Archbishop of Canterbury Retracts Award to Cleric After Bin Laden Praise Revealed

The Archbishop of Canterbury has withdrawn an award presented to a Muslim cleric after it was revealed he had previously praised Osama Bin Laden. The Most Rev Sarah Mullally had bestowed the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation upon Tahir Ashrafi on the anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks.

Following public backlash, Lambeth Palace announced the award's retraction. The controversy arose when it emerged that a council chaired by Ashrafi in Pakistan had previously awarded Osama Bin Laden a religious title. In June 2007, Ashrafi reportedly stated that his council was "pleased to award the title of Saifullah to Osama bin Laden" in response to the British government knighting author Salman Rushdie, whom he referred to as a "blasphemer."

Ashrafi's group, the Pakistan Ulema Council, had given Bin Laden the title "Saifullah," meaning "Sword of Allah," and described him as a "mujahid who has been fighting for Islam."

After Ashrafi's past comments resurfaced online, calls mounted for an apology and for the Archbishop to engage with victims of terrorism. Lambeth Palace issued a statement confirming the award's withdrawal, stating that "previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award."

The palace defended the initial award, noting Imam Ashrafi's "longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community," and emphasized the principle of engaging across differences in interfaith dialogue. However, the decision to withdraw the award was made after further consideration.

Critics, including Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy, welcomed the withdrawal, arguing that the Archbishop "needs to learn now and stop giving succour to those who would destroy us." The National Secular Society also expressed relief, calling the initial award an instance of "appallingly poor judgement and inadequate due diligence."

Questions were also raised about the presence of Ashrafi's veiled wife at the award ceremony, with some MPs criticizing the niqab as oppressive. Ashrafi had previously served as a "religious harmony" envoy for Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and had met with the former Archbishop Justin Welby in 2022. Following the ceremony, Ashrafi had described Islam as a religion of peace and called for unity against extremism.