Archbishop Withdraws Controversial Award
In 2007, as head of the Pakistan Ulema Council group of Islamic clerics and scholars, Ashrafi said he would give bin Laden – the orchestrator of the September 11 terror attacks – the title Saifullah, which means “Sword of God”, for “serving Muslims by waging jihad against infidels”.Reported by 6 of 6 outlets; wording from Evening Standard.
What happened
Sentences the outlets published, ranked by how many outlets reported the same thing. Nothing here was written by a model.
Lambeth Palace said the award had been 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”.
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.
Show 2 more
In a statement, a spokesperson for Mr Ashrafi said his remarks were being reported “without their proper context”.
The statement added: “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.”
Analysis
Agreed
Reported by outlets on both sides of the middle
No sentence was reported across the range.
Disputed
Picked by our model, which is sometimes wrong
No disagreement the check could confirm. That does not prove there is none.
Framing
How the first headlines put it
How it changed
- 17 Sep
Lambeth Palace said the award had been 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”.
Coverage 9 articles
21 Sep First female Archbishop of Canterbury revokes award she gave on 9/11 to Muslim cleric who praised bin Laden
New York Post
18 Sep Archbishop of Canterbury withdraws award from Muslim cleric after past Osama bin Laden praise surfaces
Fox News
18 Sep Head of Church of England rescinds interfaith award given to Muslim cleric who praised bin Laden
National Post
18 Sep Muslim cleric given award by Archbishop called the butchers of October 7 'freedom fighters', said suicide attacks against Nato troops were 'lawful' - and that men could take four wives at once without permission
Daily Mail
Show all 9 articles
17 Sep Archbishop of Canterbury withdraws award from Muslim cleric who praised Osama bin Laden
BBC
17 Sep Archbishop of Canterbury forced to withdraw controversial award given on anniversary of 9/11 to Muslim cleric who praised Bin Laden
Daily Mail
17 Sep Lambeth Palace withdraws award to Muslim cleric over Osama bin Laden remarks
Evening Standard- 17 Sep Lambeth Place withdraws award to Muslim cleric over Osama bin Laden remarks
Evening Standard 
17 Sep Archbishop of Canterbury under fire after giving 'Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation' award to Muslim cleric who praised Bin Laden - on anniversary of 9/11
Daily Mail
Related stories
Events whose coverage reads most like this one. Similar coverage, not a confirmed cause.
Built 2026-10-13 from 9 articles. Every sentence on this page is quoted from the linked article; nothing was written by a model except the Summary and the items marked AI, which cite their sources, and the questions and labels under "Disputed". Photos are from the outlets that covered the story, never from articles our check marks sensitive.