Nusseibeh

Nusseibeh (Arabic: عائلة نسيبة) is the name of one of the oldest families in Jerusalem, The Nusseibeh family has long history and tight bonds with the Holy Land, Jerusalem, since the days their first forefathers arrived into Jerusalem in the 7th Century.

According to tradition, the Nusseibeh family took its name from a woman named Nusayba, who went to the prophet Mohammed with a delegation of women and complained to him about the unfair treatment they received. Nusayba fought with Mohammed in battle and was an early example of women taking leadership roles in Islam. Since the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in the seventh century, the Sunni Muslim family has held the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This arrangement emerged during the days of the second Muslim caliph, Umar Ibn al-Khattab, who hoped to avoid clashes among rival Christian dominations for control over the church. Although symbolic, the arrangement has provided the Nusseibeh family a visible role in Christian activities in Jerusalem, which include pilgrimages and visits by Western Christians.

Family roots

Forefathers of the family arrived in Jerusalem with the Islamic conquest in 637 AD. They included two companions of the prophet Mohammed - Abdullah bin Nusseibeh and Mu'ath bin Jabal, and many others of the Prophet's companions and maternal uncles, descendents of Salma from Bani an-Najjar, a clan of the Khazraj, the wife of Hashim, forefather of the Hashemite Family and mother of its renowned leader Abdul Muttalib, grandfather of Mohammed. The Nusseibeh family is a clan of the Khazraj tribe of Medina, known in Islam as al-Ansar, for their support and protection of Prophet Mohammed during his exile from Mecca.

Nusseibeh and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Muslim conquest of 637 AD ushered in a period of peaceful coexistence and freedom of worship for the followers of the three monotheistic faiths. At the time of the conquest, Christian rulers of Jerusalem banned Jews from entering the city. When the praying time came, the Archbishop of Jerusalem, Sophronius, invited Caliph Omar to pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's holiest site. Omar refused fearing that future Muslim generations would claim the church as their own and turn it into a mosque. Omar instead prayed few yards away from the church where a mosque is built now. The Mosque of Omar still stands next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as a reminder of the strong Muslim-Christian bond in the Holy Land. Upon entering Jerusalem, Omar signed with the Christians of Jerusalem what became known as the "Covenant of Omar". It guaranteed protection for the Christians to live and worship freely and also protection for the Christian places of worship.

One of the great ancestors of the Nusseibeh family was Ubada Ibn Al-Samet who settled in Jerusalem in the 7th century A.D. in the wake of the Arab-Islamic capture of Jerusalem, and who was appointed as a governor by Caliph Omar. It is said that the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were placed in the custody of the family during this period.

The ancient records and manuscripts kept by the various Christian denominations in their monasteries all record the Nusseibeh family’s relationship and that of their ancestral forefathers from the Bani Ghanim al-Khazraj to the Holy Sepulchre, at least since the time of Sultan Sallahudin (Saladin) more than 800 years ago, specifically since 1192 (a.d), when Sultan Saladin and King Richard the Lion heart concluded an agreement allowing western Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy Sepulchre under certain stipulations. Saladin entrusted the custody of the doors of the Holy Sepulchre to the leading and most renowned Shaikh Ghanim ben Ali ben Hussein al-Ansari al-Khazrajy, the Jerusalemite, and all matters pertaining to it. Ghanim had been born in Boreen village near Nablus in 562 h, where his family had taken refuge after the crusader conquest of Jerusalem in ( 1807) a.d.

Recent history

Notable members of the family have included Anwar Nusseibeh (1913 - 1986), who received a master's degree from Queen's College in Cambridge. His political career began as a member of the Arab Higher Committee in 1946 and secretary general of the All-Palestine Government in 1948. He was the chief Arab delegate on the Jordan and Israel Mixed Armistice Commission in 1951, and held ministerial posts in Jordan, including defense in 1953 and education in 1954 and 1955. He was made governor of the Jerusalem province from 1961 to 1963 and later served as Jordan's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Hazem Zaki Nusseibeh (1922 - ) studied at the American University of Beirut and later received a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1945. He became a Jordanian diplomat, serving as foreign minister from 1962 to 1963 and again in 1965, as an ambassador, and as Jordan's longtime ambassador to the United Nations (1976 - 1985).

Ahmad Zaki Nuseibeh (1928 - 2006) studied Medicine at Sheffield University, later specialising in Pediatrics in London and Edinburgh. He served in the Jordanian army, retiring as a Brigadier General in 1975 after holding a number senior medical management positions. After a brief spell running a private children's medical clinic in Amman, Jordan, he moved in 1977 to Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he was responsible for the medical services of ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, in its remote sites. During this tenure as Chief Medical Officer (1975-1985), he built world class medical centres in Ruwais, Asab, Bou Hasa, and Bab. Dr. Nuseibeh is survived by his wife, Norma, and his four children Rania, Bashar, Bana, and Rawan.

Mohammed Zaki Nusseibeh(1937 - ) studied at Sheffield University. He became the director of engineering works of the West Bank in the Arab Legion (Jordanian army). He was appointed in 1986 to the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem. In that year he was appointed to the Higher Waqf Council of the West Bank. In 1993, he announced the formation of the Al Quds University and became the founding Chancellor and Chairman of Board of Trustees of Al Quds University until 1997. In 1993, he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Muslim Council and in 1997 became Acting Chairman of the Council.

Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh (1946 - ) graduated with an MA from Cambridge University and settled in Abu Dhabi in 1967. He worked as a journalist and broadcaster before becoming Director of Information there. He is presently Advisor at the Presidential Ministry of the UAE, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, Member the Council of Administration of the Paris Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, and chairs many cultural bodies including the Alliance Française, the Classical Music Committee and the Wagner Friendship Society.

Sari Anwar Nusseibeh (1949 - ) obtained his bachelor's degree from Oxford University in 1971 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1978. After teaching at Bir Zeit University from 1978 to 1988, he went on to serve as president of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. Sari has also been known for his outspoken and moderate political views. A supporter of al-Fatah, Nusseibeh helped organize secret talks in 1987 between the Israeli government and Faisal Husseini, Fatah's leading figure in the West Bank. He has supported the peace process, serving on the steering committee to the Palestinian delegation at the Madrid Conference in 1991 and proposing joint Palestinian-Israeli plans for the future resolution of the conflict.

Bashar Ahmad Nuseibeh (1967 - ) received a First Class Honours bachelor's degree from the University of Sussex in 1988, and masters and doctorate degrees from Imperial College London in 1989 and 1994, respectively. He has held academic posts at Imperial College London and The Open University UK, where is currently Director of Research in Computing. Professor Nuseibeh is known for his scientific research work in Software Engineering, for which he has received a number of international awards.

Further reading

• Fischbach, Michael R. "Nuseibeh Family." In Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, edited by Philip Mattar. New York: Facts on File, 2000.

• Heller, Mark, and Nusseibeh, Sari. No Trumpets, No Drums:A Two-State Settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. New York: Hill and Wang, 1991.

• Muslih, Muhammad Y. The Origins of Palestinian Nationalism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.