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Known as a dominant boxer throughout the 19th century. He was not only a boxer, but a political, and civil rights icon as well. He fought for black rights through out the United Sates. Ali was arrested and charged for resisting the draft. He stated that if he entered the war, it would go against his valuable teachings from the Holy Qur'an. Ali said: "I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger." He stated that he will not take part of any war with Christians, and unbelievers. His goal was to free anyone who had a religious reason from being forced to take part in the draft. He was greatly looked down upon when he decided to withdraw from the draft. People often questioned his career in boxing. People wanted to know if he was allowed to participate in boxing. Boxing was "fighting" another "battle" of it's own. Many people who supported Ali because of he was a boxing hero, were now looking down upon him. He was then stripped of his boxing title, and his career had been suspended. It took four years for him to fight for his appeal and win his case through the Supreme Court. He won his case, that had been worked up to the Supreme Court, unanimously. Many African Americans were converting is Islam. They found Islam as a religion that could relieve them from segregation from the whites. Ali would then follow in the trend of the new religion. He looked at himself as a messenger of Allah. He would then stay dedicated to the religion. Ali would spread his messages through many speeches that thought his religion, and the reasoning why he opted out of the draft. He gave his popular speech "Black is Best" at Howard University in front of 4,000 people. Those people were great supporters of Ali. They supported his fight against being forced in the draft that conflicted with a religious obligation. The quote he is known most for is "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... They never called me nigger."=====

Works Cited Schladweiler, Kief. "Muhammad Ali." //African-American Involvement in the Vietnam War//. Web. 02 May 2012. . Wikipedia. "Muhammad Ali." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 May 2012. .