Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Encyclopedia
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, otherwise written as, Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood), ' onMouseout='HidePop("69574")' href="/topics/Pakistan">Pakistan
i nuclear engineer and Islamic-scholar educated in Lahore
, West-Pakistan
(now Pakistan
) and Manchester
, United Kingdom
. A controversial figure, Bashiruddin Mahmood is widely popular in Pakistan's scientific and religious circles for his scientific interpretation and its relation to Quran. Mahmood, as an engineer, is an experienced atomic scientist and engineer
who is known to largely contributed in the formative years of Pakistan's Nuclear Industry
(PNI).
However, Mahmood is well known for his contacts and sympathies for Taliban which resulted in ending his engineering
career
at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
(PAEC). In 2001, Mahmood was apprehended by the FIA
for his suspect connections to Taliban and its related splinter groups. Though, he has been released and cleared since 2002, but he is put out of public eye and currently living a quiet life in Islamabad. A nuclear engineer turned Islamic-scholar, Mahmood authored more than 15 books, all in English, on the relationship between Islam and science
.
, British Punjab
, sometime in either 1940 or 1939. After the Indian partition
and the independence of Pakistan
in 1947, his parents escaped from pogrom
s and genocide
in India to West-Pakistan
. Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood's father, Chaudhry Sharif Khan, was a local village leader (Numberdar) and put all his income to educate his eldest son who stood first in his High school
and stand in 3rd position in the Punjab Matric
Board. The government awarded him the scholarship and his father sent him to Government College University
(GCU) where he was enrolled in Department
of Physics to study applied physics
in 1958. However, after spending a semester, Mahmood made a transfer
to the University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore (UET Lahore). At UET, Mahmood enrolled in Department of Electrical Engineering and Technology to study Electrical engineering. Mahmood studied with Parvez Butt
at UET, and in 1962, Mahmood graduated with B.Eng.
with Honors in Electrical Engineering
from UET Lahore.
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood joined the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
(PAEC) as an electrical engineer in 1964. He was sent to Electronics Division (ED) and was one of the pioneering member there. While in PAEC, Mahmood went to Army Recruiting Center
(ARC) to join the Pakistan Army
, and showed his willingness to participate in Indo-Pakistan 1965 September war
, but was unable to volunteer. Dr. I. H. Usmani, Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, used his influence in the Government that prevented Mahmood to join the war. Instead, Usmani sent Mahmood to join the Nuclear Physics Group working under dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan
.
In 1967, he went to the United Kingdom
with a PAEC scholarship, and attended the University of Manchester
, where he studied for his double masters degree in Nuclear Engineering
and Control System Engineering. In 1969, he received his double M.Sc.
in control system engineering and nuclear engineering in from University of Manchester. He, then, specialized and gained expertise in nuclear power engineering
in 1969 from the Nuclear Technology Education Consortium, Manchester
, United Kingdom
.
where he joined PAEC
. Before joining Pakistan's nuclear energy programme, Mahmood was trained at the Nuclear Engineering Division of the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology
(PINSTECH). He was a distinguished member of Nuclear Physics Group (NPG) at PINSTECH, where he along with Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
, Hafeez Qureshi
and Dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan
, studied and researched in the field of Nuclear Technology. During his master studies, Mehmood had read scientific reports of the "Manhattan Project
" while receiving his training at the Birmingham University, where he also had an opportunity to discuss enrichment technology with scientists from South Africa
, who were then exploring the jet-nozzel aerodynamic process of enrichment. During this time, South Africa was clandestinely building its nuclear programme
, and South-Africa was in favor to use the aerodynamic nozzle enrichment techniques to produce weapons-grade material. As Mahmood was also interested in the process, a discussion was held on how to advanced this process and make more effective in order to make better efficient weaponized-fuel, suitable for the nuclear device.
He specialized in reactor technology from United Kingdom when he was offered post-graduate research by the Manchester University, and did extensive research at British Nuclear Power Industry
. In 1970, Mahmood was promoted as Chief Engineer (CE) at the KANUPP-I, country's first commercial nuclear power plant, in Karachi
with the support of his mentor, Dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan. Mehmood working in the KANUPP-I where he had developed a scientific instrument, the SBM probe to detect leaks in steam pipes, a problem that was affecting nuclear plants all over the world and is still used worldwide. At KANUPP-I, he also set up a laboratory to manufacture spare parts for the plant. According to his son, Mehmood, along with other scientists and engineers, eye-witnessed the Indo-Pak War of 1971, and had locked himself in his room where he cried for two days over the loss of East Pakistan
.
