An ambitious Muslim official had set his sights on an island on the border of the United States and Canada with the intention of purchasing it and turning it into an Islamic state.
In a video for his followers, Sheikh Yasser al-Habib, a 45-year-old extremist scientist who has been running military training camps, revealed that he is in advanced negotiations to buy an island off the west coast of Scotland.
His group plans to build its own school, hospital and mosque on the island, where Sharia law will be applied.
Al-Habib, who sought asylum in Britain 20 years ago after fleeing his native Kuwait, told his followers during their search for a home they saw as an “island on the border between the United States and Canada”.
However, they were unable to purchase the island because they could not afford the $8 million price tag and there was competition from a Canadian charity to purchase the island.
Fiery Muslim cleric Sheikh Yasser al-Habib (pictured), 45, revealed he was considering turning an island on the US-Canada border into his own Islamic state
It is not clear where exactly al-Habib wanted the island to be, but one controversial figure said they wanted to use Canada as a base because the country is “generally welcoming” to immigration.
Al-Habib, who preaches online to millions of people from his “global headquarters” in the picturesque village of Fulmer in South Buckinghamshire, England, has now set his sights on the uninhabited Scottish island of Torsa.
Torsa, one of the Slate Islands, is just over a mile long and has a single farm. It is only accessible by private boat from Luing – itself reached by a ferry from the island of Seil, which in turn is connected to the mainland by a bridge – and has not been permanently inhabited for over 50 years.
According to sources, two representatives of al-Habib’s group visited the island and filmed the island while being shown around.
Sarah Zaaimi, deputy director of communications at the US think tank Atlantic Council, who has researched al-Habib, said: “They’re going to have their own army, their own justice system, they’re going to run their own schools and hospitals, and people from all over the world can migrate to this homeland.
Al-Habib is an extremist scholar who has run military training camps and is now in advanced talks to buy an island off the west coast of Scotland
A video encouraging supporters of al-Habib to donate to their cause shows a man filming from the Scottish island of Torsa (pictured)
“It challenges the idea of sovereignty. I find it incomprehensible that the British authorities allow such a discourse. You are raising money to create a sovereign country on the edge of another country.”
Al-Habib encouraged his followers to donate, saying that Torsa will become an Islamic “homeland” that they will create in preparation for the coming of their messiah, known as Mahdi.
Al-Habib has already raised more than $3 million of its $3.5 million target to purchase the land.
In a three-minute video, al-Habib said: “If you want to live freely under the banner of the imam [Shia leader]in a special homeland where you feel that everything reminds you of the expected Mahdi, everything is the Shiite homeland…support this project.’
In the same video, another man filming from Torsa said: “Here, my brothers, God willing, we want to build a big mosque, a school and a hawza. [Shia seminary]. We want this place to become a homeland for the Shiites and the believers.’
The footage cuts to images of al-Habib’s ‘army’, called Al-Shurta Al-Khamis, training and conducting exercises at the compound of his mosque in Fulmer.
His group plans to build its own school, hospital and mosque on the island of Torsa (pictured), where Sharia law will be applied.
Since arriving in the UK in 2004, Al-Habib has repeatedly come to the attention of the authorities and the government has tried unsuccessfully to close down his TV channel.
In a video broadcast after the October 7 attacks in Israel last year, al-Habib said: “Who among us does not enjoy getting revenge for the Zionist enemy? We were all cheered up by this news.” However, he criticized Hamas for desecrating bodies and raping women.
In June 2022, the film The Lady Of Heaven, written by al-Habib, was pulled from Cineworld cinemas and some Vue branches after hundreds of people protested against the film.
Protesters accused it of blasphemy because it depicted the Prophet himself, which is forbidden in Islam. Cinema chains stopped showing the film because they feared for the safety of their staff, but critics accused Cineworld and Vue of “self-censorship.”