Erdogan scores no points at Muhammad Ali's funeral
The Turkish president fought hard to associate himself with the infamous boxer's image in the last of a long history of such attempts by Turkey, but observers were unmoved by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fancy footwork.
The efforts of Turkey to prove itself capable of leading the Islamic world are frequently knocked down by punishing blows. One of these was struck at Muhammad Ali’s funeral last week.
It all started when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to give a eulogy June 10 at Ali's funeral in Louisville, Ky. His request initially was accepted, but later declined in a strike to Erdogan’s reputation. King Abdullah of Jordan, whose request to deliver a speech was also accepted and then turned down — probably to discourage Erdogan — called off his trip to the United States.
