(International celebrity and heavy weight champion).
Date of birth: January 17, 1942.
Me: Mr Ali, it seemed you tried to dodge the draft, why were you against America fighting in Vietnam?
Muhammad Ali: I wasn’t trying to dodge the draft; I was doing what I felt right. How could I travel to Vietnam to help murder, kill, and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slave masters over darker people? That was the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end. Why should I sacrifice my life to terrorise the lives of the Vietnamese when white people in America are using their money to get into colleges to avoid the draft. I have no quarrel with the Viet Cong; they have never called me a “nigger”, they have never discriminated me because of my skin colour, like the white folks. Where white folks are living their lives, “negro” people in Louisville, Kentucky; are being treated like dogs and denied simple human rights.
Me: Mr Ali, did your religion play a huge role for your refusal of induction in the Vietnam War?
Muhammad Ali: Yes, it played a huge role. Ever since I converted to the nation of Islam in 1964, I’ve always tried to do the right thing for the good of my conscience. War is against the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. I am not supposed to take part in Christian wars of any unbelievers. Me going to Vietnam to kill the lines of innocent people is preposterous, just because there might be a thread of communication in America. The Vietnam war was just a test case to America; just an excuse to show the world how powerful America escalated and lost the war, which justice prevailed, which was fair on the Vietnamese.
Me: Mr Ali, it seemed that your popularity and fame go you so many anti-war supports over the world, like New Zealand, were you aware of this?
Muhammad Ali: I was aware of this; maybe my popularity and fame just go the message across faster, because all the anti-war supports knew the truth that