He was one of the atomic scientists who attended the famous Multan meeting in 1972 where he has privileged to meet personally with Prime Minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
. He was a close colleague of PAEC chairman Munir Ahmad Khan
, and was one of the key atomic scientists who were working at the Kahuta Project, a highly confidential programme. The uranium route, the second route for the atomic bomb, was inducted under his guidance. While working on the uranium route, Mehmood took different approaches for the enriched uranium
. After examining diffusion
, gas-centrifuge
, jet-nozzel and laser enrichment processes
, Bashiruddin advocated the centrifuge route, as it was faster and economical. He then prepared a report for the development of a centrifuge enrichment plant that envisaged its completion by 1975. Within days a feasibility report was prepared and a project approval proforma called PC-1 finalised. Mehmood handed the report to Navy
's Commander
who submitted the report to Prime minister Secretariat. The project was to begin production in 1979. To maintain secrecy both the feasibility and the PC-1 were handwritten documents.
He is perhaps most famous for his part in the development of the Pakistan Nuclear Industry
(PNI). In 1976, he joined hands with another nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
on the atomic weapon project, where he tried working on the centrifuge programme
. Following 1974, after Dr. Qadeer Khan
took over the uranium enrichment route from him as he was dissatisfied with Mehmood's progress. Now, back in PAEC, Mehmood went on sating up a pilot-uranium enrichment plant at PAEC. Mahmood built an extensive research infrastructure and laboratories at PAEC to produced its both LEU and HEU fuel. During 1980s, he was the project manager of the Khushab-I
; he designed the plutonium based nuclear power plant, the Khushab Reactor, near Lahore
, a heavy water reactor
that produces plutonium
and Tritium
. After the reactor went critical in April 1998, Mahmood in an interview had said:"this reactor (which can produce enough plutonium for two to three nuclear weapons per year) Pakistan had "acquired the capability to produce . . . boosted thermonuclear weapons and hydrogen bombs."
Prior to 1991, he also designed and set up a nuclear fuel factory at the Punjab province
. In 1996, he was promoted and subsequently became Director General of the Directorate for the Nuclear Power (DG NP). He held his position till 1999 until he resignation from PAEC. In 1998, following the country's nuclear tests (See Chagai-I
and Chagai-II), Mehmood was honored and awarded the civilian decoration, the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, in a colourful ceremony by the Prime Minister of Pakistan
, Nawaz Sharif
.
, Mehmood became an outspoken opponent of the Prime minister
Nawaz Sharif
's government, as he was against signing of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty by Pakistan. He also publicly opposed prime minister Sharif as the prime minister show some willingness to signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Due to his open-public protest, he was asked to resign from his position by the prime minister Sharif. Later, he was transferred to the Nuclear Engineering Division of PAEC. Mahmood opted for early retirement from PAEC in 1999 as he was transferred to a non-technical position by the Prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
After his early retirement, Mehmood is reported to be attended the Dr. Israr Ahmad's preaching classes and private sessions on a regular basis. Dr. Israr Ahmed, one of the most important Islamic figure in Pakistan, is believed to be played an important and influential role in his later life. Thereafter, he, along with his close retired PAEC scientists, founded the Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
("Reconstruction for the Islamic Community"), a Pakistani based Islamic charity active in Afghanistan
during the Taliban regime. The Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (UTN) focused on educational institutions, hospitals, demining
operations, and Islamism.
In August 2001, Mahmood and one of his colleagues
at Mahmood's Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
charity met with Osama bin Laden
and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri
, in Afghanistan. "There is little doubt that Mahmood talked to the two Qaeda leaders about nuclear weapons, or that Al Qaeda desperately wanted the bomb", the New York Times reported.
because of his suspected connections with the Taliban. George Tenet
, then-Director
of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), later described intelligence reports of his meeting with Al Qaeda as “frustratingly vague.” He, however, told the FIA
intelligence officials in very clear terms that he had nothing to do with the Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organization and he was only working on humanitarian issues like food, health and education. Although he was considered innocent and released on 22 December 2001, he was declared a terrorist by U.S. President George W. Bush
in his televised address on 23 December 2001. Despite clear indications from CIA that he is not involved with any terrorist outfit.
