compassionate, more merciful, we request everyone rise at the current time. stand-up to greet the ali family.

[silence} [silence] [silence] [silence]

[silence] [silence] [silence]

[silence] [silence] [silence] [applause]

[silence] [silence] >> all praise is due to the lord of all the worlds. please be seated, ladies and gentlemen. in accordance with muslim tradition and consistent with

the wishes of muhammad ali may god have mercy on him. we begin this program with a brief recitation from the koran, the scripture of the muslim, a young emom from a mid-town mosque in memphis tennessee for spear heading a neighborhood renewal effort in one of the most blighted areas in memphis. it is centered around a mosque and one of the few graduates of the university will share a few verses from the koran. >> [applause]

>> laj, hamsa abdullah malik. -- ladies and gentlemen. [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue]

[singing in native tongue] [singing in native tongue]

[singing in native tongue] [singing in native tongue]

[singing in native tongue] [singing in native tongue]

>> now with the translations of those verses we would like to bring to stage a second generation daughter of syrian immigrants. she is an excellent student. in her spare time in recent years, she raises money to provide medical supplies, surgical instruments and other forms of medical assistance for syrian refuges fleeing from the horror of the current conflict and we pray almighty god brings to a secession soon.

[applause] >> in the name of god, the most gracious, the most merciful, truly those who say our lord is god and our upright, the angels will descend upon them saying have neither fear nor sadness, but rather rejoice in this paradise. we are our allies in this lower life and after, where you will have your hearts' desires and you will have whatever you ask for from the one, most for giving, most merciful. who is more beautiful in speech

than the one that invites to god and does righteous work saying truly i am submitted to god for good and evil are not equal, repel ugliness with beauty and behold the one between you whom there was imninty is transformed into a warm friend. but no one arrives at the station without great patience. chapter 41 verses 31-35. thank you. >> i forgot to mention she is a proud resident of this city.

god, bless this day of ours, you are our protector, what an excellent protector, what an excellent helper. honorable president, bill william jay clinton, distinguished guest, viewing audience, on behalf of the ali family and the city of lewisville, kentucky, the home of the people's champ. [applause] [applause] >> ali! ali! ali! [crowd chanting ali] >> we are dealing with time

here, folks. lewisville, kentucky admirable led by greg fischer. give it up for the mayor. [applause] >> i would like to welcome you to this memorial service for the people's champ, muhammad ali. at this time, we would like to introduce our first speaker. dr. reverend kevin bellevue cosby. [applause] >> reverend has served as the senior pastor of saint steven

church in lewisville, kentucky greatly through a dynamic bible teaching. his congregation has grown. he combines passion, wit and intellectual as the foundation of the ministry that transformed the lives of thousands of individuals. reverend? [applause] >> i looked in the dictionary for the the word fidelity. it has two words. in 1967 nine months prior to

this assassination, dr. martin luther king junior was interviewed by merve griffin. dr. king asked griffin a relevant question. he said dr. king, what has been the greatest effect and impact that the civil rights struggle has had on the negro? dr. king paused and said besides the dismantling of barriers that prohibited the negro from free access, the greatest and most profound affect that the civil rights struggle had was it infused in the negro something that the negro needed all along and that was a sense of

somebodyness. you will never be able to appreciate what dr. king meant when he said the negro needed a sense of some bodiness until you understand the 350 years of nobodyness that was infused in the psyche of people of color. every sacred document in our history, every hallowed institution conspired to convince when god made the african he created malfese n.

all of the documents said to the negro, you are nobody. the constitution said we were three fifths of a person. decisions from the supreme court, like the dread scott case, said to the negro that you had no rights that whites were bound to respect. and even francis scott key in the writing of the star-spangled banner we sing verse one but in verse three they celebrate slavery by saying no refuge can sage the harling enslave from the sor row of night on the death of the grave. every institution from religion to entertainment, from ammos and andy, to jane and tarzan,

infused in the psyche of the negro that he was inferior. but something happen would the world war ii generations. jessy jackson picked up a bat and hit a ball. joe lewis knocks out max smelling in a 124 seconds. jessy lewis runs speeds and wins four gold medals. rosa parks sit down on a bus in montgomery of 1955 and a young boston university stands up and takes the complex ideas of negro and dips it in chocolate so big mommy can understand.

and then from lewisville -- [applause] emerged the silver tongue boy who took the essence of somebodyness to unheard of heights. before james brown said i am black and i am proud, muhammad ali said i am black and i am pretty. black and pretty was an oxymoron. black doesn't say pretty. the first black millionaire in this country was not oprah but it was madam cj walker who made

products in order to help black people escape their africanity. but muhammad ali said i am proud. i am pretty. i am glad of who i am. and when he said that, that infused in africans a sense of somebody-ness. taking muhammad ali in the time he lives is called historic prese presentism. it is to talk about george washington and not talk about the american revolution. it is to take about lincoln and not talk about the civil war. it is to talk about roosevelt and not talk about the depression and world war ii. our brother is a product of a different time and he dared to

love black people at a time when black people had a hard time loving themselves. [applause] >> he dared to affirm the beauty of blackness. he dared to affirm the power and capacity of african-americans. he dared to love america's most unloved race. he loved us all and we loved him becau we knew he loved us all. whether you live in the suburbs or the slums, whether you lived on the avenue or whether you lived in an alley, whether you came from the pent house or whether you lived in the project, whether you came from moore house or whether you had no house, whether you were hot

yellow or boot black, muhammad ali loved you. our city is known for two things. it is known for muhammad ali and it is known for the kentucky derby. we hope you will come back and visit our city the first saturday in may. we hope you will place a bet on one of the horses but if you do is know the rules. the horses start out in the starting gate and then the signal is given and they will run in the mud for two minutes. and the winner will then be led to the winner circle where a wreath of roses is placed around the horse's neck. we want you to make a bet but please know the rules. you cannot bet for the horse once it is in the winner circle. you have to bet were the horse while it is still in the mud.

[applause] >> there are a lot of people who have bet and will bet on muhammad ali when he was in the winner circle. but the mass bet on him while he was still in the mud. [applause] karim abdul-jabbar stood with him when he was in the mud. but please don't mishear me. i am not saying that muhammad ali is the property of black people. he is the property of all peo e

people. why he is the property of all people, let us never forget he is the product of black people in their struggle to be free. i went looking for jesus on a poor west end street thinking i would find them as he walked around with men and women with stumbling feet. people who had their heads bowed low because they were broke and had nowhere to go. then i went looking for jesus way in the sky thinking he would wear a robe that would dazzle my eyes when suddenly jesus came walking by with stumbling feet because he had been hanging with the poor on a west end street.

the muhammad ali of my childhood had a shuffle. but as he grew older he walked with shuffling feet and i would submit he walked with shuffling feet not because of parkinson's disease but he walked with shuffleling feet because he hung out the foe folks in west lewisville who had shuffled feet. peace and god bless you. [applause] ...

don't give a teenager a telephone and don't give a preachary microphone. [laughter] we like to bring senator orrin hatch to the stage. now in his seventh term as one of utah's senators. the most senior republican in the senate. author of some of the most far-reaching legislation in recent decades. senator hatch is a seasoned and distinguished public servant. we are deeply honored by his presence today. [applause] >> reverend, that was real good.

it's hard for this poor old senator to have to fall that is all i can say. well, the first fight of sonny liston, muhammad ali stood behalf crowded pack of reporters and told the world unapologetically who he was. i'm the greatest. that's what he said. but this simple proclamation wrote his own and -- wrote his own title in the textbooks. he was not muhammad ali the prize fighter. or even the world champion. he was muhammad ali the greatest. ali's daughters dismissed this declaration as mere bragging but ali wasn't talking trash.

he was speaking truth. and he was in the world of boxing he truly was the greatest. with the cutthroat quickness of a street fighter and the simple grace of a ballerina. he moved with acing and punched with -- but that was to only see his athletic prowess was to see half the man help was an extraordinary fighter and a committed civil rights leader, an international diplomat, a forceful advocate of religious freedom. and an effective emissary of islam. he was something. he was caring as a father, a

husband, a brother, and a friend. and indeed, it is as a personal friend i witnessed ali's greatness for myself. i first met muhammad ali 28 years ago, almost to this day. i was in my senate office and an assistant called and said you have a visitor. i was really surprised it was none other than the champion himself. friendship we developed i think was puzzling to many people, especially to those who saw only our differences. i might say that where others saw difference, ali and i saw kinship. we were both dedicated to our families. and deeply devoted to our faiths.

he took islam and i to the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. we were both products of humble backgrounds and hard scrabble youth. ali grew up poor here in louisville and i grew up poor in pittsburgh. true, we were different in some ways but our differences fortified our friendship. they did not define it. i saw greatness in ali's ability to look beyond the horizon and our differences. to find common ground. this shared sensibility was the foundation of a rich and meaningful relationship that i will forever treasure. one of my fondest memories of our friendship was when ali joined me in the salt lake -- going to listen to the salt lake mormon tabernacle choir.

i have to say it was the same choir, and ali loved music, and he enjoyed the choir's performance but seemed most excited to share his religious beliefs. he attracted big crowds that day, and as he always did, and eagerly gave everyone autographed pamphlets explaining his muslim beliefs. hundreds of mormons lined up to grab the pamphlets and took one for myself. i respected his deeply held convictions just as he respected mine. and our relationship was anchored by our different faiths. ali was open to goodness in all its varieties. another occasion i took ali to primary children's hospital in salt lake city.

we visited with downtrodden children, who perhaps had never smiled a day in their lifetime. until ali showed up. ali held those kids and looked into their eyes, and they would grin from ear to ear. these are kids that never smiled. they were so pained. the nurses were astounded. never before had they seen someone who had connected so immediately and profoundly with these sick children. ali had a special way with kids, as we all know. he may have been a tough and tenacious man in the ring, but he was a compassionate and tender around those who he loved. for us he was a fighter. ali was also a peacemaker. a particular radio host in utah berated me constantly on at the air with as. week after week.

one day the host asked if i would arrange for ali to meet full fer for a joint interview. ali agreed, knowing the appearance would help me build some good will and was also interested in meeting gene as well. an up forgettable experience, two champions, face-to-face, reminiscing about some of the best fights the world has ever seen. and i have to say, in the process, ali claimed that radio host -- he charmed the radio host so much on my behalf, gently transforming an unrepentant an tag nest to a respectful sparring partner. so dedicated was ali to our friendship that he joined me on the campaign trail during several election cycles. he came to utah year after year

to raise funds for a charity ben fighting needy women, women in jeopardy, and families in our state. ali didn't look at life through the binary lens of republican, democrat. so common today. he saw worthy causes and shared humanity. and always willingness to put principles ahead of partisanship, he showed us all the path to greatness. and i'll never forget that greatness. nor will i ever forget him. there were many faces to ali's greatness. his abilities as a boxer, his charisma as a public figure, his benevolence as a father and a friend. all of these made ali great, but

it was something else that made him the greatest. ali was the greatest because, as a debilitated yet unbroken champion in his later years, he put his greatness beyond yourselves, greatness beyond ali. hi pointed us to the greatness of god. [applause] >> god raised up ali to be the greatest fighter in the world of all-time. yet he allowed ali to wrestle with parkinson's disease, an inescapable reminder that we're all mortal, and that we are all dependent on god's grace. ali believed this himself. he once told me god gave me this condition to remind me always that i am human, and that only he is the greatest.

