The Archbishop of Canterbury has pulled an interfaith award presented to a Muslim cleric who once praised Osama bin Laden.
Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi received the award on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Lambeth Palace was widely criticized for its move after it was discovered that Ashrafi praised Bin Laden as one who had “been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British.” The comment was made in 2007, the BBC reports.
Lambeth Palace said the award was initially given to Ashrafi due to his “longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community.”
Lambeth Palace’s full statement is as follows:
“Last week the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation was presented to Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace. The award was given for Imam Ashrafi’s longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community – support that is valued by many Christians in Pakistan including its Anglican Church.
“It is a longstanding principle of interfaith dialogue and co-operation that we must engage with one another across deeply-held differences, and that remains the case. However, previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn. We have contacted Imam Ashrafi to make him aware of this decision. We continue to pray for the Christian community in Pakistan, and for all those working for interfaith dialogue and harmony in Pakistan and around the world.“
Ashrafi told the BBC that his comments had been “totally taken out of context” and called the criticism “an unfair campaign” against him.
Former President Bill Clinton said last week that he initially authorized his administration to “take [bin Laden] out.”
“I was scared, and I was mad because we tried to get him before, and the CIA at the last minute killed the plan that I think might well have succeeded,” Clinton said. “But they were afraid that if they missed, they’d kill a lot of innocent civilians. They didn’t want to run the risk.”
“I wish we had done even more to get him. I always thought he was our biggest threat,” Clinton continued. “I wanted to get him, and I did what I could to do that.”
