The Troubling Union: Reconciliation Through Blind Eyes Lambeth Palace's decision to withdraw an award from Muslim cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi has raised uncomfortable questions about the lengths institutions will go in pursuit of interfaith harmony.
The Archbishop of Canterbury's office had praised Ashrafi as a champion of reconciliation and religious tolerance, citing his intervention in the 2012 case of Rimsha Masih, a young Christian girl falsely accused of blasphemy.
However, Ashrafi's views on Osama bin Laden and Pakistan's blasphemy laws reveal a troubling disconnect between his public persona and private convictions.