[applause] ali was an unsurpassed symbol of our universal dependence on the divine. he was the greatest because he reminded us all who truly is the greatest. god, our creator. i'm eternally grateful for my special bond with this special man, and for my friendship with his beloved wife, lonnie, who i love dearly. one of the great women in this world. [applause] she was dedicated to her companion to the very end, and boy, i know it. i pray that ali may rest peacefully and in the presence of the greatest of all, god.

i can bear testimony that i believe in god. i believe that we're here on earth for a reason. i believe that this earth life is a time for us to do what is right for god. for our men and women. i don't know that i have ever met anybody who did it any better than my friend, muhammad ali. god bless you. god bless the family. [applause] >> next we would like to welcome father monsignor father henry crying toll the stage. he has been the pastor of st. patrick's parish in erie, pennsylvania, ordained in 1970,

and named a domestic prelate with the title monsignor by pope john paul ii in 1991. his wisdom, scholarship, and spiritual guidance is a source of solace and guidance for catholics and members of other faith communities far, far beyond his pennsylvania home. father cridn. [applause] >> let us pray. loving eternal god, as we gather today in prayer, we do so with an abiding sense of gratitude. our gratitude knows no bounds. as we thank you for the gift of this good and gentle man. muhammad ali opened our eyes to the evil of racism, to the absurdity of war.

he showed us with incredible patience that a debilitating illness need never diminish joy and love in our lives. he chided our consciences, he awakened in us a deeper sense of the need to respect one another, toet aside racial differences. the legendary fighter of all-time, in reality, taught us to heal rather than to fight, to embrace rather than to turn away, to include rather exclude. while proclaiming himself to be the greatest, he showed us that his greatness lie in his love and concern for others. most particularly the marginalized, the suffering, the helpless, the hopeless. your gift of him has enriched us, made us better people,

created a more gentle world. we dare not return him to you today without expressing our gratitude for the gift of him. amen. [applause] >> next we'll hear a few brief remarks from dr. timothy gionatti. he is a professor of islamic studies at the university of wart waterloo in ontario, canada. he is at home busying himself in the affairs of the muslim community as he is in the library and burrowing through books. a true public intellectual. he is the initialing and principle islamic adviser to the ali family. he has been instrumental in assuring that the last days of

muhammad's life, his burial, his bathing, his shrouding and his burial today, his funeral and burial today, all were in accordance with the strictures of muslim law. so now i'd like to bring to you the person i affectionately call, brother, doctor imam timothy gionatti. [applause]

>> in the name of god, who is the loving nurturer of the creation and the ever compassionate and ever merciful. i'd like to share a prayer today, and this is a prayer adapted from a traditional prayer of the prophet muhammad. may god's peace and blessings be upon him. before i do so i would just like to say to the family to lonnie to everyone here, that serving muhammad ali has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. oh, god, you who are the light of the heavens and the earth, grant our brother muhammad a

light in his heart, a light in his earthly body now restored to the earth. a light in his grave. a light before him as he journeys on to you. a light in all that he has left behind in this world. a light to his right. and a light to his left. oh, god, increase him in light. grant him light. a light in his deeds in this world and a light in the hereafter. a light in the hearts of those whom he loved. and a light in the eyes of those who loved him.

a light in those whom he knocked down. and a light in those whom he lifted up. light in his words which echo in our hearts. a light in the lives of all those whom he touched. a light in his children, and a light in their mothers. a light in his grandchildren. and a light in his tee -- devoted wife, lonnie. oh lord, increase your servant in light. and give him light. embrace him in light.

and fill us all with light. oh, you, who are the light of the heavens and the earth. oh, you, who are the most merciful of all those who show mercy. [applause] next we'll hear a few words from rabbi michael lerner. rabbi lerner is not only the rabbi -- but also the editor of a magazine. as the magazine's name suggests, rabbi lerner has dedicated his life to working to heal and repair the world.

rabbi lerner is never afraid of ruffling a few feathers, and we ask him to be nice today. rabbi lerner. [applause] >> we'll see about the feathers. master of compassion, god of compassion, send your blessings to muhammad ali and send your blessings to all who mourn for him and and the millions of people who mourn him all over the planets. i come here peeking as a representative of the american jews and to say that american

jews played an important role of solidarity with the african-american struggles in this country, and that we today stand in solidarity with islamic communities, in this country and all around the world. [applause] we will not tolerate politicians or anyone else putting down muslims and blaming muslims for a few people. [cheers and applause] we know what it's like to be demeaned. what it's like too have a few people who act against the highest visions of our tradition, to then be identified as the value of the entire tradition.

and one of the reasons that we in our magazine, a magazine of liberal and progressive jews and an enter faith magazine, have called upon the united states to stand up to the part's the israeli government of the pressing palestines is that we as jews understand that our commitment is to recognize that god has created everyone in god's image and that everyone is equally precious. and that means the palestinian people as well as all other people on the planet. [cheers and chance the people of louisville have a special relationship to muhammad ali, and i had a personal relationship in the '60s when both of us were indicted by the federal government and before our various stands against the war in vietnam. i want to say that although he

was cheered on as the heavyweight champion of the world, you know the truth is that in all the honor to him, that heavyweight champions of the world come and go, and sports heroes come and go. there was something about muhammad ali that was different. at the key moment when he had that recognition, he used it to stand up to an immoral war and say, no, i won't go. [cheers and applause] and it's for that reason that tens of millions of americans, who don't particularly care about boxing, care about muhammad ali, because he was a person who was willing to risk a great honor that he got and a great fame that he got to stand up for the beliefs he had, to speak truth to power, when the

rest of the people around him said, no, no, you're going to lose your championship and it was taken away from him for five yours but the stood up and was willing to take that kind of risk because of that kind of moral integrity. [applause] so i want to say, how too we honor muhammad ali? and the answer is, the way to honor muhammad ali is to be muhammad ali today. [cheers and applause] that means us, everyone here and everyone listening, it's up to us to continue that ability to speak truth to power. we must speak out. refuse to follow the path of conformity to the rules of the game in life. me must refuse to follow the path of conformity. tell the one percent who own 80% of the wealth of this country that it's time to share that wealth.

tell the politicians who used violence worldwide and then preached nonviolence to the oppressed, it's time for them to end their drone warfare and every other form of warfare. to close our bases around the world. to bring the troops home. tell those who created mass incarceration it's time to create a guaranteed income for everyone in our society. tell judges to let out of prison the many african-americans swept up by racist police and imprisoned by racist judges. [cheers and applause] and many of them in prison today for offenses like possessing marijuana, that white people get away with all the time. [cheers and applause]

tell our elected officials to imprison those who authorized torture and those who ran the big banks and investment companies that caused the economic collapse of 2008. tell the leaders of turkey to stop killing the kurds. tell israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu the way to get security is fours israel to stop the occupation of the west bank and help create a palestinian state. [applause] tell the next president of the united states, that she -- [applause] -- [cheers and applause] -- tell the next president of the united states that she

should seek a constitutional amendment to make all national and state elections funds by congress and the state legislatures and all other sources of money be banned, including money from corporations, from individuals, all other money, make it all public funding. [cheers and applause] 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 other to get security has been trade for the past ten thousand rears and it doesn't work. the way to get security iris for the united states to become known as the most generous and caring country in the world, not the most powerful. [cheers and applause] we can start with a global and domestic marshall plan to once

and for all end global and domestic poverty, homeless has, unger, indiana quit education, inadequate health care. so i want to, as chair of the interfaith network of spiritual progressives -- spiritual progressives.org -- i want to afirearm our commitment to the well-being of all muslim is on this planet, as well as the people of all faiths and secular humanist as well. we wish to pay honor to muslims of the world as they continue today the fast of ramadan, and join with them in mourning the loss and celebrating the life of muhammad ali. a great fighter for justice and peace. peace be upon him. peace be upon the prophet muhammad. peace be upon all of humanity and peace on all of us. amen. [cheers and applause]

>> ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali, ali. >> time, time. time it not on our side. after that speech, i have to edit my initial remarks, honorable first man, william j. clinton. sidneyhill in 2002 was selected -- spiritual, principle spiritual leader of his people, true friend of the earth and

beloved to all 0 -- who know him, a leader whose spirituality -- we're honored that he has come here today to share a few words and a few thoughts with us. chief hill. [applause] [speaking in native tongue]

[speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue]

[applause] >> chairman, the united nations, the odondaga nation, the translation says that my relatives, it is my responsibility to pick up the words of the people of the long house. they wish you well. they want you to be peace of mind. now this great darkness that has happened to us, you must

understand that you who have gathered us here, that his road is straight. peacefully, he will arrive at his land. it is the same as you call him, allah. these were the words. to the family, relatives, friends, of muhammad ali, mull mull was -- muhammad ali was a leader among men, and a champion of the people.

he fought for the people of color, yet he was a man of peace and principle. a man of compassion. used his great gifts for the common good. spirit, has a clear path to the creator. sidney hill, spiritual leader of the onondaga, sixth generation iroquois, federation, and myself , turtle clan, and the council of chiefs, have journeyed here today to add our voice to the congregation of world leaders in honor of his work, and for the right and

dignity of people of color and the common man. [applause] he was always in support of the indigenous people of this hemisphere, and our quest for our inherent land rights, self-determination, identity, and collective rights that include the natural world. we know what he was up against. because we have had 524 years of survival training ourselves. [cheers and applause] in 1978, the congressman from

the state of washington put a bill into congress to terminate our treaties with the united states. and an indian nation walked from california to washington, dc in protest. muhammad ali marched into washington d.c. with us. [applause] he was a free, independent spirit. stood his ground with great courage and conviction. and he paid a price. the country did, too. we all did. values and principles will determine one's destiny.

and the principles of a nation will do the same. poor people do not have many options. you fighters know what i'm talking about. he said the ring on his path to his destiny. he said he would be heavyweight champion of the world, and he was. three times. and this is the fourth time, right here, right now. [cheers and applause] >> on this journey in life, he lived, learned the hard way.

brought a light into this world. my world. our world. and that light will shine a long, long time. [applause] >> peace, brother. peace. on behalf of friends and the indigenous people everywhere, peace. thank you. [applause] >> we introduced chief hill. his words were translated by

chief oren lyons was born into a traditional indian family, grew up on the reservation of upstate new york in 1970 he became the chief and faith keeper of the turtle clan of the onondaga nation. his scholarships, stewardsships and leadership is a source of benefit and great blessing for all who know him. now we'd like to introduce rabbi joe rooks rapport. senior rabbi of the temple here in louisville. he has been a leader in interfaith worth. he has a passion for teachen worth, and his work with youth led him to cross paths with muhammad ali.

his religious theatership focuses on compassion, care, and working together with all to build a better world. rabbi. [applause] >> this is a reading from our memorial prayer on yom kippur. our day of atonement. most sacred day of the year. it was written many decades ago by a civil rights and humanitarian leader who could never hasn't known when he composed these words that he was writing a eulogy for muhammad ali. birth is the beginning. and death, a destination. life is a journey. from childhood to maturity. youth to age. from innocence to awareness.

and ignorance to knowing. from foolishness to disdiscretion, and then perhaps to wisdom. from weakness to strength. from strength to weakness, and often back again. from health, to sickness. back we pray to health again. from offense to forgiveness. from loneliness to love. from joy to gratitude. and pain to compassion. from grief to understanding. from fear to faith. from defeat, the defeat, defeat, until looking backward and ahead we see that victory lies not at some high place along the way but in having made the downy, stage by stage, a sacred pilgrimage. birth at the beginning and death, a destination. and life is a journey. a sacred pilgrimage to life everlasting.

we say words of prayer and they remain words until we encounter a person who embodies these words and makes them real. i've said these words many times before. at funerals and in memorial services. but never have i felt them come to life and speak of a single shining soul as i do today. muhammad ali was the heart of this city. the living, breathing, embodiment of the greatest that we can be. he was our heart. and that heart beats here still. [cheers and applause] let me tell you a story you already know. one of those stories about ali being gracious to a stranger that so many of us have told so many times, and in so many ways, that we sometimes forget the lessons the stories were intended to teach us.

the story hannah tells about her father towards the end of their book, the soul of the butterfly. hannahs driving her father to a book store on one sunday to pick up bibles and korans for a project he is working on. they pass an elderly man standing by the road with a bible in one hand and his thumb in the air with the other. they offer him a ride. and he thanks them, saying that he is on his way home from church. he'll need to go a few miles down the street where he can pick up a cab. hannah asked where he lived. he doesn't want to trouble them or go out of their way. he has no idea who is sitting in the front seat of this car. until muhammad ali turned around and says, it's no trouble at all. we're just on our way to a book store to buy some bibles and korans. once the man gets over meeting the greatest or all-time, he insists that he has three bibles

in his house, and he would be pleased to give them to ali in appreciation for the ride. ali thanks him but says he wants to pay for the bibles. the man says, no, the bibles were meant as a gift. ali asked him what he does for a living, and turns out the man had a stroke and has been forced into retirement. ali then tries to hand him a big pile of money for the bibles. the man refuses, and this is where things get interesting. ali says, take the money, man, i'm trying to get into heaven. and the man replies, so am i. [laughter] >> ali is not taking no for an answer. he says, if you don't take the money i might not get in. and the man replies, if i do take your money i might not get

in. they arrive at his home and the man invites them in to meet his wife of 30 years. he gives ali the bibles. ali slips the money under a napkin on the kitchen table. they're about to leave, and hannah gives the man her phone number and tells him to call her if he ever needs a ride home from church again. sitting in the car, ali turns to his daughter and asks, would you really go out of your way and pick him up and drive him home? and she said, yes. and with tears in his eye, he says, that's me in you. [applause]

he says, you're on the road to heaven. therein lies ali's greatness. his ability to see within himself something greater, and in his ability to inspire others to see such greatness' within themselves. there will never be another greatest like muhammad ali. but we together can now embody a measure of his kindness and his compassion. we can say each of us in our hearts that there's a little bit of ali in me. [applause] this week, we have mourned the loss and celebrated the life of a louisville legend and a citizen of the world. and of all the words and all the ways, the most powerful moments have all always been made in the

voices of young people, repeated in prayer services and can'ted in -- chance in the streets: i am ali. i am ali. i am not the fighter that ali was. and i may not have the courage which he never lacked. and i am definitely not as pretty. but in my heart, and in my hope, and in any prayers, i am muhammad ali. [applause] when we say that in our hearts, when we live that in our lives, then we together can build a legacy worthoff 0 the greatest or all-time. so say that now with me. in your heart and in this room. i am ali. >> i am ali. [applause]

