Archbishop of Canterbury Rescinds Interfaith Award to Pakistani Cleric Following Outcry Over Bin Laden Remarks

The Archbishop of Canterbury has formally rescinded a prestigious interfaith honour previously bestowed upon a prominent Pakistani Muslim cleric, following intense public backlash over historical statements in which he praised al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

The recipient, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, had been granted the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation during a ceremony hosted at Lambeth Palace in London. The honour was conferred by Dame Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in recognition of his stated contributions toward interfaith dialogue in Pakistan.

Compounding the controversy was the symbolic timing of the presentation. The ceremony at Lambeth Palace coincided with the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, an operation orchestrated by bin Laden that resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.

Scrutiny swiftly mounted after past statements made by Ashrafi in 2007 resurfaced. In those recorded comments, the Pakistani cleric had openly lauded bin Laden, portraying the terrorist mastermind as a figure who had spent his life fighting for Islam against Russian, American, and British forces.

Beyond praising bin Laden’s military campaigns against Western and Soviet powers, reports also highlighted that Ashrafi had expressed a willingness to bestow upon the al-Qaeda leader the revered Islamic title of Saifullah, which translates to the "Sword of God."

Responding to the revocation and the surrounding public fury, Ashrafi insisted to the BBC that his historical comments were being misrepresented. He maintained that his statements had been totally taken out of context and characterised the growing outrage as an unfair targeted campaign directed against his reputation.

According to Ashrafi, his commentary in 2007 was delivered directly in the context of the deep hurt and offence experienced across the Muslim world at the time. This collective anger had been triggered by the British government's decision to grant a knighthood to Sir Salman Rushdie, the author of the controversial novel *The Satanic Verses*.

Despite the intense scrutiny over his rhetoric, Ashrafi maintained a defence of his past remarks, standing by the direct comparison he drew between the British-honoured novelist and the international militant leader responsible for orchestrating mass casualties across the globe.

When the award was initially announced, Lambeth Palace praised Ashrafi as an exceptional figure in religious dialogue. The Archbishop’s office formally commended his outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony within Pakistan and lauded his public commitment to fostering religious tolerance among diverse communities.

Central to Lambeth Palace’s original decision to honour him was Ashrafi’s high-profile involvement in the 2012 legal case of Rimsha Masih. Masih, a young Pakistani Christian girl, had faced severe danger after being falsely accused of committing blasphemy, prompting Ashrafi to intervene on her behalf.

However, critics pointed out that while Ashrafi had intervened in that specific instance, he has otherwise remained a steadfast and vocal proponent of Pakistan’s contentious blasphemy legislation. These statutes have formed the basis for significant religious friction and legal controversy across the country for decades.

Since the late 1980s, an estimated 2,000 individuals have been prosecuted under Pakistan's blasphemy laws. The application of these statutes has fallen disproportionately upon the country’s religious minorities, particularly Christians and members of the Ahmadiyya community, while also impacting large numbers of majority Sunni Muslims.

Ashrafi has consistently defended the existence and enforcement of these legal measures, arguing that the blasphemy framework serves a vital protective role in society. He claimed that having statutory penalties in place actually saves lives by deterring members of the public from taking the law into their own hands through vigilante violence.

This perspective stands in stark opposition to assessments from international human rights monitors. Last year, Human Rights Watch issued a critical assessment highlighting that Pakistan's blasphemy laws systematically perpetuate religious discrimination and are frequently exploited to target vulnerable minorities and impoverished citizens in unlawful land seizures and forced evictions.

Human Rights Watch has consistently urged the Pakistani government to enact urgent legislative reforms. The watchdog emphasised that without comprehensive amendments, the legal framework will continue to be weaponised by bad actors to persecute and suppress marginalised religious communities throughout the country.

The swift withdrawal of the honour highlights the delicate challenges faced by the Church of England in navigating global interfaith diplomacy, particularly when balancing the recognition of regional conflict resolution against deeply controversial political and sectarian records.