The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury has revoked an interfaith honor awarded to a Muslim cleric after earlier remarks emerged in which he spoke positively about Osama bin Laden.
Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi was presented with the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation at Lambeth Palace last Friday, in a ceremony held on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Lambeth Palace announced Thursday that it had rescinded the award after Ashrafi’s past statements came to its attention and prompted a review of the decision.
“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,” Lambeth Palace said in a statement.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally presented Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi with the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation at Lambeth Palace before the honor was later withdrawn. (Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)
“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to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn,” the statement said. “We have contacted Imam Ashrafi to make him aware of this decision.”
The palace said it continues “to pray for the Christian community in Pakistan, and for all those working for interfaith dialogue and harmony in Pakistan and around the world.”
Lambeth Palace said Ashrafi had originally been selected for the award because of his “longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s office withdrew an interfaith award given to Pakistani cleric Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi following scrutiny of his past remarks. (Neil Turner / Lambeth Palace)
According to the BBC, Ashrafi said in 2007 that bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, had “been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British.”
The BBC also reported that Ashrafi said he would give bin Laden the title “Saifullah,” meaning “Sword of God.”
Ashrafi told the BBC that his remarks had been “totally taken out of context” and described the backlash against him as an “unfair campaign.”
He said he made the remarks about bin Laden in 2007 in response to “the hurt felt by many Muslims” over the British government’s decision to knight “The Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie.
Britain’s new Archbishop of Canterbury-designate, Sarah Mullally, speaks following the announcement of her posting, at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England on Oct. 3, 2025. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
During the award presentation last week, the Archbishop’s office said Ashrafi was being honored for “his outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan, known for his commitment to promoting religious tolerance.”