In the village of Kajang in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Utteng Ali was notorious for being the leader of a boy’s gang that caused havoc in the community. At the age of eight, he orchestrated fights against boys from other villages.
Unable to control his son’s recklessness, Ali Kadue, a landowner who made a modest living for his seven-member family sent Ali to Makassar, the capital of Sulawesi to attend the Islamic boarding school, Darul Arqam.
  This boy grew up to become Imam Muhammad Shamsi Ali, a key religious leader in New York City’s 800,000-strong Muslim community.
“In the beginning the school felt like a jail to me,” said Shamsi Ali, referring to his early days in the Islamic boarding school.
Ali pacified his rebellious spirit through intensive Islamic study. Inclined towards recitation due to his strong singing voice, Ali began to practice reading daily prayers as an Imam at local mosques in Makassar.