During his debriefing, his son Dr. Asim Mahmood, who's a family medicine doctor told ISI
officials that: My father [Mahmood] did meet with Osama bin Laden
and Osama Bin Laden seemed interested in that matter but my father only showed mild interest in the matter as he met him for food, water matter issues that he was sent there for official work.
Due to an immense public pressure from the Pakistan
i civil society, he was placed into house arrest
in the late of December 2001 and has been strictly monitored closely by Government of Pakistan
and Pakistani federal agencies. In the late of 2001, his family said that, he has been released from the intelligence agencies and placed into house arrest and is still not allowed to meet anyone. In 2006, Mahmood suffered a heart attack and underwent angioplasty
in Islamabad
. Pakistan's Government
has placed him on the "Exit Control List
(ECL)" in which he is not allowed to travel out of Pakistan and since his release, Mehmood has been out of the public eye and lives a very quiet life in Islamabad
, Pakistan
.
Dr. Bashir Syed
, former president of the Association of Pakistani Scientists and Engineers of North America (APSENA), said: "I know both of these persons and can tell you there is not an iota of truth that both these respected scientists and friends will do anything to harm the interest of their own country."
.
In 1988, Mehmood was invited through an invitation at the University of Islamabad to deliver a lecture
on science. During his lecture at the university's "Physics Hall", he and several other academcians have debated on his book. While debating, a well known Pakistani nuclear physicist Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy
and Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood had an acrimonious public debate in 1988 at the University of Islamabad's Physics Hall. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy had severely criticized Mr. Bashiruddin Mahmood's theories and the notion of Islamic science in general, calling it ludicrous science. Mr. Bashiruddin Mahmood protested that Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy misrepresented his views. This is crossing all limits of decency, he wrote. But should one expect any honesty or decency from anti-Islamic sources?
Mahmood is reported to be fascinated "with the role sunspot
s played in triggering the French
and Russian Revolutions, World War II
and assorted anticolonial uprisings." According to his book "Cosmology and Human Destiny", Mahmood argued that sunspots have influenced major human events, including the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and World War II. He concluded that governments across the world "are already being subjected to great emotional aggression under the catalytic effect of the abnormally high sunspot activity under which they are most likely to adapt aggression as the natural solution for their problems". In this book which was first published in 1998, he predicts that the period from 2007 to 2014 would be of great turmoil and destruction in the world. Other books written by him include a biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
titled "First and the Last", while his other books are focused more on the relation between Islam and science like Miraculous Quran, Life After Death and Doomsday, and Kitab-e-Zindagi (in Urdu
).
One passage of the book reportedly states: "At the international level, terrorism will rule; and in this scenario use of mass destruction weapons cannot be ruled out. Millions, by 2002, may die through mass destruction weapons, hunger
, disease
, street violence
, terrorist attacks, and suicide
."
Mahmood's life-long friend, Parliamentarian
Farhatullah Babar
, who is currently serving as a spokesperson of President of Pakistan
, while talking to media, said: Mahmood predicted in Cosmology and Human Destiny that "the year 2002 was likely to be a year of maximum sunspot activity. It means upheaval, particularly on the South Asia
, with the possibility of nuclear exchanges."
Mahmood has published papers concerning djinni, which are described in the Qur'an
as beings made of fire. He has proposed that djinni could be tapped to solve the energy crisis
. I think that if we develop our souls, we can develop communication with them, Mr. Bashiruddin Mahmood said about djinni in The Wall Street Journal in an interview in 1998. Every new idea has its opponents, he added. But there is no reason for this controversy over Islam and science because there is no conflict between Islam and science.
,” referring to the worldwide Muslim community. “This guy was our ultimate nightmare,” an American intelligence official told the Times in late 2001.
