A London-born radical Shia preacher accused of celebrating terrorists has set up a physical and religious training camp in Thailand to teach ‘Islamic spiritual psychology’, the Daily Mail can reveal.
asserted
Mail → bear → psychology
Sayed Hussain Makke has allegedly mourned members of Hezbollah, the proscribed Lebanese terror organisation – including a British friend who died fighting for it – and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
uncertain
who → mourn → it
The Brunel University graduate had his visa to visit Australia revoked last year after he allegedly extolled Hassan Nasrallah, a Hezbollah leader killed in an Israeli air strike, as one of the world’s ‘greatest freedom fighters’.
uncertain
he → have → fighters
Leading the organisation for three decades until his death at 64, Nasrallah was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent lives around the world, as he transformed Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today.
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it → lead → force
The militia, banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK, US and other countries, played a crucial role in propping up Bashar al-Assad’s bloody regime in Syria, and it provides training and guidance to other Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen as well as Hamas in Gaza.
asserted
it → ban → Gaza
Makke once shared a tribute to Mohamed Balbaaki, a British friend who died while fighting for Hezbollah.
asserted
who → share → Hezbollah
He is seen crouching next to a shrine of Balbaaki, who is wearing Hezbollah uniform, with the caption: 'I miss you forever.'
asserted
I → see → you
Having previously run ‘Spiritual Warrior’ training camps in the Peak District in England, Makke is hosting a retreat in Thailand in December for men ‘who no longer know how to be men’.
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who → run → men
The six-day programme, running from December 1-6, is advertised as a ‘retreat in nature filled with workshops, training, reflection, and brotherhood’.
asserted
programme → run → workshops
Sayed Hussain Makke has allegedly mourned members of Hezbollah, the proscribed Lebanese terror organisation – including a British friend who died fighting for it – and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
uncertain
who → mourn → it
The six-day programme, running from December 1-6, is advertised as a ‘retreat in nature filled with workshops, training, reflection, and brotherhood’
asserted
programme → run → workshops
In a video on his Instagram advertising the course, a group of men can be seen sitting in a circle in a boxing ring while listening to a lecture
In a video on his Instagram advertising the course, a group of men can be seen sitting in a circle in a boxing ring while listening to a lecture.
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group → advertise → lecture
The caption states: ‘When you finally realise it isn’t about cutting off sin, it’s about loving God so much that your desire to sin no longer exists.’
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desire → state → God
Among those speaking at the camp is Shia cleric Sheikh Salman Zaarour, who can be seen standing above a fire telling young men to 'reflect on our destinies' at a previous course.
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who → speak → course
Alicia Kearns, a former chairman of the foreign affairs committee who has reported the cleric to counter-terrorism police multiple times, wrote to the Home Office in June to ask why Makke had not been arrested.
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Makke → report → June
'I previously wrote to you on April 24 to share a police report I submitted regarding Hussain Makke, highlighting his sustained public support for proscribed group Hezbollah, running of combat training camps for Shia men where radicalisation is alleged to have occurred, and relocation to an area of Southern Lebanon with a significant Hezbollah presence,' she wrote to now Security Minister Dan Jarvis.
asserted
she → write → Jarvis
She received a response to her April letter stating that 'where evidence of potential offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 or the National Security Act 2023 is submitted, I am confident it will be assessed and acted upon appropriately'.
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it → receive → Act
Nevertheless, Makke returned to the UK and was not arrested, according to Kearns.
uncertain
Makke → return → Kearns
'Following the recent string of attacks against the Jewish community, the Government repeatedly committed to doing everything in its power to combat rising antisemitism and support, both rhetorical and practical, for proscribed groups such as Hezbollah,' she continued.
'This promise appears hollow if individuals such as Makke, who openly espouse pro-Hezbollah views, are allowed to enter the UK unchallenged.
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who → follow → UK
'
'Why was Makke not arrested and questioned upon arrival at the airport, and since returning to the UK?' she wrote.
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she → arrest → UK
It is understood that Makke, who attended Nasrallah’s funeral, praised the number of mourners present at the event in February 2025 as evidence that the resistance was ‘alive and well’, Sky News reported at the time.
