Namesake Reflections on A Warrior Woman

WINNER OF THE JHALAK PROSE PRIZE 2025
WINNER OF THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARD 2025
WINNER OF THE RSL GILES ST AUBYN AWARD FOR NON-FICTION 2022

‘A wonderful book about the deep backstories and the tangled histories of N. S. Nuseibeh’s own multiple identit[ies]’ MARK HADDON

‘Explores vulnerability, fragility, anxiety, and ambivalence as ways of beautifully coming to terms with the wounds and worries of the world’ HOMI K. BHABHA

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I may not be brave enough, but somewhere deep inside of me there is, perhaps, the kernel of someone who is.

That brave someone was the legendary Nusayba bint Ka’ab al Khazrajia, who fought alongside the Prophet Muhammad at the dawn of Islam, the author N.S Nuseibeh’s ancestor. In drawing on Nusayba’s stories, Nuseibeh delves into the experience of being an Arab woman today and in the distant past – taking her from superheroes and the glorification of violence to the rise of Arab feminism, to what courage looks like in the context of interminable conflict. By seeking to understand her namesake in the context of her own twenty-first century concerns, Nuseibeh links our current ideas of Muslims and Arabs with their origins, exploring myth-making and identity, religion and nationhood, feminism and race.

As intimate as they are thoughtful, these linked essays offer a dazzling exploration of heritage, gender and the idea of home, while also showing how connecting with our history can help us understand ourselves and others today.

WINNER OF THE JHALAK PROSE PRIZE 2025
WINNER OF THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARD 2025
WINNER OF THE RSL GILES ST AUBYN AWARD FOR NON-FICTION 2022

‘Essential’ GUARDIAN
‘A masterful tapestry’ ERICA BERRY
‘Raw and dazzling’ FOREWORD

N.S. Nuseibeh’s ancestor was none other than the legendary Nusayba bint Ka’ab al Khazrajia who fought alongside the Prophet Muhammad at the dawn of Islam. In Namesake, Nuseibeh draws on Nusayba’s stories, comparing her experience as an Arab woman today to the distant past, to discover what courage looks like in the context of interminable conflict.

Intimate and thoughtful, these linked essays offer a remarkable exploration of heritage, gender and the idea of home, and demonstrate how connecting with our history can help us understand ourselves and others today.

Using the iconic, mysterious figure of Nusaybah bint Ka’ab, the 7th century warrior woman who fought alongside Prophet Mohammed, this collection of essays explores race, identity, early Islamic history, 7th century Arabia and contemporary feminism, moving from the origins of the hijab to the feminising of food, from superhero narratives to the evolution of sharia law. Stories about Nusaybah are woven through it all, as are the author’s memories of growing up in Jerusalem, their current experiences of living in Britain and their reflections on being a secular, feminist British-Palestinian woman from a Muslim family.