Tuesday 29 November 2011

Diaries from Punjab


Diary of a typical PTI suporter
Woke up early in the morning at 8.30 am. Had pancakes and coffee for breakfast. Drove to the university. Used internet to solve surprise quiz in class. After all, it’s fair to do so, it’s not Corruption. Only Politicians do corruption. Was also helped by a class-mate. Socialism is cool, until practiced during exams. Hung out with my group after that. Discussed inqalab and the latest episode of Heroes and Breaking Bad. Reminisced about Strings performance at The Jalsa. Came home and slept till 6 o clock. Got up, checked facebook statuses on my iPad. Removed people from friends list who had criticized 'Chairman' today. Flagged the “Aalu Anday” video as Inappropriate. Stalked a few female class fellows. Later, checked latest news via twitter. Was pleased to know that Chairman had formed a committee to vet all our party candidates. Exchanged furious tweets with some anti-Chairman, anti-revolution people. Switched the TV on but turned off after channel surfing. I don’t understand why this liberal fascist media doesn’t understand that “Chairman” is not pro-Taliban and is not being backed by the Brave Khaakis. That meeting with Pasha was just for congratulating him on Afridi’s performance. Can’t wait for 2013 when Kaptaan and our party will sweep the elections and we can show the pessimists that Inqalab is Possible. We will talk to the Taliban, cut off all relations with the big evil Amrika and may be; just maybe we will be able to convince other Muslim countries and Cheen to form a combined state, our Khilafat. Ham dekhain gay, lazim hai kay ham bhi dekhain gay. Talked to some girls on phone. Ate some chicken bread and dozed off.


Diary of a typical PPP Worker
Woke up early in the morning at 6 am. Asked wife to prepare lunch box while I sipped tea. Walked for half an hour to reach bus stop where factory bus picked me up. Shift started at 8.30 am. Around 10 am, a co-worker got his arm injured due to some machine malfunction. He was not even provided first aid. We decided to stop work and protest in front of manager's office. After all, we have that right because Bhutto Shaheed made labour laws for us. Shift In charge finally called 1122 and our co-worker was taken to the hospital. Manager announced that half our today's pay will be cut because we are not allowed to protest. Now I will have to pay my daughter's fee from the Income Support Program. I wish I had gone to Dubai when the party was sending people in droves. At the very least I could have gotten a better job. If Mirza can get sugar mills from the party, I should have gotten a departmental store if not anything else. The party has gone to the dogs now. My shift ended at 5 pm. Reached home at 7 pm. Dinner consisted of same saalan that I had for lunch. Watched PTV news at 9 pm. Talked to my daughter. She wants to become doctor. I will have to start a part-time job next year to afford her fee. Jiye Bhutto and good night.

Diary of a typical N-league suporter.
Woke up early in the morning at 8.30 am. Took a light breakfast of desi ghee paratha and 4 omelets.     Reached my shop at 9.45 am.  Watched repeat telecast of last nights' talk show. I cannot understand why the TV walas invite these godless secular-liberal types to their programs. They are the scum of earth. Just wish musharraf had not conspired against Mian sb, he would have been Amir ul Momineen by now and we would have eliminated the godless numpties. I will advise ameer sahb on upcoming Ijtema to plan a strategy against secularism as well. They also deserve our tableegh. Maybe my next Seh roza would be to Islamabad. Sale went well till around 1 pm. Then there was load shedding. Why on earth does Zardari not understand our misery and give us electricity. Asked a worker to fetch me lunch from Gourmet at 2 o clock. Shezan is located closer to the shop but you know, we don't do business with people who claim to be musalman but they are not. Who knows what they mix in their pasteries,cakes,sandwiches or beverages.
Attended a meeting of local trader association at 3 o clock and it was decided unanimously to close our shops for 2 hours from next Jumma till Ghazi Mumtaz Qadri is released. At least our nation is united on that front. Came back to shop and received shipment from abroad. It did not come through legal way but who cares anyway.
A molvi sb came to collect money from the box that is present in my shop and which asks musalmans to donate money for mujahideen. Molvi sb inquired if I was interested in sending my elder son to his madrassa for free education. May god have mercy on him,he is such a gentle soul, he didn't know my son was already at an expensive english medium school. One of my cousins has a mentally handicapped child,I referred Molvi sb to his shop.
Reached home at 8 pm and had dinner with the family. Watched a pakistani soap drama. Elder son asked me to buy him a mobile or at least a PSP. asked him to wait till my brother comes back from Amrika. Slept while watching a sports channel.


Saturday 26 November 2011

PTA Banned List Fiasco




Disclaimer: - This article contains more than 20 words banned by the PTA in their now-defunct list. Continue Reading at our own risk.  

