There's a lot to unpack here. Most of the origins of what's unfolding now are self-induced misery, including some related breaking news happening in the United Kingdom, even as I am trying to get this post put together.
The two main problems that are blatantly obvious and completely ignored through all of this are excessively lax immigration and asylum policies on behalf of Western countries - particularly if they nurture any collective colonial guilt at all - and the absolute refusal of those afforded the opportunity to immigrate to assimilate.
Hell - not even assimilate. How about the ability to just appreciate the gift of a new life in a country where one is possible and, in many cases, that road is now paved with handouts for you.
It's not working and hasn't for so long.
About 20 years ago, the kind-hearted people of Britain welcomed a radical Kuwaiti Shia cleric, Sheikh Yasser al-Habib. In 2004, al-Habib had been sprung from serving the Kuwaiti prison sentence (earned by insulting various Islamic sacred persons near and dear to ruling Sunnis) by a mysterious pardon from the Emir, which, mere hours later, was found to have been a "mistake" and police were sent to arrest him.
Al-Habib had long since booked out of the country to Iraq, where he became something of a minor celebrity preaching Islamic fire and brimstone, even as he kept his head low thanks to the U.S. invasion. I can only imagine that's how, in the chaos of that war, Britain allowed him to immigrate and eventually granted him asylum.
Landing in London, he fired up something called "The Rafida Movement." Rafida means "rejectors" in Arabic, and basically, these believers "reject" the legitimacy of the caliphates that followed after the death of Muhammed. In simple terms, what it boils down to is one more grudge match between Islamic sects.
...In particular, the term Rafida is applied to Twelvers,[3][4] who constitute the vast majority of Shias.[5] Twelvers believe that, shortly before he died, Muhammad publicly designated his cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib, as his successor at the Ghadir Khumm. In their view, early caliphs thus usurped Ali's right to succeed Muhammad.
Unmolested by any pesky Kuwaiti regime religious strictures and ensuing penalties for running afoul of the state's Sunni sect, al-Habib happily settled into building his own little hard-line Islamic network and training facilities smack in the middle of London. As his fame, finances, and network grew, thanks again to the freedom he enjoys as an asylum grantee, he's spread into training camps and schools for followers of his particularly hard-line version of Islam. And he only preaches in Arabic.
Along the way, he's gotten himself dubbed "The Hate Cleric" bolstered by the cheerful sermons (in Arabic) he broadcasts over his own TV station - Fadak TV - to his 400K followers from his private compound tucked away in Fulmer, in picturesque Buckinghamshire.
Living among the heretics and infidels has its perks, no?
Jeez. Who wouldn't want this guy in your country? What an asset.
And now he wants more.
Al-Habib has raised nearly £3.5M to buy an isolated island off the coast of Scotland so he can move his whole bloody Mahdi Servants Union group out and start his very own Sharia kingdom...or sheikdom. The few British laws he does have to follow are seemingly becoming a burden, cramping his style.
Now, everyone is in an uproar, so I'm sure he's happy he's also proving how racist and Islamophobic they all are, too.
...The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Sheikh Yasser al-Habib, 45 – who claimed asylum in Britain 20 years ago after fleeing his native Kuwait – and his followers are in advanced talks to buy the remote isle of Torsa, off the west coast of Scotland.
...One man said: 'I've spent much of my life working in Muslim countries so have no issues whatsoever with that community, but this group do seem alarming from what I've just seen now.'
Al-Habib, who is accused of stirring up sectarian hatred in Britain and in the Arab world between Shias and rival Sunni Muslims, has his 'global headquarters' in the picturesque village of Fulmer, South Buckinghamshire.
He has been fundraising through his controversial satellite channel Fadak TV, which he has run for several years from a £2 million converted church hall.
Despite repeated warnings from the regulator Ofcom, al-Habib – nicknamed the 'Mullah of Fulmer' – has been permitted to continue broadcasting his lectures, spreading hate and inciting violence towards those from the Sunni faith at home and abroad.
The cleric, who preaches only in Arabic, has amassed a huge following among Britain's 400,000 Shias and millions more across the world.
He's got the word going out over the airwaves, and while Britain will shut you down for misgendering a man in a dress or having a kitchen knife that's an inch too long, they'll let this guy build an army under their noses and run his jibs unmolested.
What an amazing snek pit that they've sunken into.
...In one three-minute video on his TV station Fadak TV, al-Habib says: “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.”
In the same video, another man, who is filming from Torsa, says: “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.”
It's certainly not "British." But with the classic British understatement of these two very careful TV commentators, you can see how it happens.
IT SEEMS VERY STRANGE
'My initial reaction to this is that it's not particularly a good thing...'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) July 28, 2024
Former Head of Press, Number 10, @GilesKenningham, reacts as a hate cleric, Sheikh Yasser al-Habib, plans to create an Islamic homeland on a Scottish island to practise Sharia law. pic.twitter.com/KImLBkjK7S
One fellow on X had the unmitigated gall to express the opinion that someone who stabbed children on a Monday morning should be shot, and wound up having to crawl backwards frantically from outraged blowback from fellow English (!!!) in comments, disavowing that he meant anything like a British CITIZEN being able to defend themselves.
I can't believe you're catching it.
