Muhammad Ali's ex-wife Khalila Camacho Ali advises Muslim women not to follow 'Hislam'

Muslim women must follow Islam and not the prejudiced notion of 'Hislam,' said Khalila Camacho Ali, former wife of the boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Speaking at a forum hosted by Spiritual Chords Foundation, a social and charitable welfare organisation run in Johannesburg, Khalila advised that all Muslim women should adhere to the principles on how they should work and live as guided by Islam. She also shared instances from her life that led her to convince Cassius Clay to change his name to Muhammad Ali and go on to earn the title of world champion in boxing.

According to Khalila, she was instrumental at the age of 10 to motivate Ali. She also recalled her role in convincing her husband to object to doing military service in Vietnam for America, as a result of which Ali lost his title in 1967.

"I told him to say: Hell no! I don't want to go! About being drafted into the Vietnam War and he did it live on TV for the whole world to see, word for word," Khalila Ali, ex-wife of boxer Muhammad Ali said while speaking at the forum in South Africa, as quoted by PTI.

Subsequently, the legendary boxer was convicted of draft evasions and sentenced to a 5-year jail term and fine worth $10,000. The US federal court also banned him from participating in professional boxing matches for three years. However, the conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court after three years.

Khalila recalls suffering grief after divorce from Ali

Sharing brief accounts from her life, Khalila remembered that despite all the support, she had to undergo an acrimonious divorce battle with Ali because of his infidelity. Khalila also recalled the heartbreak and grief she went through, then added she had forgiven him now, the details of which will be revealed in her book that is due for release next month, PTI reported. 

"The lot of things I had to go through to heal and to forgive, so now my healing is over and I'm ready to share my story," Khalila said emphasising that it is important for all women and girls, Muslim or not.

Khalila had met Ali in a Chicago mosque when she was just 10 and he was known as Cassius Clay. Even though Ali was charming, Khalila was not easily impressed, she had said to NBC Miami. At 16, Ali had adopted Islam and changed his name after which the duo got married when Khalila was just 17 and revealed that she had put tremendous effort to shape the legendary boxer's career. During her NBC interview,  she had also claimed that some of the boxer's quotes could be attributed to her. Born in 1942, Ali reached the height of his career due to hard work and perseverance, however, he later suffered from Parkinson's and passed away at the age of 74 in 2016 due to respiratory issues.

(With PTI inputs)

(Image: AP/@KhalilahCAli/Twitter)