Lauren Booth

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Lauren Booth
Born Sarah Jane Booth[1]
(1967-07-22) 22 July 1967 (age 45)
Islington, London, England
Other names Sarah Booth[2]
Occupation Journalist
Religion Islam[3][4]
Spouse(s)
  • Craig Darby (2000-2011)
  • Sohale Ahmed (2013-present)
Children Alexandra Darby, Holly Darby
Relatives Tony Booth (father)
Pamela Smith (mother)
Cherie Blair (half-sister)
Website
http://www.laurenbooth.co.uk

Lauren Booth (born Sarah Jane Booth 22 July 1967, Islington, London) is an English broadcaster, journalist and pro-Palestinian activist.[5] She currently works for Iran's state-owned 24-hour English language news channel, Press TV.

Contents

Biography [edit]

Family [edit]

Lauren Booth is a half-sister of Cherie Blair (wife of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair) and the sixth daughter of the actor Tony Booth. Her mother is Pamela Smith, who was Jewish, although Lauren was not raised in the faith.[6] She married actor Craig Darby in 2000[7] and the couple have two children, Alexandra and Holly. Booth and Darby divorced in 2011. She married fellow pro-Palestinian activist Sohale Ahmed in 2013;[8] accusations of bigamy against Ahmed[9] are unfounded as he married Booth in a Muslim nikah, which is not legally recognised in the UK.[10]

In December 2010, Booth filed for bankruptcy. One of her creditors is Cherie Blair.[11]

Journalistic career [edit]

As a journalist,[12] Booth was a writer for the New Statesman[13] and the Mail on Sunday.[14] She was a vocal opponent of the Iraq War and is a supporter of the Stop the War Coalition.[15]

Between 2006 and 2008 Booth presented In Focus on the UK's Islam Channel.[12] She has had a long association with the Iranian Government owned Press TV, starting before her conversion with Between The Headlines in 2008.[12] She currently presents Remember Palestine[16] and Diaspora[17]

In June 2011, Booth joined Cageprisoners as a patron.[18]

Reality TV [edit]

In 2006 she was a contestant on the ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, donating the money she raised to charity Interpal (Palestinian Relief and Development Fund).[19]

Gaza activism [edit]

In August 2008 she traveled to Gaza by ship from Cyprus, along with 46 other activists,[20] to highlight the blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver hearing aids and balloons to a deaf school in Gaza. Booth elected to remain behind in Gaza, and was subsequently refused entry into both Israel and Egypt. She said that by refusing her the right to leave Gaza and return to her home country, Israel was in breach of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically regarding freedom of movement.[21] Booth stated that she believes the "situation in Gaza is a humanitarian crisis on the scale of Darfur" and called Gaza "the largest concentration camp in the world today", although the Jerusalem Post suggested that several photographs of Booth in a well-stocked Gaza grocery "bel[ied] the grim picture she painted of the Strip".[22] During her visit, Booth received a Palestinian VIP passport from Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.[23] Booth left Gaza through the Rafah Border Crossing into Egypt on 20 September 2008.

Religious conversion [edit]

Booth appeared at the Islam Channel's Global Peace and Unity event on October 23, 2010, dressed in loose clothing and with a hijab, declaring: "My name is Lauren Booth, and I am a Muslim".[19] She explained that she converted to Islam in mid-September, 2010, after her visit to the Shia Fatima al-Masumeh Shrine, dedicated to the sister of eighth Imam Ali Al Rida, in Qom, Iran.[4][24]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Lauren Booth: The sister who lives in Cherie Blair’s shadow". Daily Express. 31 December 2010. 
  2. ^ "Sarah Booth". Companies in the UK. 
  3. ^ "Lauren Booth replied to readers questions". Press TV. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-27. 
  4. ^ a b "Why I love Islam: Lauren Booth defiantly explains why she is becoming a Muslim". Daily Mail. 1 November 2010. 
  5. ^ "Blair's relative 'stuck in Gaza'". BBC News. 2 September 2008. 
  6. ^ "'I would do anything for Cherie. Lauren? I don't even love her': Tony Booth reveals the diverse emotions he feels for two of his daughters". Daily Mail. 30 October 2010. 
  7. ^ "Cashing in on the big day". BBC News. 29 August 2000. 
  8. ^ "How Lauren Booth found a good Muslim husband - with an advert on the internet". Daily Mail. 4 May 2013. 
  9. ^ "Blair’s sis-in-law ‘wed a bigamist’". The Sun. 12 May 2013. 
  10. ^ "Lauren Booth 'stole my husband - and destroyed my home': Distraught wife accuses activist of betraying her new faith". Daily Mail. 12 May 2013. 
  11. ^ "Lauren Booth declares herself bankrupt". The Telegraph. 30 December 2010. 
  12. ^ a b c "About". Lauren Booth. 
  13. ^ "Writers-Lauren Booth". New Statesman. 
  14. ^ "Results Summary-Lauren Booth". Daily Mail. 
  15. ^ "Protest marks 10 years of Afghan war". Daily Mirror. 9 October 2011. 
  16. ^ "Offcom Broadcast Bulletin". Ofcom. 2 August 2010. p. 25. 
  17. ^ "Diaspora". Press TV. 
  18. ^ "UPDATE: Lauren Booth and Sami Al Hajj join Cageprisoners as patrons". Cageprisoners. 28 June 2011. 
  19. ^ a b "Tony Blair's sister-in-law Lauren Booth converts to Islam after a 'holy experience' in Iran". Daily Mail. 24 October 2010. 
  20. ^ "Gaza: UN expert welcomes landing of ships carrying human rights activists". UN News Centre. 25 August 2008. 
  21. ^ "Blair's relative 'stuck in Gaza'". BBC News. 2 September 2008. 
  22. ^ AFP Photo. Gettyimages.com. 3 September 2008.
  23. ^ "Tony Blair's sister-in-law Lauren Booth 'trapped' in Gaza". The Telegraph. 2 September 2008. 
  24. ^ "Tony Blair's sister-in-law converts to Islam". The Guardian. 24 October 2010. 

External links [edit]
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lauren_Booth&oldid=555922425"