Though boxer and activist, Muhammad Ali, had registered for conscription in the United States military on his 18th birthday, he later declared he would refuse to serve in the army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector. In April, 1967, he appeared for his scheduled induction into the U.S. Armed Forces, but refused three times to step forward when his name was called. He was immediately arrested and stripped of his heavyweight title. Ali, a Muslim, cited religious reasons for his decision to forgo military service.