Mustafa Ali shares emotional story about tackling racism in America

Mustafa Ali recently shared an appalling story about facing racism in the US as a teen, and how he plans on tackling and overcoming it.

Ali has been embroiled in the United States Championship scene for the past month or so. Despite not having challenged for the title on TV in months, he has regularly wrestled those who have been champions or challenged for the title, like Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory. His last match against Theory came on the November 21 episode of RAW.

Born and raised in the US, Mustafa Ali (real name Adeel Alam) has a Pakistani background and is a proud Muslim. He also served as a police officer in his hometown of Homewood, IL, before signing with WWE. This serves as the background for the saddening story he recently shared on Twitter, where he explained why he wants to capture the US title.

Ali recalled that after the September 11 terror attacks in the United States, the teachers in his high school encouraged students to express their emotions. He then decided to speak.

"I remember raising my hand and saying, 'I can't believe this happened to us.' Kid in front of me turns around and he said, 'Us? What are you talking about? Your people did this.' And I looked around the class, I looked at the teacher and I was hoping someone would say something to help me or defend me. And no one said anything.

He went on to say:

"Despite being born here, in this country, despite being an American, despite being a former police officer, a guy that actually wanted to protect people who is willing to put his life on the line, I'm not American enough." [1:03 to 1:47]

Ali went on to say that whatever the United States Championship means to everyone else, to him it means that he belongs in the country, something he has been chasing his whole life.

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Mustafa Ali honoured his late father while representing Pakistan in the SmackDown World Cup

Mustafa Ali took on Ricochet in the first round of the SmackDown World Cup. To give the cup a global feel, wrestlers represented different nations in the tournament, and Ali flew the flag of his country of heritage, Pakistan.

After losing the match, he gave a backstage interview to Cathy Kelly. The 36-year-old recalled how his late father, who was from Karachi, Pakistan, got him into wrestling, and how it was an honor to represent him and his country in WWE.

"I get to honor my late father... I always remember the first time I ever saw WWE was when Bret "The Hitman" Hart was on the screen, my dad was watching and he picked me up and put me on his lap," he said. [0:49 to 1:07]

Despite losing in the first round of the World Cup tournament, Mustafa Ali will now set his sights on the United States Championship, according to a recent promo he cut.