Muslim prayers over the body of Muhammad Ali will be witnessed worldwide today, offering a window into a religion many outsiders know little about, but have come to scorn.

About 14,000 people are expected for the service in Louisville, Kentucky, which will be broadcast on TV and streamed live online. Organizers say the service, or Jenazah prayer, is open to all, but meant especially as a chance for Muslims to say goodbye to a man considered a hero of the faith. U.S. Muslims hope the service for the Kentucky native will help underscore that Islam, so much under attack in recent months, is fully part of American life,

“What’s going to unfold is a very traditional Islamic Jenazah prayer, but it will not in any way preclude people of other faiths to stand in solidarity with the Muslims,” said Timothy Gianotti, an Islamic scholar at the University of Waterloo, Canada, who has worked for years with the Ali family to plan the funeral. “That is exactly what Muhammad wanted.”

Ali, who died Friday at 74, famously joined the Nation of Islam, the black separatist religious movement, as a young athlete, then embraced mainstream Islam years later, becoming a global representative of the faith and an inspiration to other Muslims. In addition to the traditional funeral prayers today, an interfaith memorial service is planned for Friday, which will include representatives of several religions, including Jews and Christians. Muslim organizations are asking mosques around the country to participate by saying a special prayer for Ali this week.

The memorials are taking place after a burst of assaults on U.S. mosques and Muslims following the Islamic extremist attacks last year in Paris and San Bernardino, California, and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential election. Organizers of Ali’s memorials say the events are not meant to be political. Still, many Muslim leaders say they are glad for the chance to highlight positive aspects of the religion through the example of the boxing champ.

“One of the most loved, one of the most recognized persons in the world happens to be a Muslim — everyone is coming from all over to celebrate this Muslim’s death,” said Imam Abdullah El-Amin, founder of the Muslim Center in Detroit, who will attend the prayer service. “They will see the true nature of the religion and the way that Muslims — the majority of Muslims — live.”