On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, the Church of England found itself entangled in a question as old as moral recognition itself: can a partial good redeem a complicated whole? The Archbishop of Canterbury withdrew an interfaith award from Pakistani cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi after his 2007 praise of Osama bin Laden resurfaced, casting a shadow over an honor meant to celebrate reconciliation. The episode, unfolding at Lambeth Palace, reminds us that the work of bridge-building cannot be separated from the full architecture of a builder's beliefs — and that anniversarie
Archbishop withdraws award from cleric after Bin Laden praise emerges
Pakistan's blasphemy laws have led to approximately 2,000 prosecutions since the late 1980s, disproportionately affecting Christians, Ahmadis, and marginalized communities.
An award for interfaith harmony, withdrawn for past praise of a terrorist
Mark
Why did the Archbishop move so quickly to withdraw the award? It seems like they would have vetted Ashrafi before giving it to him.
Mimi
That's the obvious question. The award was presented on September 11th itself—the anniversary—which suggests the vetting process either missed the 2007 comments or didn't weigh them heavily enough at the time. Once the remarks became public, the palace had little choice but to act.
Luke
But we should be careful here. We don't know exactly how the palace conducts its vetting, or whether these comments were actually unknown to them beforehand. The reporting says the comments "emerged"—emerged to whom? To the public? To the palace? That's not entirely clear.
Mark
Fair point. So what's Ashrafi's actual defense? Is it credible?
Mimi
He says the 2007 comments were made in response to Rushdie's knighthood and that they've been taken out of context. But the reporting doesn't really explain what the fuller context would be. And he's not denying he said them—he's just saying they were misunderstood.
Luke
Right. And that's where it gets murky. We have a quote about what he said, but we don't have the full 2007 statement. We don't know if there's context that genuinely changes the meaning. The palace decided it didn't matter; Ashrafi says it does. Both positions are stated, but the actual evidence is thin.
Mark
What about his support for the blasphemy laws? That seems harder to defend.
Mimi
It does. He's been consistent in backing them, even though they've led to roughly 2,000 prosecutions and disproportionately target minorities. He frames it as protective—preventing vigilante violence. But Human Rights Watch says they're actually used as a tool of discrimination and land grabs.
Luke
And that's where the reporting is on firmer ground. We have numbers—2,000 prosecutions since the late 1980s. We have a documented pattern. We have an organization on record with a contrary assessment. That's verifiable.
Mark
So the real story isn't just the bin Laden comments. It's that the palace gave an award to someone with a mixed record on religious freedom.
Mimi
Exactly. The Rimsha Masih case was real and important. But it was one intervention. His broader stance on blasphemy law suggests a more complicated relationship with minority rights than the award citation acknowledged.
Luke
And we still don't know whether the palace knew about the blasphemy law support and decided it was outweighed by the Rimsha case, or whether they simply didn't do that homework. That gap matters.
The Pulse
- An interfaith award presented on September 11th's 25th anniversary became a source of institutional embarrassment when the recipient's past praise of bin Laden came to light.
- Ashrafi's claim that his remarks were taken out of context — offered as a reaction to Salman Rushdie's knighthood — left the moral equivalence he drew largely undefended.
- Beyond the bin Laden controversy, Ashrafi's longstanding support for Pakistan's blasphemy laws — linked to roughly 2,000 prosecutions disproportionately targeting Christians and Ahmadis — deepened the scrutiny.
- Lambeth Palace moved swiftly to rescind the award, but the reversal itself raised harder questions about how thoroughly institutions vet recipients of honors tied to religious tolerance.
- The episode now sits at the center of a broader reckoning: whether a single act of compassion, like intervening for a falsely accused Christian girl, can or should offset a record that critics say enables systemic harm.
On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, the Church of England found itself entangled in a question as old as moral recognition itself: can a partial good redeem a complicated whole? The Archbishop of Canterbury withdrew an interfaith award from Pakistani cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi after his 2007 praise of Osama bin Laden resurfaced, casting a shadow over an honor meant to celebrate reconciliation. The episode, unfolding at Lambeth Palace, reminds us that the work of bridge-building cannot be separated from the full architecture of a builder's beliefs — and that anniversaries have a way of sharpening what we might otherwise overlook.
