Why did Cassius Clay choose the name Muhammed Ali

We should probably keep Woody Allen out of the convo for obvious reasons LOL.

 

Because Ish Kabibble was already taken?

 

Interesting responses. Here's my take.

Cassius Clay was courted by Malcolm Little who became known as X. Once he converted he became Cassius X.
To acknowledge blacks last names were result of being someone's property- as one post said of (clay) Clay plantation

In NOI, not Sunni or Shia, but the black Muslims in America were taught to drop that last name- belonging to slave masters. Without knowledge of self (X) represents (unknown).

During the lead up to Liston fight, old school NOI claimed Clay was courted by mafia to either allow them in or take a dive.
Nation did something they had never done before- Give a separate name other than (x).

They taught Cassius that the world had millions of Muslims. & That Muslim behavior would never give in as slaves, instead prefer to fight to the death- So if these thinkers see their brethren with an Islamic name hurt by anyone..including the mob, then that is equivalent to hurting any Muslim.

Muhammad meaning one worthy of all Praise. Some say Ali means 'high"
However the name Muhammad Is similar to the name (Christ) in that they (NOI) teach neither are names rather titles .
One is worthy of praise the other the means anointed. But over time we inadvertently turned them into names.
Jesus is the Christ (savior or anointed) & Muhammad is the Mahdi's messenger. I forget his name, something like Ibn Abdul, meaning the son of a dude name Abdul. Over time he became known as Prophet Muhammad.

Messiah= Judaism Christ= Christianity Mahdi =Islam...all 3 were waiting for the return of one great God ...these are titles that became names over the course of time.
When the NOI leader passed away -the NOI ceased to exist (1975-1978) So Muhammad Ali (THEN) joined Sunni Islam.
Cassius was a christian who became an FOI in the NOI, then by 1975 or after...he became Sunni.

NOI was rejected worldwide by Sunnis & Shia until the late 1980s early 1990s when Gaddafi recognized Louis X who had become Farrakhan--i think early 1970s as a true Muslim. His nanny came from Ethiopia as a result he taught his Persian (Iran) & Arab brothers the African were indeed their brethren.

Gaddafi was the 1st to accept NOI's Claim that the Mahdi had already returned and came to America to find a deaf, dumb & blind people made last. (What Muhammad Ali was taught in the NOI)

He informed his nation that the great returning God was to judge a nation that ruled with evil....take the last from that nation & raise an ignorant people (black man) a feat that could only be done by the creator of the heavens & earth. They are the only people on earth having no clue of their tribes, their names, their home land. Lost with no morals, no language to call God by other than their slave mater's name ....enslaved in a strange land not their own. The least and worst kind of a man was the black man. What Good could come from Negros...I mean Nazareth. Gaddafi marveled that Louis F had not been killed, not been made to seem like an adulterer...think Martin Luther King...not sold out...think Al Sharpton. He taught no man could survive agitating America...without divine protection.

Ali by this time was ingrained to Sunni & understood from the government's view...if he rejected the rise of NOI & maintained Sunni status...he'd be given free reign. The (*ahem liberal) media would no longer call him a racist. Even allowed to carry the torch in the Olympics. If he denounces NOI- some say his speech and illness was the result of rejecting his brothers. As he had a huge slide in health during this time.

Cassius was given a name no one ever had...today though they are X...for a brief time..then all eventually take the name Muhammad as their last name. 1st name is whatever your mom & dad gave, unless one chooses a new first name for themselves.