Muhammad Ali met Billy Graham multiple times as father was concerned Islamic faith was leading him astray

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham has shared that the widely-recognized greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, visited his father Billy Graham several times because Ali's father worried that his son may have been led astray by his Islamic faith.

The CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Foundation mentioned the meetings on a Facebook post recently describing Ali's visits at the Graham residence in Montreat, North Carolina. He explained that it was Ali's father that was behind the visits.

"Because he was concerned over Ali's faith in Islam and was afraid that his son had been led astray. They had a great visit, and my father had prayer with him," wrote Graham.

He added that the two met together again years later when his father preached in Louisville, Kentucky.

Graham referred to the late boxer — who passed away Friday in a Phoenix hospital at the age of 74 after decades of battling Parkinson's disease — as a champion.

"His outspoken positions caused him to be both loved and hated by some," the Evangelical leader wrote, acknowledging the challenging social and political environment Ali was born into.

The boxer decided to change his name Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, meaning "beloved of God," shortly after winning the heavyweight title in February 1964. He converted to Sunni Islam in 1970.

Also a champion of civil rights, Ali used his influence and fame to denounce the terrorist acts carried out by Islamic extremists.

"Islam is a religion of peace. It does not promote terrorism or killing people," he declared in a public statement shortly after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

He said in an interview with Reader's Digest, "I am angry that the world sees a certain group of Islam followers who caused this destruction, but they are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims, permitting the murder of thousands."

He also spoke up against presidential candidate Donald Trump in December last year after Trump proposed a temporary ban for Muslims in the U.S.

"There is no denying that Muhammad Ali is the most famous and influential American Muslim, ever," wrote Muslim-American scholar and cleric Yasir Qadhi on Facebook.