Skip to content
ThreadOut
Nick Timothy MP@NJ_Timothy · Sep 16, 2026

The Archbishop of Canterbury has given Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi an award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation.…

6 tweets1 min read♥ 8.8Koriginal

Summary

The Archbishop of Canterbury awarded Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, chairman of Pakistan's Ulema Council, a prize for interfaith cooperation, despite Ashrafi's reported support for blasphemy laws, death penalties, conspiracy theories about Jews and Christians, and controversial comments on suicide bombing. The thread criticizes what it calls naive engagement by Western institutions with figures holding extremist views.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    The Archbishop of Canterbury has given Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi an award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation. He's the chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council - a group of Islamic scholars. The lady next to him is his wife. But why did the Church grant him this award? 🧵

  2. #2

    Presumably not for his support for Islamic blasphemy laws in Pakistan and the death penalty that comes with them? dawn.com/news/1144169

  3. #3

    Nor for his claim that "Jews and Christians" were using the war in Iran to target Iran's nuclear weapons?

    MEMRI@MEMRIReports · Apr 3, 2026

    Pakistani Cleric Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi: 'Under The Pretext [Of War On] #Iran, The Real Target Of Jews And Christians Is #Pakistan's #Nuclear Power' - Report & audio here ow.ly/ju5l50YBrzs #MEMRI

  4. #4

    Nor for his reported comments that suicide bombings in Afghanistan were lawful? (Ashrafi later claimed his comments were taken out of context, but they were deemed sufficiently serious for the NATO Secretary General to respond) arabnews.com/world/karzai-l…

  5. #5

    The naivety of our public institutions for engaging with people like this is staggering. But not surprising. We are failed time and again by liberals who believe other cultures are basically the same as ours, and the world is or wants to be just like us. They're completely wrong. And their assumptions, behaviour and arrogant refusal to accept that they ARE wrong is deadly - not just for public safety but our whole way of life.

  6. #6

    Postscript: a friend just drew my attention to this: theguardian.com/uk/2007/jun/22…