Editing Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood

{{Short description|Pakistani nuclear engineer}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
| native_name       = 
| native_name_lang  = 
| image             = [[File:Replace this image male.svg|260px]]
| image_size        = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = 
| birth_date        = {{birth year and age|1940}}<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>
| birth_place       = [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]], [[British Indian Empire|British India]]
| death_date        = <!--{{death date and age |df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD |YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date)-->
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| resting_place_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}-->
| other_names       = 
| residence         = 
| citizenship       = 
| nationality       = [[Pakistani]]
| fields            = [[Nuclear engineering]]
| workplaces        = [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]] (PAEC)
| patrons           = 
| education         = 
| alma_mater        = [[University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore|University of Engineering and Technology]]<br />[[University of Manchester]]
| thesis_title      = <!--(or  | thesis1_title =  and  | thesis2_title = )-->
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| doctoral_advisor  = <!--(or  | doctoral_advisors = )-->
| academic_advisors = 
| doctoral_students = 
| notable_students  = 
| known_for         = Work in [[Nuclear power in Pakistan|nuclear industry]]<br />Founding [[Ummah Tameer-e-Nau]]
| awards            = [[Sitara-e-Imtiaz]] (1998)
| author_abbrev_bot = 
| author_abbrev_zoo = 
| spouse            = <!--(or | spouses = )-->
| partner           = <!--(or | partners = )-->
| children          = [[Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry]]
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| website           = {{URL|http://darulhikmat.com/author.html}}
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}}

'''Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood'''{{#tag:ref |alternative spellings: '''Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood'''. In [[News channels in Pakistan|news media]] of Pakistan, he is often known as '''Dr. Bashiruddin''' |name="name" |group="note"}} ({{langx|ur|سلطان بشیر الدین محمود}}; b. 1940)<ref name="darulhikmat.com">{{Cite web|title=Sultan Muhammad Bashir-ud-din Mahmood|website=Darulhikmat|publisher=darulhikmat.com|url=http://www.darulhikmat.com/author.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114180131/http://www.darulhikmat.com/author.html|archive-date=14 January 2012|df=dmy-all|access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref> is a Pakistani [[nuclear engineer]] and a scholar of [[Islamic studies]].

Having spent a distinguished career in the [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]] (PAEC), he founded the [[Ummah Tameer-e-Nau]] (UTN) in 1999 – a right-wing organisation that was [[Sanctions (law)|banned and sanctioned]] by the [[United States]] in 2001. He was the subject of a criminal investigation launched by the [[Federal Investigation Agency]] (FIA) over unauthorized travel in [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] prior to the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001. Mahmood was among those who were listed and sanctioned by the [[Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee]] in December 2001.<ref name="UN al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanction Committee">{{cite web|last1=UN work|title=MAHMOOD SULTAN BASHIR-UD-DIN|url=https://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQI05501E.shtml|website=UN.org|publisher=UN al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanction Committee|access-date=22 January 2015}}</ref> He was also sanctioned as a [[Specially Designated Global Terrorist]] by the United States' [[Office of Foreign Assets Control]], with an address lisiting of the [[Al-Qaeda safe house|Al-Qaeda Wazir Akbar Khan safe house]], Kabul.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sultan Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmood |url=https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=7133 |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov}}</ref> 

He has since been living in anonymity in [[Islamabad]], authoring books on the relationship between [[Islam and science]].

==Life and education==

Mahmood was born in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Indian Empire|British India]] to a [[Punjabi Muslims|Punjabi Muslim family]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> There are conflicting reports concerning his [[date of birth]]; his personal admission noted the birth year as 1940,<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> while the [[United Nations|UN]] reports estimated it as 1938.<ref name="Security Council Committee Concerning Afghanistan">{{cite web|last1=UN Work, AFG/176-SC/7252|title=Security Council Committee Concerning Afghanistan|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/afg176.doc.htm|publisher=Security Council Committee Concerning Afghanistan|access-date=22 January 2015|date=26 December 2001}}</ref> His father, [[Chaudhry]] Muhammad Sharif Khan, was a local ''[[zamindar]]'' (lit. [[Feudal Lordship|feudal lord]]).<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> His family emigrated from [[India]] to [[Pakistan]] following [[religious violence in India|religious violence]] during the [[partition of India]] in 1947; the family settled in [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> His son [[Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry]] serves as the 22nd [[Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations]] of the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]].<ref name="print/6dec22">{{cite news |last1=Swami |first1=Praveen |date=6 December 2022 |title=Pakistan's new ISPR chief is son of Osama-linked scientist who said djinns can make electricity |url=https://theprint.in/world/pakistans-new-ispr-chief-is-son-of-osama-linked-scientist-who-said-djinns-can-make-electricity/1249730/ |access-date=2 May 2024 |work=ThePrint}}</ref>

