Ali recoiled from the sport 's tightly knit community of agents and promoters .
Ali found guidance instead from the Nation of Islam , an American Muslim sect that advocated racial separation and rejected the pacifism of most civil rights activism .
Recoiling from the sport 's tightly knit community of agents and promoters , Ali found guidance instead from the Nation of Islam , an American Muslim sect that advocated racial separation and rejected the pacifism of most civil rights activism .