Asra Quratulain Nomani (born September 7, 1965) is an American author and former Georgetown University professor. Born in India to Muslim parents, she earned a BA from West Virginia University in liberal arts in 1986 and an MA from the American University in international communications in 1990. She subsequently worked as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal with her colleague Daniel Pearl in Pakistan post-9/11. Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by Islamist terrorists while following an investigative lead. Nomani later became the co-director of the Pearl Project, a faculty-student investigative-reporting project which has looked into Pearl's murder. Nomani is the author of two books: Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam and Tantrika: Traveling the Road of Divine Love. Articles include: "Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Bedroom", the "Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque", and "99 Precepts for Opening Hearts, Minds and Doors in the Muslim World". She has also written for The Washington Post and has been a returning guest on Real Time with Bill Maher. Her story forms part of the documentary The Mosque in Morgantown, aired nationwide on PBS as part of the series America at a Crossroads. She is currently a senior contributor to The Federalist. Nomani has described herself as an advocate of Islamic feminism and a critic of Islamism. Early life Nomani was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, to parents following Sunni Islam. Her mother Sajida Nomani (–) and father Mohammad Zafar Alam Nomani (born 1935–), an Indian nutritionist, were both born in colonial India. Her father was born in Hyderabad, India where he eared an MSc from the Osmania University, later serving as an assistant professor at the university till 1967. When she was four years old, she moved to the United States with her older brother to join their parents in New Brunswick, New Jersey where her father, was earning a PhD at Rutgers University. When Nomani was ten, her family moved to Morgantown, West Virginia, where her father became an assistant professor (later professor) of nutrition at West Virginia University. Her father (cited as M.Z.A. Nomani) published studies on the health effects of fasting during Ramadan and also helped organize mosques in both New Jersey and West Virginia. Asra Nomani received a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies from West Virginia University in 1986 and a Master of