— tree hugging s*ster 🎃 (@WelbornBeege) July 29, 2024
You're right.
But our legally armed civilians quite possibly could have saved someone, too, as they have so many times before.
Brits will always confuse me about how they're less horrified by children being slaughtered than the mere thought… https://t.co/zVy6qenGCE
...But our legally armed civilians quite possibly could have saved someone, too, as they have so many times before.
Brits will always confuse me about how they're less horrified by children being slaughtered than the mere thought of someone able to legally defend themselves and others.
What is wrong with them as a nation?
Now, the fellow that owns the island has supposedly said, "Hell no," but it remains to be seen if the Sheik gives up on his dream of a Sharia kingdom. The new Labour government surely won't be the ones to foil his plans.
Some people are so disgusted they've got a case of "Let them have it. At least we'll know where they all are..."
...So why not do it? The Scottish islands have long been a home for religious sects. Holy Isle, off Lamlash Bay in Arran, is inhabited by Buddhist monks; Papa Stronsay houses the Sons of the Holy Redeemer. An Islamist island “Mahdi” would arguably be in good company. So it is perhaps a shame that this plan is unlikely to come off.
For — unlike his country of origin, Kuwait, which revoked his passport in 2010 — our supine Home Office seems chronically unable to expel even someone so obviously hostile to UK majority views as al-Habib. This is despite regular Ofcom warnings to Fadak TV, and calls by MPs for him to be censured.
With that in mind, containment on a remote, midge-infested island is surely the most practical solution all round. We should all join al-Habib’s crowdfunder, ensure he moves to Torsa with his followers — then jam the signal for “Fadak TV” and prevent him leaving again.
"Chronically unable to expel even someone so hostile" brings me to this morning's news out of England, and it's horrible.
Reports are right now that a 17-year-old broke into a little kids' Taylor Swift theme party at a daycare...and started slashing away.
Eight children. Two precious children dead.
Police have declined - declined - to identify the suspect.
A mass stabbing in Southport, UK at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop for children has left one child deceased and at least seven others clinging to life. Police have declined to identify the suspect. pic.twitter.com/ObFcJYshN7
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 29, 2024
The fury is palpable. The disgust is off the charts deep.
You forgot "Diversity is our Strength"
— Zammo (@zammofx) July 29, 2024
A local councillor is the closest thing to an "official" who has named the suspect I am seeing emerging everywhere, although the Mercy police are maintaining their silence.
Actually, I have 'information from eyewitnesses who live there, as there were 30 other children present. I refer to it as unconfirmed, because it has not been officially released yet and I will not release their names either.
— Councillor Antony Antoniou 🇬🇧 (@cllr_antoniou) July 29, 2024
Should this hold up...damn.
Starmer making proper mewling noises.
🚨 BREAKING:
— GB News (@GBNEWS) July 29, 2024
Prime Minister Keir Starmer shares his condolences for the victims and families of those involved in a stabbing in Southport today which left two children dead and more seriously injured. pic.twitter.com/w6SXBD1AGy
This is the same Starmer whose Labour reversed the Rwanda deal. That's the one the Tories had worked out to start deporting illegals who had crossed the Channel, flooding into Britain, as, if this is indeed the right person, this suspect may have.
Not only that, then Labour then immediately stuck a finger in the eye of every Brit who wants their country back to boot.
Labour will fast-track plans to allow 90,000 migrants earmarked for deportation to Rwanda to claim asylum in Britain.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to unveil new legislation as early as this week that will kickstart the asylum claims process for thousands of people who had feared they could be removed from the UK.
The Refugee Council estimates that between 60,000 and 90,000 people will be granted asylum despite having entered the country illegally.
However, officials are expected to prioritise asylum seekers from 'safe' countries such as Vietnam, Albania, Egypt and India, which makes up 30 per cent of the overall figure, The Telegraph reported.
It's getting so bad you can't even hide from the violence and migrant flood on an island in the Hebrides anymore.
Where does a Brit go to claim asylum in their own country now?
Starmer has thoughts and prayers.
BEEGE UPDATE: The perp's name is the same as reported but authorities are denying he came over on a recent boat. The Telegraph is saying he came with his parents from Rwanda when he was six.
...Two adults were present at the dance and yoga class and tried to intervene. They were also being treated for stab wounds and were said to be in a critical condition.
Merseyside Police confirmed that a 17-year-old boy, from the village of Banks, about five miles away from Southport, had been arrested and was being questioned on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons and is originally from Cardiff, moved to the Southport area with his Rwandan parents when he was aged six.
In a press conference, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, of Merseyside Police, said that while the incident was not being treated as terror-related, colleagues from counter-terror policing had offered to assist with the investigation.
Two teachers, too. Golly, this is just awful.
This is the yoga teacher who was stabbed in #Southport today!
— 🇬🇧🅁🄾🅈🄰🄻 🅆🄸🅃🄲🄷🇬🇧 (@Roya1_Witch) July 29, 2024
This beautiful young woman's name is Leanne, and she is currently critical in hospital.
Please pray for her!🙏🏼♥️#stabbings #ali-al-shakati #ali #immigrant #SaveOurKids #17 #islam #muslim #scum pic.twitter.com/Ugxdi3swlg
Join the conversation as a VIP Member