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Jim's avatar
Jun 25Edited

It’s a shame he would remain unknown if not for the boxer born with the same name.

Fred Kameny's avatar

Muhammad Ali was an intelligent guy, but at least once he referred to his given name as "a slave name," which couldn't have been more wrong.

Wanda M. Walker's avatar

Excellent article! The irony of the given name and the adopted name says it all.

"Historical records, including the Quran and Hadith, indicate that the Prophet Muhammad owned, purchased, sold, and captured slaves during his lifetime, which was the cultural norm in 7th-century Arabia."

[Google AI response]

There was an interesting mention of his concubine, 'Maria the Copt'. You normally don't hear about this.

Nico Perrino's avatar

If you think our current politics is vicious, read the third paragraph of this essay.

The 1830s and '40s were rife with mob violence in response to speech. Historian Leon Whipple does an excellent job highlighting this in his seminal 1927 book, "The Story of Civil Liberty in the United States."