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 separated from him and married his younger brother S. Shamsher Ali. This turn of events drove him into a family crisis and utter loneliness. The dramatic family complications made him hurt susceptible and psychologically isolated. In the face of all these adversities, he maintained his literary stability and creativity in matters of philosophical and nationalistic pursuits. He always maintained his clarity of vision and focus in all these matters, which were close to his heart. Having been cast into loneliness and isolation in his family life, S. Wajed Ali, amidst his otherwise busy life with the duties of his job,