Deconstructing Zaid hamid

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, He is not entitled to his own facts Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York. Zaid Hamid is a media phenomenon popularized by his programs Brass Tacks and later Iqbal ka Pakistan. He has been frequently mocked in the mainstream media due to his espousal of conspiracy theories about Global Domination of Jews and Economic matters. These theories are a side effect of the information age. YouTube, a website created to share home videos is filled up with such stuff, so is Wikipedia, the largest encyclopedia in the world today but whose only catch is the lack of authenticity. In my opinion, probably no one in the mainstream media has taken the threat posed by Zaid Hamid and people of his ilk, seriously (except by Fasi Zaka in 2 of his articles). The fact that Zaid Hamid filled the ideological chasm in the youth formed due to pathetic textbooks and even pathetic media was not discussed or dissected in detail. Nadeem Farooq Paracha observed how such propaganda gained ground in apolitical Private educational institutions and not in the Public Universities. He was saying all that the youth wanted to hear and thus his fame amongst students sky-rocketed. He was repulsed initially(in 2009/10) by the dangerous Khatme Nabuwwat people and very few people raised the objection that just by labeling him a heretic would do him no harm in the long run. He came back with a bang riding on shoulders of Ali Azmat

and Maria B. A detailed study of the problems posed by Zaid Hamid is required. Recently Ayesha Siddiqa commented that liberals fail to ask themselves is that in the absence of any legwork to eradicate growing radicalism, such as having the will to change the curriculum or creating a social agenda tied with political objectives, how can anyone even begin to change the mindset of Zaid Hamid followers? I dont claim to start a social agenda but I am willing to throw the gauntlet as far as the legwork is concerned. As a small first step, I am going to highlight the factual errors in History made by the ever-reliable Mr. Hamid during the show Iqbal ka Pakistan. I have tried to highlight only those points that are established facts and not the wild theories that he loves. I have used exact quotes from Zaid Hamid and that can be verified by watching his programs as available on YouTube. Please note that I have given as many references as possible and any mistakes in type are entirely mine. Also that I subscribe to the post-modernist view that there is no absolute truth, thus I can be wrong at many places. I have tried my best to use independent sources of history to remain minimally biased.

EpisodE 1
ZH:- Tipu sultan was the greatest visionary of 18th century. He was the pioneer of Rocket Technology and also created a military industrial complex in maisore. Comment: . I have 2 issues with these statements.

i) Based on which criteria is a Military ruler of a small south-indian state a bigger visionary than Voltaire,

Rousseau, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin(authors of the Legendary Declaration of Independence which begins as When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.),Adam smith, Goethe(who had more influence on Iqbal's philosophy than tipu).?? All these people lived in the 18th century. 2. Tipu sultan didn't 'invent' rockets, the Chinese did. Instead he introduced metal-coated rockets which were improved by a British scientist William Congreve.
ZH: Tipu Ki rocket batteries main pani mila dia gya.(Translation:Tipus Rocket Batteries were rendered ineffective by adding water to them) Comment:- This is scientifically absurd. John Volta, an Italian physicist invented the commonly used batteries in 1801.!! And which primitive rockets ran on batteries.? Which batteries.? How did water change the chemical composition.? ZH:-East India Company was financed by Jewish Rothschilds. Comment:- This is an established fact that Nathan Rothschild

invested in East India Company. Problem is that ZH got the time-line wrong. East India Company was formed in 1600 A.D. Rothschilds started their business in 18th century. Who financed the company before that.?

much sums up the authenticity of ZHs own claim. There actually is NO proof of any such genocide in history books.

ZH:-30 million people(Muslims/Indians)were slaughtered by East India Company and there is no trace in history of that. Comment:- How awfully convenient in that.!! This pretty

facts our textbooks forgot to mention The 1857 mutiny was no more than a localized uprising in some parts of india.Surendra Nath Sen, in his Eighteen Fifty Seven(Calcutta,1958) says Outside Oudh and Shahbad there are no evidences of that general sympathy which would invest the Mutiny with the dignity of a national war. R.C Majumdar, in his The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857(Calcutta,1963) declares that it cannot be regarded as a national rising, far less a war of independence, which it never professed to be. Reference:- KK Aziz, Murder of History, Sang-e-meel Publishers, Chapter 2, p149

ZH:-The mutiny of 1857 was a war of Independence and there was a 'massive uprising'. Comment:- As I have mentioned in my article 10 historical

ZH:- 1857 kay baad Musalmano ki masjidain ghoron ki astabl banay(After war of 1857,Mosques were used as stables) Comment:- This also is a fact that has been modified for the

sake of convenience. This indeed happened after the fall of

Baghdad by forces of Halaku Khan and in Punjab during reign of Ranjit Singh(much before 1857).
ZH:- Forces of Napoleon were defeated at Waterloo because the Brits had rocket technology that they stole from Tipu Sultan. Comment:- Lying about probably one of the most

documented war of the modern times is easier said than done.ZH was not deterred by this minor fact though. Tipu Sultan died in 1799, Waterloo happened in 1815, Napoleon was defeating forces left right and centre for more than 12 years before Waterloo happened, why did the rocket technology used against him so late? In fact there was a war between Napoleon and English forces in 1805, Why were the stolen rockets not used then.?

MIT, one of the top universities in World today. According to the Arts and Humanities Citation Index in 1992, Chomsky was cited as a source more often than any other living scholar from 1980 to 1992. He is also the eighth most cited source of all time, and is considered the "most cited living author". He is also famous for his critique of US Foreign Policy and hegemonistic attitude of US Government toward the world. Comparing such a figure to Taliban is not only stupid, it also explains how little ZH knows about the Taliban(while ZH also claims to

ZH:-Noam Chomsky is Amriki Taliban. Comment:- Noam Chomsky is Professor of Linguistics at

have fought alongside such people).He is confusing John Walker Lindh with Chomsky.

EpisodE ii
ZH:-The whole world became Darul kufr after 1st World War. Comment:- This claim is wrong. Afghanistan still had a

Muslim ruler, as did Iraq. A similar fatwa was passed by Maulvi Abdul Bari, the secretary of Jamiat Ulema Hind in 1920 stating that India was a Darul harb and that they should migrate to Dar ul Islam i.e countries with a Muslim ruler. Muslims from all over India sold their lifelong homes and set out for Afghanistan, some went to Turkey. The ruler of Afghanistan denied entry to most of these people. According to official estimates, between 5 to 30 lac people died due to this disastrous proclamation. (Reference: Hasan Jaafer Zaidi,Hamari Taareekh fehmi aur hamara fikri bohran, published in Adab e Latif magazine in 2009)
ZH:-'Larkian parh rahi hain angrezi, Seekh li qaum ne falaah ki raah Comment:- Allama Iqbal, in this couplet used satire that just

because women were getting education didnt mean every think was hunky dory now. ZH used it in the wrong context.

