The Character biogs for The State

SHAKIRA BOOTHE / UMM ZUBAIR

Shakira Boothe is a junior hospital doctor and single mother. Aged 26, she is a black British convert to Islam.

Brought up by an evangelical Christian mother in London, Shakira has recently embraced a Salafist strand of Islam which perfectly fits with her uncompromising world view. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly and is very quick to judge. Virtually no one meets the very high standards she sets - including herself. Isaac, her gentle, thoughtful nine-year-old son, is the child of a failed relationship with a violent man she now detests. She tries very hard not to judge Isaac for it, doesn’t always succeed.

Shakira arrives in Syria utterly committed to the concept of the Caliphate. She is determined to bring her skills to the aid of the Islamic State by working in the hospital in Raqqah. She also supports Dawlah, (The State), through her outspoken presence on social media, offering practical advice to those seeking to follow her to Syria and exhorting young British Muslims to join the fight.

As an unmarried woman, Shakira needs a mahram, (male guardian), to act as her chaperone, wherever she goes. She comes under intense pressure to marry. And in the hospital, the rules affect her ability to work – forcing her to treat patients while wearing gloves, with every inch of her body except her eyes covered.

Shakira’s strength and outspokenness bring her into conflict with the Sharia-based way of life in Raqqah. She came to Syria seeking an escape from the hypocrisies of the Western World but many of the people she encounters appear to be more concerned with power than piety. And the rules they insist on have more to do with Middle Eastern tribal custom than the guidance laid down by the Prophet. As Isaac is enrolled into a regime school, taught how to bayonet and prepared for battle, Shakira begins to contemplate the unthinkable – whether there is a way out.