Archbishop of Canterbury Strips Award From Muslim Cleric Over Post-9/11 Praise of OBL

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On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks here in the United States, Muslim cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi was awarded the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace, which is located in London.

“In presenting the award last week, the Archbishop’s office said Ashrafi was being honoured for ‘his outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan, known for his commitment to promoting religious tolerance,’” the BBC reported, while adding:

In giving him his award for promoting interfaith harmony last week, Lambeth Palace had cited the fact that Ashrafi had intervened in the 2012 case of Rimsha Masih, a young Christian girl in Pakistan falsely accused of blasphemy.

But Ashrafi has otherwise been supportive of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws that have led to an estimated 2000 people being prosecuted since the late 1980s.

Ashrafi stood next to his unnamed wife, who was almost completely covered from head to toe, when he received the award.

As it turned out, though, Ashrafi had previously praised 9/11 architect Osama bin Laden just a few years after the attacks, something the palace found out after the award was presented to Ashrafi:

Lambeth Palace faced a backlash after it emerged Ashrafi praised Bin Laden – the architect of the 2001 attacks – as someone who had “been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British”, in comments from 2007.

Ashrafi also reportedly said he would give Bin Laden the title Saifullah, which means “Sword of God”. He told the BBC his remarks had been “totally taken out of context”.

And that’s not all:

On Thursday, Lambeth Palace issued a statement noting they were withdrawing the award:

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.

While it’s welcome news to know that the award was taken back, there is disgust over the fact they felt him worthy of it in the first place:

Charlie Walsham, a pseudonymous Spectator writer who has been working at the BBC for a number of years, posted this blistering reaction:

If you want to produce one piece of photographic evidence that woke is very much alive and kicking in the UK, this picture of the Archbishop of Canterbury handing an award to a radical Muslim cleric, next to his entirely shrouded wife, is it.

We’ve moved far beyond satire in the UK when it comes to the progressive madness that has gripped our institutions; the Church of England is clearly no exception.

Interfaith dialogue is a laudable mission, but the purpose of such dialogue is to find common ground, not to appease those whose regressive views include praising terrorists responsible for mass murder.

Substacker Tyler Cillian Black was even more blunt with his response:

All the things wrong with this:

1. Female Archbishop.
2. Giving an award to a Muslim.
3. A Muslim accompanied by a woman in a full burqa.
4. A Muslim who praised Osama bin Laden.
5. The withdrawal of the award wasn’t because a change of ideology, but because of the backlash, which means it’s disingenuous.

The Church of England is comprehensively compromised by woke brain rot and suicidal empathy, and everyone can see it.

I dunno if this is all part of Woke One or Woke Two. Either way, count me out.

– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –

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