Character

Raqim Ali

resilient dignified forthright perceptive principled elusive deceptive militant

Raqim Ali anchors White House resilience as an Arab-American staffer whose MIT-honed applied math brilliance demoted to clerical policy grind amid cryptographer whispers. Leo's lockdown grill—wire suspicions, rally arrest (charges dropped), Uzbekistan jaunt, mosque drift, paternal donations—ignites his cooperative front into defiant fury guarding family sanctity. Cleared by Germany's true quarry, Ali skewers Leo's Rosslyn amnesia, white supremacists' bullets shattering Muslim-peril myths. Leo's stiff apology meets Ali's piercing gaze, their shared stare welding prejudice's fracture into hard-won regard, his dignity unbowed in terror's profiling vise.

8 appearances

White House Policy Staff

Also known as: Raqim Ali, Ali

Raqim Ali's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

8 moments

S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Ron Briefs Leo: Raqim Ali Matches Terrorist Alias

Not present; positioned as potential innocent under siege

Raqim Ali emerges as a critical alias match in NCIC data—one of three, specifically the White House staffer—distinguished from innocents in Spokane and LA, thrusting him into suspicion and propelling …

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S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Agent Grills Raqim on Sharif Ties as Leo Enters

Calm assurance veiling underlying tension from profiling scrutiny

Seated at the interrogation table, Raqim Ali responds calmly and precisely to FBI questions about Khuram Sharif, affirming awareness of the NY airport plot and Paterson arrest, then reveals his …

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S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Leo McGarry Asserts Authority Over Raqim Ali

Calm assurance veiling restrained frustration from profiling.

Seated at the interrogation table under FBI scrutiny, meets Leo's gaze steadily, responds calmly and affirmatively to identity question, demonstrating unflappable composure amid escalating suspicion.

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S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Leo's Prejudice-Laden Grill of Raqim Ali

Initial measured cooperation escalating to righteous fury and unyielding dignity against familial intrusion.

Seated opposite Leo, Ali calmly explains wire as computer repair inherited from father's phone company knowledge, details career shift from MIT applied math to policy despite cryptographer awareness, then erupts …

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S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Agent Probes Ali's Unpermitted Rally Arrest

Defensive resolve masking underlying frustration

Raqim Ali sits under scrutiny, defensively acknowledging the two-year-old arrest while insisting charges were dropped, his response clipped yet firm, bracing against the implication that his activism fuels terror profiling.

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S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Ali Cleared of Suspicion, Confronts Leo's Selective Memory

Nervous under probe shifting to profound relief then righteous indignation

Ali glances nervously during questioning on Uzbekistan and mosque, sighs heavily in relief upon clearance, pauses at door to deliver searing rebuke to Leo on Rosslyn shooting, invoking shared trauma …

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S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Ali Exposes Leo's Hypocrisy with Rosslyn Shooting Reminder

Nervous tension yielding to profound relief, surging into righteous defiance and moral clarity

Ali glances nervously during final questions on Uzbekistan and mosque, sighs heavily in relief upon clearance, rises to leave but halts at door, turns back to deliver biting confrontation to …

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S3E0 · Isaac and Ishmael

Leo's Halting Apology and Quiet Affirmation of Ali

Quietly evaluative and guarded, probing for sincerity beneath words.

Ali works steadily at his desk, looks up at Leo's greeting, responds quietly 'No kidding,' looks down absorbing the apology, searches Leo's face piercingly during prolonged silence, turns back to …

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Affiliation

Bartlet Administration (Executive Office of the President)

Executive governance, West Wing operations, presidential communications, crisis management, and logistical coordination