>> one of the amazing things we have witnessed during our time here in louisville has been just so many stories of common, ordinary people. folks on the street, working in the hotels, the restaurants, virtually everyone has a story concerning how muhammad ali touched their lives. he came to my fourth grade class. he helped me out in this or that way. he came to visit me when i was sick. just on and on and on. and collectively, those experiences become synergy yetic, that it become greater than the individual parts partsd when we rode through the strew streets of the city today, i

witnessed something i've never, ever witnessed in my life. and i don't think i will ever witness again. i witnessed the power, and in our muslim tradition -- loosely translated as sainthood. i witnessed the power of sainthood. venerable -- a member of the japanese buddhist order dedicated to working for world peace through the practice of walking peace pilgrimages, antinuclear weapon pilgrimages, and the construction of peace pagodas all over the globe.

will be joined on stage by sister denice, another member of the order, and together they will share a traditional chant with us. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [chanting]

[chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting]

[chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting]

[chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting]

[chanting] [applause] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [applause]

>> now we will listen to a reading by ambassador shabazz. ambassador shabazz is the eldest of six daughters born to her family. she proudly shares that she is inspired by her parents, their parents, and those before them through the descending

generations. the former prime minister of belize recognized her as a key ambassador on international cultural affairs and project development and in 2002 appointed her as ambassador at large. powerful and elegant. we invite ambassador shabazz to read and share and inspire us. [applause] >> may peace be on all of us. this is a home-going celebration, i find myself balanced between that of celebration and depletion.

loss and somehow my breathing capacity has been weakened this past week. so i ask all of you gathered and afar to please muster up and transmit a bit of your air to me. the memory of muhammad ali. thank you all, gracias, and more as the globe centers at the very moment amidst the holy month of ramadan where every two hours there's a time zone praying and including muhammad ali and his family in their thoughts. amidst that are the prayers of

all faiths, all those touched, even those that don't claim a religion are feeling something right now, in honor of the family and the memory of their father. , husband. and the spirit of my parents, malcolm x shabazz and dr. betty shabazz. in the presence of my five younger sisters, our children, and our grandchildren. i would like to first honor his beloved wife, my sister, lana ali. for all the strength that you know and that resonate beyond,

sometimes you do need a little help. no matter how magnificent you are. and indeed those that were with him, that loved him, family members, have seen that. his nine children -- and i will name them -- marium, ha she'd a da, muhammad, jr., khalilah. mia, hannah, layla, and assad, as well as their mothers, and the third generation of ali grandchildren who accompany them. ...

from this day and those to calm as we redefine your days with a life without your presence will be very different although memories and all the things that we have that keep them going have touched you differently and that has to be honored and recognized. [applause] just know that when you are the

defenders of the presence of someone whose life is filled with principle there's a seed within you so you have cultivate that responsibility as well. [applause] this moment is very meaningful for me to have been amongst those who have been blessed by muhammad himself and a fertile by his wife to take part by sharing a statement during this ceremony. while he and i had a treasured relationship the genesis of his love and the love for my father. [applause] muhammad ali was the last of the return of the bequeathed to me directly by my dad. somewhere between me turning 18, 19 or 20 they don't think to

find me somehow guided by an oath promise to my dad long after him leaving this earth to search for me and they did. each one remaining in my life until joining the rest of the heavens for lebed humanitarians. this included muhammad ali who my dad loved his little brother 16 years his junior and his and trusted friend. it it was a double take when i came upon him of one's childhood first child and now looking right into his face and you know how he is. from the very moment we found one another it was as if no time had passed at all by the presumptions of division. despite all the efforts of

separation like all of the organized distancing we dove right into all of the quiet yet stated and duly acknowledged basis we could explore and then cover. we cried out loud. his belt, his brief for having not spoken to my dad before he left and then just as loudly we would laugh about the best of stories and stuff that can't be repeated. he was really funny. what was significant as brothers for my father and all the was their ability to discuss openly anything all facets of life, namely the true meaning as men with great responsibility was bestowed to them how to make an equitable difference in the lives of others. the unifying topic and

ecumenical face respect for faith, all faith even if belonging to one specific religion or not. the rule of such being the gift of faith itself so in his own words as he wrote we all have the same god. we just serve him differently, rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all had different names for us. they all contain water. so do religions have different names and yet they all contain truth, truth expressed in different ways and forms and times. it doesn't matter whether you're a muslim, christian or jewish when you believe in god you should believe all people are part of one family.

[applause] for if you love god you can't love only some of his children. [applause] his words and certainly ideals shared by both men, love is a mighty thing. devotion is a mighty thing and truth always rains. having muhammad ali in my life somehow sustained my dad's breath for me just a little while longer. 51 years longer until now. [applause] and i am forever grateful to

have loud for me to continue to preserve confidentiality and the comfort of living in louisville kentucky for the past six years. [applause] that was not a plan and mostly for the gift of knowing and loving his wife and children forever forward as my own family , know that. [applause] as the last of the paternity reaches to heaven my heart is rendered ever longingly for that tribe, tribe of purpose, tribe of significance, tribe of competence, tribe of character, tribe of duty, tribe of faith, tribe of service.

we must make sure that the principle of men and women like muhammad ali and others who dedicated their very being to assure that you get to recognize your own glory is sustained and passed on like that olympic torch. my dad would often stayed when concluding our parting from another may we meet again in the light of understanding and i say to you with the light of that by any means necessary. [applause] [applause] [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen representing the president of the united states and mrs. obama, ms. valerie jarrett. [applause] >> good afternoon. on behalf of president obama and mrs. obama, i wish to express to you their deepest regret that they couldn't be with us here today as we celebrate the extraordinary life of muhammad ali. i first met muhammad ali over 45 years ago through his friendship with my uncle and my uncle would be so touched that his son is a pallbearer here today. thank you lonnie. [applause] because of my families in action

the president and first lady asked me if i would. this tribute to you tend by president obama. it was 1980, an epic of rear was in its twilight. everybody knew it. probably including the champ himself. ali when into one of his final fights and underdog. all of the smart money was on the new champ larry holmes and in the end the oddsmakers were right. a few hours later at 4:00 a.m. after the loss, after the fans have gone home and the sportswriters were writing their final takes, a sportswriter asked a restroom attendant if he would bet on the fight. the man, lack and getting on in

years, said he put his money on ali. the writer asked why. why the man said, why? because he is muhammad ali. [applause] that's why. [applause] he said mr. i'm 72 years old and i owe that man for giving me my dignity. [applause] to lonnie in the ali family, president clinton and an arena full of distinguished guests, you are amazing. [applause] the man we celebrate today is not just a boxer or a poet or an agitator or a man of peace. he was not just a muslim or a black man or a louisville kid though i know you wish that was at louisville, this wonderful

city. he was even just the greatest of all time. he was muhammad ali. the whole far greater than the sum of its parts. he was bigger, brighter and more original and influential than just about anyone of his aero. [applause] you couldn't have made them up, and yes he was. serious. he had fans in every city, every village, every ghetto on the planet. he was fêted by foreign heads of state, the beatles, british invasion took a detour to come to him. it seems sometimes that the champ was simply too big for america but i actually think that the world flocked to him

and wonder precisely because as he once put it, muhammad ali was america. [applause] brass, defiant, pioneering, joyful, never tired, always game to test the odds. he was our most basic freedom religion, speech, spirit. he embodied our ability to invent ourselves. his life spoke to our slavery and discrimination than journey he traveled help to shock our consciousness and lead us on a roundabout path toward salvation. like america, he was always very much a work in progress. we do him a disservice to -- of his story to talk only of

floating white butterflies and stinging quite these. ali was a radical even in a radical of times, aloud and proud and unabashedly passionate voice in a jim crow world. [applause] his jabs knock some sense into us, yes they did pushing us to expand our imagination and to bring others into our understanding. now there were times when he swung the bat wildly. that's her right, wound up and accidentally may have robbed the wrong opponent and he was the first to admit that through all his triumphs and failures, ali seem to achieve the sort of enlightenment and inner peace that we are all striving towards.

in the 60s when other young men his age were leaving the country to avoid war or jail, he was asked why he didn't join them. he got angry. he said he would never leave. his people and his words are here, the millions struggling for freedom and justice and equality and i can do a lot of help in jail or not, right here in america. [applause] he would have everything stripped from him, his title, standing, his money his passion, very nearly his freedom but ali still chose america. i imagine he knew that only here in this country could be when it all back. so he chose to help protect the union where a descendent of slaves can become the king of the world.

[applause] and in the process, in the process lends some dignity to all of us. mates, porters, students and elderly bathroom attendants and help inspire a young mick's kid with a funny name to have the audacity to believe he could be anything, even the president of the united states. [applause] muhammad ali was america. muhammad ali will always be america. what a man, what a spirit, what a joyous mica full champion. god bless the greatness of ali.

god blesses them with and god bless this nation we love. thank you very much. [applause] [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, lonnie ali. [applause] [applause] [chanting]

>> peace be upon you. you know i said something to matt lauer yesterday that i firmly believe muhammad had something to do with all of this , and i think we are right. thank you all for being here to share in his final farewell to mohammad. on behalf of the ali family but me first recognize our principle celebrant and also doctored timothy gm nod e.. [applause] we thank you for your dedication to helping us fulfill mohammad's desire for the ceremonies of this past week reflect the traditions of visit islamic faith. as a family we thank the millions of people who through the miracle of social media

inspired by their love for mohammad have reached out to us with their prayers. the messages, that came in every language from every corner of the globe. from wherever you are watching now that we have been humbled by your heartfelt expressions of love. it is only fitting that we gather in the city to which mohammad always returned after his great triumph, a city that has grown as mohammad has grown. [applause] mohammad never stopped loving louisville and we know that louisville love to mohammad. [applause] we cannot forget a louisville police officer joe aspe martin who embraced the young 12-year-old boy in distress when

his bicycle was stolen. [applause] he handed young cassius clay the keys to a future at doxing. he could scarcely have imagined. america must never forget that when a cop and an inner-city kid talk to each other, then miracles can happen. [applause] [applause] some struggle with parkinson's that included his closest advisers. mohammad indicated that when the end came for him, he wanted us to use his life as a teaching

moment for young people, for his country and for the world. in effect he wanted us to remind people who were suffering that he had seen the face of injustice, that he grew up in the segregation and during his early life he was not free to be who he wanted to be but he never became embittered enough to quit or two engages in violence. [applause] it was a time when a young black boy his age could be hung from a tree. emmett till in muddy mississippi in 1955 whose admitted killer went free. it was a time when mohammad's friends meant that he admired like rather malcolm, dr. king were kind -- gunned down and nelson mandela in prison for what believed in.

