The Documentary Podcast Leaving Isis: Is redemption possible?
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Mar 6, 2026 
Tareena Shakil, a former British woman who travelled to and later left the Islamic State, speaks about losing her way and seeking faith. She recounts online grooming, idealised promises of belonging, the journey to Raqqa with her son, disillusionment amid violence, and the difficult path back to faith, accountability and community.
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Secret Journey To Raqqa With Her Child
- Tareena Shakil took her one-year-old son and secretly travelled from Birmingham to Raqqa in 2014 after five weeks of online contact with IS recruits.
- She booked via Turkey, flew to Gaziantep, then crossed the border into Syria following step-by-step handlers' instructions.
Vulnerability Fueled Online Radicalisation
- Radicalisation began from vulnerability rather than deep prior ideology; personal crisis, loneliness and a bad relationship made her receptive.
- Online recruiters framed hijra as salvation and belonging, telling her living in England was haram and risking hell.
Quick Acceptance Of Scripted Religious Claims
- Within weeks she accepted hadiths and verses fed to her online, including the weak hadith about joining a group under the black flag.
- She didn't research sources and felt pressured by a revert recruiter who shamed her knowledge gaps.