US Institute of Historical biographies mentions him in their ‘Who is Who’ list and presented him a gold medal in 1998. He has also been awarded Gold Medal by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences
.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i nuclear engineer and Islamic-scholar educated in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, West-Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
(now Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A controversial figure, Bashiruddin Mahmood is widely popular in Pakistan's scientific and religious circles for his scientific interpretation and its relation to Quran. Mahmood, as an engineer, is an experienced atomic scientist and engineer
Nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
who is known to largely contributed in the formative years of Pakistan's Nuclear Industry
Nuclear power in Pakistan
As of 2009, nuclear power in Pakistan is provided by 3 licensed-commercial nuclear power plants. Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to construct and operate civil nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission , the scientific and nuclear governmental agency, is solely...
(PNI).
However, Mahmood is well known for his contacts and sympathies for Taliban which resulted in ending his engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC). In 2001, Mahmood was apprehended by the FIA
Federal Investigation Agency
The Federal Investigation Agency is an agency of Pakistan, under the Ministry of Interior, that serves as a federal criminal investigative body with one of the Directorate dealing as Pakistani body of Interpol. It has a wide role in anti-terrorism, anti-fascism, anti-corruption, human smuggling...
for his suspect connections to Taliban and its related splinter groups. Though, he has been released and cleared since 2002, but he is put out of public eye and currently living a quiet life in Islamabad. A nuclear engineer turned Islamic-scholar, Mahmood authored more than 15 books, all in English, on the relationship between Islam and science
Islam and science
Islam and science describes the relationship between Muslim communities and science in general. From an Islamic standpoint, science, the study of nature, is considered to be linked to the concept of Tawhid , as are all other branches of knowledge...
.
Life and education
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood was born in AmritsarAmritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, British Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, sometime in either 1940 or 1939. After the Indian partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
and the independence of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 1947, his parents escaped from pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s and genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
in India to West-Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
. Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood's father, Chaudhry Sharif Khan, was a local village leader (Numberdar) and put all his income to educate his eldest son who stood first in his High school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and stand in 3rd position in the Punjab Matric
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
Board. The government awarded him the scholarship and his father sent him to Government College University
Government College University
Government College University, Lahore is a co-educational public university located on The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan...
(GCU) where he was enrolled in Department
Academic department
An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. This article covers United States usage at the university level....
of Physics to study applied physics
Applied physics
Applied physics is a general term for physics which is intended for a particular technological or practical use.It is usually considered as a bridge or a connection between "pure" physics and engineering....
in 1958. However, after spending a semester, Mahmood made a transfer
College transfer
College transfer is the movement of students from one higher education institution to another and the process by which academic credits are accepted or not accepted by a receiving institution.-Background:...
to the University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore (UET Lahore). At UET, Mahmood enrolled in Department of Electrical Engineering and Technology to study Electrical engineering. Mahmood studied with Parvez Butt
Parvez Butt
Pervez Butt is a Pakistani nuclear engineer and the former chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 2001 to 2006. A nuclear engineer by profession, Parvez Butt played an important role in the development of the Pakistan's nuclear power and weapons program...
at UET, and in 1962, Mahmood graduated with B.Eng.
Bachelor of Engineering
The Bachelor of Engineering is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at universities in Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland , Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Korea,...
with Honors in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from UET Lahore.
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood joined the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC) as an electrical engineer in 1964. He was sent to Electronics Division (ED) and was one of the pioneering member there. While in PAEC, Mahmood went to Army Recruiting Center
Army recruit
Recruit or army recruit is a term often colloquially used to refer to the lowest military rank in various armed services. It usually implies that the soldier so labeled has not yet completed basic training....
(ARC) to join the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
, and showed his willingness to participate in Indo-Pakistan 1965 September war
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
, but was unable to volunteer. Dr. I. H. Usmani, Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, used his influence in the Government that prevented Mahmood to join the war. Instead, Usmani sent Mahmood to join the Nuclear Physics Group working under dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan
Naeem Ahmad Khan
Naeem Ahmad Khan , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and meteorologist, known for his work to the fields of Solid-state nuclear track detector and Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance...
.