[applause] for his part, muhammad face federal prosecution. he was stripped of his title and is licensed to box and he was sentenced to prison but he would not be intimidated so as to abandon his principles and his values. [applause] muhammad wants young people of every background to see his life as proof that diversity can make you stronger. it cannot rob you of the power to dream and to reach your dreams. we built the muhammad ali center ali center and that is the essence of the ali center message. [applause] muhammad wants us to see the face of his religion, i'll is

long, true islam is the face of love. was his religion that caused him to turn away from war and violence for his religion he was prepared to sacrifice all that he had and all that he was to protect his soul and follow the teachings of prophet muhammad, peace be upon you. [applause] so even in death muhammad has something to say. he is saying that his faith required that he take the more difficult road. it is far more difficult to sacrifice oneself in the name of these then to take up arms in the pursuit of islands. [applause] you know all of his life muhammad was fascinated by travel. he was childlike in his encounter with new surroundings and new people. he took his world championship fight to the ends of the earth

from the south pacific to europe, to the congo and of course with muhammad he believed it was his duty to let everyone see him in person because after all he was the greatest of all time. [applause] the boy from grand avenue and louisville, kentucky grew in his wisdom when he discovered something new, that the world really wasn't lacquered white at all. it was filled with many shades of rich colors, languages and religions and as he moved with these around the world the rich and powerful were drawn to him but he was drawn to the poor and the forgotten. [applause] muhammad fell in love with the masters and he fell in love with him. in the diversity of men and their faith, muhammad saw the

presence of god. he was captivated at the work of the dalai lama, by mother theresa and church workers who gave their lives to protect the poor. when his mother died the range for multiple faiths to be represented at her funeral and he wanted the same for himself. we are especially grateful for the presence of the diverse faith leaders here today and i would like to ask them to stand once more and be recognized. [applause] thank you very much. [applause] [applause] as i reflect on the life of my husband, it's easy to see his most obvious talents. his majesty and the ring as he danced under those lights

enshrined him as a champion for the ages. less obvious was his extraordinary sense of timing, his knack for being in the right place at the right time seemed to be ordained by a higher power even though surrounded by jim crow, he was born into a family with two parents that nurtured and it encouraged him. he was placed on the path of the streams by a white cop and he had teachers who understood his dreams and wanted him to succeed olympic gold medal came in the world started to notice. a group of successful businessmen in louisville and louisville called a louisville sponsoring group saw his intention and helped him build a runway to launch his career. his timing was impeccable as he burst onto the national stage just as television was hungry for a star to change the face of sports.

you know if muhammad didn't like the rules, he rewrote them. his religion, his name, his beliefs were his to fashion a matter what the cost. the timing of his actions coincided with the broader shift in cultural attitudes across america particularly on college campuses. when he challenged the u.s. government on the draft his chance of success was slim to none. the timing of his decisions converge with the rising tide of discontent on the war. public opinion shifted in his direction followed by a unanimous supreme court ruling and a stunning reversal. [applause] he was free to return to the ring. when he traveled to central africa to reclaim his title from george foreman none of the sportswriters thought he could win. in fact most of them eared for

his life but in what the africans called a miracle at 4:00 a.m. he became a champion once more. [applause] and as the years passed muhammad was compelled by his faith to use his name and his notoriety to support the victims of poverty and strife. he served as a messenger of peace and travel to places like war-torn afghanistan. he campaigned as an advocate for third world debt. he stunned the world when he secured the release of 15 hostages from iraq. [applause] as his voice grew softer, his message he came full circle with the people of this country.

when he bit a torch that seem to create good light and the 1996 olympics. [applause] muhammad instinctively knew -- he lived in the moment. he neither dwelt in in the past or harbored anxiety about the future. muhammad love to laugh and he loves to play practical jokes on just about everybody. he was surefooted in a self-awareness, secure in his faith that he did not fear death. yet his timing is once again poignant. his passing in meaning for our time should not be overlooked. as we face uncertainty in the world of division at home as to who we are as a people, muhammad's life provides useful guidance. muhammad was not one to give up on the power of understanding,

the boundless possibilities of love and the strength of our diversity. he counted among his friends people of all political persuasions, such truth in all faith and the nobility of all races as witnessed here today. muhammad may have challenged his government but he never ran from it or from america. [applause] he loved his country and he understood the hard choices that are born to freedom. i think he saw a nation full measured by the soul of its people. for his part he saw the good soul and every one and if you are one of the lucky ones to have met him you know what i meant. he awoke every morning singing about his own salvation and he would often say, i just want to get to heaven and i've got to do a lot of good eats to get there.

i think muhammad's hope is that his life provides some guidance on how we might achieve for all people what we aspire for ourselves and our families. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, maryum ali. [applause] >> peace be with you everyone here and on behalf of the ali family, i just want to say thank you to louisville, kentucky. all the love you have shown us in our lives has been

unbelievable crud also want to thank the entire globe. my father loved all over. the processional today was overwhelming but it was so beautiful. i just want to say we love you just like you love us. thank you very much. [applause] as you know my father was always rhyming and promoting his fights and he had spiritual poems and poems that promote and i just wrote a piece for him and honor of him on behalf of my sisters and brothers and everyone who loves my father. it's called think you are dear father. my heart was sore when your spirit soared. your physical body is no more but my mind tells the different tales of all that you taught me, your family and the masses.

most importantly the belief in god who created humanity. you fight for a purpose to uphold the principle that we as a people have divine human rights, staring right into the eyes of oppression you proclaimed your beautiful complexion. your god-given skills, your independent will and the freedom of your faith. as your daughter, i am grateful for all of our conversations about then, women and relationships guiding me to first have a loving relationship with self, or refusing anyone to chip away my and expects the respect of a queen. [applause] thank you our dear father for

asking us to think about our purpose and showing us the beauty of service to others. we marvel that you're sincere love for people as you traded all with dignity whether they were rich or poor. your kindness was unconditional. never perceiving anyone has been a few. so many have shared personal stories about what you have meant to them as you have exemplified values and qualities that have enhanced their lives. if i had every dollar for every story i could pay for this site. your family is so proud of the legacy you have left behind but i hope that the history of view can help turn the tide of self hate and violence because we are overwhelmed with moments of silence for tragic death.

here on the soil, american soil, in the middle east or anywhere else in this world we crave for peace. the peace that you rest in now. we will forever cherish the 74 years you grace to this. he will be greatly missed but now we sing in celebration, a blown kiss in prayer as you enter your final round. god's last spell will sound in heaven. i love you, we all of you. thank you very much. [applause] [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, rasheda ali walsh. [applause] >> we are so honored that you have packed this room with your love. thank you all. [applause] thank you so much for being here today to celebrate our father. you were the greatest father to us and it was god's will to take you home. your family will try our best to make you proud and carry on your legacy of giving and love. you have inspired us and the

world to be the best version of ourselves. may you live in paradise, free from suffering. you shook up the world and life, now you are shaking up the world and death. [applause] daddy is looking at us now and saying i told you all i was the greatest. [applause] no one compares to you, daddy. you once said i know where i'm going and i know the truth and i don't have to be what you want me to be. i am free to be who i am. [applause] now you are free to be with your creator. we love you so much, daddy.

until we meet again, fly butterfly, fly. [applause] [applause] >> hello. i was born on muhammad ali's birthday. i was named after him. he used to call me the little greatest. we can all learn from muhammad's examples of kindness and understanding.

when muhammad was asked how we would like to be remembered he said i would like for them to say he took a few cups of love, one tablespoon of patience, one taste of generosity, one pint of kindness, he took one quart of laughter, one pension of concern and he mixed willingness of happiness. he added lots of faith and he stirred up well and he spread it over a span of a lifetime and he served it to each and every deserving person he met. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen,

natasha. [applause] >> before it began i would just like to say that i'm truly humbled and honored to be here and i would like to thank the muhammad ali center and the ali family for giving me the opportunity to speak and to echo the voice muhammad has given me. so let me tell you a story about a man, a man who refused to believe that reality was limitation to achieve the impossible, a man who once reached up through the pages of a textbook and touched the hearts of an 8-year-old girl, whose reflection of herself mirrored those who could not see past the color of her skin. instead of drawing on that pain

from the distorted reality, she found strength just as this man did when he stood tall in the face of pelting rain and shouted i am the disturbance and a sea of comp licensee and i will never stop shaking your waves. [applause] and his voice echoed through hers, through mine and she picked up the rocks that were thrown at her and she threw them back with a voice so powerful that it turned all the pain that she had faced in her life into strength and tenacity and now that 8-year-old girl stands before you to tell you that

ali's cry still shakes these waves today. [applause] now we are to find strength in our identity whether we are black or white or asian or hispanic, lgbt, disabled or able-bodied muslim, jewish, hindu or christian. his cry represents those who have not been heard and invalidates the idea that we are to be conformed to one normative standard. [applause] that is what it means to defeat the impossible because impossible is not a fact.

impossible is an opinion. in possible and possible is nothing. [applause] when i look into this crowd i spiral. i smiled to recognize that he is not really gone. he lives in you and he lives in may and he lives in every person that he is touched in every corner of this world. [applause] reality was never a limitation for all a cover for us. impossible is never enough to knock us down because we are ali.

[applause] we are greater than the rocks are the punches that we throw at each other. we have the ability empower and inspire and to connect and to unify and that will live on forever. [applause] so let me tell you a story about a man. his name is mom and ali. he is the greatest of all time. [applause] he is from louisville kentucky and he lives in each and every one of us. [applause]

and his story is far from over. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen john ramsey. [applause] >> first of all and a half of my fellow -- to the ali family we offer our condolences, our heartfelt prayers and four lonnie alia special prayer. we know that bomaco is blessed with many gifts but none more precious than lobby ali and -- lonnie ali and we thank you very much. [applause]

when i was in the procession did and i saw the tens of thousands of people and all the warmth and the love and respect that was shown for my mom and that it got to tell you my heart swelled with pride. i know he was watching from above and i know he absolutely loved it. [applause] but i don't think he would be surprised. i think muhammad would save louisville kentucky the greatest city of all time. i'm feeling good, man. i will tell you what how can we lose with the stuff we use? i am feeling so good i think i'm going to make a come back and change my name back to walnut street. that's a good i feel. [applause] you know for me i always felt connected to muhammad even though -- even for them at him. maybe it's the fact i was a local boy. maybe it's the fact that i love the local cardinals like muhammad. [applause]

you know, but as their relationship evolves i found that a lot of people felt this personal connection with muhammad and that's part of the ali magic. for a lot of men my age and certainly myself it was the athlete that i was attracted to. i mean that kind if agility, speed and grace not only not only not only made them to heavyweight champion the world three times but it made him "sports illustrated" sportsman of the century the ap athlete of the century, certainly made him the athlete, a once-in-a-lifetime athlete but i would argue that the combination of compassion, kindness, love and the ability to lift us up made him a once-in-a-lifetime person. [applause] baxam and was blessed with many gifts as i said that he was a

wise and faithful steward of those gifts. their many stories about muhammad fares a couple that encapsulate for me what he was all about. in 2000 made a trip to the summer olympics with baxam and an up one day he decided we were going to see a boxing match and i remember we were ringside, 15,000 people are chanting usa, usa and i thought this is my olympic moment. i was filled with patriotic pride. the boxer came down from the ring. he took the obligatory picture with muhammad. hundreds of for talkerson's -- photographers taking pictures and thousands of people taking pictures and muhammad being done to me whispered in my ear i want to see the loser. excuse me? i want to see the loser. so i motioned to an olympic official i said muhammad wants to see the loser can we go to

the losers locking up wrecks we get to the losing locker room and there are not tens of thousands of people. there are not any photographers. there's just a kid sitting on a stool with a towel around his neck. he is a bloody mouth under his eye or this has to be the lowest point of his athletic career at the very least. he probably felt like he left in this country cummings defeated in the five in that room was literally the lowest of the low. but then when muhammad walks in the kid recognizes them as simply an important anguish he said muhammad ali. muhammad started dancing and he said show me what you've got. muhammad starts putting out jabs in the kid starts ducking and smiling. muhammad grabs them in a bear hug and he said i saw what you did out there, you looked good. don't give up. i remember it warms my heart how we took this kid from here and he'll trim in an instant. [applause]

i remember i got in the car and i said muhammad i tried to be a nice guy but i will have to tell you i got caught up in up in the moment. i didn't get the losing fighter a second thought to muhammad you are the greatest. muhammad said tell me something i don't already know. [applause] what i don't want people to forget, no doubt to me he's the finest example of the human that i've ever seen, the finest example of the greatest human being either reseen of the kindest that human possesses. i was muhammad ali but don't forget about this muhammad was the coolest cat in a room. i mean he was good-looking, he had charm, he had charisma, he had swecker before he knew was wegger was. [applause] i remember 25 years ago he came

