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.
Ali H. S. Hajjaj Ali H. S. Hajjaj Dr. Ali Hussein Salman Hajjaj (1933–2004) was the first non-English speaking person to acquire a (Ph.D.) in Applied Linguistics of the English Language. He attained his Ph.D. from University of Lancaster, UK in 1979. The late Dr. Ali was born in Gaza Palestine, in 1933. He acquired the Canadian citizenship in 1995. He died in the city of Amman, Jordan, while he was on top of his academic assignment as the Head of English Department at the Faculty of Arts at Petra University, Jordan. Dr. Hajjaj contributed to English Language Teaching (ELT) to native English language