After graduating with distinctions from a local [[High school (upper secondary)|high school]] standing at top of his class, Mahmood was awarded a scholarship and enrolled at the [[Government College University, Lahore|Government College University]] to study [[electrical engineering]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> After spending a semester, he transferred to the [[University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore]], and graduated with a Bachelor of Science with [[BSc (Hons)|honours]] in 1960.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> His credentials led him to join the [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]] (PAEC) where he gained another scholarship to study in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="Waqt News of the Nawa-i-Waqt Media Group ">{{Cite web
 |last       = Shakir
 |first      = Sabir
 |title      = History of Pakistan's nuclear development
 |website       = [[Waqt News|Waqt Television News Corporation]]
 |publisher  = Waqt News of the Nawa-i-Waqt Media Group
 |date       = 23 July 2009
 |url        = http://www.pakistantalk.com/forums/nuclear-missiles/3102-sultan-bashiruddin-mahmood-interview-pakistans-nuclear-program.html
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120314062733/http://www.pakistantalk.com/forums/nuclear-missiles/3102-sultan-bashiruddin-mahmood-interview-pakistans-nuclear-program.html
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = 14 March 2012
 |access-date = 23 July 2011
}}</ref>

In 1962, Mahmood went to attend the [[University of Manchester]] where he studied for a [[Double major|double]] master's degree.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> First completing a masters' programme in [[Control systems engineering|control systems]] in 1965, he then received another master's degree in [[nuclear engineering]] in 1969 from the University of Manchester.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> While in Manchester, Mahmood was an expert on the [[Manhattan Project]] and was reportedly in contact with [[South Africa]]n scientists in discussing the [[jet nozzle|jet-nozzle]] method for [[uranium enrichment]].<ref name="Chaudhry 2006">{{Cite web
  | last = Chaudhry
  | first =M.A.
  | title =Pakistan's Nuclear History: Separating Myth from Reality
  | website = Owl's Tree
  | publisher =DefenceJournal.com
  | date = 9 June 2006
  | url =http://owlstree.blogspot.com/2006/06/pakistani-nuclear-program-2-5.html
  | access-date =1 March 2006 }}</ref> However, it remains unclear how much interaction was taken place during that time.<ref name="Chaudhry 2006"/>

== Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission ==
[[File:DUF6 cylinder leak.gif|thumb|right|250px|{{small|In 1970s, Mehmood gained praise for inventing and patenting a scientific instrument, naming '''SBM probe''', to detect [[uranium hexafluoride]] (UF6) leak in nuclear steam cylinder as shown in the image.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>}}]]
Mahmood joined the [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]] (PAEC) in 1968, joining the Nuclear Physics Division at the [[Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology]] (PINSTECH) working under Dr. [[Naeem Ahmad Khan]]. His collaboration took place with [[Samar Mubarakmand]], [[Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi|Hafeez Qureshi]], and he was a vital member of the group before it was discontinued in 1970.<ref>{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|pp=140–145}}</ref> Mahmood was one of the foremost experts on civilian [[nuclear reactor technology|reactor technology]] and was a senior engineer at the [[Karachi Nuclear Power Plant]] (KANUPP I)— the first commercial nuclear power plant in Pakistan.<ref>{{harvtxt|Faddis|2010|pp=170–173}}</ref> He gained notability and publicity in the [[Pakistan Physics Society]] for inventing 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.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>

After witnessing the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], which saw the [[Instrument of Surrender (1971)|unconditional surrender]] of Pakistan in 1971, Mahmood attended the winter seminar at [[Multan]] and delivered a speech on atomic science.<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|p=38}}</ref> On 20 January 1972, the [[President of Pakistan]], [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]], approved a [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|crash atomic weapon programme]], under [[Munir Ahmad Khan]], for the sake of "national survival."<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|pp=39–40}}</ref> Nevertheless, Mahmood continued his work at the KANUPP I engineering division.<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|pp=50–51}}</ref>

