Imam Aly Lela

Imam Aly Lela is the Imam of Islamic Association of Greater Detroit.  For the past few years, he has been a positive influence to the community.  His thought provoking topical Friday Khutbaa are greatly appreciated by the congregation.  Each Friday, after the Magrib or Ishaa prayer, Imam Lela conducts Tafsir class in which he covers a few verses from the Quran in depth, providing excellent commentary. 

Below is some information about Imam Aly Lela.

Educational Background

Imam Aly Lela grew up in Egypt, a country considered by many as the beacon of intellectual reform in the Muslim world.  His education was focused on Arabic and Islamic studies.  He studied Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) in Cairo and completed memorization of the holy Quran in 1990, after which he received specialized training in Tajweed (the rules of Quranic recitation) under the guidance of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tilbani, a well- known and respected Islamic scholar.

He joined Cairo University, Faculty Dar Al Oloum in 1991 and earned his BA degree in 1996, in Arabic and Islamic studies.  He continued at the university completing preparatory courses for the MA program in 1998.  Imam Aly Lela attended several informal classes at the renowned Al-Azhar institute.   These classes were conducted by famous scholars such as Dr. Ali Gum'a, the grand Mufti of Egypt on Fiqh, Dr. Hassan Al Shaf'e on Sufism and Islamic theology and Sheikh Abdullateef Abdul Hakeem on advance Quranic studies. 

Imam Lela was fortunate to avail the resources of Al-Azhar, Darul Oloum and Cairo University, world famous universities that attract and nurture many of the top Muslim scholars.  He pursued a well rounded in‑depth curriculum in Islamic studies and benefited from personal interaction with famous scholars particularly at Al-Azhar and Darul Oloum.  The intense Arabic and Islamic studies programs were instrumental in firmly planting his academic roots.  He mastered various areas of the Arabic language such as Arabic grammar, morphology and prosody, rhetoric and literary criticism of both classic and modern Arabic.  His curricula included Islamic history, civilization, Islamic ethics, criminal and family law; supplemented with multiple year courses in English and Persian.                                                    

After moving to the United States in 1999, he pursued and completed MA degree program in Wayne State University, Near Eastern Studies Department, majoring in Islamic Studies.  He attended several courses taught by Professor Muneer Fareed, whose teaching style effectively enabled his students to internalize and frequently use critical thinking methodologies.   Imam Lela’s unique educational experience in Egypt and at WSU provided him a rare combination of the two essential modes of knowledge: a classical, traditional foundation in Islamic studies; and the training in critical analysis to optimally assess contemporary Islamic issues.

Professional Experience

Imam Lela has benefited greatly from having a professional career that complements and enhances his academic interests.   While pursuing the MA program he was employed as Imam at the well known Dearborn Mosque at Vernor and Dix St.   He also served as a lecturer in Islamic studies in the Near East Studies Department at Wayne State University, as well as at the Islamic American University in Southfield, Michigan.  He has had an excellent teaching experience in the two institutions.

Presently, as the imam serving at IAGD, Imam Aly Lela regularly has the opportunity to work with people of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.  He participates frequently in interfaith dialogs with clergy and their congregations from various religious groups.  As a religious leader he is called upon to resolve and mediate in complex situations primarily dealing with family affairs, a challenging task even for highly experienced counselors.   This requires an application of skills blended with religious knowledge, compassion, and sufficient insight to apply the right skill at the right time in the best manner.   Imam Aly Lela’s past exposure to modern and classical schools of thoughts in the Muslim world has benefited him immensely in fulfilling this responsibility.

He played an important role in the Prevention of Domestic Violence program in Michigan.  He also served on the summit of both Muslim Jurists and Judges in family law courts in Wayne County, wherein the participants meet periodically to discuss points of reconciliation between American and Islamic legal systems.

At local and national conventions, he has served on various panels and has presented to audiences of several hundreds at national conventions.