Taliban by Mullah Abdus Salam Zaeef, he has explained how as part of the Taliban govt he used to work at the Central bank of Afghanistan and its setup was very much like traditional banks. Glorifying backwardness and tribalism speaks much about the mindset of Mr. Zaid Hamid.
ZH:-Iqbal was a great visionary as he believed, Afghanistan main aman ho ga to Asia main aman ho ga. (Iqbal believed that If there were peace in Afghanistan, there would be peace in Asia) Comment:- Iqbal WAS a great visionary but this is very bad

ZH:-Afghan Taliban are good because they didnt follow International banking system, not corrupted by western civilization.. Comment:- According to the book My Life with the

logic. Granted that after 1979, Afghanistan has come to be known as the buffer state but before that, or at least at the time of Iqbal, Afghanistan was not involved in any active war. Also, there was no peace in Asia in the 1940s(2 atom bombs were dropped in Japan for gods sake, where is the basic geography.!!!), the Long March in China caused a considerable loss of life, Burma and Singapore became theatres of war, while Afghanistan was peaceful. Pakistan and India fought two wars in 1965 and 1971 while Afghanistan was peaceful. There goes the logic.

theorists of this country. Another variation is that US invaded Afghanistan because of the minerals. The point is, WHERE is that oil.? Since 2001, American forces have been present on Afghan soil, WHEN and WHERE did they export oil to.? Is there a secret pipeline between lets say Kandahar and Washington.? Might be, if you listen to ZH.
ZH:-Mullahs have resisted Imperial forces in last 200 yr.s. Comment:- The same Mullahs fought from 1979-1989 FOR

ZH:-Afghan war is about oil. Comment:- This is a favorite narrative of conspiracy

an Imperialist force.

ZH:-1860s, 1870s main Congress bani(Translation:-Congress was formed in 1860s,1870s). Comment:- ZH cant even get the date/year/decade of

formation of Indian National Congress right. It was formed in 1885.

Oriental College became a university and its students played a prominent role in the Pakistan Movement. It is the only India-based University that was pivotal in the Pakistan Movement but ZH still cant name it right. Its

ZH:-Muhamadan School later became 'Sir Syed University'. Comment:- While it is a fact that Mohammedan Angelo-

name is Aligarh University and even students of 9th class can tell that.
ZH:-Iqbal ne ibtadai talim angrezi main he hasil ki(Translation:Iqbal acquired his early education in English medium). Comment:- Allama Iqbal started his formal education at

Scotch Mission High School located in Sialkot Cantt. He also learnt Arabic and Persian from Maulvi Mir Hassan, one of his famous teachers. Before the start of the 2nd part of this series, I want to share an extremly hilarious article by Mohammad Haneef. I also want to share how I am getting tired listening to Ali Azmats incessant babbling. Also he gets SO many facts wrong, for instance while Zaid hamid mentioned the Spanish Inquisition and how muslims and Jews were persecuted, Ali says spontaneously, and Christians too.!!! Thankfully, ZH corrected him. At another instance, he stated that Sir Syed probably was a Freemason. At another program, he wore a shirt which proclaimed, Music is my bussiness.!! And he always complains before taking a call, the twat. I also want to confess that Zaid Hamid got many facts right which I didnt have knwoledge of and researching about them opened my mind to new things, for which I am thankful to him. :P

EpisodE iii
The Documentary The revolution will not be televised was mentioned at the start of the program. Here is what NFP has to say about that In a terrific set of documentaries called The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and South of the Border, directors Kim Bartley and Oliver Stone convincingly push forward the idea that the right-wing coup that toppled Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez in 2002, was engineered and propagated by a string of private television channels that are owned by the countrys industrial and business elite.. I dont understand the significance of mentioning that documentary in this program. Granted, this program is meant to spearhead a revival of some sorts and Bolivarian Revolution was also about revival but the message is very different.

ZH:-Iqbal jitna great phlosophr beeswin sadi ne nai paida hua.(A philosopher of the caliber of Iqbal was not born in the 20th Century). Comment:- This is an example of hyperbole, I am sorry to say. Zaid Hamid probably should google Vladimir Lenin, Edward Said(fun fact:- 31,100,000 results show up for Lenin, 102,000,000 results for Said as compared to 3,130,000 results for Allama Iqbal. You do the math.), or maybe Antonio Gramsci(about whom Eric Hobsbawn said Gramsci was an extra-ordinary philosopher, perhaps a genius, probably the most original revolutionary thinker of the 20th century in Western

Europe), Francis Fukuyama, Samuel P Huntington etc. Interestingly, Iqbal even wrote about Lenin. He said in Payam e Mashriq, For a long time, man in this old cavern Like the grain was crushed in the quern. Victim of the Czars wiles and Caesars charms. Entangled by the snares of the church. Havent you seen how the starving slave has torn The masters shirt, red in his blood? The proletarian fire has burnt all that is rotten The garb of the priest and the robe of the king.

ZH:- Pichle daidh do sau sal main jo industrial age ai ha.(The Industrial Age that is going on for the last 200 years.) Comment:- It is universally agreed by historians that Industrial age was from the 18th century to the 19th century. It gave way to the Atomic Age, the Jet Age, Space Age and the Information age(Presently going on).

ZH:-Siyasat aik immoral science ha.(Politics is an immoral science). Comment:- That is quite debatable, innit.? Is Zaid Hamid trying to imply here that politicians are immoral people so they should not be given any chance of governing people.? Maybe. If Politics is an immoral science, why did the person on whom you are basing your program take active part in Politics.?(Allama Iqbal was a prominent member of the London Muslim League and later the Indian version of Muslim League).

ZH:-If India changes its name to Pakistan, we can join them. Comment:- Who is asking you by the way.? Is India willing to take in another 170 Million useless people to feed.? Really.? And should I quote Shakespeare now, What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet." (Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2) ZH:-Jamal ud din afghani was born in badakhshan, Afghanistan. Comment:- Jalaluddin Afghani was born in Asadabad,Iran. Reference:- Iraj afshar and asghar madhavi, Documents inedit concernant Sayyed jamal-al-din Afghani, Tehran, 1963.

ZH:-Jamaluddin Afghani was the pioneer of pan-Islamic movement. Comment:- KK Aziz in his book 'The murder of History' chapter 2, page 192, writes ' He(Jamaluddin Afghani) was in India between 1854 and 1857, again in 1869, and once again in 1880-81. During these visits he delivered several speeches and wrote some articles; some of these were collected and published as Maqalat-i-Jamaliyyeh from Calcutta in 1884. This is the only original and definite record of his views on India. In it there is no mention of Pan-Islamism or of any scheme to unite the Muslims behind one leader, or in one state or grouping or commonwealth or what you will. In his Paris journal, al-Urwaal-wuthqa, he wrote, A religious bond doesnt not exclude national links with people of various faiths. In countries like

Egypt and India Muslims should co-operate with the NonMuslims and there ought to be good relations and harmony in affairs of national interest between the Muslims and their copatriots and neighbors of different religions.

ZH:-Iqbal wrote commentary on Al-jeeli's book.He wrote his first 4 books while in his 20s. Comment:- Iqbals first published work 'Ilmul Iqtisad'(Science of Economics) was published in 1904 when he was 27 years old. By the time Iqbal finished his second published work(1908), which in fact was his doctoral thesis, he was 31 years old. Also, he didnt write a BOOK about Al-Jeelis work, he just wrote an article.

ZH:-His father was a saint of the highest order. Comment:- Another clear example of Hyperbole. Who bestowed this honour on Iqbals father.? What even is the HIGHEST order in sainthood.? ZH:-Iqbal had an independent thought process. Comment:-: Yeah. According to historians and researchers of Iqbal, he was heavily influenced by his teachers at Cambridge, namely John McTaggart, William Ritchie Sorley, James Ward and William James who were all influenced by the german philosopher Hegel. Here is a research paper on one such influence.

ZH:- Iqbals work is Immortal. Comment:- Another example of hyperbole. No such claim was ever made by Allama Iqbal.