The Archbishop of Canterbury withdrew an interfaith award this week after the Muslim cleric who received it was found to have praised Osama bin Laden nearly two decades ago. The timing cut deeply: Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi had been honored by Dame Sarah Mullally just days before, on September 11th — the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Lambeth Palace had praised Ashrafi as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan, pointing in particular to his intervention in a 2012 blasphemy case involving Rimsha Masih, a young Christian girl who had been falsely accused. The endorsement seemed straightforward — until 2007 remarks emerged in which Ashrafi had described bin Laden as a fighter for Islam and offered him the honorific title Saifullah, Sword of God. The palace withdrew the award without elaboration.
Ashrafi insisted his words had been taken out of context, framing them as a response to the hurt many Muslims felt over Salman Rushdie's knighthood that year. He did not retract the comparison between an author and a man responsible for mass murder.
The controversy widened when his broader record came into focus. Despite his help for Rimsha Masih, Ashrafi has consistently supported Pakistan's blasphemy laws — statutes tied to roughly 2,000 prosecutions since the late 1980s, falling disproportionately on Christians, Ahmadis, and other minorities. He has argued the laws prevent vigilante violence. Human Rights Watch has argued the opposite, documenting how the laws are used to target the poor and marginalized in land disputes and unlawful evictions.
The episode laid bare a tension that interfaith work rarely escapes: a single act of compassion does not dissolve a larger pattern of harm, and institutions that confer recognition bear some responsibility for understanding both.
The Archbishop of Canterbury withdrew an interfaith award on Thursday after discovering that the Muslim cleric who received it had once praised Osama bin Laden. The timing made the reversal particularly sharp: Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi had been presented with the honor by Dame Sarah Mullally just days earlier, on September 11th, the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Lambeth Palace had cited Ashrafi's "outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan" when conferring the award for reconciliation and interfaith cooperation. The citation highlighted his intervention in a 2012 case involving Rimsha Masih, a young Christian girl who had been falsely accused of blasphemy. It was a straightforward endorsement of someone working to bridge religious divides. Then the past surfaced. In 2007, Ashrafi had described bin Laden as someone who had "been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British." He had also said he would grant bin Laden the title Saifullah—Sword of God. The palace issued a terse statement: the award had been withdrawn.
Ashrafi responded by insisting his remarks had been "totally taken out of context" and that the backlash amounted to "an unfair campaign" against him. He explained that he had made those comments in 2007 in response to the hurt many Muslims felt over the knighthood awarded to Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. The comparison he drew—between an author and a man responsible for thousands of deaths—remained undefended in substance, though he did not retract it.
But the controversy extended beyond the bin Laden comments. While Ashrafi had indeed helped Rimsha Masih, his broader record on religious freedom told a different story. He has been a consistent supporter of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, statutes that have resulted in roughly 2,000 prosecutions since the late 1980s. Those prosecuted have included a disproportionate number of Christians and Ahmadis—religious minorities—though majority Sunni Muslims have also been charged. Ashrafi has argued that the laws "save lives" by preventing people from taking vigilante action. Human Rights Watch, in a report from the previous year, had reached the opposite conclusion, stating that the laws "perpetuate religious discrimination and are used to target the poor and minorities in unlawful evictions and land grabs." The organization called on Pakistan's government to reform the statutes to prevent them from being weaponized against marginalized communities.
The withdrawal of the award exposed a tension at the heart of interfaith work: how to recognize genuine efforts at bridge-building while accounting for a person's full record on the rights and safety of religious minorities. Ashrafi's intervention for one girl did not erase his support for laws that have criminalized thousands.
Notable Quotes
Ashrafi said his remarks had been 'totally taken out of context' and the backlash was 'an unfair campaign' against him.— Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, to the BBC
Human Rights Watch stated that Pakistan's blasphemy laws 'perpetuate religious discrimination and are used to target the poor and minorities in unlawful evictions and land grabs.'— Human Rights Watch
Want the full story?
Read the original at BBC News ↗
Religion