The Real Reason Muhammad Ali Converted to Islam

Muhammad Ali's public conversion to Islam, in 1964, was among the most defining moments of his remarkable life. The decision enraged his critics -- his hometown newspaper continued to refer to Ali by his birth name, Cassius Clay, for years to come -- and led him to refuse to serve in Vietnam, a stand that cost him his title, his livelihood and, ultimately, cemented his status as an American iconoclast.