![\"MuhammadAli1\"](\"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/MuhammadAli1.jpg\")
<\/a>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The Latest on the plans for Muhammad Ali’s funeral in Louisville this week.<\/p>\nThe president of Turkey and king of Jordan joined the long line of world leaders, religious figures and superstars set to speak at Muhammad Ali’s funeral Friday.<\/p>\n
Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell announced funeral details at a news conference Monday.<\/p>\n
California imam and scholar Zaid Shakir will preside over the service at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the funeral will be representatives of multiple faiths, including Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Mormonism and Catholicism. They will be followed by Ali’s wife, Lonnie Ali; daughter Maryum Ali; actor Billy Crystal; sportscaster Bryant Gumbel; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Abdullah II of Jordan.<\/p>\n
President Bill Clinton will deliver a eulogy.<\/p>\n
The Dalai Lama was invited, but sent regrets that he will be unable to attend.<\/p>\n
The day before his star-studded funeral, members of Muhammad Ali’s Islamic faith will get their chance to say a traditional goodbye to the Champ.<\/p>\n
Bob Gunnell, a spokesman for Ali’s family, announced Monday that a Jenazah, a traditional Muslim funeral service, will be held at Freedom Hall at noon Thursday. It will be open to all.<\/p>\n
They chose the venue both because it seats 18,000 and because it holds historical significance for the hometown hero. Ali fought, and won, his first professional fight there in 1960.<\/p>\n
Gunnell said Ali, who converted to the Islamic faith in the 1960s, started planning his own funeral nearly a decade ago. Gunnell said he wanted his services “to reflect his life and how he lived” with a heart open to people of all colors and creeds.<\/p>\n
Previously<\/p>\n
LOUISVILLE\u00a0 (AP) Muhammad Ali died Friday, June 3, 2016,\u00a0at age 74, according to a statement from the family. He was hospitalized in the Phoenix area with respiratory problems earlier this week, and his children had flown in from around the country.<\/p>\n
A funeral will be held in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The city plans a memorial service Saturday.<\/p>\n
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer ordered flags lowered to half-staff to honor Ali.<\/p>\n
He fought in three different decades, finished with a record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts \u2014 26 of those bouts promoted by Arum \u2014 and was the first man to win heavyweight titles three times.<\/p>\n
He whipped the fearsome Sonny Liston twice, toppled the mighty George Foreman with the rope-a-dope in Zaire, and nearly fought to the death with Joe Frazier in the Philippines. Through it all, he was trailed by a colorful entourage who merely added to his growing legend.<\/p>\n
Ali spurned white America when he joined the Black Muslims and changed his name. He defied the draft at the height of the Vietnam war \u2014 “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong” \u2014 and lost 3 1\/2 years from the prime of his career. He entertained world leaders, once telling Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos: “I saw your wife. You’re not as dumb as you look.”<\/p>\n
He later embarked on a second career as a missionary for Islam.<\/p>\n
Despised by some for his outspoken beliefs and refusal to serve in the U.S. Army in the 1960s, an aging Ali became a poignant figure whose mere presence at a sporting event would draw long standing ovations.<\/p>\n
For his part, Ali didn’t complain about the price he had paid in the ring.<\/p>\n
“What I suffered physically was worth what I’ve accomplished in life,” he said in 1984. “A man who is not courageous enough to take risks will never accomplish anything in life.”<\/p>\n
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The Latest on the plans for Muhammad Ali’s funeral in Louisville this week. The president of Turkey and king of Jordan joined the long line of world leaders, religious figures and superstars set to speak at Muhammad Ali’s funeral Friday. Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":102016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=101933"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102018,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101933\/revisions\/102018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/102016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=101933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=101933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=101933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}