Everybody knows Muhammad Ali was a Muslim. But fewer know that he met privately with Billy Graham, one of the most effective evangelists in American history.
Ali died June 3 at 74 years old, after battling Parkinson’s disease for over 30 years. Did Graham’s seeds bear eternal fruit with the boxing great?
Franklin Graham recalled his experiences with Muhammad Ali, who met with Graham and his father on multiple occasions. Notably, Billy Graham met Ali in order to discuss faith and religion, shortly after Ali’s public conversion to Islam.
Franklin described the circumstances surrounding Ali’s meetings with the Grahams: “I had the privilege of meeting him on several occasions, and he visited at my parents’ home in Montreat, North Carolina. Muhammad Ali’s father brought him to visit my father Billy Graham because he was concerned over Ali’s faith in Islam and was afraid that his son had been led astray. They had a great visit, and my father had prayer with him. They met together again several years ago in Louisville, Kentucky, when my father was there to preach.”
Despite their difference of beliefs, Franklin praised Ali’s legacy, and said he was praying for the Ali family.
“The world has lost a champion. Muhammad Ali was considered by many as the greatest boxer of all time. His career began during a difficult period in our country with the racial tensions of the 1960s and the Vietnam War. His outspoken positions caused him to be both loved and hated by some.”
We may not know until the other side of eternity if Ali made it through the pearly gates. But he had the opportunity to hear a pure gospel.
