A RADICAL religious group has raised more than £3 million to buy an entire Scottish island, with the aim to create a closed community which practices sharia law.
On Sunday, the Daily Mail reported that the London-based preacher Sheikh Yasser al-Habib and his followers were in “advanced talks” to purchase the island of Torsa, in Argyll.
The 271-acre Torsa island, which is roughly 20 miles south of Oban, is currently being marketed by Savills, which is inviting offers of over £1,500,000.
Al-Habib is the founder of the Mahdi Servants Union (MSU), which runs military-style training camps and the Fadak Shia Islam TV channel from a private compound in the village of Fulmer, South Buckinghamshire.
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The MSU has attacked multiple foreign embassies on religious grounds, including the Azerbaijani Embassy in August 2022, and the Saudi Arabian Embassy three months earlier.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said that the attack had been perpetrated by "radical religious group members," while the British embassy in Azerbaijan "condemned the actions of the protesters".
Fadak TV has been investigated by Ofcom on multiple occasions for inciting crime and disorder.
Al-Habib was granted asylum in the UK two decades ago after facing imprisonment in his native Kuwait for his religious views.
The Daily Mail reported that, in a video calling for donations to help buy Torsa, al-Habib says he will negotiate with the UK Government to allow Muslims “from all over the world” to get a visa to live in their new “homeland”.
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Al-Habib, who preaches only in Arabic, was reported as saying in one video: “If you want to live free under the banner of the imam [Shia leader], in a special homeland where you feel everything in it reminds you of the awaited mahdi, everything is the Shia homeland … support this project.”
The same video also featured footage recorded on Torsa, and saw an MSU member say: “Here, my brothers, God willing, we want to build a large mosque, a school and a hawza [Shia seminary]. We want this place to be a homeland to the Shias and the believers.”
The Daily Mail reported that al-Habib is aiming to raise a total of £3.5m.
The island of Torsa is roughly 0.5 miles wide and 1.2 miles long. It has a three-bedroom farmhouse, which is run as a holiday let, according to Savills.
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