There have been so many disgusting and frankly cringe examples of what Raymond Ibrahim calls “doormat Christianity” that I don’t even know where to begin.
On September 11 the “Archbishop” of Canterbury Sarah Mullally presented an “interfaith” award to Pakistani Muslim cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi at Lambeth Palace. The ceremony took place on the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11 when nearly 3,000 people were murdered in attacks orchestrated by Osama bin Laden.
Now this is where things get strange.
In 2007 Ashrafi publicly praised bin Laden as Saifullah or the “Sword of God” while describing him as a mujahid who fought against the Russians and the West. Ashrafi has also defended Pakistan’s blasphemy laws which have long been associated with the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.
Reuters reported him saying:
“We are pleased to award the title of Saifullah [sword of God] to Osama bin Laden after the British government’s decision to bestow the title of ‘Sir’ on blasphemer Rushdie. This is the highest title for a Muslim warrior. If a blasphemer can be given the title ‘Sir’ by the West despite the fact 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.”
We are not done yet, it gets even weirder..
The Award Was Named After a Crusader
The award itself is named after Hubert Walter.
Hubert Walter was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1193 until 1205. Before becoming archbishop he went east on the Third Crusade and served alongside Richard the Lionheart.
The historical Hubert Walter even became an intermediary between Richard and Saladin while the Crusade continued. He helped negotiate with Saladin and later entered Jerusalem with Christian pilgrims.
How did the Church of England give such a prominent award to someone without apparently knowing about his previous comments on Osama bin Laden?
Then They Took the Award Back
Six days later Lambeth Palace withdrew the award.
On September 17 the Archbishop’s office announced that previous comments made by Ashrafi “have come to light” and that the Hubert Walter Award was therefore being withdrawn.
The full statement read:
“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.”
So the Church eventually corrected the decision.
But apparently nobody responsible for choosing the recipient discovered these comments until after the Archbishop of Canterbury presented him with the award and the photographs were already taken.
One of those photographs shows Mullally standing beside Ashrafi and his wife after the presentation.
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Tomorrow, we’ll continue with an article about Captain John Smith, famous for beheading three Ottomans in battle and later becoming one of the founders of Jamestown, Virginia.
I’m also working on an article about “Doormat Christianity,” in which I discuss the recent controversy involving Muslims reciting hateful Quran verses during the opening Mass at the Catholic University of Leuven.
I’ll also cover Trump’s September 22 speech at the United Nations on the persecution of Christians.
These people will be destroyed at the return of Christ. Such perverse, disgusting evil...
She’s sinful