Lambeth Palace Revokes Interfaith Award to Cleric Over Bin Laden Remarks

Lambeth Palace, the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, has revoked an interfaith award given to a Pakistani cleric after past comments praising Osama bin Laden came to light. The Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation was presented to Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on September 12, the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The award was bestowed by Dame Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London. The decision to withdraw the honor was announced on September 17. In a statement, Lambeth Palace said previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi had come to light, leading to a reconsideration of the award. The palace confirmed the award had been withdrawn. The controversy centers on remarks Ashrafi made in 2007. At that time, as head of the Pakistan Ulema Council, he said he would give bin Laden the title "Saifullah," meaning Sword of God, for serving Muslims by waging jihad. The comments were made during protests in Pakistan against British author Salman Rushdie being awarded a knighthood. A spokesperson for Ashrafi stated the remarks were reported without their proper context and were not an endorsement of bin Laden.