In 2008 we published News of the World? Fake Sheikhs & Royal Trappings, by Peter Burden, which was partly an exposé of a now notorious exposeur, Mazher Mahmood.
Mazher’s first victim of rogue journalism was his own brother, Waseem, whose promising career as a BBC producer was cut short as a direct result of this betrayal.
Whereas some people might have taken this rock in the road as a stumbling block, Waseem took it as a stepping stone. He was spurred on to use his media skills and creativity for the greater good, especially projects combatting extremism in the Middle East.
Among the greatest of his achievements was to set up a radio station in post-Taliban Kabul, called “Good Morning Afghanistan”, which contributed towards his receiving an OBE. Eye books published his book of the same name this August.
Since setting up that project, Waseem has earned the moniker of “Media Robocop”, as he has established broadcast and print projects in the most troubled areas of the world, tackling all the main fundamentalist groups: Al Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram and the Taliban.
He is currently working on a media project in Syria, giving a voice to the voiceless.
Good news stories do not often make the headlines. Waseem’s twenty years of striving for peace have gone largely unreported, in contrast to the front page news we have seen in the last few days.
Both of the books mentioned are available from the Eye Books website:
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