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Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid (Template:Lang-ur), better known as Zaid Hamid, is a Pakistani far-right, Islamist political commentator, conspiracy theorist, writer and columnist. His byline in newspaper articles has been Zaid Zaman.

The Muslim 500 included him in their yearly most influential Muslims in the world, as a political commentator and host of TV series on geo-politics, Islamic philosophy, Muslim history, and Dr Iqbal’s vision for Pakistan.

Born to a Pakistan Army officer and a Kashmiri mother, Zaid is a supporter of Jihad and supports Kashmir-centric anti government organizations. He claims he fought in Soviet-Afghan War. He is a supporter of Pakistan Army interventions in matters of state and actively campaigns against Democracy in Pakistan. He supports military government.

Early life and education

Zaid was born to a Bihari father and a Kashmiri mother in Karachi in 1964. His father was a Pakistan Army officer. He studied computer systems at the NED University of Engineering & Technology. He is second of his four siblings. His father fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars.

Political views

Hamid claims that the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, were part of a plan hatched by "Hindu Zionists", and that it was an attempt by the Indians to stage a false flag attack, which he accuses the September 11th Attacks of being.

Hamid believes that Muhammad had declared war on India, and claims that India will be "trounced and enslaved according to sharia if Hindus don’t repent and embrace Islam."

During an interview in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, Hamid put forth several controversial claims:

• The virus was made in a laboratory, and its purpose was to destroy world economics, religion and create a new system for jews
• The enemies of America were particularly targeted but soon it got out of control and even they came under its attack
• In Pakistan, not a single person dies from flu
• Bill Gates expressed surprise why people in India and Pakistan are not dying. He wanted them to die.
• Bill Gates wants lock-down for one year until his vaccine is ready.
• Bill gates wants to place nanochips inside vaccines which will remove 'khudai rooh' or God gene from humans.
• The purpose is to rid 'Islamiyat' out of muslims.
• This is what is described in Ahadis as "Dajjal ka nizam"
• They started installing 5G towers and launching satellites immediately as lockdown was put in place
• Bill Gates and WHO are paying hospitals to inflate numbers for Corona deaths
• Bill Gates called Imran Khan, and after that the Prime Minister of Pakistan extended the lockdown for a year
• Many countries are refusing to accept testing kits from China because they have been contaminated with Corona
• The end objective is to create a New World Order
• Bill Gates wants to reduce the world population down from 7 billion to 2 billion

Criticism

A number of Pakistani journalists, writers and Islamic scholars have criticized Hamid and have described his views on politics and security as conspiracy theories. Zaid Hamid has been criticised as xenophobic and accused of hate speech towards Hindus, Jews, Christians and Pashtuns.

In 2013, Imaad Khalid, a former staff member of Zaid Hamid, revealed at a press conference, that Zaid Hamid was plotting to assassinate Pro-democracy Army Chief, Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani. He showed Media the emails that he claims were sent by Zaid Hamid to different Army Officers asking them for a revolt against their own chief. He said "Zaid Hamid is a quisling and enemy of Islam and Pakistan, who had plotted unsuccessfully to assassinate the pro-democracy army chief Gen Kayani." Khalid further claimed that Zaid's hit list also contained the names of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and others from the media and the judiciary.

Historian Manan Ahmed Asif called him the leading voice of a new Pakistani revivalism, because he radicalizes young, urban men and women under the age of 30 - the largest demographics of Pakistan - into a mixture of militant Pakistani nationalism and Islamism.

Arrest in Saudi Arabia

In June 2015, Hamid was arrested in Saudi Arabia for opposing Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen . He was visiting the Kingdom on a private tour with family when he was arrested.

On 1 July 2015, media sources began citing unconfirmed reports that Hamid has been sentenced to 8 years in prison, and 1,000 or 1,200 lashes, for criticizing the government in Saudi Arabia. Media reports later claimed these reports about the sentence could not be verified. The Pakistan embassy has officially requested consular access and information about the charges against Hamid. He was released in the start of October 2015 due to lack of evidence and baseless allegation of spying for Iran. Hamid alleges that the allegation of spying was hatched up by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India's spy agency.

During an interview in 2020, Mr. Hamid claimed that then Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif and DG ISI Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar had played an instrumental role in securing his release.

