Shaykha Muslema Purmul graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a double major in Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. After graduating she left to study in Egypt where she completed the Bachelors program in Sharia from al-Azhar University in Cairo and almost two years of graduate work at the American University in Cairo in Islamic Studies. Upon her return to America, she served the Southern California community in various capacities including religious instruction, directing youth and young adult programs, university chaplaincy, and offering community pastoral care at and with local masjids and organizations. Currently Shaykha Muslema serves as Co-Founder and Religious Director at The Majlis, a community organization that provides safe community spaces for people to learn and live Islam, based on the traditional sources of understanding the faith, while acknowledging the particular challenges of the American context. Source: The Majlis