reporter: sherin khankan's father is a syrian, who fled political persecution in his homeland.er mother is finnish and came to denmark for work. sherin was born in denmark, and knew from an early age she wanted to establish a mosque. her goal is to present islam's enlightened tenets to counter the perception of islam as a violent faith. today, she is speaking with students from the u.s. the mariam mosque takes its name from the virgin mary, a figure she feels signifies religious unity. she and her fellow female imams at the mosque also see themselves as unifiers. they've overseen religious services, lectures, weddings, and divorces. she and her colleagues are followers of sufism, an islamic sect. ms. khankan: sufism is being practiced and defined very differently. sufism can be defined as mysticism, as music, as dancing dervishes. it could be spiritual practices, it could be a specific islamic theology. to me, sufism is understanding a theological subject or understanding things at a deeper level, where you also listen to the heart. reporter: jesper peterson is researching isla