The cat is out of the bag folks. We have finally discovered the source of the recently circulated list of banned words by PTA. Interestingly, the origin of this list (the English one) was traced back to the United States, confirming our long-held beliefs about the orchestration of Pakistani state by Amrika and Jews. The list was actually formulated as the words that could not be chosen by players of American football as names on the back of their shirts.
The Urdu list has been traced back to Indian web sites, confirming our suspicions about RAW infiltrating the government departments. The person responsible for issuing this list was not revealed. This is just another example of the favorite tactic used by Pakistani students i.e. plagiarism.
We recently banned many porn websites too. The list of those websites has not been released as of yet. What’s the harm in releasing that list, after all they are already “blocked”. Perhaps the case of banned words taught the babus at PTA some lesson, but that is highly unlikely. As if we did not have enough bad publicity Internationally, this list has provided the world with another issue to mock us on.
Rachel Maddow wondered how a country facing grave problems as terrorism, load shedding and an existential crisis could focus more on censorship and less on its crises.                                                                                         Washington Post noted,
“Do not forget to strap on your helmet before getting on your motorcycle.” “I got the tickets for Twilight. Hurry up or you’ll miss showtime!” “This teacher is so boring. She’s killing me.”
Next week, these text messages could be banned in Pakistan.Do the above sentences seem innocuous? Harmless perhaps? If a proposed ban passes in Pakistan, none of the above sentences could be sent as text messages.”                                                         Guardian reported,
“Guardians of linguistic purity have long warned against the pernicious impact that text messaging may have on the young, but Pakistan officials have taken such concerns to a new extreme by demanding that mobile phone operators block all text messages using offensive words.”
According to Huffington Post,                               “The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's ban on 1,600 words deemed "pornographic or offensive to Islam" has flabbergasted much of the international media. Now, many global gay rights advocates are drawing attention to the number of LGBT-related words on the black list.”
According to Time Magazine,                                “The list includes many crude and sexual terms that the government is attempting to root out as part of a 1996 ban on transmitting information through telephone systems that is “indecent or obscene.” Many of the standard curse words you’d expect have come under the hammer. Even misspellings were accounted for. But also banned are rather tame terms like fart and idiot.”
International Business Times said,                          “The next time, while in Pakistan, you find the need to text someone to "deposit" money in your bank account, call a "taxi" or simply write "Jesus Christ", check before you type.”
                                                                                                                                      Blogger Umair Tariq, writing for Express Tribune observed,                                                          “Rather than putting emphasis on character building and progressiveness, the government threw us into confusion that ultimately led us to religious intolerance and extremism. We have given up regard for the privacy of an individual and we have forsaken the golden rule of religious tolerance on which Islam was founded.”
National Newspapers like The Nation, Pakistan Today and Friday Times carried headlines such as “PTA comes up with vulgarictionary”, “Textual harassment” and “Obscene words or minds?”
This effort by PTA can be categorized as a classical symptom of “Ostrich Syndrome”. Nabiha Meher, a teacher, defines Ostrich Syndrome as, “We like to stick our heads in the sand, like kids sticking their fingers in their ears screaming “I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!” Government should divert its attention to curbing the root cause of this dirty-messaging, as banning particular words would be tantamount to ignoring the cause and blocking the effect. PTA, of all people, should also have known that call and message blocking system is already being provided by many Network providers. If someone texts me something inappropriate or badgers me with incessant calls, I can block his number by subscribing to the Call-block or Message-Block service provided by my Network. Finally,on November 22, PTA backtracked from the list of words it sent to telecom service providers to block text messages as part of a ‘content filtering’ campaign after it met with widespread derision and a threat of legal action. The question still remains the same:- When will they learn? 

Story of Al Qaeda



9/11 was the day the world changed. It was the most important geo-political moment in the last 20 or so years. We live on in the post 9/11 world now. One prime actor responsible for 9/11 was Al Qaeda. A lot of efforts have been made in last few years to discover what Al Qaeda is and how it functions. Majority of Youth in Pakistan (according to researches by British Council and Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies) think Al-Qaeda is a front for US Imperialism. Similarly more than 60% people in Pakistan believed that the OBL-operation in May 2011 was a farce and Osama was not killed that day. To understand Al Qaeda a bit more and demystifying it for Pakistani Youth, I have compiled a collection of biographies of the ideologues and founders of Al-Qaeda.
The document can be downloaded from HERE
.

Friday 18 November 2011

Deconstructing Zaid Hamid part 8


(also published at Viewpointonline.net)
Deconstructing Zaid Hamid
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
Zaid Hamid is a TV-phenomenon popularized by his programmes like Brass Tacksand Iqbal ka Pakistan. Fourteen episodes of Iqbal ka Pakistan have been examined by this author in last six issues. Episodes 15 and 16 of Iqbal ka Pakistan, are reviewed below.

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 man-made 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 don’t you give any references about your “knowledge”.?