to visit his mother and he wanted to go to outback steakhouse. he had a friend who is a big muhammad fan. it was a fireman's convention and all of these guys had their engine numbers on their shirts. sure enough i have seen this thing a million times. i said muhammad if you would like that will play the bad guy and tell them to let you the back and you can sign autographs later. ali would have none of it. he said i will sign between bites. this one guy walked up and you could tell he was a big man. he knew muhammad. he was scared to death all this adrenaline flowing and he said champ i saw your stance against the vietnam war. i've got to tell you that you are my hero. i've had a picture of you at the firehouse. muhammad is only wanted to change the channel so we said to the guy you know you do for -- you are the real hero putting your life on the line and jumping and fires preview are the real hero and the fireman

responds quickly, he knew all the big names. but you fight the bear son a-lister. you fight the rabid floyd patterson. you thought to george foreman. you fought smokin' joe frazier. muhammad interrupts and he said yeah but joe wasn't really smoking. [applause] and i said muhammad that's a good line and he said you are right, write that down. it wasn't all about signing autographs and kissing babies. if there was a village of needed food in a third world country muhammad was on the plane will travel with chad. if there was a conflict and need to be part of the resolution again muhammad will travel. if -- as lonnie mentioned if there were hostages to be released muhammad was a man of action. what are my favorite quotes and i think it's right here in your program, muhammad said service to others is the rent you pay

for your room here on earth and i just want to say champ, your rent is paid in full. your rent is paid in full. [applause] your rent is paid in full. you know, in fact i think you paid it forward because he you have taught us to love rather than to hate to look for commonalities rather than differences and so therefore i think he is paying it forward for all of us. so as we all know now the fight is over but i'm here to tell you the decision is then and it is unanimous. because of muhammad ali the world went. thank you so much, muhammad. [applause]

it is time for a man of peace to rest in peace. thank you so very much. [applause] [applause] v ladies and gentlemen, billy crystal. [applause] >> thank you ladies and gentlemen. we are at the halfway point. [laughter] i was clean-shaven when this started. [laughter] dear lonnie, family and friends, mr. president, clergy and all the amazing people here in

louisville. [applause] this outpouring of love and respect proves that 35 years after he stopped fighting he is still the champion of the world. [applause] last week, when we heard the news, time stops. there was no war, there were no terrorists, no global catastrophes. the world stopped, took a deep breath and sighed. since then my mind has been racing through my relationship with this amazing man which is now 42 years that i've known him. every moment i can think of is cherished and while others can tell you if his of his accomplishments he wanted me to speak and tell you of some personal mess that we had to get a pretty met in the 1974. was just getting started as a stand-up comedian and struggling but i had one good routine. it was a three minute

conversation between howard cosell and muhammad ali where i would imitate both of them. ali had just defeated george foreman and gain the heavyweight title. sport magazine made him the man of the year and a wonderful writer and a great man was interviewed and was going to host a televised dinner honoring muhammad ali. they called my agent looking for comedian that did sports material. as fate would have it that comedian was not available and she wisely said its destiny, man. she wisely said the list and i have got this young kid and he does this great imitation of ali and cosell and he'd be perfect for you. i don't know why but he said okay, i will try him. if he stinks can cut them out of the show. i couldn't believe it. my first time on television and it would be with ali. i read the -- in the hotel i met mr. shafia became a part of my

family and he said how should i introduce you? nobody knows who you are. and i said just say one of ali's closest and dearest friends. [laughter] my thought was i will get right to the microphone and went into my howard cosell and i would be fine and i nervously went up to the ballroom and that's what i saw him for the first time in person. it's very hard to describe how much he meant to me. you had to live in his time. it's great to look at clips and it's amazing that we have them but to live in his time, watching his fights, experiencing the genius of his talent was absolutely extraordinary. everyone of his fights was an aura of a super bowl. he did things nobody would do. he predicted the round that he would knock somebody out and he did it. he was funny. he was beautiful. he was the most perfect athlete you ever saw and those were his own words.

[laughter] but he was so much more than a fighter as time went on. with bobby kennedy gone, martin luther king gone who was there to relate to women yet mom exploded in our face can wax there remains a dead man are age old to pull for the draft for war that we didn't believe in all of us huddled on the conveyor belt that was rapidly feeding the war machine but it was ali who stood up stood up rest by standing up for himself. after he was stripped of his title -- [applause] after he was stripped of his title and the right to fight anywhere in the world, he gave speeches at colleges and on television that totally reach me. he seemed as comfortable talking to kings and queens as the unrequited. he never lost a sense of humor even after he lost everything else. he was eyes himself, willing to give up everything for what he believed in. his passionate rhetoric and the

plight of black people in our country resonated strongly in my house. i grew up in the house a house that was dedicated civil rights. mike father was a producer of jazz concerts and one of the dash jazz musicians refer to my dad is the branch ricky of jazz. my uncle and my family, jewish people produced strange fruit. billie holliday's classic song describing the lynching of african-americans in this country. and so i felt him and there he was just a few feet from me. i couldn't stop looking at him and he seemed to glow and it was in slow motion. his amazing face smiling and laughing. i was seated a few seats from him on the dais and in the room and there were individual sports and great ones. ..

i rose, ali still staring at me. i went right into howard coast sell. hello, everybody, howard cosell live from zaire. some pronounced sayre, they're wrong. it got big laughs. and then i went into the ali. every talk about george foreman, george forehappy is ugly. so slow, overall was slow, and then i did rope-a-dope georgeed and i'm so fast, so fast i can

turn out the lights and be in my bed before the room gets dark. [laughter] >> howard, i'm announcing got new religious beliefs. from now on i want to be known as izzy iskowitz. i am now at orthodox jew. i am the greatest of all-time. the audience exploded. no one had ever done before, and her i was a white kid from long island immating the greatest or all-time and he was loving it. when i was done, he gave me is in big bear hug and whispered in my ear, you're my. brother. [laughter] >> which is what he always called me until the last time i saw him. we were always there for each other. he needed me issue was there he came to anything i asked him to do. most memorable. he was an honorary chairman for a dinner and a very important

event where i was being honored by the hebrew university in jerusalem. he did all of this promotion for it. he came to the dinner. he sat with my family the entire evening. he took photographs with everybody. the most famous muslim man in the world, honoring his jewish friend. [applause] -- and because he was there, because he was there, we raised a great deal of money. and i was able to use it to endow the university in jerusalem with something that i told him about. and it was something that he loved theory of and is thrives. peace through the performing arts amphitheater groups where israeli, arab and palestinian actors, wrighters and directors, worth together in peace, creating original works of art. [applause] and that doesn't happen without him.

i had so many, so many funny, unusual moments with him. sat next to him on howard cosell's funeral. a very somber day to be sure. closed casket on the stage. we were sitting next to each other. and he quietly whisperer to me, little brother, do you think he's wearing his hair piece? [laughter] so i said, i don't think so. then how will god recognize him? [laughter] so i said, champ, once he open obama -- opens his mouth, god will no. then we started laughing and we couldn't contain ourselves. we were at a funeral.

me with muhammad ali, laughing like two little killeds who heard something dirty in --ment kids who heard something dirty in church. then he said, howard was a good man. one time he asked me if i like would to run with him one morning, do rope work, and he said i run on a golf course in the morning, it's very private. nobody bothers me. we'll have a great time. said, champ, i can't run there. the club has a reputation for being restrictive. well restricting me. they don't allows jew there. they don't have any jewish members. he was incensed. i'm a black muss him and they let me run there. little brother, i'm never going to run there again. and he didn't. [applause] >> my favorite enemy ray -- memory was 1979.

he just retired and there was a party for muhammad and one of his closest friend friends in los angeles. i play him from the age of 18 until he is 36. ready for at the rematch with leon sphynx. i posted it on the internet last week, footage nobody had seen of me portraying ali, doing his life for him, all those years ago in 1979. 20,000 people there. but i was doing it only for him. it's one of my favorite performances i've ever done. got lost in him. i didn't even know where i was. at the end of the performance. and suddenly i'm back stage with another heavyweight champion, richard pryor, and pryor is holding on to me crying, and then i see ali coming. and he's got a full head of steam and looking only at me, and numbered mr. pryor aside and

whispered in my ear with a big bear hug, little brother you made my life better than it was. but didn't he make all of our lives a little bit better than they were? [applause] that, my friends, is my history with a man that labored to come up with a way to describe the legend. he was a tremendous bolt of lightning. created by mother nature out of then air. a fantastic combination of power and beauty. we have seen still photographs of lightning bolts at the moment of impact, ferocious in strength, magnificent in its elegance and to moment of impact it lights up everything around it. you can see everything clearly. muhammad ali, struck news the middle of america's darkest night, and the heart of its most threatening gathering storm. his power toppled the miteyest

of foes and his intense light signed on america, and we were able to see clearly injustice, inequality, poverty, self-realization, courage, laughter, love, joy, and religious freedom for all. ali forced us to take a look at ourselves. this brash young man who thrilled us, angered us, confused and challenged us, ultimately became a silent messenger of peace, who taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls. [applause] my friends, only once in a thousand years or so do we get to hear a mozart or see a

picasso, read a shakespeare, ali was one of them. and yet, at his heart, he was still a kid from louisville, who ran with the gods and walked with the crippled' and smiled at the foolishness of it all. [applause] he is gone. but he will never die. he was my big brother. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, bryant gumbel. [applause]

>> the great miya angelou, who was herself no stranger to fame, wrote that ultimately people forget what you said and people will forget what you did, but that know one will ever forget how you made them feel. as applied to muhammad ali, the march of time may one day diminish his boast and his poetry, maybe even his butterflies and bees. it may even one day dull the memories of the "thrilla in manila" and the rum "rumble in the jungle." but i doubt any of us will ever forget how muhammad ali made us feel. i'm not talking about how proud he made you feel with his exploits. or how special he made you feel

when you were privileged enough to be in his company. i'm talking about how he gripped our hearts and our souls and our conscience, and made our fight his fight for decades. people like me, who were once young, semi gifted and black, will never forget what he freed within us. some of us like him took pride in being black, bold and brash, and because we were so up paul -- unapologetic, we were in the eyes of many way too uppitiy. we were way too arrogant. yet we reveled in being like him. by stretching society's

boundaries as he did he give us levels of strength and courage we didn't even know we had. but ali's impact was not limited to those of a certain race. or a certain religion. or of a certain mindset. the greatness of this man for the ages was that he was in fact a man for all ages. has any many ever had a greater arc to his life? what does it say of a man, any man, that he can go from being viewed as one of his country's most polarizing figures to arguably its most beloved. [applause]

and to do so without changing his nature or for a second compromising his principles. yeah, you know, there were great causes, great national movements, huge divisions, that afforded ali unusual opportunities to symbolize our struggles. but harry trump had it right when he said -- harry truman had it right when he said men make history and not the other way around. or as loren hill so nicely put it, consequence is no co incidence. befitting his stature as the goat, muhammad ali never shied away from a fight. he fought not just the biggest and badest men of his day, inside the ropes, but outside the ring he also went toe to toe with an array of critics, a

seemingly endless succession of societal war, the architects of a vial, immore war, the u.s. government. he even fought ultimately to his detriment the limitations of father time. strictly speaking, fighting is what he did. but he broadened the definition by sharing historyings with us and by viewing our struggles as his. and so it was that at various times he accepted and led battles on behalf of his race, in support of his generation, and in defense of his religious beliefs, and ultimately in spite of his disease.

i happened to have been overseas working in norway this past week, my buddy, matt, called and told me the champ had been taken to the hospital. this time it was really serious. right away i called lonnie. who was, as always, a pillar of strength. as we discussed the medical details, the doctors' views and the ugly realities of mortality, lonnie said, bryant, the world still needs him. and indeed it does. the world needs a champion would always worked to bridge the economic and social divides that threaten a nation that he dearly loved.

the world needs a champion that always symbolized the best of its sons, to offset a hatred born of fear. the world needs a champion who believed in fairness and inclusion for all. hating people because of their color is wrong, ali said, and doesn't matter which color does the hating. just plain wrong. [applause] yeah, we do need muhammad ali now. we need the strength, the hope, the compassion, the conviction, that he always demonstrated. but this time our beloved champion is down. and for once he will not get up. not this time. not ever again.

