<P> According to tradition , the Nusaybah family took its name from a female companion or Sahabah of the Islamic prophet Muhammad named Nusaybah bint Ka'ab . She was a member of the Ansar who transferred their political power over Medina to the prophet . Nusaybah 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 ) . 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 . Although symbolic , the arrangement has provided the stability the Christians of the city needed , and is a symbol of tolerance and inter-religious harmony , and gave the Nusaybah family a visible role in Christian activities in Jerusalem , which include pilgrimages and visits by Western Christians . </P>
who opens the church of the holy sepulchre
the Sunni Muslim family