Description
Muhammad Ali is one of the most beloved Muslims in the world, and probably the most famous Muslim in American history. Although there are dozens of books and documentaries about Ali, his religious identity and journey have been covered superficially, at best. America Abroad Media (AAM), in partnership with the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, proposes to explore the central role of religion in Ali’s life, with particular attention to his conversion to Islam, how global Islam shaped his religious identity, and his impact on both African American Muslims and Muslim communities elsewhere in the world.
AAM will produce a multi-media series that includes four one-hour public radio specials, the first of which will be broadcast during Black History Month in February 2021; a series of six to eight podcasts; oral histories to be housed at the Ali Center; and the treatment for a limited television series or film for broadcast. The oral histories will capture the recollections of family members, associates, religious figures and scholars who knew Ali or have studied the role of Islam in his life.
The series will tell the story of Ali’s journey: his religious upbringing as a Baptist in the Jim Crow south, his first interactions with the Nation of Islam and his conversion to Islam in 1964 after winning the world heavyweight championship, his interactions with Muslim immigrant communities and his shift to a more orthodox Sunni Islam, his practice of a more spiritual form of Sufi Islam as he dealt with the onset of Parkinson’s disease, his role in international diplomacy (including negotiations with Saddam Hussein to free American hostages), and his critiques of violence after the September 11 attacks.
From Ali’s travels through the Middle East and Africa, to his interactions with Muslim immigrants from South Asia and the Middle East in the U.S., and shifting interpretations of Islam within the African American Muslim community, an exploration of Ali’s religious journey promises to illuminate the interaction between Islam as practiced in the U.S. and in Muslim majority countries throughout the world.
AAM has worked closely with the Ali Center and consulted with a number of scholars in designing this proposal, and plans to engage these scholars in the development and production of the series. A grantee of the HRLI since 2007, AAM’s mission is “to produce original multi-media content for global audiences that promotes shared values and mutual understanding …especially as it relates to the Middle East and Muslim communities around the world.” Previous HRLI grants supported America Abroad , a series of hour-long public radio documentaries distributed by Public Radio International, and covered a wide range of topics and diverse religions.
AAM was established in 2001 to provide in-depth coverage of international affairs for public radio and television. Now a global media network, it has offices in Washington, DC, Tunisia and Afghanistan, and partnerships in over ten countries in the Middle East. Aaron Lobel, AAM’s founder and president, holds a PhD in government from Harvard and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Luce funds would support a portion of production costs for the radio specials, podcasts and oral histories. AAM is seeking support for writing the treatment and other project components from foundations including John Templeton, Arthur Vining Davis and Ford.