EpisodE iV
Yousaf Salahuddin and Imran Khan were also invited to get their views about the show. On my views about Kaptaan, you can read here. Both of them were class mates in Aitchison College and they enjoyed a lot of coloful life together. I would not use this space to attack the personal matters of these two people, for that matter you should read the court testimonies of Sita White. ZH:- Unho ne Cambridge main LL.B main dakhla lia, and simultaneously got admission in Munich.(Translation:-Iqbal took admission in LL.B at Cambridge and simultaneously at Munich University) Comment : How is this possible.? Where has this been mentioned in history.? On this topic, Prof Dr M.Siddiq Shibli writes Allama Iqbal got himself registered as an advance student in the Cambridge University. He wrote a dissertation for this degree. He submitted the same dissertation with a few modifications in the Munich University of Germany

Also, according to the official biography of Iqbal given by Iqbal Academy(the largest source of Iqbals work till date and where proper research is given on every single aspect of Iqbals life and philosophy), In his three years of stay abroad, Iqbal obtained a BA from Cambridge (1906), qualified as a barrister at Londons Middle Temple (1906), and earned a PhD from Munich University (1908). Regarding the myth about LLB from Cambridge, it says he had already obtained a degree in law (1898).

ZH:-He implies that people are turning to suicide bombing because west is trying to impose their democracy. Comment:- About Iqbals views on Democracy, I have explained in detail in part 3 of this series, as the same discussion has been done repeatedly. Logically, a person gives up his life when i) He has no hope left. He has nothing to lose ii) He is promised a greater benefit if he dies than if he lives on. Where does democracy and imposition of democracy fit in this paradigm.? I admit that according to the teaching of the spiritual fathers of Al Qaeda, Hassan Al Banna and Syed Qutub, democracy is a system of infidels and whoever accepts it willingly is an infidel as well. When Zaid Hamid uses this logic, he gives away his ideological leanings.

ZH:-Islamic ideology was better than persian or roman ideology and thats why they were defeated. Comment:- Another illogical assertation. If it was a matter of Ideology, why did all those wars happen.?

ZH:-The Ratio of Muslims was 1:10 in batles against Rome and Persia. Comment:- Zaid Hamid, as usual exaggerates the facts. In the famous war of Qadisiya, there were about 1,20,000 persians and 30,000 muslims. The ratio is 1:4.

ZH:-Zaid Hamid can't name more than 3 Islamic philosophers. He names Rumi, Hafiz, Saadi and is about to say Nizamudin Aulia. Comment:- Just means he probably has not heard of the most famous Islamic philosophers i.e Al Ghazali, Ibn e Rushd(Averroes), Bu Ali Seena(Avicenna), Al-Razi. Not unpopular names.

ZH:- Iqbal was an absolute expert in persian. Comment:- Says who.? Zaid Hamid, obviously. Persian language has three distinct variety, Farsi, Darri and Tajik. Iqbal did his poetry mostly in farsi. How can he be the absolute expert.? He said at one instance (Gar chi Hindi dar uzubat shakar ast tarzi guftaar dari shireen tar ast)

Means: even though in sweetness Urdu (Hindi) is sugar, but Dari is sweeter than that. Iqbals poetic works are written mostly in Dari rather than Urdu. Among his 12000 verses of poems, about 7000 verses are written in Dari, and from 15 of his collection 12 of them are in Dari language.

ZH:-Iqbal is one man army, one man trooper, one man commander in chief.All he is, he is. Comment:- I seriously dont think Iqbal was that much pompous about his own abilities. All we know is that he was a very modest man. The concept of superhuman powers that ZH is trying to pin up to Iqbal, the concept of Super-man(not the DCcomics, wearing-his-underwear-over-his-pants version) was actually given by one of Iqbals inspirations,Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. More on this topic can be read here.(This is an interview of NFP). The past has to be bared to settle all accounts, so that one could proceed further. Barthold Brecht. Before the start of 3rd part, I want to share some words of Dr. Eqbal Ahmad, regarding the concept of separation of Church and State. Writing in his essay Islam and Politics, he wrote, It is commonly asserted that in Islam, unlike in Christianity and other religions, there is no

separation of religion and politics. In strict textual and formal legal terms, this may be true. But this standard generalization is not helpful in comprehending Muslim political praxis either historically or contemporaneously. In its most fundamental sense, politics involves a set of active links, both positive and negative, between civil society and institutions of power. In this sense, there has been little separation, certainly none in our time, between religion and politics anywhere and In this sense, separation between state and religion has existed in the Muslim world for at least eleven of Islam's fourteen centuries. The organic links between religion and state power ended in A.D. 945 when a Buwayhid Prince, Muiz al-Dawla Ahmad, marched into the capita[ city of Baghdad and terminated the Abbasid Caliph's dual role as the temporal and spiritual leader of the Islamic nation. For a time, the Caliph served in various parts of the Muslim world as a legitimizing symbol through the investiture of temporal rulers-Sultans, Amirs, and Khans-among them, successful rebels and usurpers. The Buwayhids, who ruled over Iraq and Fars as Amirs, kept the Caliphate in subjection for 110 years until they were displaced in A.D. 1055 by Tughril, the SeIjuk Warrior. In 1258, the Mongols sacked Baghdad, killed the Caliph and his kin, and terminated the Abbasid Caliphate, which had been for two

centuries a Merovingian cipher. Although the Caliphate was revived and claimed-at different times in various places, by a variety of rulers-it never quite mustered the allegiance of a majority of Muslims. Power, in effect, remained secularized in Muslim practice.'.

EpisodE 5
Ali Azmat kick-started the show by telling us that Iqbal studied at Oxford, when in fact, Iqbal was a student at Cambridge University, located 84 miles away from Oxford.

ZH:-Un main indian nationalism k germs thay.and he radicalized into a pan islamist. Comment: Yeah, Indian nationalism is a disease in your twisted logical framework. The use of the phrase radicalized (and those were his exact words) is a window to the mind-set of Mr Zaid Hamid.

ZH:-Sicily kai so sal tak musalmano ka garh raha hai.(Sicily remained a stronghold of muslims for many centuries) Comment :- Muslim rule in Sicily was from 965 A.D

till 1072 A.D. That makes a total of 100 and 2 years. Like I said before, you do the math.
ZH: Topkapi museum main 1400 sal ki khlafat k nawadir pare huay hain. Comment: - There was no centralized Khilafat for 14

long centuries. After the first 4 Khulafa-e-Rashideen and initial period of Umayyad Rule, there were splits and factions and so on. (Reference:- Hamari tarikh fehmi, paper by Hasan Jaafar Zaidi)
ZH: Allama lqbal was 'elected' as one of the founding members of London Muslim league. Comment: - Iqbal was a member of the London

Muslim League which was founded by Syed Amir Ali (a Bengali philosopher and writer who was a contemporary of Sir Syed and who very few students of Pakistan history know because his efforts have been criminally neglected by our

textbook writers.) How can a person be ELECTED as a founding member is beyond logic.

ZH:-Fedral reserve was creatd in 1913 and it financed the global turmoil. Comment :- Federal Reserve was in fact created in

1913 A.D but US didn't take part in the world war until 1917 A.D. Also, there wasnt any wire transfer or PayPal through which an America-based bank could finance events unfolding across the Atlantic.

ZH:-Iqbal had predictd that after a world war, ideologies like democracy, liberalism, feminism, modern education wil be implemented. Comment :-This is another demonstration of the lack

of knowledge by Zaid Hamid. Democracy was working in US, France and UK even before Iqbal was born.

