Sheikh Ali Sulaiman Ali was born in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. He spent much of his childhood in Ghana with various shuyukh. His curriculum there included Arabic sciences (such as grammar), Tawheed, Fiqh, Zudhiyyat (Ascetism), and Seerah of the Prophet (saw). After many years with his teachers, Dr. Ali completed his curriculum and moved on to Saudi Arabia where he enrolled in Medina’s Islamic University. His curriculum included Qur’an,Hadith, Fiqh, Usul al Fiqh, Arabic Rhetoric, Comparative Religions, and many more traditional Islamic sciences. Sheikh Ali graduated with a B.A. in both Islamic Studies and Arabic from Islamic University in the year 1979.

Upon graduation, Sheikh Ali traveled to America where he pursued both an M.A. and a PhD in Islamic Studies at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI). Before receiving his doctorate, Sheikh Ali completed his dissertation on Tafsir bil Ma’thur, specifically dealing with the question of Hujja (the question of authority or binding proof), a question which had been virtually ignored otherwise.

Sheikh Ali is the Director of Muslim Family Services, an ICNA Relief division, in Detroit, Michigan.

from http://www.icna.org/conv2005/speakers.htm#Sh.%20Yusuf%20Islahi