In 1967, he went to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with a PAEC scholarship, and attended the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, where he studied for his double masters degree in Nuclear Engineering
Nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
and Control System Engineering. In 1969, he received his double M.Sc.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in control system engineering and nuclear engineering in from University of Manchester. He, then, specialized and gained expertise in nuclear power engineering
Nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
in 1969 from the Nuclear Technology Education Consortium, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
In 1970, Mahmood came back to PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
where he joined PAEC
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
. Before joining Pakistan's nuclear energy programme, Mahmood was trained at the Nuclear Engineering Division of the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology
Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology
The Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, or commonly known as "PINSTECH", is a multi-program science and technology national research institute managed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. The PINSTECH offers a post-graduate and post-doctoral research in the field of nuclear...
(PINSTECH). He was a distinguished member of Nuclear Physics Group (NPG) at PINSTECH, where he along with Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
, Hafeez Qureshi
Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi
Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi , Neuclear Physics. SI, HI, , also known as Hafeez Qureshi, was a Pakistani Nuclear Scientist...
and Dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan
Naeem Ahmad Khan
Naeem Ahmad Khan , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and meteorologist, known for his work to the fields of Solid-state nuclear track detector and Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance...
, studied and researched in the field of Nuclear Technology. During his master studies, Mehmood had read scientific reports of the "Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
" while receiving his training at the Birmingham University, where he also had an opportunity to discuss enrichment technology with scientists from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, who were then exploring the jet-nozzel aerodynamic process of enrichment. During this time, South Africa was clandestinely building its nuclear programme
South Africa and weapons of mass destruction
From the 1960s to the 1980s, South Africa pursued research into weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Six nuclear weapons were assembled...
, and South-Africa was in favor to use the aerodynamic nozzle enrichment techniques to produce weapons-grade material. As Mahmood was also interested in the process, a discussion was held on how to advanced this process and make more effective in order to make better efficient weaponized-fuel, suitable for the nuclear device.
He specialized in reactor technology from United Kingdom when he was offered post-graduate research by the Manchester University, and did extensive research at British Nuclear Power Industry
Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
Nuclear power currently generates around a sixth of the United Kingdom's electricity. As of 2011, the United Kingdom operates 19 nuclear reactors at nine locations...
. In 1970, Mahmood was promoted as Chief Engineer (CE) at the KANUPP-I, country's first commercial nuclear power plant, in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
with the support of his mentor, Dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan. Mehmood working in the KANUPP-I where he had developed a scientific instrument, the SBM probe to detect leaks in steam pipes, a problem that was affecting nuclear plants all over the world and is still used worldwide. At KANUPP-I, he also set up a laboratory to manufacture spare parts for the plant. According to his son, Mehmood, along with other scientists and engineers, eye-witnessed the Indo-Pak War of 1971, and had locked himself in his room where he cried for two days over the loss of East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
.
He was one of the atomic scientists who attended the famous Multan meeting in 1972 where he has privileged to meet personally with Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
. He was a close colleague of PAEC chairman Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, and was one of the key atomic scientists who were working at the Kahuta Project, a highly confidential programme. The uranium route, the second route for the atomic bomb, was inducted under his guidance. While working on the uranium route, Mehmood took different approaches for the enriched uranium
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
. After examining diffusion
Gaseous diffusion
Gaseous diffusion is a technology used to produce enriched uranium by forcing gaseous uranium hexafluoride through semi-permeable membranes. This produces a slight separation between the molecules containing uranium-235 and uranium-238 . By use of a large cascade of many stages, high separations...
, gas-centrifuge
Gas centrifuge
A gas centrifuge is a device that performs isotope separation of gases. A centrifuge relies on the principles of centripetal force accelerating molecules so that particles of different masses are physically separated in a gradient along the radius of a rotating container.A prominent use of gas...
, jet-nozzel and laser enrichment processes
Molecular laser isotope separation
Molecular laser isotope separation is a method of isotope separation, where specially tuned lasers are used to separate isotopes of uranium using selective ionization of hyperfine transitions of uranium hexafluoride molecules. It is similar to AVLIS...
, Bashiruddin advocated the centrifuge route, as it was faster and economical. He then prepared a report for the development of a centrifuge enrichment plant that envisaged its completion by 1975. Within days a feasibility report was prepared and a project approval proforma called PC-1 finalised. Mehmood handed the report to Navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
's Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
who submitted the report to Prime minister Secretariat. The project was to begin production in 1979. To maintain secrecy both the feasibility and the PC-1 were handwritten documents.
