Leila Aboulela’s fourth novel,
The Kindness of Enemies(2015), blends the historical and contemporary. In the 2010 plotline, Sudanese-Russian university lecturer Natasha Wilson — formerly Hussein — researches the life of Imam Shamil, a Muslim military leader who led the resistance against the Russian Empire in the Caucasian War (1817-64). Working at a university in Scotland, Natasha befriends her most promising student, Osama (Oz) Raja, and his actress mother, Malak, who happen to be direct descendants of Shamil. While spending a weekend at their home, Natasha is shown the golden inscribed sword used by Shamil for his jihad, or spiritual struggle, against the Russian Empire, and helps Oz develop his own research project on weapons used for historical jihad. While at the home of the…
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Citation: Scott, Laura. "The Kindness of Enemies". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 February 2025 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35870, accessed 29 March 2025.]
