الكاتب: The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre

According to tradition, the Nussaiba family took its name from a female companion or Sahabiyah of the Islamic prophet Muhammad named Nussaiba bint Ka'ab. She was a member of the Ansar who transferred their political power over Medina to the Prophet. Nussaiba fought along with Muhammed in battle and was an early example of women taking leadership roles in Islam. Since the arrival of Islam in Jerusalem in the seventh century, the Sunni Muslim family has held the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre alongside the Joudeh Al-Goudia family (who were added to the original arrangement in the time of Saladin, the Muslim conqueror who seized the holy city from the Crusaders in 1187).[2][3][4][5] This arrangement emerged during the days of the second Sunni caliph Umar Ibn al-Khattab, who hoped to avoid clashes among rival Christian sects for control over the church.[citation needed] Although symbolic, the arrangement has provided the stability the Christians of the city needed, and is a symbol of tolerance and inter-religious harmony,[citation needed] and gave the Nussaiba family a visible role in Christian activities in Jerusalem, which include pilgrimages and visits by Western Christians.