Episode 16
Zaid Hamid:- Akbar started Deen e Ilahi which served to undermine whole muslim empire. It combined aspects of Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity.
Comment:- Dr Mubarak Ali-eminent historian-wrote in his book 'Tareekh ki daryaft' that the word 'Deen e elahi'  was never used by Akbar or his minister Abul Fazal(in the book Aiyeen e Akbari, the official history written in Akbar's time). They have called it Aiyeen e rahnmoni. He also noted that it was at most a cult, not a religion and it was not forcibly imposed upon anyone.  

Zaid Hamid:- We are muslims today because of efforts of Mujaddad Alaf Sani(Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi).
Comment:- According to Dr Mubarak Ali, the myth of Mujaddad Alaf Sani(that he was a great person and that he fought single handedly against the fitna that Akbar started) was propogated by Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gailani and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and that of Akbar being Anti-Islam by Abdul Qadir Badayuni in his book 'Muntakhib al Tawarikh'. There were other ulema as well at that time who did not approve of Akbar’s efforts to bring peace among various religions and sects. To be honest, these statements sound EXACTLY like those present in our textbooks. For a program that aims to bring about a revolution and spread awareness, such poor knowledge of history is not acceptable.

Zaid Hamid:- The1948 Kashmir war was thrust upon us.
Comment:- From the documents that are available from that era, there is no evidence that the 1948 war was thrust upon us. It was started by Pakistan, not India. Tribal militias were organized and duped in the name of Jihad to attack Kashmir. Nobody thrust it upon Pakistani authorities to start the war. Indian forces were not there, no attacking force was present there. Maharaja of Kashmir’s few troops defended the onsluaght but they were not the instigators of the conflict.  



Sunday 13 November 2011

Of Conspiracy Theories and Conspiracy theorists

(also published at LUBP)


“Everyone is entitled to his own opinions; he is not entitled to his own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

A Conspiracy theory can be defined as “collection of distorted or misrepresented facts presented to propagate a particular agenda”. Conspiracy theories consist of one or two established facts and a fantasy story woven around them. Most of conspiracy theories lie in the zone of absurdity and it is their characteristic feature that they can be disproven by using logical thinking. According to historian Dr Mubarak Ali,
 “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”. We have all heard the familiar phrases, “Everything is being controlled by America”, “Hindus and Israelis are working in tandem to destroy Pakistan”, “This is all a Zionist global conspiracy”, “Osama was dead long before the May attacks”, “Dengue is an American Conspiracy”, “Al-Qaeda is just a front for Amrika”, “Tehreek e Taliban are a bunch of Hindus” ,even “Imran Khan is a Jewish agent” and so on. It never ends. Such Conspiracy theories and people who promote them are present across the length and breadth of this world. From the most civilized countries to the most downtrodden ones, conspiracy theories weave their web of lies with relish.
In Pakistan, Zaid Hamid is the most prominent conspiracy theorist. He is considered to be the Glenn Beck of Pakistan without the drawing board. His ideologies have changed as fast as a chameleon that changes its colour upon sensing danger. (A detailed analysis of Zaid Hamid’s propaganda has been done by this author). He blames Christian Zionists, Hindu Zionists and Jewish Zionists for all our ills.
A primary factor responsible for proliferation of myths and conspiracy theories is the pathetic state of our textbooks. In 2003, SDPI (Sustainable Development Policy Institute) published a Report on state of Current Textbooks in Pakistan named, “The Subtle Subversion”. The report noted the ‘Insensitivity to the Religious Diversity of the Nation’, ‘Historical Falsehoods and Inaccuracies’, ‘Glorification of War and the Military’ and ‘Omissions That Could Have Been Enriching’ in the textbooks taught across Pakistan.
 A recent report by United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated that Schools in Pakistan are using textbooks that preach intolerance towards non-Muslim religious minorities. Probably the best text on the fallacies present in our textbooks is the book “Murder of history” written by historian KK Aziz in 1991. .  Nadeem Farooq Paracha and Fasi Zaka have written about the rise of conspiracy theories and the way they shape our understanding of the world. Nadeem F Paracha in a Television program on the topic of “Conspiracy theories” recalled that the film “Loose Change” (about the theories regarding 9/11) was broadcasted in Pakistan with much fanfare. In fact, there were 3-4 other parts of that documentary that were subsequently made, in which the earlier mistakes were rectified. Those “other” versions were never shown in Pakistan.
A second, very important factor is the lack of effort to search for the source of particular news. This societal trend finds its roots in the make-up of our education system. In our education system, plagiarism is given precedence over original thought. Students are supposed to write the answers mentioned in textbooks and not their own opinion. Even creative writing is not appreciated and people who are good at cramming get better grades than those who try to write their own stuff. Nabiha Meher, a teacher, says
“In schools across Pakistan, elite or not, very few of us teach critical thinking, which, in my opinion, is absolutely essential and should be compulsory from an early age. We need to stop deluding ourselves into believing that we are truly educating. Without the ability to think, education starts to resemble indoctrination. And in a country like ours, where private schools have no option but to teach state sanctioned propaganda under the guise of Pakistan Studies & Islamiyat, which aims to indoctrinate with a linear vision, this becomes even more necessary. One is not allowed to challenge the syllabus and one is expected to regurgitate, over and over again, one perspective, the chosen perspective. If you don’t, you fail & that’s not an option most are willing to take. The message this sends is difference & diversity will not be tolerated”.
According to historian Hasan Jaafer Zaidi, we should look at the example of the “Transfer of Power” documents that were declassified by British Government in 1976 and contained official documents pertaining to events in 1946-7. The presence of those papers should lay to rest many misconceptions present about issues surrounding the partition of India but sadly, that has not happened due to lack of interest of historians and Government.
Another important and recent factor that has led to the rise of conspiracy theories is the presence of sources such as YouTube and Wikipedia. It should not be forgotten that people who upload videos on YouTube are not College Professors (in most cases). Similarly, Wikipedia is not a substitute to a Scientific Journal.
The rising tide of conspiracy theories and theorists needs to be halted in its ranks. It needs a collective effort. It requires a change of mind-set. It is only possible if we upgrade our textbooks and inculcate our future generations with quest for knowledge and research.  

