Archbishop of Canterbury withdraws award she gave on 9/11 to Muslim cleric who praised bin Laden

Key Points:

• The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, revoked an award given to Pakistani cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi after it was revealed he had praised Osama bin Laden in past comments.
• Ashrafi received the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation for his work promoting religious tolerance, but his 2007 remarks describing bin Laden as a fighter for Islam and deserving the title "sword of God" sparked controversy.
• Ashrafi has also been criticized for supporting Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which Human Rights Watch condemned for perpetuating religious discrimination and targeting minorities.
• Lambeth Palace stated the award was withdrawn due to Ashrafi’s previous comments, emphasizing the importance of engaging across differences but reconsidering the honor in light of new information.
• Ashrafi defended his remarks as taken out of context and claimed the backlash was an unfair campaign linked to his criticism of the British government’s knighthood of Salman Rushdie.