Public Invited to Muhammad Ali's Muslim Funeral Service Thursday
The service will be held at noon Thursday.
"So the Jenazah prayer, or funeral prayer, is an obligation that the Muslim community in its entirety owes to any deceased individual from the community,” Zaid Shakir, a Muslim American scholar, said.
It's open to everyone and a large crowd is expected at Freedom Hall. The box office window at Freedom Hall will open to the public Tuesday at 10 a.m., and there is a maximum of four tickets per request.
"It's a simple process where the believers stand up and engage in a brief prayer. Customarily, there might be a few comments by those who knew him or some Quranic recitation. But it's fairly simple,” Shakir said.
The service is part of Ali's message of inclusiveness.
"This Thursday, funeral prayer service is critically important I think for the global Muslim community to say goodbye to their beloved champ in a way that is very traditional, open to everyone,” said Timothy Gianotti, an Islamic studies scholar.
Freedom Hall was the site of Ali's last fight in Louisville.
He beat Willi Besmanoff on Nov. 29, 1961.
Source: www.wlky.com
