Ali received her Bachelor at Stanford University in History and Feminist Studies in 1993. Then, in 2000, she received her Master of Arts in Religion and in 2002 her Doctor of Philosophy in Religion both at Duke University. She converted to Islam while in college.
She is currently an Associate Professor of Religion at Boston University. She previously held a position at Brandeis University"s Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, and was a research associate and postdoctoral fellow at Brandeis University (2001–2003) and Harvard Divinity School. Then, in 2000, she received her Master of Arts