In the aftermath of '[[Smiling Buddha]]', a surprise nuclear test conducted by [[India]] in May 1974, Munir Ahmad appointed Mahmood as the director of the [[Project-706|enrichment division]] at PAEC, where the majority of calculations were conducted by Dr. [[Khalil Qureshi]]– a [[physical chemist]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|pp=146–147}}</ref> Mahmood analysed the [[gaseous diffusion]], [[gas centrifuge]], [[Enriched uranium#Other techniques|jet-nozzle]] and [[molecular laser isotope separation]] method for [[uranium-enrichment]]; recommending the gas centrifuge method as economical.<ref>{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|p=148}}</ref> After submitting the report, Mahmood was asked to depart to the [[Netherlands]] to interview Dr. [[Abdul Qadeer Khan]] on behalf of President Bhutto in 1974.<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|p=59-50}}</ref> In 1975, his proposal was approved and the work on uranium enrichment started with Mahmood as its director, a move that irked the more qualified but more difficult to manage Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who had coveted the job for himself.<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap ">{{harvtxt|Nyäzie|1994 |pp=55–56}}</ref> His relations with Dr. Khan remained extremely tense and the pairs disagreed with each other and developed great differences.<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap "/> In private meetings with Munir Ahmad, Mahmood often complained and pictured him as "egomaniac".<ref name="Stanford University Press">{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|p=151}}</ref> In 1976, Mahmood was removed from the enrichment division, [[Project-706]], by Abdul Qadeer Khan, and Khan moved the enrichment division at the [[Engineering Research Laboratories]] (ERL) under [[Pakistani military|military control]].<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>

Eventually, Munir Ahmad removed Mahmood from other classified works and posted him back to the [[Karachi Nuclear Power Plant]] (KANUPP-I) with no reason given as a principal engineer.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/><ref name="Free Press">{{harvtxt|Bergen|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kYdLqOUj8lUC&pg=PA215 215]}}</ref> In the 1980s, Munir Ahmad secured Mahmood a job as project manager for the construction of the [[Khushab Reactor]] (Khushab-I) where he served as chief engineer and aided with designing the [[nuclear reactor coolant|coolant]] systems.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> In 1998, he was promoted as a director of the nuclear power division and held that position until 1999.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>

After the reactor went critical in April 1998, Mahmood said in an interview: "''This reactor (can produce enough plutonium for two to three nuclear weapons per year) Pakistan had "acquired the capability to produce.... boosted [[thermonuclear weapon]]s and [[hydrogen bomb]]s''."<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/><ref name="Stanford University Press"/> In 1998, Mahmood was honoured with the [[Sitara-e-Imtiaz]] award in a ceremony by Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>

In 1998, he was promoted as a director of the nuclear power division and held that position until 1999.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>

==Radical politics and Ummah Tameer-e-Nau==
{{Main|Ummah Tameer-e-Nau}}
Though publicly endorsing the 1998 decision to carry out the [[Chagai-I]] nuclear tests by [[Nawaz Sharif|Prime Minister Sharif]], Mahmood began appearing on news channels as an outspoken opponent of Sharif, as Mahmood vehemently opposed Pakistan becoming a [[signatory state]] of the [[Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty]] (NPT) and [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]]  (CTBT) just like neighbouring India.<ref name="Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists">{{Cite web  | last = Albright  | first = David  | author2 = Holly Higgins  | title = ''A bomb for Ummah''  | website = [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]  | publisher = Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists  | date = March 2003  | url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:N8Zux2U1DPQJ:people.reed.edu/~ahm/Courses/Stan-PS-314-2009-Q1_PNP/Syllabus/EReadings/AlbrightHiggins2003A-Bomb.pdf+sbm+probe-Sultan+Bashir-ud-Din+Mahmood&hl=en&gl=us&sig=AHIEtbQqebcleCgCJscqUOmh5_Hlew-Q1w  | access-date = 1 March 2006  }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In Pakistan's popular news channels and newspapers, Mahmood gave numerous interviews, wrote articles, and lobbied against Sharif when he learned that the Prime Minister had been willing to sign anti-nuclear weapons treaties, prompting the Pakistan Government to forcefully transfer Mahmood to a non-technical position at PAEC.<ref name="Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists"/>

