Clay announced his Conversion to Islam to the public

 after his Victory over Liston

Muhammad Ali : “Changing my name was one of the most important decisions in my life ; it freed me from an identity given to my family by its masters”

We now conclude our survey of the faith journey that eventually led Muhammad Ali to embrace Islam, and which he embarked on by joining "The Nation of Islam" organization. At first he kept this secret for fear that the whites might await the opportunity and prevent him from fulfilling his dream of winning the World Heavyweight Championship. Malcolm X kept encouraging him; and more than that, he became like his older brother who untiringly offered him care, advice, counsel and assistance. As Malcolm X was a turning point in his faith journey, his fight against Sonny Liston was an important landmark of his career as a boxer. Similarly, it was the spark which triggered the dispute between Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. The former thought that Cassius would lose against Liston, which would be a disappointment for "The Nation of Islam", while the latter thought that Cassius would defeat Liston and his victory would be one of the strengthening factors for "The Nation of Islam" ; thus he did not care about the warnings of his leader – Elijah Muhammad, for he took a risk by travelling to Florida so as to be near Clay in that decisive fight.

Muhammad Ali said : “Changing my name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali was one of the most important decisions in my life, for it freed me from the identity given to my family by the slave masters.”

Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, said : “Cassius was suffering from fear and hysteria before his fight against Sonny Liston. My husband regularly advised and counselled him, pointing out the fact that he was not only younger, stronger and more skilful than Liston but also a man who believed in Allah. They often talked about the importance of self-confidence, of reliance on Allah and of believing in the fact that Allah would not allow the defeat of his followers no matter how great the strength of their adversaries would be. Indeed, the fight ended with the victory of Clay over Liston, thus answering those who had told my husband to get away from him as he would not defeat Liston and would bring shame on "The Nation of Islam". Suddenly, these people started to get closer to the new champion. My husband was very happy about Cassius’s achievement.

Two days after Clay’s victory over Liston, Elijah Muhammad delivered a speech to about five thousands of his followers in the annual convention of "The Nation of Islam" in Chicago. He said : “I am very happy that Cassius Clay was courageous when he said that he was a Muslim”. Elijah Muhammad told the delighted crowd that he was happy that Clay had admitted that he was a believer and that he had gone through critical moments during the rounds of the fight, but he had not been scared since he believed in Allah as God and Muhammad as His Messenger. Four days after that fight, Clay travelled to New York and stayed in Theresa Hotel in Harlem, where Malcolm X had an office. The two men met in private for one hour before going to Trans-lux cinema where the Clay-Liston fight was shown. Next, they went to the UN headquarters, where they were photographed with a number of African representatives. Alex Haley, who witnessed all this, was working on the biography of Malcolm X after which he wrote his famous book Roots.”

Alex Haley said : “This was the first time I spent a longer time with Muhammad Ali. I had gone to Theresa Hotel to interview him for an American magazine. He allowed me to enter his room with a large number of people who were coming in and going out. Muhammad Ali was lying on his bed like a king in his kingdom. This was the way with the majority of the great boxers then. Part of the problem was that I could not be alone with him on account of the large number of people who were visiting him in the hotel. Words of encouragement came to him from all circles. There was always someone who had an urgent matter with him ; in addition to the phone calls which distracted his attention and made it impossible for me to seriously interview him. He was a completely different person from what I had known before. In spite of all these conditions, I was able to get answers for three questions only. The only time he was ready to put aside everything else was when he explained the plan he had designed to defeat Liston and which had been successful. All people had supposed that Liston would kill him. Muhammad Ali played on this assumption by leaking out some words to Liston’s camp, among which are that he was deadly scared of Liston. Actually, Liston believed this and prepared himself for this fight on the assumption of ending it in three rounds.”

Haley continued : “Muhammad Ali told me, with the excitement of a child, ‘Do you remember the third round when I whispered some words to Liston and went to my corner ? I replied : ‘yes, although I don’t remember what you told him.’ Then, he said : ‘Do you know what I said to him? I said : ‘O blood sucker, now I’ll overcome you !’’

While visiting the UN headquarters with Malcolm X, Clay requested that a lot of photos be taken as a souvenir. Many years before, Clay used to boast of his name Cassius Marcellus Clay, saying : “Is it not a beautiful name ?” He used to say then that this name made one think of the coliseum and the Roman gladiators. However, he now signs his name Cassius X Clay, deeming X as a symbol of his lost African identity. On the night of March 6, 1962, the radio in Chicago broadcast a declaration of Elijah Muhammad in which he stated the following : “The name Clay does not have any religious significance ; I hope that he accepts to be called by a better name : Muhammad Ali is the name that I like to give him, since he believes in Allah ?”

Muhammad Ali said : “Changing my name was one of the most important things in my life, for it freed me from an identity that had been given to my family by slave masters. If Hitler had changed the names of those he killed, and instead of killing them, he made them slaves after the war ; these people would change their names which indicated that they were slaves. Nobody would complain about this change, actors and actresses change their names, too. If I had changed my name from Cassius Clay to Smith or Jones, because I wanted a name deemed more American by the whites, nobody would complain about that. I am very proud that Elijah Muhammad chose a beautiful name for me. For Muhammad means deserving praise, and Ali was one of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) as well as the fourth Orthodox Caliph of Muslims after the death the Holy Prophet. My name has now become Muhammad Ali.”

This new name stuck in the memory and conscience of people, but the American media unanimously refused using it. On March 20, 1962, Muhammad Ali went to Madison Square Garden to watch a fight between Louis Rodriguez and Holy Mims. As usual, the famous boxers were invited so as to be introduced in the ring, but Harry Markesan, the president of the boxing sector in Madison Square Garden, persisted in refusing to introduce Clay by any other name except, the one recorded in his boxing licence issued by the State’s Sports Committee; that is Cassius Clay. Muhammad Ali threatened to leave if his old name was used to introduce him with the other boxers in the ring. In fact, Muhammad Ali carried out his threat amidst the booing of the spectators, which indicates that the American media were not alone in refusing to recognize his new name : Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad Ali thus said : “All I want is peace. I want peace for myself and for the world. I don’t hate anybody -black or white- I only want to live with my own people. Is this a crime ? Should I be criticized because I refuse to endanger my life due to where I drink a cup of coffee ? I don’t believe in imposing assimilation, and I don’t want to go to a place which I dislike. If a white man comes to my house, he is welcome. If he doesn’t want me to go to his house, I don’t want to go there, either. I’m not in love with white people. If they like me, I like them. I like my life, and assimilation is wrong. The black man who tries to integrate will be lynched and then killed. The black man who refuses assimilation is called a ‘master of hatred’.”