re Pearl harbor comment?

Reader comment on item: Muhammad Ali's "Beautiful Soul"

Submitted by Yehuda (United States), Dec 1, 2005 at 19:50

Great article btw, especially as ESPN is running many of his old fights - just saw him repeatedly (illegally) punching Chuck Wepner in the back of the head in multiple rounds... foreshadowing Tyson...

Could you elaborate on this comment?

"And, oh yes, he rejected his country in its hour of need and expressed no regret at the fate of those millions we all abandoned. The man who compelled him to do so had conspired with the Japanese and cheered them on at Pearl Harbor."

I presume you are referring to Vietnam (and our disgraceful betrayal of the Vietnamese people), but whom are you referring to regarding Pearl Harbor?

Thanks, keep up the great work!

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Daniel Pipes replies:

This is not my statement but Cashill's.

It is a reference to Elijah Muhammad. I discuss the matter briefly at http://www.danielpipes.org/article/341:

"[Elijah] Muhammad hated the United States and loved its enemies, especially non-Caucasian ones. And so he rejoiced in the Japanese victory at Pearl Harbor in 1941, not only refusing to register for military service but instructing his followers to do likewise. Arrested for draft evasion in May 1942, he spent three years in jail on sedition charges, getting out in August 1946. "