Shehabi was a pro-democracy activist in Bahrain and founder of
al-Wefaq, a pro-democracy political organization in Bahrain which the government of Bahrain dissolved. The Bahrain government has repeatedly and publicly denounced Dr Shebabi, as a result of his political activism and demanded that he be expelled from the United Kingdom. In the past, Bahrain opposition groups have been accused of links to the Iranian government, which has sought to annex the island nation based on historic and demographic claims for decades. According to the London-based Centre for the Study of Terrorism, of which he is a Trustee, Shahabi edited the London-based Pan-Arabic weekly
Al Aalam from 1983 to 1999 and, in addition to being Chairman of the Gulf Cultural Club, serves as a trustee of two Muslim charities located in London, the Dar Al-Hekma Trust and the Abrar Islamic Foundation, and writes "regularly" for Al-Quds and
The Muslim News. Shehabi gained British citizenship in 2002. In 2012 the Kingdom of Bahrain stripped Shehabi of his Bahraini citizenship, accusing him and 30 other activists with being a "threat to the state's security" == Personal life ==