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Monday 7 November 2011

Veggies are humans too..!!

(Published in Express Tribune)

Societies are usually gauged by the way they treat their minority. Folks, I confess to being a minority. No, I am not a non-Muslim, gay, lesbian, Atheist or fat(Not that there is anything wrong with that). I am a vegetarian. I have spent most of my life answering stupid question like 'Why aren't you eating anything baita, do you have a medical problem?' or 'You don't eat red meat, that is all right. Have some chicken.?' with uneasy looks and evasive answers. I have had to laugh off jokes about me being 'born on the wrong side of the border' and 'to the wrong parents'. I have left countless weddings, dinner parties and eid get-togethers with an empty stomach. I have quoted facts and figures and even Dr Zakir Naik to argue against the assertion that you just can't live without consuming meat. I have frequently been diagnosed as someone who has 'nakhra', attitude problem or phobia. There are NO exclusively vegetarian restaurants in Lahore, Islamabad or Peshawar(I haven't been to Karachi yet). The maximum I can get at fast food restaurants are French Fries. This despite the fact that around 5% Pakistanis are vegetarians(This is mostly speculative as no definite data is available). There is even a Pakistan vegetarian society whose primary objectives are to 'promote humanitarian, moral and nutritional aspects of vegetarianism'. According to blogger Maryam Arif, “Being vegetarian in Pakistan is highly suspect, Indian-like; even though most Indians I know ask for beef kebabs first thing they come to Lahore. Yet in our minds vegetarian = Hindu = Indian = weak. The popular thinking is that meat gives us an edge over them grass-eaters across the border. Carnivores are stronger and taller; even light-complexioned than herbivores. Isn’t that so? It has to be.” Amber Raheem Shamsie writes, “In our culture, the not eating of meat is considered a compulsion rather than a choice. Vegetarianism in Pakistani culture can be a rebellion.” As if  living as a vegetarian was not difficult enough, living as a vegetarian in Lahore is even worse. It is a bit like blasphemy to live in Lahore and NOT eat meat. Lahoris are often offended when you tell them you are a vegetarian. It is an insult to their intelligence. How can anyone voluntarily give up the meat delicacies that constitute our cuisine? Surely you must crave Mohammadi Nehari, Behari Kebab from Bundu Khan, Seekh Kebab, Siri Paye, Macchi of Mozang Chungi and the mouth-watering abundance of Food Street. I have decided that enough is enough.  I am out of the closet now. I am sick of your Siri Paye, Qormas, seekh kabab, gurday kapooray or whatever and you do not dare question my eating preferences again.!
I would like to finish off with a saying of Albert Einstein, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

Thursday 3 November 2011

Deconstructing Zaid Hamid Part 7

(Also published at Viewpointonline.net)
Deconstructing Zaid Hamid

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered. The point, however,  is to discover them
Galileo

Zaid Hamid is a TV-phenomenon popularized by his programmes like Brass Tacksand Iqbal ka Pakistan. Twelve episodes of Iqbal ka Pakistan have been examined by this author in last six issues. Episodes 13 and 14 of Iqbal ka Pakistan, are reviewed below.

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 Shehzad’s 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 “Mu’tazila” 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 research-oriented 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”.
These are the few mistakes/debate-able points that I found, as the rest of these episodes was spent in word to word recitation and translation of Iqbal’s work from some book. There was also repitition of mistakes that we have discussed in the previous issues.