About to turn 70, Ali gets a big party
Muhammad Ali is "still the greatest" to friends and admirers.
The boxing champ basked in chants of "Ali! Ali!" and the singing of "Happy Birthday" as hundreds of supporters cheered him Saturday night during his 70th birthday celebration in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. Never mind that Ali actually turns 70 on Tuesday: The private party was the first of five planned in the next few months.
As party-goers mingled in a lobby of the Muhammad Ali Center before the festivities, Ali walked slowly to a second-floor balcony overlooking them. The crowd immediately began to clap, then broke into effusive chants and singing.
The three-time world heavyweight champion, who has Parkinson’s disease, leaned against a rail and raised his right hand to wave to the crowd. Then he joined his party out of view of the public and the press.
Read MoreGraffiti Artist Tanzanian coastal town of Bagamoyo
This photo, taken by Hannah Nelson, of a graffiti artist advertising a local musician during this year’s festivities for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in the Tanzanian coastal town of Bagamoyo is the first in a series of images from Africa on the theme of the colour green sent in by BBC News website readers.
Read More“Remember Me” Official Music Video from New Dynasty featuring Haroon Rashid, King Kastro (Outlawz), Outlaw Muszamil (Outlawz), Mikial & Amaar
"Remember Me" Official Music Video of New Dynasty featuring Haroon Rashid, King Kastro, Outlaw Muszamil, Mikial & Amaar light the streets and underground up with this Single.
Artist Profile: Rakin
Rakin has been involved in the music business for over 20 years. He started with the world renowned British rap crew Cash Crew. This group made their mark in the scene by being one of the most conscious groups of their time. As Cash Crew Rakin got to perform on the same stage as Hip Hop greats Wu Tang, Gang Starr, Digital Underground to name a few.
Read More
A New Imam, A New Outlook
Leader of Roxbury mosque says he brings a welcoming vision
He grew up as a preacher’s grandson in Oklahoma, attending Church of Christ services twice a week, until the pull of Christianity started to weaken. His teen years were spent spinning hip-hop music as a DJ, but that world came to feel hollow.
Then he found the Koran, and William Suhaib Webb was transfixed.
Now Webb, a year shy of 40, finds himself in Roxbury as the new spiritual leader of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, the biggest mosque in New England. He started this week, and yesterday led his first jummah, the weekly congregational prayer Muslims hold on Fridays.
Webb’s unusual path to his new role is at the heart of his plan to make the mosque more inclusive, and reflects a broad desire by Islamic leaders nationally to dispel the perception of a rigid faith presided over by stern imams. That desire is evident, too, in the pop culture references Webb sprinkles into his sermons, from “Monday Night Football’’ to the Twilight vampire romance series.
Read MoreJon Stewart: ‘All-American Muslim’ Critics Upset Series Doesn’t Stereotype Muslims?! (Video)
Leave it to Jon Stewart and his "Daily Show" cohorts to ferret out new levels of nuttiness in the "All-American Muslims"/Lowe’s/Florida Family Association brouhaha.
Conservative evangelical group FFA urged home improvement chain Lowe’s to remove its advertising from the TLC reality series — which follows a group of Muslim families living in Dearborn, Michigan — because, the FFA says, the show depicts the families living like most other families in the country, and "is attempting to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad."
Read MoreWhere stands Lowe’s beef with TLC’s All-American Muslim?
It’s not all heavenly peace for TV programs that have come under fire for their on-screen content during this holiday season. Where stands Lowe’s beef with TLC’s All-American Muslim?
Read More