let me close with a quick personal story. 50 years ago, muhammad ali defeated george tavalo in tornado, canada. the -- toronto, canada. the very next day he showed up in my hyde park neighborhood on the south side of chicago. as ali got out of a carne driveway of the home of elijah muhammad, i happened to be next door, shooting hoops in a friend's backyard. i of course quickly ran to the fence, and for the first time in my life, i shook the champ's hand. i was 17. i was awestruck, and, man, thought he was the greatest. now half a century and a lifetime of experiences later, i

am still awestruck. and i'm convinced more than ever that muhammad ali is the greatest. [applause] to be standing here, by virtue of his and lonnie's request, mind-numbing. the honor that ali has done me today, as he goes to his grave, is one that i will take to mine. god bless you, champ. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, the 42nd president of the united states, the honorable william jefferson clinton. [applause] >> thank you. i can just hear muhammad saying now, well, i thought i should be eulogized by at least one president. and by making you last in a long, long, long line, i guarantee you a standing ovation. i'm trying to think of what has been left unsaid. first, lonnie, i thank you and

the members of the family for telling me he actually, as bryant said, picked us all to speak and giving me a chance to come here. i thank you for what you did to make the second half of his life greater than the first. [applause] i thank you for the muhammad ali center and what it has come to represent to so many people. here's what i'd like to say. i spent a lot of time now as i get older and older and older, trying to figure out what makes people tick, how do they turn out the way they are, how do some people refuse to become

victims and rise from every defeat. we've all seen the beautiful pictures of the home muhammad ali was a boy in, and people visiting and driving by. i think he decided something i hope every young person here will decide. i think he decided very young to write his own life story. [applause] i think he decided before he could possibly have worked it all out, and before fate and time could work their will on him, he decided that he would not be ever disempowered.

he decided that not his race nor his place nor the expectations of other positives, negatives, or otherwise, would strip from him the power to write his own story. he decided first to use these stunning gifts, his strength and speed in the ring, his wit and way with words, and managing the public. and his mind and heart to figure out at a fairly young age who he was, what he believed, and how to live with the consequences of acting on what he believed. a lot of people might get to steps one and two, and still just can't quite manage living with the consequences. of what he believed.

for the longest time, in spite of all the wonderful thing that have been said here, i remember thinking when i was a kid, this guy is so smart, and he never got credit for being as smart as he was. and then -- [applause] -- i don't think he ever got the credit for being, until later, as wise as he was. in the end, besides being a lot of fun to be around, and basically universal soldier for our common humanity, i will always think of muhammad as a truly free man of faith. and being a man of faith, he realized he would never be in full control of his life. something like parkinson's could

come along. but being free he realized that life still was open to choice. it is the choices that muhammad ali made that have brought us all here today and honor and love. and the only other thing i'd like to say, that we ought to think about. that the first part of his life was dominated by the triumph of his truly unique gifts. we should never forget them. we should never stop looking at the movies. we should thank will smith for making his movie. we should all be thrilled. it was a thing of beauty.

but the second part of his life was more important because he refused to be imprisoned by a disease that kept him hamstrung longer than mel son mandela was kept in prison in south africa. that is, in the second half of his life, he perfected gifts that we all have. every single, solitary one of us, has gifts of mind and heart. it's just that he found a way to release them in ways large and small. i asked lonnie if she remembered the time when they were still living in michigan, and i gave a speech in southwest michigan, an economic club there, and sort of a ritual, when a president leaves office, and you had to

get reacclimated. nobody plays a song when you walk into a room anymore. you don't note what your supposed to do. and this club, called the economic club, i think. they're used to acting like you still deserve to be listened to and. so they came and sat with me at this dinner, and he knew, somehow he knew that i was a little off my feed that night. i was trying to imagine how to make this new life, and so he told me a really bad joke. and he told it so well and laughed so hard that i totally got over it and i had a great time. he had that feel about -- you know, there's no textbook for that. knowing where somebody else is

in their head. picking up the body language. then lonnie and muhammad got me to come here when he had the dedication of the muhammad ali center and i was trying to be incredibly old gray-hairedded, older statesman, dignified, and i'm saying all this stuff? very high tones, language, and muhammad sneaks up behind me and puts his fingers up. finally after all the years we had been friends, my enduring image of him is like a little reel in three shots. the boxer i thrilled to as a boy, the man i watched take the last steps to light the olympic

flame when i was president, and i i'll never forget it. i was sitting there in that. we knew each other and i felt i had some sense of what he was living with and i was still weeping like a baby, seeing his hand shake and his legs shake and knowing, by god, he was going to make the last few steps no matter what it took. the flame would be lit. this fight would be won. his spirit would be apparent. i knew it would happen. [applause] and then this. the children whose lives he touched. the young people he inspired. the most important thing of all.

so i ask you to remember that. we all have an ali story. it's the gift we all have. that should be most honored today. because he released them to the world. never wasting a day that the rest of us could see, anyway, feeling sorry for himself that he had parkinson's. knowing that more than free decades of his life would be circumscribed in ways that would be chilling to the naked eye, but with the free spirit, it made his life bigger, not smaller, because other people, all of us, unlettered, unschooled, in the unleashing said, well, would you look at that. look at that. may not be able to run across a

ring anymore, may not be able to dodge everybody and exhaust everybody anymore. he is bigger than ever. because he is a free man of faith, sharing the gift we all have. we should honor him by letting our gift go among the world as he did. god bless you, my friend. go in peace. [applause]

>> there will be time for that. right now is the time for silence. so, will everyone rise and observe a period of silence, reflect on what the champ meant to you as the ali family exits.

>> ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. [applause] >> be seated. be seated. be seated. the program is not over. we're trying to create space for the family to be able to exit in peace.

please be seated. we need -- we want to make prayer, we want to share something before we close the program, so please be seated. as we move towards the end of the program, which will occur in a couple of minutes, i would be remiss if i didn't say the following: indeed, as we all know, and anyone who lives within a ghetto or a barrio here in the united states, that indeed there are violent, racist, reckless, policemen. that's a fact. but there also are policemen and women who are dedicated professionals, who are compassionate, who have great concern for their community, and i can say with all honesty and

openness, during my past week here in louisville, kentucky, or past five days, myself, my wife, everyone that i have spoken to, has commented on the professionalism, the dignity, of the policemen here, and women, in louisville, kentucky. [applause] that we have interacted with. and i'm sure there are bad apples here, too, but as they say, one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch. now, they asked me to make a prayer to close this service, but reverend cosby threw down the gauntlet. with that poem. so, i'm going to have to respond. this poem was written muhammad

ali's house, and muhammad ali was the first one to hear this poem. and i'm glad mike tyson left. it's two parts. part one is ali, the fighter. he floated like a butterfly stang like bee. the greatest fighter this world has yet to see. his opponentsed agree on one thing, they greater fed the ring with ali your life was in danger that night. had he lived during the time of jack johnson, joe luis, martian know some some melling his superiority would be telling. had he fought tyson or hollyfield at the height of his career, on their on the list of heavyweight champions their payment noot appear. if randier could box he would have naught -- if presidents could fight he would have fought richmond nixon, his left was

relent, he beat people so bad he had to engage in acts of repentance so when you discuss who was the greatest heavyweight of all-time, to mention any name other than ali's is a crime. [applause] >> part two is ali the man. with the grace of a butterfly, and the tenacity of a bee, he struck many a blow against injustice and indignity, and inequality. coming of age during a time of legal segregation, he came to embody the highest values of the nation. standing up for the truth, defined the war mongering throng, he declared i ain't got no quarrel with them viet cong. he refused to pull the trigger. he said ain't no viet cong ever

called me nigge re. knowing when to attack and when to retreat he brought an entire nation to its feet. not to cheer for his exploits going down in the ring but to fall right in line with malcolm and king, willing to give up his title, the money, the light, he dedicated himself to a higher fight. the fight for truth and justice, to liberate lanes occupied by the highest court in the land his case would not be denied. with a heart made of gold and a spirit to match, he was able to rebuild his life almost starting from scratch. with the torch of love and the flame of good, he lit the fire of hope in the hearts of many boys and girls in the hood. not knowing the word, i can't, he was never deterred, and because of his example, many a dream was not deferred.

on the heart of every life he touched, he left an indelible stamp and he will always be known as the people's champ. [applause] now, we have to make the prayer. muhammad ali's spirit, his body is down, but his spirit is up. and it will stay up as long as we keep it up. and we keep it up as long as we live with the grace and dignity he lived with. as long as we love with the passion he loved with. as long as we share and care and give with the boundless generosity he exemplified. so god, as we leave this hall and depart from this august gathering, may have we be blessed do love as he loved. to live as he lived.

to share as he shared. to care as he cared. to the extent of our various capacities, and to float as freely as he floated. god bless, and blessings and peace upon muhammad. good evening,. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> coming up saturday morning, bloomberg legal editor lance rogers talks be in supreme court deciding to hear two death penalty cases during the next term. then the latest on the college rape incident at stanford university.

kristen lombardi, talks about what that incident has done to raise awareness of the sexual assault at colleges and universities. and federal efforts to help support rape victims and make college camp puts safer. from philadelphia, pew charitable trusts, small dollar loans project director nick borg announces the payday rule in an effort to end debt traps for consumers and what it means to their industry and payday borrowers and from gainesville, florida, we are joined by the assistant professor for movement disordersorders and. he looks as parkinson's disease and its payment pact on over one minimum people in the u.s., including boxing legend, muhammad ali, who died his week after a 32 year battle with the disease. be sure to watch "washington journal" beginning live at 7:00 a.m. eastern saturday morning.

join the discussion. >> now, deputy national security adviser ben rhodes discusses president obama's progress concerning nuclear security. mr. rhodes is also an adviser on the iran nuclear deal. he says the deal shows that diplomacy can be used do stop the spread of nuclear weapons. on monday, he spoke to the arms control association at its annual meeting in washington, dc. this is just over an hour. [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon, everyone. welcome back. if i could ask everyone to take their seats. we'll get started with our program once again for the 2016

arms control association annual meeting. i'm darryl kimball. still the executive director of the arms control association and very happy to see an even larger set of people here. we have for those of you having a hard time with seating we have after joan flow room -- an overflow room in the building. and we have the privilege and honor to have with us for our second keynote address, someone who has been involved in the are particular layings and implementation of president obama's strategy to address the threats posed by nuclear weapons, the dep any national security advisor for security, benjamin rhodes. ben is a long-time and key member of president obama's national security team. from the period preceding president obama's april 5, 2009 speech in prague on his vision regarding the steps towards the peace and security of the world

without nuclear weapons, to president barack obama's historic visit just ten days ago to the peace park where he recognized and reflectioned on the tremendous suffering of that war and the meaning of the atom county bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki which we heard about this morning from a survivor. we have asked them to come here today, about seven years after the prague address to review and reflect on what the president has accomplished over the past several years, a lot has been accomplished. we have asked ben to talk about why that's important. for the world, for u.s. security, and perhaps what more the president and his team believe needs to be accomplished. as the president said, in his eloquent remarks in hiroshima, quote, persistent effort can roll back the possibility of

catastrophe. we can chart to course that leads to the destruction of the stockpiles. we can stop the spread to new nations, and secure deadly materials from fanatics. and thanks to probe-'s leadership efforts a great deal has been accomplish evidence but even as he has acknowledged there's much more to be done, and on behalf of all our arms control association members here today, and i know many others out there who have been concerned about these issues, let me just say, of ben, we hope the president can and will use the power of his office in the months that remain to take the inspiring message from hiroshima toed a veins further common sense steps that would move us closer to a world without nuclear weapons. so, we thank you for being with us here today. taking time out of your busy schedule, and we appreciate your personal contributions to these issues and we look forward to your remarks.

please come up to the podium, and after wards we'll take questions from reporters who are here, and then we'll take questions from the general audience on three by five cards on your table, and the staff will collect them and we'll try to get to as many of them as possible. so, ben, thank you for being here. >> well, thank you, darryl, for inviting me here today. anyone who has worked on arms control issues in government, which includes some people in this room, gets used to receiving occasional thousand world e-mail from darryl. usually laying out exactly what we should be doing and i thought the arms control association could save a lot of additional time by just publishing your collected e-mails every quarter as the road map for the u.s. government. i want to thank you, though, sincerely and all the other group here's for your tireless

advocacy on these issues, and as i said in a note to darryl, and i'll come back to this in my remarks, but when you go to heir row seem mark it gives you an -- hiroshima it gives you greater appreciation of the work done by the aways control association and many others. i just want to begin to set the context with a quick story about a different time and a very different presidential campaign from the current one. nine years ago in december of 2007, i recently left the will son center for a job as a speech operator for then senator obama. if you can believe it, some people were calling me young and inexperienced back then. and i had a lot more hair. that's the problem with these events, everybody i know looks the same and i always feel like i look older, but that summer and fall, a key issue in the campaign was the iraq war. and then senator obama's on is to it from the beginning. and october 2, 2007, the campaign was gearing up to mark

the five-year anniversary of a speech that obama gave opposing the iraq war in 2002, where he warned of an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences. but instead of giving a speech he canada to prepare a speech about the need to pursue a different foreign policy course, and the centerpiece of the speech was a call for the united states to pursue a world without nuclear weapons and to engage in direct diplomacy with iran over its nuclear program. and we even had the incomparable ted sorensen introduce senator obama, calling on the united states to rethink our approach to nuclear weapons in the cold war. the first of many efforts we made to follow the path laid in that american university speech. so as we enter the home stretch of the obama presidency, it's worth remembering that he came into office with a very personal commitment to pursuing diplomacy and taking arms control seriously.