Similarly, the first wave of Feminist movement started in late 19th century. Also, lets consult Iqbal himself about his views on Democracy. In his letter to the Civil and Military Gazette published on May 28, 1937 he says: For Islam the acceptance of social democracy in some suitable form and consistent with the legal principles of Islam, is not a revolution but a return to the original purity of Islam. In another letter to the Civil and Military Gazette published on July 30, 1930: If anybody thinks that approach to democracy means sailing into a kind of lotus-land, he cannot have read a word of history. The truth is exactly the opposite. Democracy lets loose all hues of aspirations and grievances which are suppressed or unrealized under autocracy. It arouses hopes and ambitions, often quite unpractical, and it relies not on authority but on argument, on controversy from the platform, in the press, in the parliament, gradually to educate people to the acceptance of a solution which may not be ideal but which is the only practical one under the circumstances of the time. Democratic governments have attendant

difficulties but these are difficulties which human experience elsewhere shows to be surmountable. Reference: Professor Khawaja Masud in his article Iqbal, the Destruction of False gods and Islamic Revolution from his upcoming book Lessons of My Life

EpisodE 6

ZH:-Un ko talash kia, build kia aur ultimately tayar kar k deliver karwya dia,qaum bhe un ko bna k di.(Translation:He(Iqbal) found him(Quaid-i-Azam), built him and later delivered, manufactured a nation for him as well). Comment:- This is absurd. Allama Iqbal did have an

influence on Quaid-i-Azam but it didnt happen the way Zaid hamid thinks it did. They met in London in 1931-2 when Allama Iqbal was there for one of the Roundtable Conferences. Later, there was correspondence between the two via letters which can be read here. It can be seen from these letters that Zaid Hamid is concocting stories just for the

sake of his convenience. Plus, no-one can singlehandedly MANUFACTURE a nation.!!! Another important point to note is that Quaid-iAzam himself was a famous politician and barrister. He didnt need to be found.

ZH:-Un k munh se jo baten niklin,unko itefaq se kahi jane wali baten nhe kaha ja skta.(Translation: Whatever he(Iqbal) said could not have been a co-incident) Comment:- Giving divine notions to otherwise not-

divine matters is a specialty of Conspiracy merchants like Mister Zaid Zaman Hamid. He is trying to elevate Iqbal to the level of at least a Prophet. Iqbal never made such grandiose claims as he was a much wiser person than ZH.

ZH:-Our youth cant speak Urdu. Comment: - This is an exact quote from Mr. Zaid

Hamid. At the very least, he should have used the

medium of Urdu to say this, which he didnt. Most of the conversation that took place during the course of the programs was a mixture of English and Urdu. As Nadeem Farooq Paracha wrote in his article for Dawn, The GMG (Groovy Media Guys) has a lighter and a tad more liberal side to it as well. It has a cultural wing consisting of sirens in the shape of trendy looking androids that are fed burgers and French fries to further fatten their complete ignorance of reality. They talk in strange tongues also called Minglish and Hinglish. One of the biggest successes in this respect has been conversion of Zion Hamid who was once an uncaring, burger-hopping DJ at a Tora Bora Disco. Today he is the hero of GMG.

ZH:-He explains(ilm,tadabbur,hakumat) as democracy, equality, liberty, women's rights and that Iqbal warned against them. Comment: - Literally, it should be translated as

knowledge, equanimity and government. Zaid

Hamid gave his own description and a different twist to what Iqbal was saying. This is not only unethical, it is also deplorable. Iqbal was a wise man and he would not have warned people against enlightenment.

ZH:-The root cause of all injustices in this world is Riba, Usury, and Sood. Comment:- FYI, Usury is simply a translation of the

urdu word Sood. Another grand claim made by Zaid Hamid here. The issue of Riba and its role in the modern economy is discussed in detail by Bilal Ahmad, an Economics Professor in his book Pakistan main Iqtisadi Pasmandagi. His complete essay can be read here. There are many deficiencies and pitfalls in the current economic systems and criticizing them is not a new phenomen. What Zaid Hamid and people who blame ALL ills on Usury and Riba dont actually know how the system works. Also, the system that they propose is not viable. Details can be found in Bilal Ahmads essay.

ZH:-They started the 1st world war so that they can destroy the world and then give Marshal Plan to get them on their roll. Comment: - This is another juxtaposition of historical

facts. Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program started in 1948.!!! First World War ended in 1918. Second World War ended in 1945. According to Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy, volume 2; page 95; published in 2002, Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet Communism. It was actually named after US Secretary of State, George Marshall.

ZH:-Muslims were spreading in Eastern Europe with the Ottoman Empire and were already present in the east, courtesy Spain.

Comment: - Zaid Hamid got his history wrong again.

The Turkey-based Ottoman Empire expanded in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries (After conquest of Constantinople in 1453, there was no further expansion of the Empire for many years). Meanwhile in Spain, the last Muslim ruler left for Morocco in 1492 and thereafter the infamous Spanish inquisition happened which eradicated all traces of Islam from Spain.

In order to reach the truth, it is necessary, once in ones life, to put everything in doubt. Descartes

Professor Khawaja Masood, in his article, Marx and Iqbal, wrote, Before Marx, human genius had accomplished much by giving a scientific interpretation of many natural phenomena. But in the study of social development the past thinkers only groped in the dark. Marx pioneered the scientific study of society. In the words of Engels spoken at the graveside of Marx, he discovered the law of development of human

history just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature: the simple fact hitherto concealed by an over-growth of ideology that mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.: that, therefore, the production of the immediate material means of subsistence and consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people during a given epoch form the formulation upon which the state institutions, the legal conceptions, art and even the ideas on religion of the people concerned have been evolved, and in the light of which they must, therefore, be explained instead of vice versa as had hitherto been the case. These profound ideas are repeated almost verbatim by Iqbal in his first book Ilm-ul-Iqtisad: There is no doubt that religious principles have played an extremely influential role in the course of human history, but it is also clearly established by daily observation and experience that earning a livelihood is the constant concern of man and it is this concern

which quite imperceptibly and unconsciously shapes his external and internal instincts. Reflect how poverty or insufficient provision of the necessities of life effect the conduct of man. Often poverty and deprivation so encrust the clean state of human soul that morality and culture are completely corroded. According to Engels, Marx discovered the special law of motion governing the present-day capitalist mode of production and the bourgeois society that this mode of production has created. The discovery of surplus value suddenly threw light on the problem, in trying to solve which, all previous investigations of both right-wing economists and socialist critics, had been groping in the dark. Iqbals view on surplus labor closely follows that of Marx. He says in Ilm-al-Iqtisad: If the wealth of the landlord is not the result of personal effort, then his property is unjust. In view of this fact some scholars maintain that this injustice is produced by the private ownership which is harmful to the national interest. Accordingly, land is not the property of a

particular individual and should be nationalized. Similarly, the profit which in the present conditions goes into the pocket of the capitalist should accrue to labor. And, increased productivity which is the fruit of labor should entirely benefit labor, and capitalists have no claim over it.

EpisodE 7
Ali Azmat opened the show by saying that this is a soft revolution. They start discussing Asrar e Khudi which according to Zaid Hamid, in last 64 yr.s this book has never been discussed. The primary reason for Asrar e Khudi not being popular enough is its langauge. Its written in Persian which is not understood by majority of people in Pakistan. The assertion that it has never been discussed is also controversial. The book is

easily available in Pakistan, also on the internet. Its english and persian versions can be viewed and bought from Iqbal Academy.
ZH:-Asrar e Khudi was Iqbals first book. Comment:- Wrong. Asrar e Khudi was the first poetry

collection written by Iqbal. His first book(as ZH himself acknowledged) was Ilm-ul-Iqtisad.

ZH:-It has been doctrine of muslim mystics that they should move to far flung places and become hermits. Comment:- Mysticism across religions has had the

same tradition i.e. Moving away from the populated areas and immersing in religion. This concept was shunned by Islam and Prophet P.B.U.H prohibited muslims from becoming hermits. In history of Subcontinent, we can see that Ali Hajveri, Nizamud-din Aulia etc took to cities and preached. Thus, this claim by ZH is absurd and he should read some history.

