Our Team

Na'eemah Martinez - Founder of SLSoA and BUAF

Born in Canada but raised in the Bahamas, she embraced Islam at seventeen, attended Ryerson University (then a college) in Toronto, and then embarked on a journey of Islamic scholarship alongside her husband in Damascus, Syria where she studied at Abu Nur Islamic Institute, specializing in the Prophetic Biography (Seerah). While raising four children, she continues to pursue knowledge, literature and storytelling. She is also the guidance counselor at Dar al-Burhan Academy.

Sumayyah Ajem - Co-founder of SLSoA

Born in Canada but raised until she was seven years old in Syria and Morocco, Sumayyah graduated from the University of Toronto with a Specialist degree in English and a certificate from OISE in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. She currently works as a librarian. She is a bookworm, an author, a freelance photographer, and the go-to tech person for SLSoA.

Emanuelle  Manigat - Contributor

Zaakirah Rose - Contributor