The confluence of two totalitarian ideologies: Islam and environmentalism.

The day before the suspected hijacking of a light aircraft triggered a security scare at Vancouver’s airport this week, former commercial pilot Shaheer Cassim posted on social media that he was a “messenger of Allah” sent to save humanity from climate change.

A 39-year-old man with the same name has now been charged with hijacking, constituting terrorism, over the incident on Tuesday that saw Norad scramble F-15 fighter jets before the light plane safely landed.

RCMP say the suspect had an “ideological motive” and allegedly seized control of the plane at Victoria International Airport after threatening a flight instructor, before flying to Vancouver.

KD Air’s former owners, Diana and Lars Banke, told National Post that Cassim was one of the best pilots they’d ever worked with and were surprised he would do something like this.

It is not surprising someone like Shaheer Cassim would do something like this. His (albeit watered down) Muslim faith and his embracing environmentalism were the two fountains to drink from where he found meaning, fitting the description of a misfit as outlined in Eric Hoffer’s book The Truth Believer. Unfortunate due to his wasting his life, but it was Cassim’s decision to do what he did.