Seeking premature retirement from PAEC in 1999, Mahmood moved towards publishing books and articles involving the relationship between [[Islam and science]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com" /> Mahmood founded the [[Ummah Tameer-e-Nau]] (UTN)– a radical organisation– with his close associates.<ref name="darulhikmat.com" /> In 2000, he began attending lectures and religious sessions with Dr. [[Israr Ahmed]] who would later influence his political views and philosophy.<ref name="Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists"/> Through UTN, Mahmood stepped into more [[Islamic extremism|radical politics]], and began visiting [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] where he wanted to be focused on rebuilding educational institutions, hospitals, and relief work.<ref name=NYT/>

In August 2001, Mahmood and his colleague [[Chaudhry Abdul Majeed]] at the UTN met with [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] in [[Kandahar]], [[Afghanistan]]. Describing the meeting, the ''[[New York Times]]'' editorial quoted: "''There is little doubt that Mahmood talked to the two al-Qaeda leaders about [[nuclear weapons]], or that [[Al Qaeda]] desperately wanted the bomb''".<ref name=NYT/>

== 2001 debriefing and detention ==

Since 1999 and 2000 onwards, Pakistan's [[Pakistani intelligence community|intelligence community]] had been tracking and monitoring  Mahmood whose bushy beard advertised his deep attachment to the [[Afghan Taliban]].<ref name="Free Press"/> After the [[September 11 attacks]] in the [[United States]], the [[Federal Investigation Agency]] (FIA) launched a [[criminal investigation]] against him, leveling charges of unauthorized travel to Afghanistan.<ref>{{harvtxt|Bergen|2011|pp=217–219}}</ref> [[Director of the Central Intelligence Agency]], [[George Tenet]], later described intelligence reports of his meeting with Al Qaeda as "''frustratingly vague''."<ref name=NYT/> When asked by Pakistani and American investigators about the nature of Ummah Tameer-e-Nau's (UTN) work and discussions, Mahmood said that he had nothing to do with the [[al-Qaeda]] and was only working on humanitarian issues like food, health and education.<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux">{{cite book|last1=Weaver|first1=Mary Anne|title=Pakistan in the shadow of jihad and afghanistan|year=2013|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|location=New York|isbn=978-1429944519|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjS_cKXDn48C&pg=PA237|access-date=22 January 2015|page=237}}</ref> Investigators from [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) were astonished and surprised at the extent of his nuclear weapons knowledge.

During his debriefing, his son Dr. Asim Mahmood, 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 showed no interest in the matter as he met him for food, water and healthcare matters on which his charity was working''."<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux"/>

The FIA criminal probe continued for four months and yielded no concrete results.<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux"/> Pressure from Pakistani society and court inquiries against the FIA's criminal probe led to Mahmood's release in 2001. His family did confirm his release but had been constantly under [[surveillance]] by the FIA; his name was placed on the "[[Exit Control List]]s" so he is not allowed to travel out of Pakistan. Since his release, Mahmood has been out of the public eye and lives a quiet life in [[Islamabad]], devoting most of his time to writing books and doing research work on Islam and science.<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux"/>

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.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1038/35102221|pmid = 11689900| title=Atomic-bomb experts interrogated over Taliban links| journal=Nature| volume=414| issue=6859| pages=3| year=2001| last1=Adam| first1=David|bibcode = 2001Natur.414....3A| doi-access=free}}</ref>"

== Mahmood-Hoodbhoy debates ==
Mahmood has written over fifteen books, the most well-known being "''The Mechanics of Doomsday and Life After Death''", which is an analysis of the events leading to [[Global catastrophic risk|doomsday]] in light of scientific theories and Quranic knowledge. However, his scientific arguments and theories have been challenged by some prominent scientists in Pakistan. His religiosity and eccentricity began troubling the [[Pakistan Physics Society]]; his peers often quoted him as "a rather strange man".<ref>{{harvtxt|Bergen|2011|pp=215–216}}</ref>

