About

We decided to name our blog Nuseiba after a distinguished Muslim woman by the name of Nuseiba bint Ka’b al-Maziniyyah. She became known for her courage and fighting spirit during the battle of Uhud where she not only tended to the wounds of Muslims in battle (like many other women) she fought alongside the Prophet and his male companions– particularly to protect the Prophet by acting as a human shield. She was also present on a number of other occasions, namely the treaty of ‘Aqabah, Al-Hudaybiyah, Khaybar and Hunayn. Her heroic conduct at Hunayn was just as impressive as her heroic conduct at Uhud. At the time of Abu Bakr’s Khilafah, she was present at Al-Yamamah where she fought courageously and received eleven wounds as well as losing her hand.

We understand this story in two ways: One, it is inspiring because it illustrates an authentic example of a Muslim woman who was active and had the respect of the Prophet and the Muslim leadership. It is a story that dispels the Orientalist depiction of Muslim women who are too often understood to be oppressed, silent and leading purely private domestic lives—apparently sanctioned by Islam. Further, as a result of cultural chauvinism within many Muslim countries Muslim women are too often marginalised within their community (their role understood as one of private or fitting convenient gender expectations) and made to be the preservers of a static and uncompromising cultural and national identity, brandishing this in the name of Islam. Secondly, Nuseiba’s courage to defend the Prophet and thereby his message is telling especially today where Islam is under attack and Muslims are being oppressed or marginalised in not only in the international scene but mainstream discourse.

It is on these two positions the purpose of the blog is founded on. We hope it serves as a voice for Muslim women not only within religious discourse but nationalist and Western (colonialist) discourse which has the propensity to either smother or manipulate their voice to fit a particular political agenda. This blog isn’t our attempt to speak for all Muslim women, on the contrary, it serves to amplify, contribute and shed light on the myriad of voices and experiences of Muslim women worldwide. It is here, we hope, to rupture the static and reductive imagery that confines one’s understanding of Muslim women.

Contact: asaharadesert@gmail.com