A Muslim funeral for Muhammad Ali on Thursday drew thousands of admirers to the boxer's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where mourners prayed over the body of a man who battled in the ring and sought peace outside it, according to the Daily Mail.

An estimated 14,000 people, representing many races and creeds, attended the jenazah, or "funeral" in Arabic, where he was repeatedly feted as "the people's champion."

"The passing of Muhammad Ali has made us all feel a little more alone in the world," said Sherman Jackson, a Muslim scholar at the University of Southern California.

Imam Zaid Shakir, a founder of Muslim liberal arts school Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, led worshipers in prayers such as "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest") over Ali's body, which lay in a casket covered with a black and gold cloth.

Luminaries including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and comedian Billy Crystal will attend Friday's event, at the KFC Yum Center.

"Ali will never die. His spirit will live on," boxing promoter Don King told reporters from Thursday's venue at Freedom Hall, the complex where Ali defeated Willi Besmanoff in 1961 in his last fight in Louisville.

Others on hand to pay respects included U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens. 

Source : MENA