The Archbishop of Canterbury’s office has withdrawn an interfaith award given to a Muslim cleric after past comments surfaced in which he praised Osama bin Laden.
Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi received the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation at Lambeth Palace last Friday, during a ceremony that coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Lambeth Palace announced the reversal Thursday after previous comments by Ashrafi had “come to light,” causing it to reconsider the award.
“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,” Lambeth Palace said in a statement.
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“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to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn,” the statement continued. “We have contacted Imam Ashrafi to make him aware of this decision.”
Lambeth Palace added that it continues “to pray for the Christian community in Pakistan, and for all those working for interfaith dialogue and harmony in Pakistan and around the world.”
According to Lambeth Palace, the award was given to Ashrafi because of his “longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community.”
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According to the BBC, Ashrafi said in 2007 that bin Laden — the architect of the 9/11 attacks — had “been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British.”
The BBC also reported that Ashrafi said he would give bin Laden the title “Saifullah,” meaning “Sword of God.”
Ashrafi told the BBC that his remarks had been “totally taken out of context” and described the backlash against him as an “unfair campaign.”
He said he made the remarks about bin Laden in 2007 in response to “the hurt felt by many Muslims” over the British government’s decision to knight “The Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie.
During the award presentation last week, the Archbishop’s office said Ashrafi was being honored for “his outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan, known for his commitment to promoting religious tolerance.”