Ms. Kahn, an Indian decent woman raised in France, school teacher and nurse, joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during WWII as a wireless radio operator.
After her talent was recognized by her superiors, she was sent forward on a special team designed by Winston Churchill to “set Europe ablaze” with the codename “Madeleine” and dubbed by her peers as “the spy Princess”.
No other spies (all previous being men) had lasted more than 6 weeks in the field, but Nora was on the mission for 3 months before she was captured and tortured by the Nazi’s.
After months of resistance, not revealing any intelligence to her captors, the Nazis executed Nora at Dachau, her famous final word was recorded as “Liberte!”
Read more of her story here.
An update to this story in 2019- Noor Inayat Kahn was raised by her Master Sufi father and American mother in Paris before the war started. From the Harvard website, “Sufism [taṣawwuf] is not a separate sect of Islam, but rather a stream of interpretation emphasizing the interior path of mystical love and knowledge of God.” Noor was a interesting young woman indeed, and a scholarship is offered in Ms. Kahn’s name at University of North Florida which you can read more about here.
The Milieux Project, Inc. 