Zaid Hamid

Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid (Urdu: سید زید زمان حامد), better known as Zaid Hamid, is a Pakistani far-right, radical Islamist political commentator and conspiracy theorist.[3][6]

Not to be confused with Zahid Hamid.

Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid
سید زید الزمان حامد
Born
Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid

March 14, 1964 (1964-03-14) (age 59)[1]
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
CitizenshipPakistani
Alma materNEDUET[2]
Occupation(s)Pakistan Army [3]

Political analyst[3]
Security Consultant [4]

Political Commentator
OrganizationBrass Tacks (Pakistani TV program)[2]
Websitehttp://www.zaidhamid.pk
Zaid Hamid
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
Subscribers62.7k subscribers[5]
(Sep 2023)
Total views2,940,928[5]
(Sep 2023)
100,000 subscribers--
Last updated: 20 September 2023

Born to a Pakistan Army officer and a Kashmiri mother, Zaid is a supporter of Jihad and supports Kashmir-centric anti-government organizations.[7] He claims he fought in Soviet-Afghan War.[7] He is a supporter of Pakistan Army interventions in matters of state and actively campaigns against democracy in Pakistan.[7] He supports Islamic system of government.[7]

In 2019, 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.[4]

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.[8]

Early life and education

Zaid was born on March 14, 1964, in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan to a Bihari Muhajir father and a Kashmiri Muslim mother.[1] His father was a Pakistan Army officer.[7][1] He studied computer systems at the NED University of Engineering & Technology in Karachi.[7] He is second of his four siblings. His father fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and 1971.[9]

Political views

Hamid claims that the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 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 9/11 attacks of being.[6][10]

On May 27, 2011, he claimed on News One TV channel that Ajmal Qasab's real name was Amar Singh. He was a Sikh and a RAW agent. He also called him a BJP terrorist. His associate's name was Heera Laal.[11]

In May 2020, Zaid Hamid said that the COVID vaccine will rid the Muslims of Islamic spirit. COVID is less dangerous than flu. Bill Gates wants to kill the people of this region.[12]

On August 6, 2021, he tweeted: "I strongly believe that Pakistan must abandon the UN resolutions (on Kashmir) now...They are dead."

Hamid believes that Islamic-prophet 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."[13]

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.[14][15][16][9] Zaid Hamid has been criticized as xenophobic and accused of hate speech towards Hindus and Jews.[17][18]

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.[19] He showed to the 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."[19] 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.[19]

Ali Usman Qasmi criticizes him for having an "extreme hatred of Hindus and Jews."[20]

Arrest in Saudi Arabia

In June 2015, Hamid was arrested in Saudi Arabia for opposing Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. He was visiting the Kingdom on a private tour with family when he was arrested.[21]

On July 1, 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 Saudi government.[22][23] Media reports later claimed these reports about the sentence could not be verified.[24] The Pakistan embassy has officially requested consular access and information about the charges against Hamid.[25] He was released in the start of October 2015[26] due to lack of evidence and baseless allegation of spying for Iran.[27] Hamid alleges that the allegation of spying was hatched up by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India's spy agency.[27]

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.[28]

Books

His books include:[29]

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 to 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 Jewish and Christian 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. "About Zaid Zaman Hamid Official". YouTube.
  6. 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.
  7. Moini, Qasim A. (3 July 2015). "Situationer: The Zaid Hamid enigma". DAWN. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019.
  8. Manan Ahmed (11 March 2010), "Pakistan's new paranoia", The National UAE. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  9. Shamsi, Amber Rahim (13 March 2017). "Will the real Zaid Hamid please stand up? - The Express Tribune". Archived from the original on 13 March 2017.
  10. Ahmed, Issam (10 May 2010). "Educated and radical: Why Pakistan produces Faisal Shahzads". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010.
  11. "Zaid Hamid Exposed Ajmal Kasab as a hindu!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
  12. "Pakistanis see chip in medicines". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
  13. Khaled Ahmed (13 August 2015). "An Islamic superman". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  14. "Clear and present danger". Dawn. 14 December 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  15. Nadeem F. Paracha (8 March 2012). "Declaring sanity". Dawn. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  16. Zaka, Fasi (25 March 2010). "Hate speech III -- The Pakistan report card". The International News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010.
  17. Nadeem F. Paracha (11 August 2009). "In defence of reason". Dawn. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. Qasmi, Ali Usman (July 2019). "A Master Narrative for the History of Pakistan: Tracing the origins of an ideological agenda". Modern Asian Studies. 53 (4): 1066–1105. doi:10.1017/S0026749X17000427. ISSN 0026-749X. S2CID 149902946.
  21. "Zaid Hamid arrested in Saudi Arabia". The Express Tribune. 26 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015.
  22. "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.
  23. Ali, Sarfraz (1 July 2015). "Zaid Hamid reportedly sentenced to eight years prison, 1,200 lashes for criticizing Saudi government". Daily Pakistan Global. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015.
  24. 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.
  25. "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.
  26. 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.
  27. Rehman, Dawood (12 October 2015). "REVEALED: Why was Zaid Hamid detained in Saudi Arabia?". Daily Pakistan. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016.
  28. "Zaid Hamid sb - Channel 7 - April 25, 2020". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  29. "Zaid Hamid". Open Library.
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