Archbishop of Canterbury revokes award to imam — Jerusalem Post
In the United Kingdom, the Archbishop of Canterbury has revoked an interfaith award that was presented last Friday to Pakistani Muslim cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi. This came after his 2007 statements about Osama bin Laden resurfaced, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Award revoked after criticism
Ashrafi received the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation at Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He heads the Pakistan Ulema Council, an association of Islamic scholars from different traditions of Islam.
The archbishop's office initially recognized Ashrafi for his work as an ambassador for interfaith harmony in Pakistan, his commitment to religious tolerance and his support for religious minorities, including the Christian community.
Following criticism, Lambeth Palace said that the imam's previous comments had prompted a review of the decision. It stressed that interfaith dialogue involves engagement despite deep disagreements, but confirmed that the award had been revoked and that Ashrafi had been informed.
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Statements about Osama bin Laden
The issue concerns Ashrafi's statements in 2007, in which he described Osama bin Laden as a man who fought for Islam against the Russians, Americans and Britons. On another occasion, he said that he would give bin Laden the title “Saifullah,” meaning “the sword of God.”
In a comment to the BBC, Ashrafi said that his 2007 words had been completely taken out of context and that the reaction to them was an unfair smear campaign. According to him, those statements were a response to the pain that, in his view, many Muslims felt after the British government's decision to grant a knighthood to writer Salman Rushdie, the author of the novel “The Satanic Verses.”
Ashrafi has also been criticized for supporting Pakistan's blasphemy laws. He argued that these provisions save lives because they prevent vigilante violence over religious insults. Human Rights Watch said last year that such laws contribute to religious discrimination and are used against poor people and minorities during illegal evictions and land grabs.
