Shamsi Ali

In September 2015 Ali sharply criticized Chairman of the DPR of Indonesia, Setya Novanto and its Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon for attending Donald Trump's press conference. Shamsi said the meeting had humiliated Indonesian state leaders and was full of political interests. He said it was obvious that the press conference was part of a campaign event. He further said the presence of Setya and Fadli, who stood behind Trump as the US business tycoon delivered a speech, was deplorable. In addition, according to Imam Shamsi Ali, Donald Trump is known for his racist and anti-immigrant comments, including the anti-Muslim sentiments.

In April 2014, NY senate commended him to be the recipient of Turkish Cultural Center's Friendship Award, which he received along with Rabbi Marc Schneier during the ceremony on April 10, 2014 at the Turkish Cultural Center of Queens.

Ali left his position at ICC of New York (the management at ICC insisted that he was fired) in 2011. He continues his position as the director of Jamaica Muslim Center in Astoria, Queens since 2004 and as the chairman of Al-Hikmah mosque since 1996.

On September 18, 2010 Ali was granted Hall of Fame Award by AACUSA (Asian American Coalition USA) Inc. The award honored Ali as one of the seven outstanding individuals within their respective Asian communities. According to the AACUSA, Dr. Parveen C. Chopra, Shamsi Ali has reached across the division and became part of the Muslims’ voice at the United Nations forums, churches, synagogues, the NYPD, FBI and major news outlets including, ABC, PBS, BBC World, CNN, Fox News, National Geographic, Al-Jazeera and the Hallmark Channel.

He was also chosen as one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the world in 2009, 2010, and 2011 by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in Jordan and Georgetown University.

He represented the Muslim community at an interfaith discussion on Religions and Sustainable Development in the White House 2007, and took part in the Transatlantic Interfaith Dialogue in Frankfurt, Germany 2008.

Ali earned Ph.D in Political Science from Southern California University in 2003. Besides Indonesian as his Native Language and Buginese language as his mother-tongue, Ali is also fluent in Arabic, English, and Urdu.

In 2002, Ali was appointed "Ambassador for Peace" by the International Religious Federation, and a recipient of ICLI Interfaith Award in 2008. Ali was chosen as one of the seven most influential religious leaders in New York City by New York Magazine in 2006.

Imam Ali was appointed "Ambassador for Peace" by the International Religious Federation in 2002, and a recipient of the 2008 ICLI Interfaith Award. In 2006, he was named one of seven most influential religious leaders in New York City by New York Magazine. He is also one of 100 recipients of the 2009 Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award. This prestigious non military gold medal is one of the highest awards recognized by US government to native-born and naturalized U.S. citizens with tremendous contributions to the American society and the world and for Shamsi Ali it was due to his endless dedication in building bridges between religious communities.

A few days after the events of 11 September 2001, New York City chose him to represent the Muslim community to visit the scene, where he met President George W. Bush. He also recited a prayer at the memorial service for the September 11th victims at Yankee stadium in the Bronx.

In 1996 Hajj season, Shamsi Ali got a mandate to speak at the Consulate General of Indonesia in Jeddah. From there, he met with some foreign hajj pilgrims, including the Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations, Nugroho Wisnumurti, who once offered him to come to New York to build a new mosque for Indonesian community. Shamsi Ali accepted the offer and moved to New York in early 1997.

After arriving in New York in 1996, he served as an imam to an Indonesian community mosque in Long Island City, Queens. Through funding from the Indonesian Mission to the UN, Bank of Indonesia and the Indonesian consulate of New York, the community purchased a chemical warehouse for $350,000 on the 31st Street and 48th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. In 2001, he was appointed as deputy Imam of Islamic Cultural Center of New York which is the city’s largest mosque located in 96th street and 3rd Ave in Manhattan, but left the position in 2011.

He received a scholarship offer from Rabithah Alam Islami to study at the International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He completed his undergraduate in Tafseer in 1992 and continued his master at the same university in the field of Comparative Religion in 1994. During his study in Pakistan, Shamsi Ali also worked as a lecturer at the school funded by Saudi Arabia, the Red Crescent Society in Islamabad, where later he received an offer to teach at the Islamic Education Foundation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in early 1995.

After completing primary school at age 12 in the village of Tana Toa in Bulukumba Regency, his parents sent him to Darul-Arqam pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Makassar, which is owned by the Muhammadiyah organization. After graduating from the boarding school in 1987, Shamsi Ali stayed there as a teacher until the end of 1988.

Ali was born as Muhammad Utteng Ali in the village of Bulukumba in Kajang district of Bulukumba Regency in South Sulawesi, Indonesia on October 5, 1967. He is the third of six children (though only five survived into adulthood). His parents were a couple with farming background, Ali Kadrun (father) and Inong Tippangrom (mother).