Muslema Purmul

Muslema Purmul was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and raised in San Diego, California. Her parents are originally from Afghanistan and they came to the US in the early 80s. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a double major in Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. During those years she served at varying capacities in MSA UCSD as well as MSA West. After graduating she left to study in Egypt, completing the bachelor’s 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. She also attended the International Union of Muslim Scholars “Future Scholars Program” while studying in Cairo. Afterwards, she transitioned into the blessing of motherhood. Recently, she served as the Young Muslims Program Director at the Islamic Center of Irvine, where she provided support, religious education, and leadership for programming related to youth and young professionals. She has taught classes and spoken, both nationally and internationally, about issues related to Islamic law and ethics in different settings, including conferences, retreats, universities, libraries, and mosques. Currently, she serves the Muslim students at UCLA and USC as a chaplain with Institute of Knowledge, and is the Co-Founder and Scholar-in-Residence at Safa Center for Research and Education in southern California, where she resides.