Imam Aly Lela

The Council, Board of Trustees and community of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo are delighted to welcome Imam Aly M. Lela as the new imam of the Islamic Center. We are very fortunate to have an imam who has excellent academic qualifications, and indeed a vision for the Muslims of the Greater Toledo area, as well as North America.

Imam Aly Lela is a Ph.D. candidate in Islamic Studies at the Oriental Institute of Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He holds an M.A. in Near Eastern Civilizations and Languages from Wayne State University, and a B.A. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Cairo University.

He has a wealth of experience, having served as an imam in the United States since 1999. He was imam at the Islamic Center of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, the Muslim American Society in Dearborn, Michigan and the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit in Rochester Hills, Michigan. His key research interests include modern and pre-modern Islamic law and jurisprudence, Islamic legislation and ethics and contemporary Islamic thought. He has taught several courses such as Introduction to Islam, Controversial Islam, Islamic Ethics, Islam in America, and Islam in the Modern World. Imam Aly Lela currently teaches courses in the department of Religious Studies at Oakland University located in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Imam Aly Lela has already created some wonderful programs for the Islamic Center.

• His Juma khutbahs deliver knowledge, wisdom, and advice in a beautifully simple manner.
• Quranic tafseer on Friday nights will make you understand the Quran like never before.
• Imam Aly Lela recites two pages of the Quran at fajr and isha and does tafseer on some of the recited verses.
• In his office hours on Thursdays 7-9 pm and Saturdays 1-3 pm, Imam Aly Lela is available for private consultation to our community.
• Hearts and Minds is a comprehensive and deeply thought-out youth program developed by Imam Aly Lela, that incorporates educational, spiritual, intellectual, social, life skills and recreational activities.
• Imam Aly Lela’s Sunday lectures are not to be missed! He is a fountainhead of knowledge and addresses pointed and complicated questions with the judiciousness of a true visionary.

Imam Aly Lela can be reached by email at imam@icgt.org