About Me
My Biography
About Me
My name is Sunni Ali, and I am a Professor at the Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) Education Inquiry Curriculum Studies Department. I attained my Doctorate in Educational Administration from Roosevelt University. Working as a Professor, I have more than 24 years of high school teaching experience as a Social Science and Special Education Instructor. Moreover, with two years of experience as a school district administrator. Throughout my teaching experience, I have written and published several articles and three texts.
My book “An American Love Story – Islam and the Black Experience” holds a special place in all the works I have produced so far. My birth name Sunni Ali was given to me by my father, inspired by a character in the book, Great Men of Color by J.A Rogers.
Experiencing struggles with my culture and heritage, with time, I realized the true importance of the incredible history figure Sunni Ali and the rich history of the West African Empires. My book dives deep into how the Islamic faith inspired the nation’s founding legacy holders to build the Republic. African Muslim history has so much to offer to the people. Keeping all this in mind, I wrote this book to help readers to discover how Black people used the incredible Holy Quran to improve and advance their spiritual journey and livelihood.
what i do ?
My Story
It all started with my pop naming me after the remarkable Muslim military genius Sunni Ali, after reading the book, Great Men of Color, by J.A Rogers.
Growing up, I struggled with having an African name and making the world understand my history and culture.
Sunni Ali came to my rescue, and I started to realize the eye-opening history of the West African Empires. A professor in Africa helped me re-connect with the West African Empire’s history. Learning about Islamic Empires and a few good Muslim friends opened my eyes to a new world of Islam and African Muslims. My curiosity and interest led me to become a history and special education teacher and do a doctorate in education to further my ambition of transforming young minds.
As the author of the book “An American Love Story: Islam and the Black Experience”, I aspire to help people learn about Black people. And how the Holy Quran brought a spiritual awakening to their livelihood—further discussing how it inspired the nation’s founding legacy holders to develop the Republic.