Deconstructing Zaid Hamid (12 episodes)

A lot has been said and written about the menace that is Zaid Hamid. I started analyzing Zaid Hamid's lies/hyper boles in his program Iqbal ka Pakistan and wrote down six pieces which contained analysis of the first 12 episodes of Iqbal ka Pakistan. The pieces were published on Viewpointonline.net and this very blog. I felt that reading different parts of this work was a bit burdonsome and thus I combined the stuff and it turned out to consist of 65 pages and around Twelve THOUSAND words.!! This document is in PDF format and can be downloaded from here . Enjoy
The updated version of this document which contains analysis of 15 episodes and which is error-free can be downloaded from here.
 Episodes 16-20 can be downloaded from here. 

Steve Jobs Biography by Walter Isaacson

Love him or hate him, but you can't deny his status as the most famous innovator of the last 50 years. This book contains interviews with Steve Jobs conducted in last one and a half years. Worth a read
Can be viewed and downloaded here

Muder of history (part 2)

(This is part 2 of the article, Murder of history)

  

1. Mujahideen had gone to conquer Kashmir in 1948.

The first war between newly-independent Pakistan and India happened in 1948 A.D in Kashmir Valley. It is postulated that the prime objective of Mujahideen(mostly from NWFP) was the liberation of Kashmir. Actually,when they reached near Sri Nagar, they forgot their “objective” and started criminal activities. Regarding this, Owen Bennet Jones in his book writes, “At this crucial juncture, when Kashmir was ready for the taking, Pakistan paid the price of the haphazard nature of its operations in Kashmir. Rather than striking forward, the tribesmen became distracted by the opportunities for plunder. Their increasingly lawless conduct had a disastrous consequence. The local Muslim population, rather than seeing them as liberators, began to fear them and, far from providing help to the tribesmen, turned against them. These developments and the bad international press Pakistan was receiving as a result of the invasion dismayed the government in Karachi. Officials not only disowned the tribesmen but also obstructed them. (Owen Bennet Jones, Pakistan:Eye of the storm, Yale University Press; 2002; Chapter 3; page 65)  Sherbaz Khan Mazari, a seventeen year-old tribal leader from Balochistan who tried to take some men to join in the fighting, later recounted that when he tried to enter Kashmir, ‘I was stopped by Pakistani officials who told me in clear cut terms that I would not be allowed to cross into Kashmir. It became clear that they thought we were intent on partaking in the plunder that was taking place.’ (Sherbaz Khan Mazari, A Journey to Disillusionment, Oxford University Press,Karachi, 2000, pp. 11 and 12.)

2. The wars between India and Pakistan(1948, 1965, 1971,1999) were a Jihad.

According to the book Al-Jihad Fil-Islam written by eminent Islamic scholar Abu-al-Ala Maududi, there are certain definite situations when Jihad becomes obligatory on Muslims. The pre-requisite conditions of waging Jihad are

a.    There should be an Islamic State(i.e which is based on Sharia Laws)

b.    Governed by a Ruler who is (a Muslim and whose political authority has been established either through nomination by the previous ruler similar to how Abū Bakr transferred the reins [of his khilāfah to Umar] or through pledging of allegiance by the ulema or a group of the elite-elaboration by Javed Ghamidi, in his booklet The Islamic Shariah of Jihad, page 43, Reference from Hadith # 2533 in Sunan Abu Daud)

c.    If the ruler has the moral grounds and the military might to curb the oppression and injustice of the country against which jihād is to be waged.

When the head of the state declares Jihad against the enemy, it becomes Farz for Muslims to help the state fight that enemy. The Conditions in which the head of state can declare Jihad are

1.To curb oppression and persecution in another country – whether Muslim or non-Muslim.(Surah Al-Hajj, Ayah 39-40)(Surah Bakarah, Ayah 190-191)

2. To apprehend those who stop people from adopting the right path. (Surah Anfal, Ayah 36 and 47)(Surah Tauba, Ayah 9 and 34).

3. To punish those who have reneged on promises/pacts with the state.(Surah Anfal, Ayah 55-58)(Surah Tauba, Ayah 1-2,5-8)

4. Against the Internal saboteurs. (Surah Tauba, Ayah 73) (Surah Azhab, Ayah 60-61) (Surah Nisa, Ayah 89)

5. To ensure Peace. (Surah Al-Maida, Ayah 33-34)

6. To help Muslims living in Non-Muslim states If they are being oppressed and they call Muslim state for help.(Surah Nisa, Ayah 75)(Surah Anfal, Ayah 72-73)