the first major foreign policy speech he gave is a president focused on the issues, putting more meat on the bones what he talked about as a candidate. and now this early focus was also rooted in concerns about the status quo in 2009, and north korea recently conducted a nuclear test, iran was steadily advancing its nuclear program. mer's own commitment to arms control had been called into question for a variety of reasoning including the withdrawal from the treaty and our nuclear guidance under the bush administration, and nuclear security effort wes felt were lagging behind our other counterterrorism policy. the central objective of the prague speech was to put nonproliferation, nuclear security and diplomacy back where they belong, at the center of american national security policy. we got a stark reminder the night before the speech when north korea tested a missile. that was in first time i had to meet the president of the united states in the middle of the night after he had been woken up and was in a sparse blue tent in

a hotel in prague, not exactly the glamor one dreams about but helped drive home for us the seriousness of these issues. so today i'd like to revisit the prague speech and the prague agenda. what we said we would do in that speech, what we have done and what we haven't done, and i'll be straightforwards up front. i know that the work is uncomplete. i've read enough of darryl's e-mails and many of your words to know there are areas where many people in this room would like us to do more. and i'll get to that. and i'm glad that's the case. as i said, having been to hiroshima i would like there to be more people and organizations consistently pressing for bolder action on these issues itch think that president obama has set and followed a course that has profoundly changed the status quo that he inherited. and one of the overarching objectives of the prague speech was to create a sense of urgency. as the president said in that speech, more nations have acquired these weapons, terrorists are determined to

buy, build or steal one, our efforts to contained these are in other worded on a nonrow live regime but as people and nations break the rule's we could reach the point where the center, not hold so this disease threats required efforts in coordination so we weren't just taking individual pieces but trying to look at the issue broadly and act broadly. against that backdrop let me just review the three broad objectives that the president set in prague. what we have done, and then what we remain to do in our term and would hope happens in the future. the first, we believe we have made a substantial progress in securing vulnerable nuclear materials around the worlds. in the most urgent danger we face today i a terrorist organization acquiring a nuclear weapon or the materials to make one. that is why the president launched the nuclear security summit process so that this issue would be elevated within our own system, within other governments, and on the international agenda.

since that first summit in washington, 3.8 tons of enriched ded uranium -- enough material for 150 nuclear weapons. 14 nation and taiwan have disposeses of their highly enrich evidence uranium. when poland and indonesia fulfill their commitment the same will be truthful central europe and southeast asia. so these are not headline grabbing event, one country who destroyed it was ukraine and contributes to global security that it does not include access to nuclear material. at the same time, we have strengthened international efforts to counter-nuclear smuggler. there are now more than 100 nations nations in the initiative and we have been able to work with these countries. with our partners we have installed radiation detection equipment in more than 300

international border crossings, airports and importants, and terribly 102 nations joined the amendment to the convention on the physical protection of nuclear material which allowed that treaty amendment to come into four on may 8th. so there's a lot more work to be done on these issues which i'll get to in a few minutes but we secured important commitments, strengthened institutions instid hope we developed habits of cooperation that will outlive this administration in waits that make the world safer. the second the president has taken steps towardses his vision of this path of security of a world without nuclear weapons. to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in america's own security strategy we revised our policy to make-under cheer he would not use nuclear weapons against a nonnuclear nation and meat the onlitive of -- made the deterrence the sole purpose of our arsenal and rulessed the possibility of attack to help avoid catastrophic misjudgment.

the new start treaty which must be met by february of 2018, include significant reductions in u.s. and russian deployed nuclear weapons and delivery systems. the treaty includes an ongoing comprehendingsive verification regime and precisely at tmeses when there are tensions between the united states and russiaes when we need to be grateful for strong averages control agreements that come with the verification imbedded there are now just over 4500 nuclear weapon thursday our stockpile. 85% -- the lowers it's been in several decades. he further determined we can sustain our deterrent while deploying extractishing under nuclear weapons by a third. we have continued to step by step pursuit of a world wife nuclear weapons and philadelphia our agreement. this leads me to the third objective laidout in prague which is fortifying the global nonproliferation regime in

prague the president put forward several principles. president obama said that we needed more resources and authority to strengthen international inspections. and the united states provided more funding for the eye iaea, investing in security fundings, exalt of inspectors and the peaceful use initiative announces testify 2010 conference. president obama said we should build a framework for civil nuclear cooperation, including an international fall -- fuel bank so countries can -- we have reach self new fremonts with other countries, including vietnam, and we have supported the iaea in kazakhstan and their efforts to open a fuel bank that can serve as a supplier of last resort for countries to fuel peaceful reactor, and finally president obama said we need real and immediate consequences for countries caught breaking the rules or leave the treaty without cause and since then he

dedicated an enormous amount of time and effort tadpoling through on the principle. and indeed much of the word we did at the outsed of the administering -- out set of the administration set the context for the capacity to hold a country like iran accountable for failing to meet its commitments. we had affirmed our own commitment to meet our obligations to the new start negotiations we security support for the prague agents through a urn security council resolution a session chaired by the president in 2009. president obama said in prague we will support iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy with -- and demonstrates our withing nose for -- we presented clear evidence of iran's violation, its development of a covert facility. all of those efforts allow evidence us to make the case to other nations and at the u.n. that imposing consequences on iran was not simply a national security interest of the united states.

this wasn't a bilateral issue, a bilateral concern or regional one but was essential to the np and a world becaused international order there there be consequences for violations and the president made sure to say that sanctions was a means to an end, mean to strengthen diplomat with iran. we had numerous falls -- false startment busts follow -- the he ickes of president rouhani there was an opening and we took that opening to pursue negotiations. of court it took awhile to negotiate this negotiations dem mott statement ited the enormous value of having both extraordinary diplomats and experts at the table to solve hard problems and here, again issue think the tag team of john kerry and moniz holds a great example for the future in terms of howl we address these issues and i will tell you that we all found ourselves in meetings with ernie moniz that felt like basic

nuclear physics lessons. he was at the level of detail but ultimately that made an enormous amount of difference. and in that process we benth fitted from support from groups outs of the government. there's been a little commentary about this recently but the obvious truth is this. the white house did not have to convince the arms control association or nibblings to defend the iran deal. you thought about these issues for many years. you advocated for diplomacy, you shared ideas about what a deal could look like before we even had one and that helped in the negotiations. and again i think that's an underappreciated element of the work that what done. we had tough issues to solve in many different areas around verification, around how we think about the design of the iranian program, and we were able to draw from the advice of outsiders in thinking through ways to get over the hurtful that was set -- to get around a challenge in the negotiations. and so all of that input was essential.

and so,ey, the arms control association and many other allies successfully defended the deal because it was a good deal. then went back to criticizing other aspects of our nuclear policy afterwards. for critics aisles easier to have a debate about messaging than the results of the deal itself because the results singh for themselfed. iran has taken significant steps to roll back its program, and cut off its pathways to a nuclear weapon. steps that have been verified with through iaea. these are facts and they match how we describe the deal. to address the enriched uranium pathway, iran replaced 2/3 of this centrifuges and shipped 98 of their stick poile out of the done trip enough for ten nuclear bombs. the stockpile is now less than 300-kilograms of uranium.

and this activity is under 24/7 monitoring and to address the plutonium pathway iran removed the core of its racketer and filled it with concrete, rendering it wholly inoperable now and in the future. so before the keel, iran's breakout time to gain enough material to boiled one nuclear weapon was two or three months. today i would take a year and if they cheat we'll know because this -- the most complex -- continued to indicate that iran is acting in line with it commitments and iaea inspectors remain on the end grounden conducting young verification and monitoring activelies, keeping a watchful eye on iran's entire nuclear supply, from billing and mining to spent fuel. so, again, part of what we were able to do is learn from past

efforts, learn from some of the challenges in north korea, and try to think through ways to design a very, regime that was much broadded and income passed the entire nuclear supply chain and hopefully this mail be a type of model that could be drawn from the in the future... the truth is iran took up an enormous amount of time and energy building the sanction regime, negotiating that deal

and ensuring it could be implemented. i know there other areas where more work needs to be done. let me touch on a few of those and give you a sense of a sense of how we are looking at the last seven months. i think president obama has shown that he is not unwilling to work through the tape as it will. we have many sports metaphors, i'll add that to it. we have not stop the advance of north korea's nuclear program. the continued testing of both nuclear weapons and missile systems by the north koreans is the most serious proliferation challenge we face today. the most recent resolution does include the toughest sanctions i've ever faced. if implemented we believe it can have a significant difference. it's a further indication that the international community, including china's taken very seriously the provocations coming out of north korea. we have also worked hard to cut up north korea's capacity to sell materials overseas. trying to break their relationships to some of their defense partners, shipments, and

tightening and that among north korea so that they are not the proliferator they have sought to be in the past. we have advanced our missile defense systems in northeast asia. this will be a top priority through the end of this demonstration and for the next indeed. we have not been able to lock in for the stockpile reductions beyond the start. given her interest in pursuing that reductions with russia, the largest obstacle has been president putin's unwillingness to come to the table. indeed, given all that has happened between our two countries it's easier to forget the main reason we canceled the summit and 2013 as we had nothing of substance to talk about this particular space. we have not been able to secure all vulnerable nuclear material. this effort has been impacted by russia's reduced enthusiasm for shared initiative along with others who proceed cautiously. moreover, pakistan has opposed efforts to negotiate a treaty of its material for nuclear weapons.

we have not been able to ratify the test -- in getting that through was that easy, many people assume may have scars from that fight and it seemed like a tough one until the iran one. but then, following the 2010 midterm elections the composition of the center change. we had not seen a viable pathway in the senate. finally, i know the skill of our planned modernization program has generated debate and opposition in the arms-control community. even improv president obama is clear about the need to sustain a strong deterrence. we have also invested in systems that make them less relevant to strategic planning. we takes her sleeve the argument for been made on different sides of the issue. where does that leave us? i can promise you today that president obama is continuing to review a number of ways that he can advance the prague agenda over the course of the next

seven months. presently, our work is not done on these issues. it is not close to come for this is something that we are actively working and actively reviewing a number of different proposals. with respect her stockpile, president obama already decided to accelerate the dismantlement of retired nuclear warheads by 20 percent. we'll continue to look at how we address our nondeployed weapons. we will continue to review if there are additional steps that can be taken to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our own strategies and to reduce the risk of inadvertent use. while senate ratification is not going to happen this year, we will continue to consider ways to affirm the international norm against testing nuclear weapons. that is something we can do with our international partners. we will focus on nuclear security, working to put morning clear interior under appropriate monitor and security regimes and institutionalize the cooperation the president advanced to the summit.

finally, it is simple fact that the modernization plan was put together in a different budget environment, with a different congress, and varied expectations of our arms control efforts going for. the ministration has made our concerns that the budget will have difficult trade-offs in the coming decades. so the president will continue to review these plans as he considers how he wants to hand the baton off to his successor. this is something that we will also be continuing to look very carefully at. the other thing the president will do is speak about these issues as he recently did in hiroshima. one of the questions they usually get is whether the president should have put board such such an ambitious, idealistic vision and prod. why put forward a host of goals knowing full well that not all of them would be achieved even in two terms of office. let me close why that idealism is entirely necessary. first, in a city, washington,

and worlds, where young stars have to settle for half a loaf, you sometimes have to start by pursuing the very biggest local possible. the goal set by progress still big but they could make the stork progress look smaller. that's fine. as the president recently repeated in hiroshima, we may not achieve the goals of without deadly weapons in our lifetime, it then darrell has argued with me about the formulation that we can set a course and we can do what we can with our time and set a pathway that makes it easier for that course to be followed in the future. second, let me return to that john f. kennedy speech at american university where he said the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war. frequently the words of the pursuers follow deaf ears. of course those course those words are just as true today. that is why it's imperative that we force these issues backing into the public conversation, push back into the fatalism that suggest it's not with the effort.