ZH:-These days it is believd that power corupts and absolute power is kind of cool. Comment:- This kind of sweeping statement reflects

on the ideology of Zaid Hamid. The original quote as written by Lord Acton i.e. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely is as true for today as it was in 1887 when it was written.
ZH:-Pakistan ban'ne k baad iqbal ko,khasusan Asrar e khudi ko gum kar dia gya(Translation:- After creation of Pakistan, Asrar e Kudi was forgotten). And he lays the blame on freemasons. Comment:- I have explained at the start of this piece

the reasons for relative obscurity of Asrar-e-Khudi. The belief that it was a delibrate attempt and that too by FREEMASONS is not documented in any historical or contemporary text. If any such thing happened, where is the proof.? According to law,the burden of providing proof lies with the accuser.

ZH:-Har chez k pechay aik poshida hath hota hai.(There is a hidden hand behind everything).

Including Rothschilds, Rockerfellers and Bildrberg group. Comment:- If there was a gospel for conspiracy-

mongers, this line would have been its first verse.Taking the cue from Zaid Hamid, who is behind this Program.? Regarding the Bilderberg group, In a 1994 report Right Woos Left, published by the Political Research Associates, investigative journalist Chip Berlet argued that right-wing populist conspiracy theories about the Bilderberg group date back as early as 1964 and can be found in Schlafly's self-published book A Choice, Not an Echo.Regarding the Rothschilds I have explained in part 1 of this series.

ZH:-Allama Iqbal ne 1930 main Pakistan ko daikha tha Comment:- I have explained this earlier in my article,

10 historical facts our textbooks forgot to mention. Allama Iqbal didn't present the concept of of Pakistan in his Allah-Abad Address (Reference:Muslim league papers) rather he strongly

dissociated himself from the idea in his letter to The Times. His exact words were 'I do not put forward a "demand" for a moslem state outside the British empire' and that 'No Indian Moslem with any pretence to sanity contemplates a Moslem state or series of states in North-Western India outside the British Commonwealth of nation as a plan of practical politics'

ZH:-It was decided that aik mulk bana lo, phir develop kar len gay, expand kar len gay (Translation:- Lets establish a country and later we will develop and expand it) Comment:- Nobody said any such thing during the

Pakistan Movement. The odds were heavily stacked against formation of a separate country and Mr Zaid Hamid thinks everything was under our control at that time. The part which irked me the most was the expansion part. It is the height of spreading a

specific propoganda. Again, no proof or reference was presented by erstwhile Zaid Hamid.

ZH:-Because Mussolinni had consulted with Iqbal once, Maghrib ne Iqbal ko samaj lia tha. Comment:- The term west has been used as a

demon by fear-mongerers and peddlers of conspiracy theories for quite some time. A detailed discussion can be read here. On top of that, Mussolini was a fascist dictator, citing his example repeatedly can imply that Zaid Hamid also shares some of his ideals. Another thing that Zaid Hamid probably doesnt know is that Iqbal was himself influenced by Wetsern Philosophers and that is why his message was well-received by the West.

ZH:-Iqbal says that get your swords out and capture the world. Comment:- This is a clear message of jingoism and

cultural narcissim. Iqbal wrote his poetry at a time

when muslims were in a desparate position. To inspire and instill hope in his fellow believers, Iqbal often used exaggerations and many of his ideas can be deciphered as being jingoistic. To highlight such ideas selectively is a sign of moral bankruptcy on Zaid Hamids part.

ZH:-Subah Uthnay wale log, yani Muslaman.(Implying that all early risers are muslims) Comment:- Stereotyping is a much derided

sociological phenomenon. Statements such as XYZ people are misers/stupid/ignorants etc are commonplace. There is rarely a convincing proof presented while giving such statements.Some famous contemporary stereotypes include All Muslims are terrorists All Jews are conspiring against others. Rising early in the morning is a cultural thing mostly, not a religious one per se. More people in the US wake up early to go to work than in Pakistan. One should be careful when saying such things on national media.

ZH: Dunya se separation k baad insaan main spiritual purity paida hoti hai. (Translation:- Separation from the world creats spirtual purity in humans. ) Comment:- This is a classical example of a thought-

somersault. Hardly 30 minutes ago, in the same program he claimed that Iqbal didnt advocate hermitism and here he is saying just that.!!! This is not coherent thinking, its like a complete U-turn on his previous musings. Pathetic.

ZH: Iqbal was on a prophetic mission. Comment:- IF this statement had been given on

national media by a secular-liberal person, there wouldve been a huge outcry, calls for his/her head, charges of blasphemy, hate-mail and so on. But the fact that this was claimed by a person who wears his religion on his sleeve, who claims to be a descendent of Prophet(PBUH), no one dare speak a word.

EpisodE 8
Zaid Hamid started the program by criticizing politicians and accused them of being Ghatya log(Morally Inferior People) and that such ghatya people can never bring a revolution. Thats a bit mean and indirectly means that these civvies are no good at it. I wonder which particular institution is fond of thinking like this.?
ZH: You should jump into a conflict, not shy away from it. Comment:- This idea has been used by oppressed

people througout history. It is often said that there is a fine line between being brave and being foolhardy. Someone should tell Zaid Hamid about it. Risking your life, being foolhardy, looking forward to conflict are all symptoms of mental instability. Becoming Don Quixote is what Zaid Hamid is preaching and doing himself.
ZH: Insani zindagi ki har cheez kufr k nizam k control main hain(Translation:- All aspects of human life are under control of Capitalist system) e.g. your location can be tracked anywhere in the world courtesy credit cards etc.

Comment:- I mentioned symptoms of mental

instability in the last comment. This gem by Zaid Hamid suggests that he is suffering from paranoia. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state. The rest of time in this episode was taken up by calls and simple reading of Asrar by Zaid Hamid, so there were no more blunders. Corrigendum:- I stated in part 2 of this series that Jamal-ud-Din Afghani was not a proponent of PanIslamism. I was fortunate enough to discuss this issue with some historians and I learnt that there were 3 distinct phases in Afghanis life. 1. When he was in India, his tone was clearly antibritish and Anti-Sir Syed and he hated both of them. 2. When he was in Egypt, his stance was that of Nationalism.

3. When he went to Tukey, under the influence and instruction of the Caliph, he started propogating the message of Pan-Islamism. For Further Reference, a book based on life and works of Jamal-ud-Din Afghani has been written by Mr Zahid Chohdary which will be available in the market soon.

Philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point however is to change it. Karl Marx

Dr Eqbal Ahmed, in his article, Religion in Politics [Published Dawn, 31 January 1999] wrote, All religious systems are made up of discourses which are, more often than not, dialectically linked to each other as in light and darkness, peace and war, evil and goodness. Hence, it is possible to detach and expropriate a part from the whole, divest it of its original context and purpose, and put it to political uses. Such an instrumentalist approach is nearly

always absolutist, that is, it entails an absolute assertion of one, generally de-contextualized, aspect of religion and a total disregard of another. The phenomenon distorts religion, debases tradition, and twists the political process wherever it unfolds. The idea of Jihad is a case in point. It is an Islamic precept with multiple meanings which include engagement in warfare, social service, humanitarian work, intellectual effort, or spiritual striving. The word is formed from an Arabic root jehd which denotes an intense effort to achieve a positive goal. Jihad entails then a striving to promote the good and overcome the bad, to bring light where there is darkness, prosperity where there is poverty, remedy where there is sickness, knowledge where there is ignorance, clarity where there is confusion. Thus mujahada (as also jihad) in early Islamic usage was an engagement with oneself for the achievement of moral and spiritual perfection. A mujtahid is a religious scholar who

does ijtihad, i.e. strives to interpret religious texts in the light of new challenges and circumstances. Without a hint of doubt, contemporary Muslim ideologues and militants have reduced the rich associations of jihad to the single meaning of engagement in warfare, entirely divested of its conditions and rules. Thus the war against a Marxist government in Afghanistan and its Soviet ally became the most famous jihad of the 20th century even though it was armed and financed by the United States, a non-Muslim superpower. Today, such activities as terrorism, sectarian strife, and the killings of innocent people are claimed as holy warfare. This reductionism is by no means unique to the Muslim world. Zaid Hamid is a media phenomenon popularized by his programs Brass Tacks and later Iqbal ka Pakistan. He has been frequently criticised in the mainstream media due to his espousal of conspiracy theories about global domination of Jews and their economic policies. Eight episodes of Iqbal ka Pakistan have been analysed in last four episodes.

