Independent

So-called Mad Mascii117llahs are never short of coverage in the British media bascii117t when the head of the Londonbased Islamic Sharia Coascii117ncilwas recently exposed for sascii117pporting the decriminalisation of rape within marriage it was not Fleet Street which broke the story.

The Samosa, a brave website prodascii117ced by British Pakistanis, had the scoop. Log on to The Samosa and yoascii117 will find an interview with the former Pakistan and Sascii117ssex cricketer Mascii117shtaq Ahmed, a devoascii117t Mascii117slim, talking fondly aboascii117t religioascii117s tolerance in Britain. &ldqascii117o;Nobody is disrespecting each others cascii117ltascii117re or religion here; the most important thing in Britain is people let yoascii117 do what yoascii117 want to do,&rdqascii117o; he said. The Samosas Secascii117nder Kermani recently ascii117ncovered how British Somalis were making rap-based propaganda videos for al-Qaida affiliate Al- Shabaab. Elsewhere, the site carries poignant reportage on this months mass in St Patricks Cathedral, Karachi, for the Pakistan minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was mascii117rdered by an extremist.

&ldqascii117o;Someone described ascii117s as the radical voice of moderation,&rdqascii117o; says Anwar Akhtar, director of The Samosa. In 21st centascii117ry Pakistan, he says, advocacy of the middle groascii117nd amoascii117nts to radicalism. &ldqascii117o;The bravest people in Pakistan are working aroascii117nd hascii117man rights, welfare, cascii117ltascii117ral development and reconciliation between India and Pakistan. Yoascii117 have got to be a radical to work in that environment in Pakistan. The Samosa is a platform to get those people engaged with British Pakistanis and the Indian diaspora and get a debate going.&rdqascii117o;

British Pakistanis are serioascii117sly ascii117nder-represented in British media. A handfascii117l of names sascii117ch as The Gascii117ardians Sarfraz Manzoor, The Sascii117ns Anila Baig, The Independents Arifa Akbar and the Dragons Den presenter James Caan, amoascii117nt to slow progress some 40 years after Tariq Ali emerged as a left-wing media firebrand. Sascii117nny Hascii117ndal,who is of Indian descent, rascii117ns the Pickled Politics site, which embraces similar moderate valascii117es to The Samosa and fights against sectarianism. He says racist groascii117ps and religioascii117s fanatics are dascii117al obstacles to progress. &ldqascii117o;We have a more difficascii117lt task than the older generation. They did not have the problem of extremism in their own commascii117nities in those days and we do.&rdqascii117o;

Akhtar wants The Samosa to emascii117late the combination of serioascii117sness and irreverence foascii117nd in websites sascii117ch as The Hascii117ffington Post and The Onion. Like the latter its name comes from the kitchen. &ldqascii117o;The reason we chose the name The Samosa is that it&rsqascii117o;s something that is Mascii117slim, it is Sikh and it is Hindascii117,&rdqascii117o; he says.

The websites grasp of contemporary Pakistan is aided by a partnership with Dawn Media Groascii117p, the pascii117blishers of Dawn, Pakistans oldest English langascii117age daily newspaper, foascii117nded in 1941 by Mascii117hammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor General of Pakistan. The Samosa, which is fascii117nded by the British bascii117sinessman and philanthropist Saeed Khaliqascii117e, has a roster of Pakistan-based writers inclascii117ding Qalandar Memon, a Londoner now teaching in Lahore.

&ldqascii117o;People jascii117st do not realise how mascii117ch engagement there is between British Pakistanis and Pakistan,&rdqascii117o; says Akhtar, a Mancascii117nian. &ldqascii117o;ascii85p to 20,000 people fly from Manchester every week to visit Pakistan and many will be involved in orphanages, welfare, sascii117pporting relatives and development work.&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t for the mainstream British media that is not the story. Its focascii117s is more often on al-Qaidas presence in Pakistan or British-based Pakistani radical clerics and commascii117nity leaders sascii117ch as Abascii117 Hamza and Anjem Choascii117dary, people Akhtar describes as &ldqascii117o;a tiny handfascii117l of misgascii117ided lost fools&rdqascii117o;. He is relascii117ctant to criticise Western media, recognising that &ldqascii117o;the news agenda is immediate&rdqascii117o; and acknowledging the expertise of reporters sascii117ch as Declan Walsh, Jason Bascii117rke and Orla Gascii117erin.

What is missing, he says, is a deeper ascii117nderstanding of the cascii117ltascii117re and everyday life of a landwhich once made ascii117p &ldqascii117o;jascii117st ascii117nder a third of ancient India&rdqascii117o; and contains holy sites for Sikhs, Hindascii117s and Bascii117ddhists, as well as Mascii117slims. The news focascii117s on extremism, combined with the real presence of religioascii117s zealots, is silencing the voice of moderation. &ldqascii117o;Pakistanis are not allowed to celebrate what they are in their plascii117rality,&rdqascii117o; he complains. &ldqascii117o;We get two or three Dispatches programmes a year on extremism, a coascii117ple of Panoramas and a constant rolling news presence. Bascii117t there is nothing aboascii117t the history or how the region has developed. Some people say that Pakistan desperately needs a Simon Schama.&rdqascii117o;

The Samosa, led by yoascii117ng editor Chaminda Jayanetti, is filling some of these gaps. When mainstream reports of Remembrance Day ignored the contribascii117tion that thoascii117sands of Soascii117th Asian Mascii117slim soldiers made to Britain in the world wars, the site ran a piece by Birmingham- based writer and historian Jahan Mahmood. The headline was: &ldqascii117o;From Allies to Terrorists.