Thousands bid final farewell to Muhammad Ali

Legendary American boxer Muhammad Ali was laid to rest in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, in a public, interfaith service attended by fans, friends, family and celebrities.

Some 15,000 people packed into Louisville's KFC Yum sports arena to say goodbye to the beloved Muslim-American heavyweight champion and humanitarian.

A week prior to his death, he had directed that his funeral service be free and open to the public.

Former US president Bill Clinton, one of the many to deliver a eulogy at the funeral, called Ali "a universal soldier for our common humanity".

“I think he decided very young to write his own life story ... I will always think of Muhammad as a truly free man of faith,” Clinton said, referring to Ali's devotion to his religion and his conviction to help others.

While the first half of his life was marked by triumph as one of the world's greatest athletes, Clinton said, "the second part of his life was more important because he refused to be imprisoned by the disease that kept him hamstrung longer than Nelson Mandela was kept in prison in South Africa". 

Ali had been living with Parkinson's disease for decades.

"In the second half of his life he perfected gifts that we all have. Every single solitary one of us have gifts of mind and heart,” said the former president.

Earlier, Ali was also eulogised by Attallah Shabazz, daughter of civil rights leader Malcolm X who influenced the Champ's decision to join the Nation of Islam in 1964 and later to convert to orthodox Islam. 

"While he and I had a treasured relationship, the genesis of this love was through the love for my father," she said. "Muhammad Ali was the last of a fraternity of amazing men bequeathed to me directly by dad."

She said her father loved Ali "like a little brother, 16 years his junior, and his entrusted friend".

"What was significant as brothers for my father and Ali, was their ability to discuss openly anything, all facets of life, namely the true meaning, as men with great responsibilities bestowed to them, of how to make an equitable difference of the lives of others."

"Having Muhammad Ali in my life somehow sustained my dad's breath for me, just a little while longer. Fifty-one years longer, until now."

Also speaking at the memorial service, Rabbi Michael Lerner earned a standing ovation for remarking that all Muslims should not be judged by the actions of a few.

Lerner also highlighted the rights of Palestinians.

"We have called upon the United States to stand up to the part of the Israeli government that is oppressing Palestinians. 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," he said.

Ali was himself an outspoken advocate for the Palestinian cause.

Among the dozens of influential figures to attend the event were King Abdullah II of Jordan, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, actor Will Smith, comedian Billy Crystal and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

Earlier, around 100,000 people lined the streets as Ali's coffin was carried through Louisville to Cave Hill Cemetery.

Thousands of Muslims attended a traditional Janazah prayer service for Ali on Thursday.