Church of England Withdraws Award To Muslim Cleric Who Praised Osama bin Laden

The Church of England has withdrawn an award to a Muslim cleric after his praise of Osama bin Laden was discovered. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s office announced Thursday it was withdrawing an interfaith award it had given to a Muslim cleric, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, after 2007 comments resurfaced in which he praised Osama bin Laden for “fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans, and British.” He was given the award last Friday, the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, for his “outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan, known for his commitment to promoting religious tolerance.”However, the office of the Archbishop said in a statement that the resurfaced comments “have led [us] to reconsider this award and we can now confirm that the award has been withdrawn.”“We continue to pray for the Christian community in Pakistan, and for all those working for interfaith dialogue and harmony in Pakistan and around the world,” the statement added. The leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, said, “Britain is a Christian country, yet this image is a sad reminder that if we do not conserve our own faith and traditions, nobody else will. For the Archbishop of Canterbury to honour on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a cleric who praised Bin Laden is a significant lapse.”The decision to rescind the award has led to questions about the church’s judgment and whether it still deserves the privilege of being the official state church.However, a conservative academic, Adrian Hilton, opposed the idea, pointing to the “sheer complexity” of the process. He said that there could be thorny questions about who would own the church properties after the disestablishment. The controversy over the interfaith award came after Leeds Minster agreed to display a tapestry that included the names of Palestinians killed at Gaza. The exhibit was titled “Stitch Their Names Together.” In a video posted on X, the Minster’s rector, Canon Paul Maybury, was asked about the abduction and killing of Ariel and Kfir Bibas by Hamas, and responded, “History is complex.” The exhibit was supposed to be displayed until Sunday, but was pulled early after the church was provided evidence that the tapestry included the names of at least 18 Hamas fighters.There has been growing support for disestablishing the church. A 1957 Gallup poll found that 37 percent of respondents favored a split and 37 percent opposed. However, a 2024 YouGov poll found that 50 percent of Britons want the Church of England to be separated from the government, while just 21 percent said they want the church to retain its link to the state. The survey also found that 46 percent of Anglicans said they want to keep the connection, while 30 percent said they favored disestablishment. In 2023, a bill was introduced to Parliament to separate the church and state, though it never received a vote.

Church of England Withdraws Award To Muslim Cleric Who Praised Osama bin Laden

Church of England Withdraws Award To Muslim Cleric Who Praised Osama bin Laden

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