Nakoula was born in Egypt,[1] and speaks an Egyptian dialect of Arabic.[16] In a September 2012 interview with Voice of America's Arabic language station, Radio Sawa, he claimed he was a graduate of the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University and a researcher of Islamic thought.[16] At some point, he emigrated to Southern California where he operated gas stations in Hawaiian Gardens, California.[17] and resided in Cerritos, in Los Angeles County, California[6][18][19][20] Nakoula attended a number of Coptic churches in the area, including St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Bellflower, but was not a regular member.[21]