He is perhaps most famous for his part in the development of the Pakistan Nuclear Industry
Nuclear power in Pakistan
As of 2009, nuclear power in Pakistan is provided by 3 licensed-commercial nuclear power plants. Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to construct and operate civil nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission , the scientific and nuclear governmental agency, is solely...
(PNI). In 1976, he joined hands with another nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
on the atomic weapon project, where he tried working on the centrifuge programme
Zippe-type centrifuge
The Zippe-type centrifuge is a device designed to collect Uranium-235. It was developed in the Soviet Union by a team of 60 Austrian and German scientists captured after World War II, working in detention...
. Following 1974, after Dr. Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
took over the uranium enrichment route from him as he was dissatisfied with Mehmood's progress. Now, back in PAEC, Mehmood went on sating up a pilot-uranium enrichment plant at PAEC. Mahmood built an extensive research infrastructure and laboratories at PAEC to produced its both LEU and HEU fuel. During 1980s, he was the project manager of the Khushab-I
Khushab Reactor
Khushab Nuclear Complex is a plutonium production nuclear reactor and heavy water complex situated 30 km south of the town of Jauharabad in Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan....
; he designed the plutonium based nuclear power plant, the Khushab Reactor, near Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, a heavy water reactor
Heavy water reactor
A pressurised heavy water reactor is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel, that uses heavy water as its coolant and moderator. The heavy water coolant is kept under pressure in order to raise its boiling point, allowing it to be heated to higher...
that produces plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
and Tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
. After the reactor went critical in April 1998, Mahmood in an interview had said:"this reactor (which can produce enough plutonium for two to three nuclear weapons per year) Pakistan had "acquired the capability to produce . . . boosted thermonuclear weapons and hydrogen bombs."
Prior to 1991, he also designed and set up a nuclear fuel factory at the Punjab province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
. In 1996, he was promoted and subsequently became Director General of the Directorate for the Nuclear Power (DG NP). He held his position till 1999 until he resignation from PAEC. In 1998, following the country's nuclear tests (See Chagai-I
Chagai-I
The Chagai-I was a codename referring to the five underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15hrs in 28th May of 1998. It was named Chagai-I, as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District...
and Chagai-II), Mehmood was honored and awarded the civilian decoration, the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, in a colourful ceremony by the Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
, Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
.
Radical Politics and Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
After the Pakistan's atomic testsChagai-I
The Chagai-I was a codename referring to the five underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15hrs in 28th May of 1998. It was named Chagai-I, as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District...
, Mehmood became an outspoken opponent of the Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
's government, as he was against signing of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty by Pakistan. He also publicly opposed prime minister Sharif as the prime minister show some willingness to signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Due to his open-public protest, he was asked to resign from his position by the prime minister Sharif. Later, he was transferred to the Nuclear Engineering Division of PAEC. Mahmood opted for early retirement from PAEC in 1999 as he was transferred to a non-technical position by the Prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
After his early retirement, Mehmood is reported to be attended the Dr. Israr Ahmad's preaching classes and private sessions on a regular basis. Dr. Israr Ahmed, one of the most important Islamic figure in Pakistan, is believed to be played an important and influential role in his later life. Thereafter, he, along with his close retired PAEC scientists, founded the Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau or UTN is a militant organization banned by United States Department of the Treasury on December 20, 2001. It was also placed on Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List...
("Reconstruction for the Islamic Community"), a Pakistani based Islamic charity active in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
during the Taliban regime. The Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (UTN) focused on educational institutions, hospitals, demining
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
operations, and Islamism.
In August 2001, Mahmood and one of his colleagues
Chaudhry Abdul Majeed
Chaudhry Abdul Majeed , D.Sc., is a Pakistani nuclear chemist and an atomic weapon and technology expert. He is known as one of the pioneers of Pakistan's nuclear detterence programme, and has worked closely with former PAEC Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan's plutonium reprocessing project...
at Mahmood's Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau or UTN is a militant organization banned by United States Department of the Treasury on December 20, 2001. It was also placed on Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List...
charity met with Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
, in Afghanistan. "There is little doubt that Mahmood talked to the two Qaeda leaders about nuclear weapons, or that Al Qaeda desperately wanted the bomb", the New York Times reported.
