{"543361":{"#nid":"543361","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"How Muhammad Ali Became a Champion for Muslims in America","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMany know Muhammad Ali for his prowess in the boxing ring, but according to Assistant Professor Johnny Smith the famed champion also left his mark in another way: racial and religious activism. As one of the first famous Muslims in mainstream America, Ali spent the majority of his career as an outspoken believer in Islam. At a time when the average American knew little about and mistrusted the religion, Ali\u2019s faith became a beacon for American Muslims. He saw himself as Islam\u2019s champion. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of History and Sociology Assistant Professor John M. Smith, Ph.D., co-authored \u201cHow Muhammad Ali Became a Champion for Muslims in America\u201d for \u003Cem\u003EThe Washington Post\u003C\/em\u003E. The article follows the beginnings of Ali\u2019s relationship with Islam, to his public proclamation of his faith, and finally to the religious battle he fought both inside and outside of the ring. Read the full article \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/posteverything\/wp\/2016\/06\/08\/how-muhammad-ali-became-a-champion-for-muslims-in-america\/\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"32716","created_gmt":"2016-06-09 10:43:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:28:14","author":"Hayden Russell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"graduation 2023","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/posteverything\/wp\/2016\/06\/08\/how-muhammad-ali-became-a-champion-for-muslims-in-america\/","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"405921":{"id":"405921","type":"image","title":"John Matthew (Johnny) Smith","body":null,"created":"1449254153","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:35:53","changed":"1475895129","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:09","alt":"John Matthew (Johnny) Smith","file":{"fid":"76117","name":"johnsmithweb_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnsmithweb_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnsmithweb_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":97065,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/johnsmithweb_0.jpg?itok=wQMXZpTj"}}},"media_ids":["405921"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"129451","name":"Johnny Smith"},{"id":"168372","name":"muhammad ali"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}