User:Amertime20/sandbox

Early Life and Introduction to Comics
Wilson was born on August 31, 1982 in Morris County, New Jersey and spent the first ten years of her life there. Her parents were Atheists and thus Wilson was not raised in a religious household. Wilson first encountered comics when she read an anti-smoking pamphlet featuring the X-Men in the fifth grade. The characters fascinated her and she began watching the cartoon X-Men every Saturday. Two years later she and her family moved to Boulder, Colorado where Wilson continued to pursue her interest in comics and other forms of popular culture such as tabletop role-playing games.

Conversion to Islam
Later in her life Wilson would attend Boston University to pursue a degree in history. During her sophomore year Wilson began experiencing adrenal problems. The resulting discomfort resulted in her studies of various religions ranging from Buddhism, to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Wilson has stated that she at first considered to convert to Judaism, admiring the idea of "the indivisible God who is one and whole, but described it also as an "evangelical religion" Following her studies in Judaism, Islam became her focus and she found it appealing because "to become a Muslim is sort of a deal between you and God." She admits that the 9/11 terrorist attack set back her religious studies, for fear of misjudging the religion, but she eventually resumed her studies.

In 2003, shortly before her graduation, she agreed to teach English in Cairo. On the plane ride over she privately converted to Islam claiming she "made peace with God. I called him Allah.” Upon arriving in Cairo Wilson practiced Islam openly. Wilson and her roommate resided in Tura, a district in Cairo, Egypt. Initially had a difficult time purchasing food without a typical American grocery store to go to. During this time they met a physics teacher named Omar who offered to show them around and act as a cultural guide for Wilson and her roommate. After months of getting to know one another Wilson and Omar became engaged . The couple eventually moved to the United States with Wilson returning to her writing career and Omar taking up a job as a legal advocate for refugees.

Creating Ms. Marvel
A few years following this Wilson had already had a few forays into the comic book industry, having worked on titles such as Superman and Vixen previously. She received an email for an interview with David Gabriel, a senior vice-president at Marvel Entertainment. By that point Wilson was almost finished with her second novel, but she took the time to speak with him. Shortly thereafter she was offered to co-create a new version of Ms. Marvel named Kamala Khan alongside Sana Amanat, a director and editor at Marvel Entertainment. The process of crafting Kamala was detailed, both artists wished to create a teenage Muslim American girl. Before settling on her Pakistani heritage the two debated the idea of making her a Somali American girl. While creating Kamala as a character the duo expected negativity, not just from people who were anti-Muslim, but also from Muslims who believed Kamala should be portrayed in a certain way. The crafting also focused on smaller details, Wilson did not believe Kamala should have worn a hijab due to majority of teenage Muslim American girls not wearing them. Despite their initial fears, Kamala was received positively. Some sources described her as easy to relate to, even likening her to a modern day Peter Parker. Others even viewed Kamala as a symbol for equality and representation among different religions.