Muhammad Ali that year, before converting to Islam after 1961. At age 22, in 1964, he won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset. He then changed his name from Cassius Clay, which he called his "slave name", to Muhammad Ali. He set an example of racial pride for African Americans and resistance to white domination during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1966, two years after winning the heavyweight title, Ali further antagonized the white establishment by refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs, and opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War.
S. Wajid Ali S. Wajid Ali S. Wajed Ali (; 4 September 1890 – 10 June 1951) was a Bengali writer, nationalist and barrister-at-law. Wajid Ali was born on 4 September 1890 in the village of Baratajpur of Hooghly district. S. Wajed Ali's maternal grandmother hailed from the Nawabpur village in Chanditola of Hooghly district. Her father, who came from Mungaer, had settled in Nawabpur with a 'Jaigir' and married into the local Bengali community. Wajed Ali's three maternal uncles were 'Hafiz' in Koran and his grandfather's home atmosphere was one of religious conservatism. However, the natural beauty of Nawabpur touched him deeply