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). His parents were not religious, but they wanted him to learn how to read the Koran, so they sent him to Daarul Arqam Islamic boarding school. During his childhood, Utteng (as he used to be called) was rebellious, lazy and often truant. He was one time detained for hitting a student named Mustafa, breaking his nose and sending him to the hospital. Mustafa's parents then called the police and they arrested him, though he was not entirely guilty. Finally Utteng was jailed for two weeks. Fortunately, he was not expelled from the boarding school due to the incident. His name was changed from Utteng to Shamsi (an Arabic word which means Sun) when he and his father met with the Daarul Arqam school headmaster, Abdul Jabbar Asyiri. The headmaster argued that in Islam, the name is a prayer and should have a good sense, and he eventually renamed his middle name from Utteng to Shamsi with hope, Utteng could be the praiseworthy one (from his first name) and can illuminate (from his middle name, with the same way the sun does) people's hearts

Nusantara Foundation President: 2014 to present · New York, New York A Non profit primarily working on Interfaith and education Jamaica Muslim Center (Official) Jamaica, New York

"Ambassador for Peace" by the International Religious Federation in 2002 one of seven most influential religious leaders in New York City one of 100 recipients of the 2009 Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award recipient of Turkish Cultural Center's Friendship Award

lives with his wife, two sons and three daughters