Given below is the analysis of episodes 9 and 10 of Iqbal ka Pakistan.

EpisodE 9
Ali Azmat started the show by mentioning that people are accusing him of being an agent of new world order and a CIA Agent. He went on to state the agenda of the program.i.e to make Pakistani(especially Muslim Pakistanis) realize that we are not living according to Iqbal's ideas and that we have been conditioned. He also said that Iqbal is a way of life. He later expressed his pleasure at getting commercials from Multinational Corporations. Zaid hamid:I am fascinated that ALL of Pakistani youth is understanding Iqbal's ideology which can convert a man to a superman. Comment:- There is no standardized system in Pakistan which could indicate how much viewers watched a certain program(like Nielsen Ratings in the US). How can Zaid Hamid claim that All of Pakistans youth is not only watching but also understanding his program. Regarding this issue of Super-man, we have already discussed that this concept was presented by Nietzsche.

ZH:- According to Iqbal's philosophy of Khudi, politicians should stop begging (votes) to become parliamentarians, senators, governors. Comment:- If politicians should stop begging people for votes, how will the system work.? This argument by Zaid Hamid is an indirect attack at Democratic system. Regarding Iqbals views on Democracy, I would like to quote Iqbal himself. He wrote, For Islam the acceptance of social democracy in some suitable form and consistent with the legal principles of Islam, is not a revolution but a return to the original purity of Islam.

ZH:- Britishers built roads in Punjab and ordered people to crawl and not walk. Comment:- This is a blatant lie. No such incident can be found in recorded history that people were made to crawl across streets of Punjab. Incidentally, the majority of population in Punjab, when the British arrived, was of Sikh people. Even in the 1941 Census, Muslims made up around half of population of Punjab.

ZH:- We need to create and channelize Ghairat. Comment:- I would like to present the definition and explanation of Ghairat by a much better writer than myself. Nadeem F Paracha wrote, Ghairat (pride or honour), is a term that is often heard and used in the Pakistani media these days.

This is a term usually associated with TV news anchors, talkshow hosts, analysts and members of political parties who are verbose and smug, who get more space on TV news channels than votes.It is a term that reflects images and sounds related to the muscle-flexing, big-talking and huff-puffing ways of ultrapatriots, or in case of Pakistans electronic media freewheeling loud-mouthed charlatans playing the role of fiery dyed-in-wool patriots. For more explanation, visit here. ZH:- The biggest problem of Pakistanis is that they are blaming themselves because of hype of western media. Comment:- Zaid Hamid thinks Introspection is our biggest problem. We should just stop pointing out the mistakes and deal with external threats. From the NFP article quoted in last point, This lets-be-positive-through-ghairat outlook is largely delusional. It leaves most of us navel-gazing or passionately contemplating about manufactured issues but conveniently ignoring what we as a society really ought to be doing making sure that Pakistan is able to compete with the rest of the world on all the vital economic, political and cultural levels. Honourable sloganeering and going around pin-pointing enemies and traitors, blasphemers and agents will not achieve much. ZH:- Because we let Aimal Kaansi get arrested by Americans, we sold our ghairat.

Comment:- Again the ghairat issue is being raised by Mr. Zaid Hamid. He is implying that we should let terrorists get away with murder, just to protect our National Pride.

ZH:- If we get united, they cant do anything if we stop NATO supplies. Comment:- Thankfully matters of the state are not run by people suffering from Delusional Grandeur like Zaid Hamid. In his opinion, we should stop NATO supplies so that there is no harm to Taliban alongside whom he has fought. He should read the newspapers sometimes. He probably does not know that 35 thousand innocent people of Pakistan have been killed by the SAME Taliban in last 7-8 years.

ZH:- The system doesnt let anybody enter itself unless they sell their dignity. Comment:- He is referring to the banking system here. As far as I know, no body puts a gun to your head to take a loan from a bank anywhere in the world. If you think it is against your grace, do not interact with them.

EpisodE 10

Ali azmat expressed his view that teachings of Iqbal should be made a part of our national Curriculum. I dont think he has ever read a textbook of Urdu from Class 5 right up to Class 12. Even O and A levels students get to study Iqbal if they opt for Urdu as a subject. Which planet are you living on Ali.??? Zaid Hamid said that we want a national revival, to educate people that Iqbal is a powerful Force, without which Pakistan can't become a spiritual super power. He did not explain what a SPIRITUAL super power is. Who, by the way, is the incumbent spiritual super power.?
ZH:- Imam Khomeini was exiled to France and he returned after 20 yr.s. Comment:- Khomeini spent about 14 yr.s in

Exile(1964-79). Initially, he went from Iran to Turkey, then Iraq and then France. Also, he was not the most popular leader of the opposition until 1977 when Dr Ali Shariati died. To answer If the Iranian model can b recreated in pakistan,read here.

ZH:- Western Civilization is dying and we have started Self Discovery. Comment:- We have discussed previously about

Western Civilization. It can be argued that Western civilization is dying or not but where is the evidence that WE have started self discovery.?

ZH:- We are being brought up in an absolutely controlled environment. Mass Media is doing Mind control. Comment:- These lines come straight out of the

George Orwell novel, 1984, in which there is a Big Brother which controls every aspect of peoples lives. This is also an oft-repeated mantra of modern conspiracy theorists and is a classical symptom of Paranoid Schizophrenia.

ZH: - Patriotism that confronts Islamic Ideology is a farce. In the next sentence, he denies that. Comment: - In a rational discourse, you have to chose

either one argument or its opposite argument. You can't have both as it leads to confusion. Zaid Hamid

has ignored this principle time and again. He did it with the above mentioned point as well. According to the leading Islamic scholars of 20th century, Abual-Maududi and Syed Qutab, nationalism (basis of Patriotism) is contrary to teachings of Islam. Maududi wrote, 'Islam can't be contained by ideas of nationalism which is based on racial and historical traditions'. He also wrote 'If you want to remain Muslim, you should understand that unlike Judaism or Hinduism, Islam is not based on racial nationalism'. (Maududi, musalman aur maujuda siasi kashmakash; published in 1941; volume 3; pages 46 and 47)
ZH: - People respect Pakistan because we are a nuclear power. We should be proud that now Islamic civilization has nuclear capability. The whole Muslim world is looking at us now. Comment: - Zaid Hamid should have used the word 'fear' instead of 'respect' because that is closer to reality. 'Western Powers' are fearful of our nukes getting in the 'wrong' hands. Indeed the whole Muslim world rather the whole world is looking towards us, but with suspicion. We are top exporter of terrorism to the world. The

assertion that other 'civilizations' have got nuclear bombs and we have not was the brainchild of Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He wrote in his book, 'we know that Israel and South Africa have full nuclear capability. The Christian, Jewish and Hindu civilizations have this capability. The Communist powers also possess it. Only the Islamic civilization was without it, but that position was about to change. (Bhutto, If I am Assassinated, Classic, Lahore, 1979, pages 137 and 138)

ZH: - Balochis are aligned with Israel to disintegrate Pakistan because they claim that Balochistan as it is now was never part of areas in Pakistan. Baloch Insurgency is due to 1% people in Balochistan. Comment: - Zaid Hamid does not know the first thing

about Balochistan. He probably does not know that Army operations have been going on in Balochistan since April 1948(1st operation started on 1st April 1948, 2nd was conducted in 1958, 3rd in 1963, 4th in 1972-3, 5th in Musharraf era). With this kind of history, which sane person would remain safely ensconced in his house and not defend his territory. He also does not seem to know that the claims of

Baloch people are right. Due to this ignorance, he laid all the blame on his favorite enemies, Zionists.

