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Archbishop of Canterbury forced to withdraw controversial award given on anniversary of 9/11 to Muslim cleric who praised Bin Laden

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Policy, M. B. (2026, September 17). Archbishop of Canterbury forced to withdraw controversial award given on anniversary of 9/11 to Muslim cleric who praised Bin Laden. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16140033/Archbishop-Canterbury-forced-withdraw-controversial-award-given-anniversary-9-11-Muslim-cleric-praised-Bin-Laden.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-17 · by Martin Beckford Policy

Quick Summary

The Archbishop of Canterbury withdrew an award she had presented to Muslim cleric Tahir Ashrafi on the anniversary of 9/11 after it was revealed that Ashrafi’s group in Pakistan once honored Osama Bin Laden. The controversy arose when it became known that Ashrafi and his Pakistan Ulema Council awarded Bin Laden a religious title in response to Britain granting Salman Rushdie a knighthood. After facing criticism, the Archbishop's office announced the withdrawal of the award but noted their continued support for Ashrafi’s interfaith work.
Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The core issue highlighted across these articles is the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to withdraw an award given to a prominent Muslim cleric from Pakistan named Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi. The reason for this withdrawal was that it came to light that Ashrafi had praised Osama bin Laden in the past, even giving him a title of honor.

Key points

The main controversy stems from

This incident highlights tensions and challenges in interfaith relations, especially regarding historical context and the potential consequences of past statements. It also raises questions about how religious leaders should balance respect for diverse views with addressing extreme or controversial positions within their faith communities.

Written for “Archbishop Withdraws Controversial Award” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Archbishop Withdraws Controversial Award
Politics · 9 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 68/100
National Post
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different events: one about an award given to a Muslim cleric on the anniversary of 9/11 and another about a memorial exhibition honoring Hamas terrorists that was shut down.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A reports on the Archbishop presenting an award, while Article B describes her withdrawing it after facing backlash.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 65/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 40 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe related incidents involving the Archbishop of Canterbury's actions but refer to distinct occurrences: withdrawing an award (Article A) versus being photographed with a cleric's wife (Article B).”
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 66 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the award ceremony and aftermath; Article A focuses on the withdrawal of the award given to Tahir Ashrafi, while Article B highlights controversial statements made by the same cleric but does not mention the withdrawal.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8613 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Martin Beckford Policy
18 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Martin Beckford Policy
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 18 articles by Martin Beckford Policy →

Topics

British Islam Lambeth Palace Muslim Pakistan

Subjects

Ashrafi PERSON · 8× Pakistan GPE · 6× Islam ORG · 3× Lambeth Palace ORG · 3× Osama Bin Laden PERSON · 3× British NORP · 2× Christian NORP · 2× Muslim NORP · 2× Saifullah PERSON · 2× Tahir Ashrafi PERSON · 2×

Narrative

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to withdraw an award she gave to a Muslim cleric on the anniversary of 9/11 after it emerged he had once praised Osama Bin Laden. The Most Rev Sarah Mullally presented the prize for ‘Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation’ to Tahir Ashrafi on the same day that the world marked 25 years since the terror attacks on America.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 ‘The Archbishop of Canterbury needs to learn now and stop giving succour to those who would destroy us.

Claims (24 extracted, 0 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to withdraw an award she gave to a Muslim cleric on the anniversary of 9/11 after it emerged he had once praised Osama Bin Laden. The Most Rev Sarah Mullally presented the prize for ‘Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation’ to Tahir Ashrafi on the same day that the world marked 25 years since the terror attacks on America. asserted
world → see → America
But she faced a major backlash after it emerged that the group of Islamic scholars Mr Ashrafi chairs in Pakistan had previously given its highest honour to the Al Qaeda chief. asserted
Ashrafi → face → chief
His Pakistan Ulema Council gave Bin Laden a religious title meaning ‘Sword of Allah’ in retaliation for Britain awarding a knighthood to Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie. asserted
Britain → give → Rushdie
Mr Ashrafi said in June 2007: ‘We are pleased to award the title of Saifullah to Osama bin Laden after the British government’s decision to bestow the title of “Sir” on blasphemer Rushdie. asserted
We → say → Rushdie
He added: ‘If a blasphemer can be given the title ‘Sir’ by the West despite the fact that he’s hurt the feelings of Muslims, then a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British must be given the lofty title of Islam, Saifullah.’ asserted
who → add → Islam
Tahir Ashrafi receiving his controversial award from the Archbishop of Canterbury last Friday After his comments were circulated online on Thursday, the Archbishop faced calls to apologise and meet victims of terrorism to understand the hurt she has caused. asserted
she → receive → hurt
Then at 6pm Lambeth Palace said in a statement that it had withdrawn the award – yet continued to praise the interfaith work carried out by Mr Ashrafi. asserted
it → say → Ashrafi
It said: ‘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. asserted
Award → say → 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. asserted
that → give → 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. asserted
that → engage → differences
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. asserted
award → make → award
We have contacted Imam Ashrafi to make him aware of this decision.' asserted
him → contact → decision
It added: '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.’ asserted
We → add → world
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy, who had exposed the cleric’s previous remarks, said afterwards: ‘It’s right that this award - given to an imam who praised Osama Bin Laden for targeting Brits - has been withdrawn. asserted
who → expose → Brits
‘The Archbishop of Canterbury needs to learn now and stop giving succour to those who would destroy us. asserted
who → need → us
The progressive dance with Islamism is dangerous and must end.’ asserted
dance → end → Islamism
The National Secular Society said: 'We welcome the withdrawal of this award, but it is astonishing that it was given in the first place – on the anniversary of 9/11, no less. asserted
it → say → 9/11
This episode reveals not only appallingly poor judgement and inadequate due diligence, but a dangerous naivety about the religious figures legitimised through interfaith engagement.' asserted
episode → reveal → engagement
Questions are also being asked about why Lambeth Palace, which put photos of the ceremony online, did not name Mr Ashrafi’s veiled wife even though she was presented with the award alongside her husband. asserted
she → ask → husband
Tory MP Neil O’Brien said: ‘I think the niqab is oppressive and makes women second class citizens. asserted
women → say → ?
It is clearly not required in Islam. asserted
It → require → Islam
While this is a free country, it should be discouraged at all levels.’ asserted
it → discourage → levels
Mr Ashrafi had served as ‘religious harmony’ envoy to Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and had met former Archbishop Justin Welby on his trip to Islamabad in 2022. asserted
Ashrafi → serve → 2022
After receiving his award last week the cleric said Islam was a religion of peace, security and love, and called for action to ‘protect minorities and unite against extremism and terrorism’. asserted
Islam → receive → extremism
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