2001 debriefing and detention
Mahmood was arrested in Lahore from his residence in the midnight of 19 October 2001 by Pakistan's Federal Investigation AgencyFederal Investigation Agency
The Federal Investigation Agency is an agency of Pakistan, under the Ministry of Interior, that serves as a federal criminal investigative body with one of the Directorate dealing as Pakistani body of Interpol. It has a wide role in anti-terrorism, anti-fascism, anti-corruption, human smuggling...
because of his suspected connections with the Taliban. George Tenet
George Tenet
George John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
, then-Director
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency serves as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which is part of the United States Intelligence Community. The Director reports to the Director of National Intelligence . The Director is assisted by the Deputy Director of the Central...
of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA), later described intelligence reports of his meeting with Al Qaeda as “frustratingly vague.” He, however, told the FIA
Federal Investigation Agency
The Federal Investigation Agency is an agency of Pakistan, under the Ministry of Interior, that serves as a federal criminal investigative body with one of the Directorate dealing as Pakistani body of Interpol. It has a wide role in anti-terrorism, anti-fascism, anti-corruption, human smuggling...
intelligence officials in very clear terms that he had nothing to do with the Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organization and he was only working on humanitarian issues like food, health and education. Although he was considered innocent and released on 22 December 2001, he was declared a terrorist by U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in his televised address on 23 December 2001. Despite clear indications from CIA that he is not involved with any terrorist outfit.
During his debriefing, his son Dr. Asim Mahmood, who's a family medicine doctor told ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
officials that: My father [Mahmood] did meet with Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and Osama Bin Laden seemed interested in that matter but my father only showed mild interest in the matter as he met him for food, water matter issues that he was sent there for official work.
Due to an immense public pressure from the Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i civil society, he was placed into house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
in the late of December 2001 and has been strictly monitored closely by Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
and Pakistani federal agencies. In the late of 2001, his family said that, he has been released from the intelligence agencies and placed into house arrest and is still not allowed to meet anyone. In 2006, Mahmood suffered a heart attack and underwent angioplasty
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, the latter typically being a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size...
in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
. Pakistan's Government
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
has placed him on the "Exit Control List
Exit Control List
The Exit Control List is maintained by the government of Pakistan under the Exit from Pakistan Ordinance. Those persons on the list are prohibited from leaving Pakistan....
(ECL)" in which he is not allowed to travel out of Pakistan and since his release, Mehmood has been out of the public eye and lives a very quiet life in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Dr. Bashir Syed
Bashir Syed
Bashir Syed or Bashir A. Syed, Sc.D., is Pakistani-American solar physicist and a NASA research scientist to the field of Robotics and solar sciences. He is the a member of New York Academy of Sciences. He...
, former president of the Association of Pakistani Scientists and Engineers of North America (APSENA), said: "I know both of these persons and can tell you there is not an iota of truth that both these respected scientists and friends will do anything to harm the interest of their own country."
Mahmood-Hoodbhoy Debates
He has written over fifteen books, the most well-known being "The Mechanics Doomsday and Life After Death", which is an analysis of the events leading to doomsday in light of scientific theories and Quranic knowledge. However, his scientific arguments and theories have been challenged by some prominent scientists in PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
In 1988, Mehmood was invited through an invitation at the University of Islamabad to deliver a lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
on science. During his lecture at the university's "Physics Hall", he and several other academcians have debated on his book. While debating, a well known Pakistani nuclear physicist Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Dr. Prof. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and political-defence analyst. He is the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University . He graduated and also received PhD from MIT and continues to...
and Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood had an acrimonious public debate in 1988 at the University of Islamabad's Physics Hall. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy had severely criticized Mr. Bashiruddin Mahmood's theories and the notion of Islamic science in general, calling it ludicrous science. Mr. Bashiruddin Mahmood protested that Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy misrepresented his views. This is crossing all limits of decency, he wrote. But should one expect any honesty or decency from anti-Islamic sources?
