Franklin Graham says 'Islam's Muhammad can't save you,' hopes Muhammad Ali put his faith in God before dying

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham expressed his hope that the late Muslim boxer, Muhammad Ali, had given himself to Christ before passing away. He claims only Jesus Christ can save one's soul — Islam's Muhammad can't.

On his Facebook account last Thursday, June 9, Graham uploaded a picture of what he referred to as the "two champions" — his father Billy Graham together with Ali on their last meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in June 2001. In a previous post, he revealed Ali's visits to his father in the 1970s, owing to the late boxer's father's growing concern that his boy may have been led away by his Islamic faith.

"I've wondered if he put his faith and trust in Christ before he slipped into eternity. I sure hope so," Graham wrote, adding that it was a hope long shared by his father.

"Islam's Muhammad can't save you, only Jesus Christ can save," he declared.

He also quoted Ali as saying after the meeting, "I've always admired Mr. Graham, I'm a Muslim and he's a Christian, but there is so much truth in the message he gives, Americanism, repentance, things about government and country — and truth. I always said if I was a Christian, I'd want to be a Christian like him."

The three-time world heavyweight champion who passed away on June 3 at the age of 74 after a decades-long battle with Parkinson's disease had changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali shortly after winning the heavyweight title in February 1964. He converted to Sunni Islam in 1970.

He was laid to rest on Friday, June 10, in an interfaith service presided by a Muslim imam and attended by religious heads, celebrities, and world leaders. Up to 15,000 were able to acquire free tickets to the ceremony, while at least 100,000 reportedly lined the streets, threw flowers, and bid farewell to the hearse that passed by.