Lambeth Palace has withdrawn an “interfaith” award presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury to Islamic cleric Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi after previous comments in which he praised Osama bin Laden came to light.
Dame Sarah Mullally presented the “reconciliation and interfaith” award to Ashrafi, chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, at a ceremony at Lambeth Palace on September 11, the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Lambeth Palace said the award was initially given in recognition of Ashrafi’s support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community.
However, the palace said comments previously made by the cleric had prompted a review of the decision.
It said: “The award was given for Imam Ashrafi’s longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community – support that is valued by many Christians in Pakistan including its Anglican Church.
“It is a longstanding principle of interfaith dialogue and co-operation that we must engage with one another across deeply-held differences, and that remains the case.
“However, previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn. We have contacted Imam Ashrafi to make him aware of this decision.”
Ashrafi had previously praised bin Laden, whose terror group was responsible for the deaths of 2,977 people in the September 11 attacks, after the Pakistan Ulema Council gave the al-Qaeda leader its highest honour.
The council’s decision came in response to the UK Government awarding author Salman Rushdie a knighthood in 2007. Bin Laden was described by the council as a “Muslim warrior”.
“If a blasphemer can be given the title ‘Sir’ by the West … then a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British must be given the lofty title of Islam, Saifullah,” Reuters reported him as saying.
Saifullah is an Islamic name meaning sword of God and an honorific historically associated with military prowess.
Ashrafi also told AFP at the time: “We are pleased to award the title of Saifullah to Osama bin Laden after the British government decides to bestow the title of ‘Sir’ on blasphemer Rushdie. This is the highest title for a Muslim warrior.”
The cleric has also been reported to have described suicide bombings in Afghanistan as lawful and supported Islamic blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty.
He further claimed that Jewish people and Christians were using the war in Iran to target Iran’s nuclear weapons.
The withdrawal of the award comes after the comments resurfaced, prompting Lambeth Palace to distance the recognition from Ashrafi while maintaining that engagement across religious differences remains a principle of interfaith dialogue.
- Telegraph