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News → understand → time
In an Instagram post in September 2025, around the one-year anniversary of Nasrallah’s death, Makke wrote: 'May my soul be removed from me before my tongue stops singing your praise and remembering you, a bulwark of truth and honour.'
uncertain
tongue → write → truth
Material obtained by research and advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and collated by Kasra Aarabi shows that Makke trained under a senior Hezbollah figure at a seminary in Lebanon.
asserted
Makke → obtain → Lebanon
In one Instagram post, he honoured the death of his seminary ‘dear teacher and leader’ Sheikh Ali Abu Raya - a senior Hezbollah leader - and celebrated his martyrdom.
‘Our teacher Sheikh Ali Abu Raya has met his Lord as a martyr on the path to al-Quds,’ Makke wrote, following his death.
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Makke → honour → death
Iranian state media has confirmed that Raya was a senior Hezbollah leader and was killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to research by UANI.
uncertain
Raya → confirm → UANI
Following the death of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Hamas’ October 7 massacre in southern Israel that saw 1,200 people murdered, Makke posted a photograph on Instagram of the terror chief’s final moments, captioning the post: ‘You cannot kill an idea.’
asserted
You → follow → idea
Following the US drone strike on IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, Makke posted a photo of himself saluting in front of a mosque and urged his followers to 'bathe in the pain and cry all day and all night'.
Kasra Aarabi, Director of IRGC Research at UANI, told the Daily Mail: 'The context is key here: Hezbollah is a violent Islamist extremist terror group that is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.
'
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that → follow → UK
It has previously been implicated in terrorist plots on British soil.
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It → implicate → soil
It is deeply concerning that this British cleric has consistently promoted Hezbollah’s ideology, mourned the death of its terrorist chief Hassan Nasrallah - and even travelled to Lebanon to attend Nasrallah’s Hezbollah-organised funeral.
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cleric → promote → funeral
It is perhaps even more concerning that this cleric is holding so-called “warrior camps” for young British men.
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cleric → hold → men
This cleric has now reportedly left the UK and relocated his “warrior camp” to Thailand, raising further questions about these activities.'
uncertain
cleric → leave → activities
Screenshots of two videos posted by Sayed Hussain Makke on Instagram of Nasrallah’s funeral
Following the death of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Hamas’ October 7 massacre that saw 1,200 murdered, Makke posted a photograph on Instagram of the terror chief’s final moments, captioning the post: ‘You cannot kill an idea.’
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You → post → idea
Makke once shared a tribute to a dead Hezbollah soldier, Mohamed Balbaaki, crouching next to a shrine of him and writing the caption: 'I miss you forever.'
In an Instagram post in September 2025, around the one-year anniversary of Nasrallah’s death, Makke wrote: 'May my soul be removed from me before my tongue stops singing your praise and remembering you, a bulwark of truth and honour.'
Luke Akehurst, Labour MP for North Durham, told the Daily Mail: ‘It is high time that action was taken against this preacher, who appears to support Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, and his “training camps”.’
uncertain
who → share → Hezbollah
David Taylor, Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, said: ‘Sayed Hussain Makke is a disturbing preacher who has seemingly voiced support for a terrorist group and the Iranian regime which the security services have warned are behind at least 20 terrorist plots on UK soil in recent years.
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services → say → years
'This strikes me as intolerable and should be looked at by counter-terrorism police.'
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This → strike → police
Last year, the preacher ran an Islamic and physical training camp for young British men from July 30 to August 3 called the ‘Spiritual Warrior Project’ at Darwin Lake in Derbyshire.
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preacher → run → Derbyshire
He held a similar retreat from June 5 to June 9 this year, offering 'Olympic-level wrestling' alongside religious education by a cleric.
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He → hold → cleric
Applicants to the programme, focused on ‘God-centric masculinity’ and ‘man psychology’, are asked about how much they value discipline and brotherhood before applying.
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they → focus → discipline
Promotional videos show young men boxing, tackling each other and completing training exercises - or listening to clerics and praying.
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men → show → clerics
Since 2008, the military wing of Hezbollah has been proscribed in the UK under counter-terrorism laws.
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wing → proscribe → laws
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