that we do our part is the president said in hiroshima to feed a moral wakening on these issues. again, the further we get from the use of a nuclear weapon, or the more distant some of the challenges in the world may seem from the united states, the easier it is to get complacent. sometimes i think it takes putting for significant vision and forcing of conversation that would not otherwise happen to make the progress that is necessary. the present make clear in hiroshima, ensuring a new entrée nuclear weapon is never used again is not simply a matter of arms control, it is a a matter of how and when we are able to choose peace over war. no president or even successor of presidents can fulfill the prague agenda in a vacuum. it will require operation from congress, it will require a change a change in global dynamics, just as we are able to reach an agreement with iran, it will require continued work with respect to our relationship with

russia, continue progress even when it seems retracts a bill in peninsula. the ability to pursue diplomacy in south asia and beyond. ultimately, the diplomatic work that allows for trust to be built is just as essential as the arms-control work that charts a pathway and ultimate destruction of stockpiles and nuclear weapons. that again is the core message the president had in hiroshima, this combination of people with arms-control efforts coupled with the need to reinvigorate the efforts to avoid the type of calm flicked the retract ability people seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and tragically a nation using nuclear weapons. so it's it's very easy to say that's impossible. it's very easy to say that we can't possibly envision how we

are going to get around some of the structural impediments to eliminate nuclear weapons today. but, if you go to hiroshima, that tells you that history can change and it should change. we're driving in for from the airport, we were surprised to see huge a very friendly crowds greeting the presidential motorcade. it is not something we could have imagined seven years ago that the united states and japan would have a friendship like they do today. presidential motorcade's dry pretty fast but every now and then you're able to lock in on a face in the crowd. for me it was a small japanese boy was smiling and holding a sign that said in english, welcome to your shema. when you see that, course you think about what would happen to that child 31 years ago he was standing in the same place. but you also think about the necessity of the work that is

done to assure that never happens. and it's work that includes what we are doing to fulfill a vision related to arms-control but also what we're doing to force the type of relationship that we have with japan. and that we have sought to build with many other countries around the world. so, let me conclude by saying the work that is done by groups is essential to this effort. dealing with that governments are able to pay attention is one citizens citizens and civil society and never to see groups insist their voice be heard. ultimately if you put this to the people everywhere, generally they would favor a world without nuclear weapons and a world without that looming catastrophe. we do have the assurance that this is the right work to be doing and their differences

about tactics by for the next seven months we look for to continuing the dialogue with you. we look look forward to what we can complete during our time in office, and we hope to continue to work on these issues even after january 20, 2017. not that that data circled on my calendar anything. thank you very much. [applause]. >> thank you very much. we have a good deal amount of time for your questions. on the latest note, my staff will be coming around taking some of the questions you have written on your three by five cards and sort through and get through as many as possible. we'll start with questions from journalists who are here and i would ask that you raise your hand, the microphone will come to you and we'll start with a gentleman in the front who is good enough to come in the front.

>> as you know, i'm jeff with the public integrity. as you know there's hundreds of separate items in the budget [inaudible question] >> as i mentioned, the the administration's modernization program consists of hundreds of items. i'm just wondering since you said you are reviewing the modernization program if you can name just two or three that might be near the top of your list for potentially tweaking or eliminating? >> first of all, i'm not going to be specific because i'm not here to suggest that we have made a determination about an

aspect of the modernization budget. what i would say is we recognize the plan was developed, as i said at a different time when number one, we anticipated a different budgetary picture going for particularly with the respect of our defense budget. some of that plan was developed in the context of an earlier congress including related to the new start ratification process. also with the expectation that we might be able to be further along in our own negotiations about further reductions of russia. and frankly, we now now sit at a point where we absolutely believe in the necessity of maintaining and sustaining an effective and incredible deterrence for there's going to have to be a significant investment in that. the question presented is simply whether or not the scale of the

plan fits into the long-term budgetary picture. what trade-offs without force on future administrations, including on important convention capabilities. then how do we want to leave this issue at least leave the next administration with a sense of how president obama believes we should move forward. so, we will be looking at the modernization plan of courses in the budget, but if we determine we want to be more specific of course, you will hear from us. i think i would just indicate that again, this and other issues are not close to us. i think someone said you're almost done and you for the last on the president on this, not just this but a number of areas we're going to want to continue

to explore. there's a lot to be done in the next seven months and that can both advance the agenda of the president in prague and also indicate what we believe our priority should be going forward. >> thank you. >> reporters question whether we go in the middle with rachel. >> hello my question has to do with secondary sanctions on north korea. recognizing that china would sign off on the secret accounts this year but also recognizing the sanctions put into law earlier by obama. how long will the administration wait to designate chinese banks that are going to be supporting china recognizing that if it does designate as a money laundering? >> first of all, china has

supported through the un security council resolution much were robust international statute regime that has precipitously been existed. and as it relates to shipments and out of north korea and as it relates to other efforts taken by the international community, we believe it would have a positive impact. at the same time with respect to the legislation that the president signs, it is always all preference and we believe the iran case proves this to be effective that we work in cooperation with other countries so that they are helping to enforce sanctions. so that that they iran instance we did not need to impose as many secondary sanctions because we got other nations banks and others to work with us.

so i think we do. now where we're having a dialogue with china about sanctions and limitations, that are currently in the strategic dialogue, i'm sure it's been been addressed among other topics. we are going to be trying to do in the near term his work with china so that they are cooperative and enforcing sanctions, ultimately we believe that will be most effective. there remains a preference in the first will be able to evaluate going forward the strength of china's limitations. >> okay. we'll take a a couple more questions from reporters here. >> please identify yourself. >> a stephanie coke with nuclear intelligence weekly. i have a question with prime minister modi in town this week and the efforts with the white

house to secure nuclear supplier group for membership. the people people i've spoken to in the nsg are opposed to that and are worried that for membership will allow india to get access to more advanced processing and enrichment technology to benefit their nuclear weapons program. it also obviously ratchets up pressure by pakistan and israel who both of who we have sent letters requesting some kind of membership status. i have wondered if you can tell us how that effort by the white house to secure more support is going. how do you connect that to your support for strong nonproliferation treaty given that there is a precedent now for membership. it's not a de facto requirement friend sg but not a hard and fast, but still there is a

question of npt membership. >> it's a good question. what i would say as having gone down the path of the civil nuclear agreement with korea and having invested a significant amount of time in building up our cooperation with india as it relates to nuclear security and again their civil nuclear capacity, we are at the point where we believe that engaging india and trying to bring them into international processes will be more effective. it will be more effective in promoting their security protocols, and investing in the type of a peaceful nuclear cooperation that does exist globally and frankly, it takes place against continued conversations that we've had within the about their approach to nuclear weapons.

and of course that the support that we have isaacs prestwood diplomatic efforts between india and pakistan. the bottom-line presses we believe it through engagement with india and through engagement with groups like the nsg, we are in a better position to support india is a good citizen on these issues going forward. course will take seriously the concerns of other nations but again for us it is part of our broader contexts where we decided to take this approach with india and we have seen it they are some fruits, in particular with issues related to nuclear security. again, we understand the concerns but in many ways we're dealing with a challenge that

was far advanced by the time we took office and we decided to sustain the previous administration's decision to pursue that civil nuclear cooperation broadly. and we tried to nestle it into this body and protocols but again, india is is not in a stronger position to be in a better position. >> is is that part of the 1000 word e-mails that i think a number of us have discussed this morning that we think there is another way to pursue mainstream india and pakistan by raising standards, but let's continue with other questions we will go to the right side and then go to the for questions. >> i'm with exchange monitor publications. for the latest nickel weapons stockpile numbers inside the pentagon seem to suggest the

slowing down or's dock pile reductions the obama administration. could you speak a little bit about how that fits into the president's legacy as stated in the speech. >> essentially we had the reductions of deployed weapons and then the president given the context of the previous review conference at that time authorize 20% retirement of nondeployed stockpile. so we stopped it to try to set markers that is allowing us to reduce both the deployed stockpile in the nondeployed stockpile. the lower you get obviously the more complex reductions get in that is partially why it was our determination that we would want to pursue more ambitious

reductions through negotiated agreement through russia, ultimately with other nuclear states. i think on this issue as i have mentioned the nondeployed weapons and hedge we sought to be more transparent about that. that is something we will continue to look at. that's why the president decided to sit down a marker in that area. but the fact of the matter is, again the lower the stockpile number gets, the more you feel compelled to ensure that you're working through arms control that can hopefully bring in russia, even as we can make our decisions particularly about the numbers we feel are required deployed but also nondeployed. >> let's take the question by the camera and make our way to the microphone.

>> your first may be-12 minutes of your speech was focused on the iran deal and president obama's achievement in that respect. despite that iraq continues to use their program capable of carrying nuclear warheads. last week to the democrats and senators proposed a new annexation of the iran sanction act into congress. but what did the state department coordinate during the

recent weeks it was insisting that these might be authentic iranian following the nuclear deals. the sanction act only kicks in if iran gets out of the deal or violates it. why is the white house adamant, reluctant? >> so let me address this in a number of elements of the question. number one, we were very clear in the efficacy for the implementation of the iran deal and this is focused on the nuclear program. i think we very straightforward that we fully expected that iran would continue to engage in

other activities that we found deeply troubling like its ballistic missile program, it support for terrorism, destabilizing, destabilizing activities in the region, human rights violations. weekly, the case we made his it's all the more imperative to have a nuclear agreement with a country like that because you would not want to country that has a ballistic missile program and destabilizes its region to have access to a nuclear weapon. so the first point here is when you hear people say that the iran deal has not stopped his other behavior, we set over, and over, and over again that the iran deal was focused on the nuclear program and that we would have other means of dealing with the other elements of iranian behavior. that leads me to the second point which is, we had the ability, and i really have significant sanctions that we pursue on a reference ballistic missile programs and for some of his other activities in the region. we have even since the implementation of the nuclear deal designated additional's

individuals and entities under the sanctions. so we are entirely comfortable and clear about the fact that we may have to pursue additional sanctions if iran continues to violate basic international norms as it relates to their ballistic missile program as it relates to terrorism. with the legislation, i think the main point that we have made to congress is that we have to have the ability to work with them. to make sure that legislation in this space does not, in any any way, conflict with our jcpoa commitments. so we are to work with congress as necessary to continue to for sanctions and these other areas. the question is if people are designing new legislation, doesn't interfere with the

commitments that we have to fulfill the jcpoa? now one thing i would say here is, one of the warnings during the debate is that they were going to get $150 billion. we've had the opposite challenge which is they have had. great difficulty in accessing sanctions at precisely because we have so many other sanctions related to iran that banks are uncomfortable doing business. there's not been a problem of this windfall coming to the iranians. on the extension in the last point, that is expiring at the end of this year. what we have said to congresses, will continue to have a discussion with him about various ideas that they have related to iran sanctions, that we don't think it has to happen now, we have time given the fact that the legislation expires at the end of the year. and whatever we work with congress on it is going to have to be able to protect the ability of the united states to meet its commitments under the jcpoa, even as it is going to

sustain the very strong sanctions authorities that we have and are using in these other areas. >> will take a question from the gentleman in the yellow. >> i wanted to ask about one component of the nuclear modernization plan, the long-range cruise missile. as president obama was traveling to hear shema, the senator gave the speech. choice words about that and he didn't just say, he said it was dangerous. it was the component modernization most likely to lead to catastrophic nuclear escalation. so how do you respond to that criticism and more broadly, why are you going forward with that program? >> another interesting e-mail i got from darrell. again, i am not going to get into the individual capabilities

we have looked at this in a number of ways. we have tried to determine what capabilities do we have to maintain both in terms of stockpile and delivery systems so that we can maintain the credible deterrent that can sustain itself for the coming decades as -- at the same time we have tried to look at ways in which we can change our own way of doing business to make it certainly less likely that there is an inadvertent launch. so the efforts we took carefully looking at the launch under attack contingency plan is meant to try to create additional space in this area.

we look at other ways in which we are reducing the risk of inadvertent use of a delivery system. . . . .