LONDON – A British honour awarded to Pakistani religious scholar Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has been withdrawn after resurfaced comments in which he described Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden as a “mujahid” fighting against Russia, the US and Britain.
The decision by Archbishop of Canterbury triggered fresh controversy over how Ashrafi was initially selected for the honour, which was presented to him just last week during an event marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Ashrafi received the recognition from Dame Sarah Mullally for his reported efforts to promote interfaith harmony, religious tolerance and cooperation between different faith communities in Pakistan. But the honour quickly came under scrutiny after his remarks from 2007 resurfaced.
In those comments, Ashrafi reportedly referred to bin Laden as a Muslim fighter and said he would like to give the Al-Qaeda founder the title “Saifullah”. Bin Laden was widely regarded as the principal mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed around 3,000 people.
Facing mounting criticism, Lambeth Palace confirmed that it had reviewed the award after becoming aware of Ashrafi’s earlier comments. “Some comments by Tahir Ashrafi have come to light which have led us to review the honour,” the palace said, confirming that the honour had now been withdrawn.
Ashrafi rejected the criticism surrounding his remarks, saying his 2007 comments had been taken out of context and describing the backlash as part of an “unfair campaign”. He said the remarks had been made amid widespread anger among Muslims over British author Salman Rushdie being awarded a knighthood.
Ashrafi nevertheless defended his decision to draw a comparison involving bin Laden, despite the Al-Qaeda leader being associated with attacks that killed thousands of people.
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