Some of the world's most important people were at Muhammad Ali's funeral, but he was The Greatest
The great man's memorial service was just like him, political, religious with moments of fun.
At the funeral of one of the world's greatest – many say, the greatest – sportsmen, thousands of fans were in attendance. And hundreds of thousands more lined the way to pay their last respects to Muhammad Ali.
At the boxer's funeral, former President Bill Clinton delivered the eulogy, but there were also talks by Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religious leaders along – with a remembrance by actor Billy Crystal.
Valerie Jarett, President Barack Obama's aide, who knew Ali personally, spoke on behalf of the current administration. Also in attendance were King Abdullah of Jordan and President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, who left early because he was denied a chance to speak at the service.
The procession drove the coffin through the streets of Ali's hometown, Louisville. Actor Will Smith and former boxer Lennox Lewis were amongst the pallbearers.
Ali's service began with a reading of the Koran in Arabic Koran by Imam Hamzah Abdul Malik.
The line for tickets to Mohammed Ali's Funeral #rip pic.twitter.com/ViFRjgUYO8
— Eric Adams (@WordsfromEric) June 8, 2016
Below, rabbi Michael Lerner speaks at the funeral to a standing ovation. Ali and Lerner previously were involved in the anti-war activism against the Vietnam War.
Lerner said, "Knowing he would lose his title, knowing he would face the racism of American society that would be heaped upon him for saying no to the crazy war in Vietnam. So I want to say how do we honour Muhammad Ali? And the answer is the way to honour Muhammad Ali is to be Muhammad Ali today."
Billy Crystal, who recounted personal memories of their friendship, began, "Thank you ladies and gentleman, we are at the halfway point. I was clean shaven when this started." And concluded with, "Ali taught us that life is best when we build bridges between people, not walls."
Bill Clinton, who was the last to speak recalled seeing Ali light the torch at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. "I was weeping like a baby seeing his hands shake. No matter what it took, the flame would be lit. The fight would be won. I knew it would happen."