In 1988, Mahmood was invited to the [[University of Islamabad]] to deliver a lecture on science. During his lecture at the university's 'Physics Hall' he and several other academicians debated his book. While debating, a well known Pakistani nuclear physicist, Dr. [[Pervez Hoodbhoy]], and Mahmood, had an acrimonious public debate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoodbhoy |first=Pervez |title=A dismal Present (See page 19) |website=Muslims and the West after 11 September |year=2002 |url=http://www.variant.org.uk/pdfs/issue15/Pervez_Hoodbhoy_15.pdf |access-date=6 March 2006 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716100026/http://www.variant.org.uk/pdfs/issue15/Pervez_Hoodbhoy_15.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last =Hoodbhoy |first =Pervez |title=Islam and Science—Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle For Rationality |publisher=Zed Books |isbn =978-1-85649-025-2|year =1991}}</ref> Hoodbhoy had severely criticised Mahmood's theories and the notion of [[Islamic science]] in general, calling it ''ludicrous science.''<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/02/world/nation-challenged-nuclear-fears-pakistani-atomic-expert-arrested-last-week-had.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |title=A NATION CHALLENGED: NUCLEAR FEARS; Pakistani Atomic Expert, Arrested Last Week, Had Strong Pro-Taliban Views |first1=Dennis |last1=Overbye |first2=James| last2=Glanz |date=2 November 2001| access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref> Mahmood protested that Dr. Hoodbhoy misrepresented his views, quoting: "''This is crossing all limits of decency,'' he wrote. ''But should one expect any honesty or decency from anti-Islamic sources?''"<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

=== Literature and cosmology ===
{{Main|Physical Cosmology|Sun spot cycle}}

In his writings and speeches, Mahmood has advocated for [[nuclear sharing]] with other Islamic nations which he believed would give rise to Muslim dominance in the world.<ref name="AQKhan-Osama">{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/A-Q-Khan-offered-Osama-N-weapons-before-9/11-Book-/articleshow/3835350.cms|access-date=14 December 2008|url-status=live|archive-date=11 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811051650/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-12-14/pakistan/27923183_1_al-qaida-leader-bin-sultan-bashiruddin-mahmood|title=A Q Khan offered Osama N-weapons before 9/11: Book |date=14 December 2008|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> He has also written a [[tafseer]] of the [[Quran]] in English.

Mahmood is reported to be fascinated "with the role [[sunspot]]s played in triggering the [[French Revolution|French]] and [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]]s, [[World War II]] and assorted anti-colonial uprisings."<ref name=NYT/><ref name="sacredcows">Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002</ref> 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, first published in 1998, he predicted that the period from 2007 to 2014 would be of great turmoil and destruction in the world.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} 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]]).{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

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 2020, may die through [[Weapon of mass destruction|mass destruction weapons]], [[hunger]], disease, [[Street fighting|street violence]], [[terrorist attack]]s, and [[suicide]].''"

Mahmood's lifelong friend, Member of Parliament [[Farhatullah Babar]], who is currently serving as a spokesperson for the 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 [[jinn]], which are described in the Quran as beings made of fire. He has proposed that jinn could be tapped to solve the [[energy crisis]].<ref name=djinn>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501EEDB1E30F931A35752C1A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Pakistani Atomic Expert, Arrested Last Week, Had Strong Pro-Taliban Views], New York Times, 2 November 2001.</ref> "''I think that if we develop our souls, we can develop communication with them'' ... ''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''", Mahmood said to the [[The Wall Street Journal|''The Wall Street Journal'']] in a 1988 interview.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

== New York Times comments ==
The [[New York Times]] has described Mahmood as "an [[autodidact]] intellectual with grand aspirations," and noted that "his fellow scientists at PAEC began to wonder if Mahmood was mentally sound."<ref name=NYT>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11pakistan-t.html Obama’s Worst Pakistan Nightmare], New York Times, 8 January 2009.</ref> Mahmood made it clear that he believed Pakistan's bomb was "the property of the whole [[Ummah]]," referring to the worldwide Muslim community. "This guy was our ultimate nightmare," an American intelligence official told the Times in late 2001.<ref name=NYT/>

==Bibliography==
* ''1980''; Doomsday and Life After Death
* ''1982''; The Miraculous Qur'an: A Challenge to Science and Mathematics
* ''1984''; The Greatest Success
* ''1985''; The Life of Book: A Scientific interpretation of Quran
* ''1986''; Muhammad: The First & the Last
* ''1988''; A New Book of the Children Rhymes
* ''1989''; Judgement day and Life After Death
* ''1994''; The Holy Quran and [[Dirac equation]]s
* ''1995''; The Miraculous Qur'an – A Discovery Concerning Its Arrangements into Chapter and Parts
* ''1996''; The Challenge of Reality
* ''1998''; Cosmology and Human Destiny: Impact of Sunpots on Earthly events; Our Past and Future
* ''2005'' A [[Tafseer]] of the [[Holy Quran]]. (English version) (2005)
* ''2006'' There is no God, but Allah
* ''2006'' Kitab-e-Zindagi [[Tafseer]] (Urdu version)
* ''2010'' Muhammad – The Prophet of Mankind

