It has been revealed that the man suspected of stealing a plane in Victoria and flying it to Vancouver described himself as a "messenger of Allah" sent to "save humanity from climate change."Shaheer Cassim was arrested shortly after touching down at YVR on Tuesday and subsequently charged with hijacking, which under Canada's criminal code could implicate him in terrorism.."I am a messenger of Allah," Cassim wrote in a Facebook post less than 24 hours before allegedly taking to the skies. "I am the messiah sent to save humanity from climate change and usher in an era of world peace."He went on to suggest that "the Arctic sea ice is going to disappear within two years," and that, "when that happens, huge amounts of methane are going to erupt from the Arctic Ocean, triggering abrupt runaway global warming, turning Earth into Venus.""Humans will go extinct within the first few years," Cassim warned. "We must begin geoengineering immediately to stabilize the Arctic ice sheet and prevent human extinction. People of the world, mobilize. Mobilize now!"He claimed that "the angel Gabriel appeared before me and gave me a message from Allah.".Cassim has a long history of posting about climate change, and has numerous entries on the subject on his blog.In one post from November 2024, he argued that "fossil fuels must be ended immediately," and that "flying is forbidden" unless the planes use hydrogen."He also listed off a few of his other beliefs, including, "tattoos cause cancer; condoms and birth control are unsustainable; farm animals must be humanely euthanized; pornography must be ended" and "Sunday is for rest.".Other posts included various declarations about life, society, and geopolitics, some guided by his religious beliefs and others in line with his environmentalist worldview..Man arrested after stolen plane touches down at YVR.According to the Richmond RCMP, the plane belonged to the Victoria Flying Club and was flown across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver after being stolen by a non-member. The suspect and sole occupant of the aircraft cooperated with police, and was arrested "without incident."Numerous flights were delayed and a total of nine inbound aircraft were "diverted to alternate airports" during the 39-minute ground stop.""We really don't know what will happen, but this aircraft is just circling overhead," personnel said, per liveatc.net, "and we don't know, of course, their intention, just holding for now."The plane departed YYJ in Victoria at 12:56 p.m. and touched down nearly an hour later at 1:53 p.m.
