Saleem was born in London into a Pakistani Sunni Muslim immigrant family. From age 6 to 11 she attended Deobandi Arabic-led madrasas,[1][5] where she learnt the Arabic language and was taught Salafi Islam.[6](0:35) When she was 11 years old,[7] Saleem entered the Islamic girls' private boarding school Jamia Al-Hudaa in Nottingham.