Books

His books include:

Urdu

• Pākistān : ek ʻishq, ek junūn. Booklet describing account of freedom struggle for Pakistan.
• Islām kā siyāsī taṣavvur : Pākistān men̲ maz̲habī o firqahvārānah tashaddud. Booklet on political thoughts in Islam, includes a brief history of sectarian violence in Pakistan from 1979-1996.
• Dahshat gardī ke k̲h̲ilāf Amrīkī jang. Critical study of war on terror.
• Hindū ṣaihūnīyat. Critical study of Pak-India relations from ancient times to 21st century.
• Yahūdī aur ʻĪsāʼī Ṣaihūnīyat. Booklet on alleged Christian Jewish conspiracies against Muslims.
• Maujūdah Pāk Afghān taʻalluqāt, ek tārīk̲h̲ almīyah. Historical study of Pakistan and Afghanistan relations; critical review.
• Iqbal Purisrar. On the life and thought of Muhammad Iqbal.
• Halqa-E-Yaran. A novel concerning matters of spirituality, in the spirit of Ashfaq Ahmed.
• Khilafat-e-Rashida. On the Rashidun caliphs, their system of governance and justice.

English

• Mumbai : dance of the devil : Hindu Zionists, Mumbai attacks, and the Indian dossier against Pakistan
• From Indus to Oxus : memoirs. Memoirs of author highlighting his role in Soviet-Afghan war, 1979-1989; includes his visits and meeting with Afghan leaders in Afghanistan during 1986-1992. Later translated into Urdu by himself as Daryā e Sindh sai daryā e Āmūtak : yād'dāshtīn̲.

References

1. ^ Amber Rahim Shamsi (9 May 2010). "Will the real Zaid Hamid please stand up?". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
2. ^ "States cannot survive under dictatorship: CJ". DAWN. 7 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
3. ^ "Pakistani Militant Conspiracy Theorist Zaid Hamid". Jamestown. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
4. ^ "Zaid Hamid". The Muslim 500. The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
5. ^ Zaka, Fasi (25 September 2008). "Hate speech -- II: The Pakistan report card". The International News. Karachi, Pakistan. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008.
6. ^ Moini, Qasim A. (3 July 2015). "Situationer: The Zaid Hamid enigma". DAWN. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019.
7. ^ Shamsi, Amber Rahim (13 March 2017). "Will the real Zaid Hamid please stand up? - The Express Tribune". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017.
8. Ahmed, Issam (10 May 2010). "Educated and radical: Why Pakistan produces Faisal Shahzads". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010.
9. Khaled Ahmed (13 August 2015). "An Islamic superman". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
10. "Zaid Hamid @ Detailed analysis on Coronavirus". YouTube. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
11. "Clear and present danger". Dawn. 14 December 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
12. Nadeem F. Paracha (8 March 2012). "Declaring sanity". Dawn. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
13. Zaka, Fasi (25 March 2010). "Hate speech III -- The Pakistan report card". The International News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010.
14. Nadeem F. Paracha (11 August 2009). "In defence of reason". Dawn. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
15. Ludovica Iaccino (1 July 2015). "Saudi Arabia: Pakistan's controversial Zaid Hamid faces 1,000 lashes and 8 years in jail for criticising kingdom". International Business Times UK. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
16. ^ Hasan Mansoor (21 November 2013). "Zaid Hamid accused of plotting to kill key figures". Dawn. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
17. Manan Ahmed (11 March 2010), "Pakistan's new paranoia", The National UAE. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
18. "Zaid Hamid arrested in Saudi Arabia". The Express Tribune. 26 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015.
19. "Zaid Hamid sentenced to 8 years, 1,000 lashes in Saudi Arabia: report". The Express Tribune. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
20. Ali, Sarfraz (1 July 2015). "Zaid Hamid reportedly sentenced to eight years prison, 1,200 lashes for criticising Saudi govt". Daily Pakistan Global. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015.
21. Vij, Shivam (5 July 2015). "No, Zaid Hamid isn't getting Saudi lashes. Not yet". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015.
22. "Record of the Press Briefing by Spokesperson on 06th August 2015" (Press release). Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 6 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017.
23. Mateen Haider (3 October 2015). "Zaid Hamid returns to Pakistan after KSA arrest". DAWN. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
24. ^ Rehman, Dawood (12 October 2015). "REVEALED: Why was Zaid Hamid detained in Saudi Arabia?". Daily Pakistan. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016.
25. "Zaid Hamid sb - Channel 7 - 25 April 2020". YouTube. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
26. Profile on WorldCat

External links

• Official website

• 9/11 conspiracy theorists
• Living people
• 1964 births
• People from Karachi
• NED University of Engineering & Technology alumni
• Pakistani conspiracy theorists
• Pakistani people of Bihari descent
• Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent
• Critics of Judaism
• Anti-Western sentiment
• Prisoners and detainees of Saudi Arabia
• Pakistani scholars of Islam
• Iqbal scholars
• Pakistani Islamists
• Pakistani nationalists
• Pakistani columnists
• Pakistani novelists
• People of the Soviet–Afghan War
• Defence and security analysts in Pakistan