Jamila Ahmed is a Pakistani-American lawyer and writer whose writing focuses on the stories and histories of the South Asian and Muslim diaspora. Coming of age during the American wars and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan - and the attendant propaganda about the 'barbarity' of Islam - Jamila wanted to find novels that authentically reflected her experience as a young Muslim woman and the rich complexity of Islamic history. When she couldn't find any, she picked up her pen and began writing Every Rising Sun. Jamila is a graduate of Barnard College, where she studied medieval Islamic history, and Harvard Law School. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.