One of the obvious problems of print journalism is that articles have to be cut to fit. Sadly, that was necessary with my interview in today's Guardian with Waseem Mahmood, brother of Mazher, the News of the World's fake sheikh. So let me restore two anecdotes here.
Waseem told me that during their childhood they spent their Sundays learning the Koran and Arabic, though their real joy in attending a Birmingham mosque was playing for its cricket team. Waseem was a fair bowler and Mazher was a good batsman. While playing a match against a Walsall mosque, it became obvious that the umpire, an imam, was cheating. "Mazher was having none of that," says Waseem with obvious pride, "so he led our team off the field".
That story reflects well on Mazher. Now here's one that shows how charm and chutzpah runs in the Mahmood family. When Waseem set up a radio breakfast show in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's defeat, he persuaded President Hamid Karzai to take part, a segment that was so successful he has done so ever since. (Via media.theguardian.com)