Some beliefs
In his writings and speeches, Mahmood has advocated sharing Pakistan's nuclear weapons technology with other Islamic nations which he believed would give rise to Muslim dominance in the world. He has also written a Tafseer of the Quran in English.Mahmood is reported to be fascinated "with the role sunspot
Sunspot
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature....
s played in triggering the French
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and Russian Revolutions, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and assorted anticolonial uprisings." According to his book "Cosmology and Human Destiny", Mahmood argued that sunspots have influenced major human events, including the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and World War II. He concluded that governments across the world "are already being subjected to great emotional aggression under the catalytic effect of the abnormally high sunspot activity under which they are most likely to adapt aggression as the natural solution for their problems". In this book which was first published in 1998, he predicts that the period from 2007 to 2014 would be of great turmoil and destruction in the world. Other books written by him include a biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
titled "First and the Last", while his other books are focused more on the relation between Islam and science like Miraculous Quran, Life After Death and Doomsday, and Kitab-e-Zindagi (in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
).
One passage of the book reportedly states: "At the international level, terrorism will rule; and in this scenario use of mass destruction weapons cannot be ruled out. Millions, by 2002, may die through mass destruction weapons, hunger
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
, disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
, street violence
Street fighting
Street fighting is a colloquial term used to denote unsanctioned, illegal in some countries, hand-to-hand fighting in public places, between individuals or groups of people....
, terrorist attacks, and suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
."
Mahmood's life-long friend, Parliamentarian
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Farhatullah Babar
Farhatullah Babar
Farhatullah Babar is a Pakistani politician and Parliamentarian from Pakistan People's Party to the Parliament. He is a senior member of the Pakistan Peoples Party and served in the Pakistani Senate from 2003 to 2006. He was an outspoken critic of the former Pakistani administration headed by...
, who is currently serving as a spokesperson of President of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
, while talking to media, said: Mahmood predicted in Cosmology and Human Destiny that "the year 2002 was likely to be a year of maximum sunspot activity. It means upheaval, particularly on the South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, with the possibility of nuclear exchanges."
Mahmood has published papers concerning djinni, which are described in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
as beings made of fire. He has proposed that djinni could be tapped to solve the energy crisis
Energy crisis
An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
. I think that if we develop our souls, we can develop communication with them, Mr. Bashiruddin Mahmood said about djinni in The Wall Street Journal in an interview in 1998. Every new idea has its opponents, he added. But there is no reason for this controversy over Islam and science because there is no conflict between Islam and science.
New York Times Comments
The New York Times has described Mahmood as "an autodidact intellectual with grand aspirations," and noted that "his colleagues began to wonder if Mahmood was mentally sound." Mahmood made it clear that he believed Pakistan’s bomb was “the property of the whole UmmahUmmah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
,” referring to the worldwide Muslim community. “This guy was our ultimate nightmare,” an American intelligence official told the Times in late 2001.
US Institute of Historical biographies mentions him in their ‘Who is Who’ list and presented him a gold medal in 1998. He has also been awarded Gold Medal by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences
Pakistan Academy of Sciences
The Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences (Urdu: پاکستان اكيڈ مى ﺁف سائس; shortened to PAS, is a learned society for science and technology based in Pakistan. The academy consisted and served as the network of science across the Pakistan as...
.
Quotes
In 2009, Mahmood described Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928-1979) in a public television:Awards and honors
- Sitara-e-Imtiaz (1998)
- Gold medalGold medalA gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
, Pakistan Academy of SciencesPakistan Academy of SciencesThe Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences (Urdu: پاکستان اكيڈ مى ﺁف سائس; shortened to PAS, is a learned society for science and technology based in Pakistan. The academy consisted and served as the network of science across the Pakistan as...
(1998) - Gold medalGold medalA gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
, U.S Institute of Historical biographies (1998)
See also
- Kahuta Project
- Abdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
- Ummah Tameer-e-NauUmmah Tameer-e-NauUmmah Tameer-e-Nau or UTN is a militant organization banned by United States Department of the Treasury on December 20, 2001. It was also placed on Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List...
- Chaudhry Abdul MajeedChaudhry Abdul MajeedChaudhry Abdul Majeed , D.Sc., is a Pakistani nuclear chemist and an atomic weapon and technology expert. He is known as one of the pioneers of Pakistan's nuclear detterence programme, and has worked closely with former PAEC Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan's plutonium reprocessing project...
- Lieutenant General Hamid Gul
- Inter-Services IntelligenceInter-Services IntelligenceThe Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...