ZH: - Islamic terms like Taqwa cannot be translated in English because it is a weak language. Comment: - Linguists all across the world agree that

NO language is made for translation. Every single word in a given language has its distinct sociological background and that word loses its flavor when it is translated to another language. Islamic (Arabic) terms are no exception. Also, you just cant label a language as weak because you seem to loathe the people who speak it and the language which you yourself speak with relish.!! Also, we cant translate BALUNGRA in english..

God can not alter the past, but historians can. Samuel Butler

Zaid Hamid is a TV-phenomenon popularized by his programmes like Brass Tacksand Iqbal ka Pakistan. Eight episodes of Iqbal ka Pakistan have been examined by this author in last five issues. Episodes 11 and 12 of Iqbal ka Pakistan, are reviewed below.

EpisodE 11
They mentioned during the show that Iqbal Academy,Lahore had sent them books. Sadly, they did not even know WHERE Iqbal academy was located. I can not say anything for sure but I think people at Iqbal Academy sent those books because they thought Zaid and Ali are not making any sense and instead of commiting blunders abt iqbal, they should actually read him. Zaid Hamid also expressed his views on the prevalent economic disparity and used the oftrepeated ideas of left-wing intellectuals to make his point.

Zaid Hamid:- Ummat e muslimah ki aakhri chatan Pakistan reh gaya hai. (Translation:- Pakistan is the last remaining frontier of Muslim Ummah.)

Comment :- This line comes straight out of a Nasim

Hijazi Novel named Aakhri Chataan(The last frontier). For those who do not know, Nasim Hijazi wrote novels about Muslim History which were quite much exaggerated and portrayed the glory of Islamic empire and bravery of Muslims in longgone eras. Unfortunately, many of the audience does not know that those novels are a work of fiction and are not facts. Regarding the Pakistan is the last frontier point, it reminds me of the ideology of AlQaeda as narrated by Syed Saleem Shahzad in his book Inside Al-Qaeda and Taliban. According to Al Qaedas Ideology, Khurasan will be the last battlefront before a Muslim Victory in the final battle. Khurasan includes Pakistan and parts of Iran and Afghanistan.

Zaid Hamid:- The Whole muslim ummah celebrated with joy when Pakistan conducted nuclear explosions.

Comment:- Regarding the Islamic Bomb, I have

explained in a previous article that this concept was given by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. There is no piece of news or documentray evidence that all the muslim countries erupted in joy upon hearing that we have gone nuclear. What Zaid Hamid and a lot of people in Pakistan fail to fathom is that a nuclear arsenal is of no use if you can not feed 50% of your population. We need not look further than USSR which had the largest nuclear arsenal in the world and they still failed to stop the economic landslide. The nuclear explosions sent us decades back in terms of development.

Zaid Hamid:- Most of muslim religious leaders were bought by Hindus and British before Independence. Comment :- This is plain conjecture and defamation.

Most of the muslim religious leaders did not want creation of Pakistan because they thought it would divide the muslims of India and because Islamic Scholars are not in favour of Nationalism. As I have written before, just because you do not confrom to a

certain ideology does not give you a license to dole out false narratives.

Zaid Hamid:- Pakistan is a re-grouping base for revival of Muslims. Comment:- Facts tell us otherwise. In the last 10 years,

the only thing of which Pakistan has been a base, is International and Domestic terrorism. What does Zaid Hamid even mean by re-grouping.? Not since the time of early Omayyad Caliphate have muslims been under a single ruler.

Zaid Hamid:- We are supposed to expand Pakistan. Comment:- This again is a convoluted narrative. As I

have pointed out before, noone in the Pakistan movement ever hinted at expansion of Pakistan. This narrative only suits the military because they have got so many weapons and soldiers and they

want to put all that money and infrastructure into some use.

Zaid Hamid:- A good muslim should have economic and military strength. Comment:- I do not understand what religion has got

to do with economic means. History tells us that early muslims including Prophet(PBUH) were not wealthy and had to survive on bare mininum. How can Zaid Hamid justify that.? It is a fact that for a hungry man, the only religion is food but it does not mean a poor person can not be a good muslim.

Zaid Hamid:- Implementing system of collecting zakat wil ensure that there is no economic disparity in the country. Islamic economic system is the panacea to all our problems. Comment :- Zaid Hamid probably does not know that

a centralized Zakat collection and distribution centre in working in Pakistan. He also does not seem to

know that when that system was implemented, 40 thousand Shias surrounded secretrait in Islamabad because their fiqah does not envision a centralized zakat collection system. Zia ultimately had to exempt them from getting Zakat deducted from their bank accounts. The Islamic economic system is nothing but a myth. Only TWO sources of revenue i.e Zakat and Ushar can not account for the complex economic system that is being used worldwide. If Zakat and Ushar was the panacea, it would have worked somewhere in the world in the last 1000 years.

EpisodE 12
Zaid Hamid:- Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was also a sufi. Comment :- About Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi Dr

Annemarie Schimmel wrote, His dictum, Mohammed has become Ahmad points to his own name, Ahmad. He also regarded himself as a qayyum

upon whom the world rests. Towards the end of seventeenth centuryAbdullah Khweshgi from Qasur accused the mujaddid of having arrogated Prophetic qualities, thus lately Maulana Maududi was very critical of Ahmad Sirhindis claim to be the mujaddid. Ahmads fame rests on his 534 letters which were described by Jahangir as bunch of absurdities and he had him imprisoned in the fort of Gwalior because of writing an anti-shia tract. (Annemarie Schimmel, Islam in the Indian Subcontinent, Sang-eMeel Publications; 2003; pages 91 and 92)
Zaid Hamid:- A firm belief can lead you to great things while doubt is not a good thing. Comment:- I quoted Descartes in an earlier article who

said, In order to reach the truth, it is necessary, once in ones life, to put everything in doubt. This assertion by Zaid Hamid is a direct opposite of the Renaissance ideology that paved way for the golden age of science. If a person has firm beliefs, he become rigid in his mentality, he becomes less tolerant, his mind becomes stagnant.

Zaid Hamid:- Iqbal was preparing a constitution for revolution in the 1910s. Comment:- ZH said it in reference to Asrar e Khudi

and Ramuz e Be-khudi. They were indeed landmark books but unfortunately, majority of population of India was not very well versed in Persian which was the language in which these books were written. Consequently, there was no such great revolution. No leader except Mr Jinnah fulfilled the criteria of an ideal personality at the time of formation of Pakistan.
Zaid Hamid:- All politicians are corrupt. Comment:- This has been said before by Zaid Hamid.

To be honest, there is not much that is wrong about this statement, but the system itself can not be corrupt. If democracy was a system that favored corrupt people,why would the system work for so many other countries of the world. Democracy has not been given enough time to work in our country. Military over-takes after every 5-10 years do not augur well for the democracy.