==Awards and honours==
* [[Sitara-e-Imtiaz]] (1998)<ref>{{Cite web |author=Guardian Staff |date=8 November 2001 |title=Worrying times? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/08/afghanistan.internationaleducationnews |access-date=18 June 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Gold medal]], [[Pakistan Academy of Sciences]] (1998)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The State of Science in Pakistan |url=https://newslinemagazine.com/magazine/the-state-of-science-in-pakistan/ |access-date=18 June 2022 |website=Newsline |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Pakistan Academy of Sciences]]
*[[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]]
*[[Science and religion]]
*[[Pseudoscience]]
*[[Ummah Tameer-e-Nau]]
*[[Sitara-e-Imtiaz]]

== References ==
;Notes
<references group="note" />

;Citations
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Bergen|first1=Peter L.|title=The longest war: the enduring conflict between America and al-Qaeda|year=2011|publisher=Free Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0743278942|edition=1st Free Press trade pbk. |chapter=Al Qaeda's Quixotic Quest for Weapons of Mass Destruction|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kYdLqOUj8lUC&pg=PA214|access-date=22 January 2015}}
*{{cite book|last1=Faddis|first1=Charles|title=Willful Neglect: The Dangerous Illusion of Homeland Security|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield.|isbn=978-1493003181|year=2010|chapter=§We Have Been Warned}}
*{{cite book|last=Khan|first=Feroz Hassan|title=Eating grass: the making of the Pakistani bomb |publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804776011 |chapter=Mastering the Uranium Enrichment |date=7 November 2012}}
*{{cite book|last=Nyäzie|first=Causar |author-link=Kausar Niazi| title=Last days of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto| place=Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory| publisher=Maulana Causar Nyazie and Sani Panwjap| volume =1| year=1994| edition=1st| isbn=978-969-8500-00-9| chapter=§9: The Reprocessing Plant—The Inside Story| pages=55–56| chapter-url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:wzM8bvjZK3MJ:www.bhutto.org/Acrobat/Last%2520Dayf%2520of%2520Premier%2520Bhutto.pdf+Last+days+of+Premier+Bhutto&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjckwrTw4dvTbVQ2FEflsRU20aldSdvHTlXvKXEg4jkiZqdwZrD_yaOBO8SkqEM8Dv-f2TL8N6Tri_NNszXlQJ_35yornnzkagXTmrJvjakcy984S3LgbVKQUDXLgEm9WGwFCWf&sig=AHIEtbQ8JmT-OzGeBtHj-U1-gM8pY0SJPA}}
*{{cite book|last1=Shahid-ur-Rehman|title=Long road to Chagai|year=1999|publisher=Shahid-ur-Rehman |location=Islamabad|isbn=978-969-8500-00-9|chapter=§Gas Centrifuge Controversy|ref={{harvid|Rehman|1999}} }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{small|{{cite news|author=Frantz, Douglas|author2=Rohde, David|title=A Nation Challenged: Biological Terror; 2 Pakistanis Linked to Papers on Anthrax Weapons|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50E17FB3D590C7B8EDDA80994D9404482&|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130152907/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50E17FB3D590C7B8EDDA80994D9404482&|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 January 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=28 November 2001|access-date=8 January 2023}}}}
*{{small|{{Citation  | last = Top News  | title =Pro-Taliban Atomic Scientist Planned Large-Scale Investment in Afghanistan  | newspaper =[[Nawa-i-Waqt]]  | date =31 October 2001  }} }}
*{{small|{{Citation  | title =Sultan Mahmood and Muhammad Nasim, "CTBT: A Technical Assessment"  | newspaper= The Pakistan Link  }} }}
*{{small| {{Citation  | last1 =Khan  | first1 = Kamran  | author-link = Kamran Khan (journalist)  | last2 =Baker  | first2 = Peter  | title = Pakistan to Forgo Charges Against 2 Atomic Scientists  | newspaper =[[Washington Post]]  | date = 30 January 2002  }} }}
*{{small|{{Citation  | last = Latif  | first = Asmir  | title = Two Pakistani Atomic Scientists Arrested  | newspaper = [[Jang Group of Newspapers]]  | year =2001  }} }}

{{project-706}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmood, Sultan Bashiruddin}}
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