The role of women as mediators of religious-cultural authority in Muslim societies has received increased scholarly attention, but this work often focuses on predominantly female environments (Boddy 1989, Jaschok & Jingjun 2000, Sengers 2003, El Azhary Sonbol 2005). Fewer studies have problematized the experiences of women who excel in disciplines traditionally dominated by men (Fathi 1997, Winegar 2008, Rasmussen 2010), and this is particularly so in the realm of Islamic calligraphy, with certain exceptions (al-Munajjid 1985, Simonowitz 2010, Kazan 2010). Some women have managed to study calligraphy in authoritative, genealogically-documented networks of instruction, depending on the milieu. State and private funding of the first International Symposium of Female Calligraphers, for example, held in Istanbul in 2010, suggests that women’s practice of the art may complement national policies or party agendas. Yet female masters usually face challenges in this field, not to mention in periods of social and political turmoil. Furthermore, the situation is different for women in the Turkish, Iranian, and Arab contexts. A social and cultural catastrophe of historic proportions resulted from the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the relevant studies have not sounded the full-depth of the disaster (Polk & Schuster 2005, Bernhardsson 2005, Rothfield 2008, 2009). Using Arabic publications of the former Iraqi Ba`th regime, more recent primary sources, and original interviews, this paper will historicize the account of two Iraqi female calligraphers, child-prodigy sisters who began practicing the art in their early youth, and the husband of one of the women. These three Iraqi masters obtained ijaz?t (authorizations) to practice Islamic calligraphy at exceptionally young ages from some of the greatest practitioners of the twentieth century, including the legendary Turkish calligrapher Hamid Aytaç al-Amidi (d. 1982), regarded as “the last Ottoman master.” Examining the dilemmas brought up by their departure from Iraq in the aftermath of the war in 2003 and tenuous settlement in two different countries provides insights into the gendered politics of movement through traditional spheres of authority in modern states in transition. In the process of documenting the experiences of these master calligraphers, the presentation casts light on the historical displacement of ordinary and not-so-ordinary Iraqi women and men. It also explains the differences in patronage of women in modern Middle Eastern and Muslim societies. The comparative discussion of recent historical and political circumstances and their affect on cultural patronage brings the accomplishments of this family into yet higher relief.