Muhammad Ali funeral will be an interfaith service in Louisville

[rug]

Russell David looks over all the flowers and mementos at the Muhammad Ali Center. (John Sommers II/Reuters)

By Cindy Boren
June 6

Muhammad Ali will be remembered at an interfaith service Friday that he and his family had meticulously planned long before his death last Friday at the age of 74.

The memorial for Ali, which will be held after a procession through his home town of Louisville, will led by Zaid Shakir, a California Imam and scholar, with Protestant minister Kevin Cosby, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Joe Rapport and Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is a Mormon, scheduled to speak.

“Everything that we’re doing here was blessed by Muhammad Ali and requested,” family spokesman Bob Gunnell said in a news conference Monday. “He wanted the memorial service to reflect his life and how he lived. And he wanted everyone to be able to attend. He was the people’s champ, so we wanted the memorial service to reflect that.”

Ali’s widow, Lonnie, plans to eulogize him, along with former president Bill Clinton, actor/comedian Billy Crystal and Bryant Gumbel. King Abdullah II of Jordan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among the dignitaries who plan to attend; the Dalai Lama was invited but cannot attend the service.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/06/06/muhammad-ali-funeral-will-be-an-interfaith-service-in-louisville/

[kentauros]

1. Interesting that Erdogan is going to be there.

That's too bad that the Dalai Lama couldn't make it, though. Some may also question why Orrin Hatch will be there, but by the sounds of it, he was likely invited, and back when Ali was still alive.

You'll probably see the news on the memorial long before I do, so go ahead and post it here if you like.