EpisodE 13 Ali azmat confessed at the start of the show that he does not even remember how many episodes of their show have been televised and predicted that he would be killed because of 'this' revolution. ZH:- The message of Iqbal has been oppossed by molvis, modernists(including capitalists,comunists and people who like democracy) and freemasons. Comment:- This comment would have been true,if it was made in 1930s or 1940s. After Iqbal's death, his poetry has been used by Islamists(molvis) and Socialists alike,for furthering their agendas. Iqbal and his ideology were a bane to Mullahs during his life time and his lectures aimed at Reconstruction of Islamic thought were considered heretical by orthodox clergy. The situation changed dramatically after Iqbal's death and now his poetry can be heard

in the sermons delivered by clergy and by Islamist political leaders. Regarding freemasonary and its alleged opposition of Iqbal, a lot has been written in previous articles. ZH:-People who opposed creation of Pakistan are rejected by God. Comment:- That includes most of Hindu and Sikh population of India and also millions of Muslims in India. This kind of sweeping declarations showcase the narrow mind set of Mr. Zaid Hamid. Pakistan was not built exclusively for muslims,as Mr. Jinnah told the Constituent Assembly on 11th August, 1947. There were a lot of non muslims living in the areas that formed Pakistan. We were supposed to ensure minority rights and provide them equal opportunities to live better lives. ZH:- Terrorists in Pakistan are actualy people who never liked creation of Pakistan.

Comment:- This is another sweeping statement that is not exactly based on facts or research. This statement declares that all the terrorist activities in Pakistan are supported by India and Afghanistan. (Similar allegations have been made by ISPR in last few years). While it is partially correct,it does not take into account the ideology of Takfeer(translated as Rejection). The ideology of Takfeer, proposed in the modern times by Syed Qutub, states that anyone who opposes their definition of faith is excluded from faith and killing him/her is not a sin. This ideology is the basis of brutality of Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda. It is worth mentioning that similar ideology was used for the first time by Khawarij, in attacks against Caliph Ali and Caliph Ma'aviya. I would like to refer him and anyone interested in root causes of terrorism in Pakistan to Syed Saleem Shehzads book, Inside Al Qaeda and Taliban

and The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright. ZH: Modern Science learnt everything from Muslims. Comment:- It is true that during the reign of Abbasid Caliphs, a lot of muslim scientists did amazing and in some cases groundbreaking work in fields of science. However the notion that Everything was learnt from muslims is not true. It should be mentioned here that the attitude of rulers and clergy, towards scientists in those times was pathetic. They were considered heretics. Also, most of the scientific advances occurred when a particular sect i.e Mutazila were in power. Regarding the myths about Islamic Science, read this. EpisodE 14 During a question,Ali Azmat mixed the identities of Sharif of Mecca and the House of

Saud. That happens when you are doing a show about historical revivalism without learning any basic history. ZH:- Seculars are immoral people. Religion should not be separated from Politics. Comment:- The concept that non-religious people are inethical has been propogated ad nauseum by religious people. Blogger, Hazrat Nakhuda says, Morals and Ethics have evolved to their current state. The "evils" of the society cheating, stealing, wars and oppression taught us that these things are wrong because they hinder the establishment and progress of a cooperative and effective group. It wasn't divine intervention. It was evolution of human thought. In order for societies to function it became necessary to put in some guidelines and rules. Societies that refused to set these guidelines failed to grow ("Survival of the fittest"). Members of that society either moved to another society (immigrations/asylum) or fell victim to the law of the jungle. While the societies which were more

advanced intellectually survived better than the others. Regarding the assertion that Religion and Politics are inter-linked and should not be separate, I would like to point towards the last 1432 years of Islamic history. Apart from the reign of the first 4 pious caliphs and Caliph Omer bin Abdul Aziz, the custodianship of matters of state and custodianship of matters of religion have not co-existed. This has happened because there is no prescribed method of government in either Quran or Hadees, the basic texts of Islamic faith. In Pakistan, religious parties have never had an elctoral success and have acted more as pressure groups and proxies in the hands of establishment than act politically. ZH:- AIDS was spread just to sell medications. Comment:- Being a medical student and a researchoriented person, I can testify that NO such thing has ever been reported or even discussed in Medical Science Journals or forums. AIDS(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is caused by a virus, HIV(Human Deficiency Virus). It was first reported

in homosexual males in early 1980s. This disease affects the immune system of body i.e. the defence mechanism of body against pathogens. We are exposed daily to hundreds of pathogens but we do not get sick until our immune system is weak. In AIDS, the immune system loses its strength and patient can easily get sick and recover with difficulty. To put things in perspective, a patient of AIDS can die even from common cold. Thankfully, durgs are available that can protect from frequent illnesses in AIDS patients. In Pakistan, those drugs are provided free of cost by National AIDS prevention and control Programme which is actually funded by World Health Organization and World bank. Meanwhile, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated a grand total of US$287 million to variousHIV/AIDS researchers. The Clinton Foundation has helped bring AIDS care and treatment to over 750,000 people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. Can the comment by Zaid Hamid be justified in light of all these figures.?

ZH:- Kufr can be in form of our politicians, in form of Baitullah Mehsud or in form of Zionists. Comment:- Zaid Hamid is applying the aforementioned concept of Takfeer on whoever he does not like. While his opposition to brutal terrorists like Baitullah is laudable, he loses the plot suddenly and includes his favorite target groups i.e. politicians and Zionists.
Myths gradually have lost their appeal in those societies where intellectuals produced new ideas, thoughts, and concepts to guide people. Myths flourish in those societies which are stagnant and rely on the out dated ideas Dr Mubarak Ali

EpisodE 15
Ali azmat started the show by declaring that people have started seeing through the facades of democracy and freedom. He also stated that Zaid Hamid is now a popular icon of youth culture.

Zaid Hamid:- All the wars in human history have been fought for the sake of Dignity(Ghairat).

Comment:- This is a controversial statement by Zaid Hamid because If I believe his earlier sayings, All the modern wars were orchestrated by Zionist bankers. Which version should I believe.? Enough has been written about Ghairat brigade earlier.

Zaid Hamid:- Secularism(concept of separation of Church and State) started in the last 150 years.

Comment:-The concept that church should not interfere with the matters of state was the guiding principle during the Renaissance era(14th-17th Century). For it to be 150 years old, we'll have to be living in 1950.

Zaid Hamid:- Freedom is defined as rejection of all manmade laws/systems and acceptance of a God-made system.

Comment:- This statement by Mr Zaid Hamid reminds me of the words of Syed Qutb, the ideological father of Al Qaeda. In his book

Milestones, he divides the world into two camps, Islam and jahiliyya, the period of ignorance and barbarity that existed before the divine message of the Prophet Mohammed. Qutb uses the term to encompass all of modern life: manners, morals, art, literature, law, even much of what passed as Islamic culture. He was opposed not to modern technology but to the worship of science, which he believed had alienated humanity from natural harmony with creation. Only a complete rejection of rationalism and Western values offered the slim hope of the redemption of Islam. This was the choice: pure, primitive Islam or the doom of mankind.

Zaid Hamid:- Nobody gives up on his life due to money. Comment:- I would like to inform Mr Zaid Hamid that the word Mercenary in English language people who fight because of many. Such people are willing to even die for sake of money. Even in our own country,families of suicide bombers have been given money after their missions by their handlers.

Zaid Hamid:- Suicide bombers are just anarchists

Comment:- In episode 4 of the same program, he implied that suicide bombers are doing what they do because west is trying to impose democracy on them. He does not seem to understand the ideology of takfir (rejection) that is the basis of such acts.

Zaid Hamid:- The most effective weapon in the hands of kufr is capacity to spread disinformation.

Comment:- From the evidence that we have, you are using the same weapon as kafirs are. Its like the pot calling the kettle black.Why dont you give any references about your knowledge.?