainly joined the group earlier, he took the name Cassius X in accordance with NOI custom of the time. (See Malcolm X#Prison for an explanation of the meaning of the "X".) Malcolm X, who had "fished" Clay (recruited him into the NOI), was being forced out of the organization, and he tried to convince Clay that he should join him in leaving the group. Elijah Muhammad knew this and, to entice Clay to stay, offered him his "true Islamic name" of Muhammad Ali, something he hadn't offered Malcolm X (who had been working in the Nation for a dozen years) or Louis X (later known as Louis Farrakhan). It must have worked, because Ali took the name and stayed in the NOI when Malcolm X left. You can read Ali's misty-eyed account of it here or a more scholarly account here. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 05:19, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

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Semi-protected edit request on 23 May 2017

Stallion a2 (talk) 12:52, 23 May 2017 (UTC)
Not done: Empty request. Strawberry4Ever (talk) 13:07, 23 May 2017 (UTC)

Kevin Casey fight

Ali's son-in-law Kevin Casey is set for UFC 199 tomorrow. Also happens to be his hometown. Also happens to be fighting another guy nicknamed King. Triple dramatic moment of sorts, but neither this article nor Casey's mentions the relation at all. So I'll just leave this here for someone else to decide to include or not. Post-death sources connecting the dots are scant, but stuff will probably show up soon. InedibleHulk (talk) 06:27, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Also, Norton and Ali's daughters are apparently best friends. That seems somewhat notable. InedibleHulk (talk) 06:31, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

No mention of 3rd wife

why no mention by name or date of marriage of his 3rd wife, Veronica Porsche Ali, mother of Laila, altho mentions Laila and info on her.  Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.231.27.254 (talk) 06:19, 4 June 2016‎ UTC

Suicide rescue

Is this important enough? i think so. he rescued a suicidal person. This Day in History: Muhammad Ali saves suicidal man, January 21, 2016, 9:01 PM  Preceding unsigned comment added by Mercurywoodrose (talkcontribs) 05:19, 4 June 2016 UTC

Cause of his Parkinson's--boxing, or something else, or no cause at all?

The article currently says: "In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome, which his doctors attributed to boxing-related brain injuries." This needs a source, and may not be true at all. Repeated head-trauma is only WEAKLY linked to subsequent Parkinsonian symptoms, and Parkinson's disease can be caused by many many different factors, and often has no cause at all. If Muhammad Ali's doctors claimed to know for sure that his illness was caused by his boxing, then they were way out of line. At very least, we need a source for this. HandsomeMrToad (talk) 00:52, 18 August 2017 (UTC)

"Oldest living world heavyweight champion"

Is this really a sports record that needs to be in the (bloated) succession boxes at the bottom of the article? — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 02:57, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

I have no opinion on its inclusion, but I did just make the box collapsible at the very least. Mac Dreamstate (talk) 20:47, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 November 2017

Please change all instances of 'Clay' when by itself and replace with 'Ali' because he no longer bore the name Cassius Clay by the time he was 22; birth names and gender profiles at birth are not the correct way of referring to someone in third-person; current, corrected, or last-known names and chosen gender-based pronouns are the proper way to refer to a someone. For example, gender-neutral acting professional are called "they" throughout their autobiographies. In short, Cassius Clay references are acceptable; where a text reads only his last name, Clay, it should be replaced with 'Ali'. Maryandroid7 (talk) 05:05, 3 November 2017 (UTC)

Not done. I believe you're mistaken. Please see MOS:BIO#Changed names and MOS:ID. References in the article to Ali before he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name should use the name by which he was known at that time, which was Clay. If there are any references in the article to Ali after he changed his name that use Clay, they are errors; please point them out. — MShabazz Talk/Stalk 12:19, 3 November 2017 (UTC)

Racist views

The article states the Nation Of Islam classed white people as devils but does not mention the fact that Ali himself stated this opinion on numerous occasions. He also said that black people who "mess with" (have sex with) white people should be killed.

In his auto-biography his first wife complains that one of the reasons they split is because of his views about white people being devils, and in it his white friend (and corner man + physician) asks why Ali didn't trust him and his other white corner man (both of whom he had known for years) and he replies that he didn't trust white people.

Without the full story of his personality this article appears somewhat whitewashed.

I agree that his views need to be shown fully on the page, in order to be as accurate as possible. Daddyadolf (talk) 01:12, 3 September 2017 (UTC)

This ties into some of his controversial views on civil rights, he was a segregationist, saying (and I unfortunately don't know the exactly quote) something along the lines of "in the jungle, the tigers go with tigers and the lions go with lions, we just want to be with our own kind".

I feel like the controversy of his viewpoints warrants a discussion, but I'm not sure if this article should describe his own views as racist, he was still a civil rights activist, he just aligned himself more with the blact militancy of groups like the Nation of Islam then with the peace and love based approach of Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers.  Preceding unsigned comment added by OddTetrapod (talkcontribs) 15:18, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Title Photo

I feel like the photo at the top of the article resembles a mugshot. It might be my personal implicit biases (being a white kid growing up in a white community with only white neighbors and classmates has forced my preconceptions to be formed by the media rather then actual people, which has left me to have associations about African American people that I'm not proud of), but it makes him look almost like a thug, not a famous activist and athlete. If instead we used the famous photo of his famous victory against sonny liston might better put him in context, as well as showcase the most famous image of him and one of the most famous sports photographs of all time.  Preceding unsigned comment added by OddTetrapod (talkcontribs) 15:28, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Hello OddTetrapod. Unfortunately, Wikipedia's guideline about non-free content limits our ability to use images that are under copyright. In essence, we're only able to use images of Ali that appear on Wikimedia Commons. You can take a look at those images yourself to see if you can find a better one. (Keep in mind that an image can be cropped to focus on Ali's face.) — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 04:32, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

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Personal Life

Semi-protected edit request on 17 February 2018

Muhammad Ali partner Alan Amron created the Beatles committee to reunite

Semi-protected edit request on 8 June 2018

Semi-protected edit request on 19 August 2018

Semi-protected edit request on 30 August 2018

Boxing Style

Semi-protected edit request on 31 January 2019

Semi-protected edit request on 25 February 2019

Semi-protected edit request on 27 February 2019

Split proposed

Semi-protected edit request on 25 June 2019

Professional boxing record

Semi-protected edit request on 9 April 2020

BLM

Nation of Islam

Most attractive man in the world?

When did he change his name?

Semi-protected edit request on 10 December 2020

Semi-protected edit request on 28 January 2021

Cassius Marcelus Clay the 6th

Historical status

Removing deadnaming from the article

Potential Assassination Attempt

Mohammed Ali?

Rumble in the Jungle

edit request UCLA

Hyperbole

2nd Sentence of the lead

Semi-protected edit request on 2 November 2021

Add City of Ali

First name used professionally

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

Semi-protected edit request on 23 January 2022

Semi-protected edit request on 21 February 2022

A conversion reason?

Semi-protected edit request on 1 May 2022

Semi-protected edit request on 17 May 2022

Boxing Record

Semi-protected edit request on 28 May 2022

Semi-protected edit request on 26 June 2022

Semi-protected edit request on 28 October 2022

"The fight became famous for Ali's introduction of the rope-a-dope tactic"

Semi-protected edit request on 3 May 2023

Heads up on removing deprecated source

Name usage inconsistencies throughout article.

Edit request

Semi-protected edit request on 7 November 2023

Other Grandson needs to be added to relatives list

Reorg of the Legacy section

Lead image

Lead Image

Odds at time of first Liston bout

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