Herbert Muhammad tried to calm everyone down. Ali stood up and shook hands with his hosts, but the tension remained. Afterward, they packed into cars so that Ali would not be late for a radio interview, but along the way he ordered the driver to stop the car so that he could buy a record player. Infuriated, Bassey vented, “That clown! He wants to go shopping? He calls himself a champion?”46
Critics lambasted his treatment of Nigeria as a “disgrace.” Boston Globe columnist Bud Collins suggested that Ali’s “diplomatic blunder” might damage America’s reputation in Africa. Ali had “insulted Sonny Liston and got away with it, so why should 36 million Nigerians concern him?” Yet a Nigerian writer defended Ali, suggesting that any criticism of his early departure was unfair. The Daily Times’ Cee-Kay blamed his short stay on the National Sports Council for poorly planning the boxer’s visit after he had already arranged his trip to Egypt. Comparing the heavyweight champion to a foreign minister, the columnist argued that Ali deserved better treatment. “Apart from being a world champion,” he wrote, “Mohammed Ali is our own brother. He is even more than that. He is an ambassador of his country. And that is more reason why he should be given V.I.P. treatment.”47
FOR MONTHS, EGYPTIANS had anticipated Ali’s arrival. Immediately after he defeated Sonny Liston and announced that he practiced Islam, Egypt’s Supreme Islamic Council invited him to visit the United Arab Republic. His religious declaration had thrust him into the international spotlight. Yet American diplomats feared that if Ali accepted the invitation, he might embarrass the United States. Equally troubling to officials, the Arab press made no distinction between orthodox Muslims and the Black Muslims, giving Ali and the NOI “undeserved credit and status” throughout the Middle East. In advance of his visit, the State Department attempted to diminish Ali’s appeal by planting articles in newspapers and magazines that exposed the “true nature of Black Muslims,” making it clear that the sect was “not genuinely Islamic.”48
On June 3, Ali finally reached Cairo International Airport, where an eager crowd nearly crushed him as he made his way through a terminal. Scores of policemen, soldiers, and ex-boxers struggled against the people enveloping the champ. Looking at the crowd of nearly two thousand people and placards reading, “Victory to Islam,” Ali realized that these people loved him not only for his boxing talents but also because he was a Muslim. “I’m fighting for Allah,” he declared. “I’m proud to be a Moslem, and among you. I feel at home.”49
In Cairo, Ali showed far greater respect for his hosts than he had in Nigeria. Elijah Muhammad had taught him that the “Asiatic black man” had descended from the rich Nile Valley region, and that ancient Egypt was once the most powerful black nation in history. Perceiving Egyptian superiority, Ali viewed his surroundings as evidence that he had reached the most advanced Muslim country in the world. From his balcony at the Nile Hilton, a gleaming twelve-story white slab replete with modern amenities and air-conditioning, a panoramic historic vista met his gaze. Overlooking the western bank of the majestic river, in the distance he saw the Citadel, ancient mosques, and the Pyramids, surrounded by desert. Looking eastward, he glimpsed Tahrir Square, Cairo’s commercial district. In his reverence for Egyptian history and culture, he adopted a more dignified countenance befitting a distinguished Muslim. Studying his performance, Charles Howard observed, “Muhammad Ali is not only a boxer—he’s an actor.”50
During his twenty-day tour of Egypt, Ali met the Supreme Islamic Council; watched a boxing tournament at an athletic club; visited monuments, museums, and the Aswan Dam; and performed a few boxing exhibitions. Outside Cairo, near the Pyramids of Giza, he straddled a stubborn camel, tightly pulling the reins when the ornery bull bucked. He confidently waved off the camel’s owner and steadily gained control. “I’m the champ,” he announced with a grin, “and I can tame a camel just like I handled Sonny Liston.” While some locals laughed at his boasts, others resented his jocular behavior. “A real king,” a Cairene suggested, “would not say he is king of the world about himself. He’d leave it for others to say it about him.”51