7. To defend the state. (Surah Anfal, Ayah 60)

It is up to the reader to decide If any of Pakistan-India wars fulfilled the criteria. We didn’t even fulfill the Pre-Requisites.Regarding the fact that the wars are portrayed as  “Jihad”, lets have a look at Brig Gulzar Ahmad’s book “Pakistan Meets Indian Challenge” written about the 1965 War. He wrote, “Incidents have occurred, during this war, which remind one of the Golden Age of Islam, the days of Badr and Ohad which was the age of supreme sacrifices and the pride of achieving it”(Page 7). Mr Gulzar, on page 69, wrote “There was a hidden hand deflecting the rounds which would otherwise have taken a heavy toll of the advancing troops”.(Gulzar Ahmad, Pakistan Meets Indian Challenge; Al Mukhtar Publishers; 1967;Pages 7,69)            Brig ® A R Siddiqi in his book, “Image of Military in Pakistan” writes, “In his broadcast to the nation on the eve of the cease-fire, Ayub spoke eloquently of the performance of the armed forces. He declared: ‘Our forces were heavily outnumbered and they fought against tremendous odds, but God in his infinite mercy granted them the courage and determination not only to throw back the enemy forces but to inflict crushing blows both on his armour and on his infantry. Let this blessing of God and these achievements of the people and their brave and dedicated armed forces never to be forgotten. By this faith in God and in his cause and by his indomitable courage and superb craftsmanship, the fighting man has written in his blood a golden chapter in the history of Islam.’ The President’s broadcast was a go-ahead signal to the image-builders. His reference to the Pakistani’s soldier faith in God and contribution of a golden chapter to the history of Islam, gave the war a historical perspective and the military an indelible ideological image. The war became a total Jihad-a crusade against the evil o caste Hinduism”. Also, “The editor of a mass-ciculating literary Digest, Inayat Ullah, wrote: ‘Every officer, JCO and jawan of the army is a war hero. Every drop of the blood of these Ghazis and Shaheeds makes the heading of a separate chapter in Pakistan’s history’.(Brig ® A R Siddiqi, The Militray in Pakistan: Image and Reality; Van Guard Books; 1997; Chapter 5; Pages 103-108, 121)  Regarding Pakistan Army’s role in War of 1971, Lets examine the testimony of Army Officers given before Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report.

*There was a general feeling of hatred against Bengalis amongst the soldiers and officers including Generals. There were verbal instructions to eliminate Hindus. In Salda Nadi area about 500 persons were killed. When the army moved to clear the rural areas and small towns, it moved in a ruthless manner; destroying, burning, killing. (Lt. Col. Mansoorul Haq)

*Many junior and other officers took the law into their own hands to deal with so-called miscreants. There have been cases of interrogation of miscreants which were far more severe in character than normal and in some cases blatantly in front of the public. The discipline of the Pakistani army, as was generally understood, had broken down.  (Brigadier Mian Taskeenudin)

*General Niazi visited my unit at Thakurgaon and Bogra. He asked us how many Hindus we had killed. In May, there was an order in writing to kill Hindus.           (Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmed Khan)

(Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report, supplement, part V, chapter II, paras. 12–17, Dawn; 6 February 2001; page 16)

3. Our decendents arrived from Arabian Peninsula.

A look at the genealogies of two of our founding fathers i.e Jinnah and Iqbal tells us that Mr. Jinnah belonged to a Sindhi family that had migrated to gujarat.(Akbar S Ahmad, Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity; Routledge, 1997; Chapter 1,page 1 ) while Iqbal belonged to a Kashmiri sheikh family. Also, there was a considerable population consisting of Jatts and Gujjars before Islam came to our part of the world. Most of us are descendants of those early converts. The people most likely to have come down from Arabia are the Syeds who claim to be direct descendants from the Prophet (PBUH). Interestingly, in a research  conducted by University College London, Y chromosomes of self-identified Syeds from the Indian subcontinent show evidence of elevated Arab ancestry but not of a recent common patrilineal origin For more on the castes of our country, visit this page.

4. Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman and his Awami league wanted to break the country.

In its report on the events of 1971, the Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission argued that: ‘We must give full weight to the fact that before the elections he[Mujib] offered the Council Muslim League and the Jamaat-e-Islami a number of seats in East Pakistan which would have still permitted him to obtain the majority of the East Pakistan seats but not to have a clear majority in the whole house. Quite clearly his purpose was to be able to play the role of the leader of the largest single party without being under pressure for (sic) members of his own party to go through with the Six Point programme on the basis of an overall majority in the house. This fact clearly established that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at that time at least, had not decided on secession’. (Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report, part I, chapter VI, para. 96; Dawn; 13 January 2001; page 21)

Image of Military in Pakistan

This book deals with the image created by Pakistan Army of itself, its origin, genesis, evolution and its rise and fall over a period of 60 years. This is one of the best books written on the topic of propaganda machines of army i.e. ISPR.
The author worked for decades at the ISPR and he knows the stuff he wrote based on firsthand information. This is a valuable book for students of Political Sciences and Pakistan History.
Preface and Chapter 1:- The birth of the image
Chpater 2:- The growth of the image
Chapter 3:- The rise of the image
Chapter 4:- The test of the image

Gulls and Guys, Voyage of Adventure

Shoaib Mansoor, one of the most famous directors from Pakistan, wrote and produced a reality-style show in 1999 named Gulls and Guys, Voyage of Adventure. It was sponsored by Gold Leaf. Following are the videos from the show. The participants included
Salman Ahmad
Junaid Jamshed
Fakhre Alam
Captain Abdullah
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdxWBJ8BrXo&feature=related

Part 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFBuSiiAlsg&feature=related

Part 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw8BwXKlL2E&feature=related

Part 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFJAL4MNnck&feature=related

Part 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m86MjxOwjQ&feature=related

Part 11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2gRBZfjP1E&feature=related

Part 12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv1i6UJuqe4

De-constructing Zaid Hamid part 6

Deconstructing Zaid Hamid

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 oft-repeated 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 long-gone 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 Al-Qaeda as narrated by Syed Saleem Shahzad in his book “Inside Al-Qaeda and Taliban”. According to Al Qaeda’s 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 Sirhindi’s claim to be the mujaddid. Ahmad’s 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-e-Meel 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 one’s 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.

 (originally published at Viewpointonline.net)

Steven Gerrard's Autobiography

The first thing I want to say is that I love to hate Liverpool Football Club. I am an ardent MUFC fan and that is the reason for my hatred. Still, I am presenting the autobiography of Steven Gerrard(aka Stevie G or Stevie Me, depends upon which club you support), the influential midfielder and Captain of LFC. Even though I don't like Stevie G, I liked his book. He is as much passionate about his club as Gary Neville is about his, which is a big statement. 

The book can be downloaded from here. It should be mentioned that the book can't be read on the website and has to be downloaded.