Yes I take him seriously. He seems like the kind of person who wants to take advantage of Pakistani Youth's ideological confusion. As Pakistani Youth is still studying the curriculum designed by General Zia's regime. This curriculum attempts to create a layer of Islamic Ideology on the grounds of Pakistani nationalism.
The war on terror and retaliation of fundamentalists has resulted into a conflict that has left no ground for Pakistani Youth to stand upon. They want to find out what they believe in and where they are heading as a nation. They worry about their identity in the global community of the nations and want to do something about it.
People like Zaid Hamid try to provide that ideological ground. However, since that ground has already been shaken. They give it a strength by using new tactics to assert the usefulness of the same ideology with new conspiracy theories. Since the youth desperately want to believe into something, anything, they are quite vulnerable to this kind of propaganda.
The youth's desire to believe in something can also be seen in the mass following of Imran Khan, and Islami Jamiat Taliba (Islamic organization of Students). The youth want to follow them because they need something to believe in.
Progressive, liberal and secular voices in Pakistan are not encouraged by the establishment and the youth is also not ready to buy liberal secularism because they had been brainwashed as a child in schools and colleges, and then Television and media.
Do you take Zaid Hamid seriously? Why or why not?
