When Humza Yousaf became Scotland’s First Minister, he was not only the first ethnic minority leader of the country but also the first Muslim to lead a western nation.

The Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Zara Mohammed, described it as a “momentous occasion.”

Yousaf resigned last month, after the Scottish Greens declared that they would back a vote of no-confidence, after he ended their power-sharing agreement.

In his outgoing speech he said: “As a young boy born and raised in Scotland, I could never have dreamt that one day I would have the privilege of leading my country.  People who looked like me were not in positions of political influence, let alone leading government when I was younger.”

During his leadership bid he faced increased scrutiny on his religious beliefs, when his then rival, Kate Forbes [a Christian] suggested that she would have voted against same-sex marriage.  Such a view led to many senior SNP politicians abandoning their support for her as their next leader.

Yousaf on more the one occasion described himself as a “practising Muslim” and highlighted that he fasts during Ramadan.

When asked on Sky News if he considered gay sex a sin, Yousaf replied instantly “No.”

He went on to add: “I have been asked that question about 25 times and I have answered it the same way 25 times.  I can’t change what is in certain faiths. I can’t change what is in scripture. What I can tell you, that the approach I will take, which is that I will not allow my personal faith to be the basis of legislation.”

He also supported legislation that would have allowed young Scots to change their legal gender.

Scholar Abdal Hakim Murad praised Kate Forbes by stating that she was “living proof that you don’t need to compromise or sell-out in order to move to the highest level of the British system.”

Moreover, in a viral video, social media commentator Mohammed Hijab suggested that 'Yousaf had taken himself out of the fold of Islam' by espousing such views.

On his first night at Bute House, the official residence of the Scottish First Minister, Yousaf posted a photograph on social media of him praying alongside family members.  Furthermore, he recently held an inter-faith iftar and an Eid reception, where the adhan (Islamic call to prayer) was performed.

To those who accused him of watering down his Islamic principles in order to get elected, Yousaf countered that “as a minority myself, my rights don’t exist in a vacuum, they are only protected because the rights of everyone are protected.”

He further added in his outgoing speech: “I will continue to champion the rights and the voices of those who are not often heard, be that at home or indeed overseas, such as those suffering and continuing to suffer the most horrific humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as the world watches on.”

He is one of a handful of  politicians who is a vocal critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. When asked by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, if people place a different value on Palestinian lives he replied, “without a shadow of doubt”.

However, on a recent visit to a mosque, where he reiterated his position on an immediate ceasefire, some worshippers made their displeasure known to management, at Yousaf given a platform to address the congregation after Friday prayers, given his views on same-sex marriage and gender reform.

To his supporters he was compassionate and generous, who along with his family had endured “horrendous” abuse, much of it with a racial and Islamophobic tinge.

His opponents on almost a weekly basis, would brand him “incompetent” and accuse him of being “out of his depth”, this included Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

In the Holyrood backbenches he will be reunited with his mentor Nicola Sturgeon, who he replaced as First Minister.

His honeymoon period was cut short when Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, the former Chief Executive of the SNP, was arrested in April 23. He has now been charged with embezzlement. Sturgeon herself was arrested and released without charge.

With a UK general election on the horizon, opinion polls show that the SNP stands to lose a substantial number of its MPs at Westminster.  The ongoing police investigation into party finances along with disillusionment of its record on issues such as health and education, has impacted on the public’s perception of the SNP.

The SNP has been in power in Scotland since 2007.  A resurgent Scottish Labour are eyeing a return to governing north of the border at the next Scottish Parliament elections in 2026.

In that case their leader, would become the second politician of Pakistani origin, who is also of Muslim faith to reside at Bute House.