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muhammad ali funeral

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Thousands of fans are attending a farewell procession for Muhammad Ali in his home city of Louisville, Kentucky.

Onlookers lining the roadside waved, took photos and chanted “Ali, Ali” as a cortege led by the hearse carrying his coffin drove through the downtown area.

The boxing legend and rights activist died on June 3 at the age of 74.

The cortege is taking Muhammad Ali’s body past key sites in his life, ahead of an interfaith memorial service.

Will Smith and ex-boxer Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers, while former President Bill Clinton will deliver one of the eulogies.

Thousands of free tickets for the memorial service, taking place at a major sports centre, were snapped up within half an hour.

The motorcade procession began at about 10:35 local time, more than an hour behind schedule, and is taking the coffin past his childhood home, the Ali Center, the Center for African American Heritage and then down Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

Fans threw flowers at the hearse and rose petals were scattered along the route.Muhammad Ali funeral

The procession, expected to take about 90 minutes, will end at the Cave Hill Cemetery where Muhammad Ali will be laid to rest in a private ceremony.

The funeral service at the KFC Yum! Center is due to begin at 14:00 local time.

Billy Crystal will also deliver a eulogy, while sports journalist Bryant Gumbel, the daughter of civil rights activist Malcolm X, Attallah Shabazz, and Muhammad Ali’s wife, Lonnie, and daughters, Maryum and Rasheda, are also expected to speak.

Among those expected to attend the service is King Abdullah of Jordan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended June 9 prayer ceremony and had been due at the service, but reports say he has cut short his visit to the US.

The reasons for his departure are not clear, though there are reports of differences with the funeral’s organizers.

President Barack Obama will not be there, as he is to attend his eldest daughter Malia’s graduation.

In a video message, Barack Obama said: “This week we lost an icon. A person who for African Americans, I think, liberated their minds in recognizing that they could be proud of who they were.”

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Muhammad Ali’s family and fans are attending a Muslim prayer service to honor the boxing legend in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

The two-day funeral was planned by Muhammad Ali in the years before his death, according to a family spokesman.

Muhammad Ali, “The Greatest”, wanted the Muslim prayer service, known as a Jenazah, to be “a teaching moment”, according to Imam Zaid Shakir, who is leading the service.

The legendary boxer died on June 3 at the age of 74.

More than 14,000 people have tickets to the event at the site of Muhammad Ali’s last fight in Louisville in 1961.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been taken to hospital after falling unconscious at home just days after his frail appearance at a funeral for Joe Frazier

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been taken to hospital after falling unconscious at home just days after his frail appearance at a funeral for Joe Frazier

American Muslims attending the service and watching on TV say they hope that the public prayers will help Americans to become more familiar with Islam and its practices.

In 1964, Muhammad Ali famously converted to Islam, changing his name from Cassius Clay, which he called his “slave name”.

He first joined the Nation of Islam, a controversial black separatist movement, before later converting to mainstream Islam.

Muhammad Ali traveled the world as a boxer and speaker, and inspired Muslims around the world.

The funeral will continue on June 10 with an interfaith memorial service and procession through Louisville passing key locations such as Muhammad Ali’s childhood home, and a museum dedicated to him.

Tickets to attend the June 10 service sold out only an hour after they went on sale.

World leaders and celebrities will attend, including former President Bill Clinton and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. President Barack Obama will not be able to attend due to his eldest daughter’s graduation on the same day.