Muhammad Ali was proud of being a Muslim. He said:
“I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.”
When he died this past week, Americans looked back on his years as a fighter and his years as an activist. He worked for equal rights for black Americans. He stood up for his beliefs as a Muslim and as a black man.
Muhammad Ali was also a long time friend of Donald Trump (R-N.Y.). When plans for Ali’s funeral were announced, Trump’s people indicated he hoped to attend. Given Trump’s well known remarks about banning Muslims from the U.S., not everyone thought this was a good idea.
Ali was a Muslim, though, and Islam promotes kindness and inclusiveness. Muhammad Ali’s friend Saliha Shakir said:
“None of us care for [Trump’s] rhetoric, but this is what Ali would have wanted. He would not have turned him away.”
Although Trump did not end up attending after all, his presence was felt at the funeral.
funeral speech from Rabbi Michael Lerner – his belief in humanity and love for all regardless of color or religion https://t.co/HWga7CCRNn
— LeeLee?⚾️????? (@leeleeqb20) June 10, 2016
Addicting Info reports that Rabbi Michael Lerner took the podium saying that he was at the funeral to represent American Jews.
He spoke with passion and intensity, quickly turning his attention to the likely GOP nominee. Although he did not mention Trump by name, the Rabbi’s words could not be misinterpreted. He said:
“We will not tolerate politicians or anyone else putting down Muslims and blaming Muslims for a few people. We know what it’s like to be demeaned. We know what it’s like to have a few people who act against the highest vision of our tradition to then be identified as the value of the entire tradition.”
There was no need to single out the candidate by name. Everyone in the room knew who the Rabbi was talking about.
He went on to praise the idea of a victory by former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton in November, then came back to his not subtle reference to Trump. He addressed the “next President of the United States” using the pronoun “her.” He warned:
“Tell her that the way to achieve homeland security is not for us to try new ways of domination. The strategy of domination of the world of ‘the other’ to get security has been tried for the last 10,000 years and it doesn’t work. The way to get security is for the United States to become known as the most generous and caring country in the world, not the most powerful.”
The Rabbi clearly meant Trump’s ridiculous “America First” foreign policy, with its bombastic posturing and flexing.
Rabbi Michael Lerner spoke not only for American Jews but for all of us as he absolutely slammed Donald Trump and his hateful, racist rhetoric.
Watch the Rabbi Lerner talk about the candidates at this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cza0IY1h6VI
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
