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Osama bin Laden to be 'honoured'
A group of Pakistani clerics led by a pro-Taliban hardliner have said it would bestow a title upon al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in response to Britain's decision to grant knighthood to Salman Rushdie.
Allama Tahir Ashrafi, head of the Pakistan Ulema Council, said on Thursday that the group would give bin Laden the title "Saifullah" - which means "Sword of God" - for "serving Muslims by waging jihad against infidels".
"If Britain can give a knighthood to Rushdie, we too have the right to make awards to our leaders and heroes," Ashrafi said.
He said that while he was not in contact with bin Laden, the reward would reach the fugitive al-Qaeda chief "at an appropriate time".
Ashrafi, who has campaigned for the release of jailed Islamic fighters, said his group represented over 3,000 clerics.
However, Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, Pakistan's religious affairs minister, said he was not familiar with it.
Tensions
Ul-Haq has stirred tensions by suggesting the knighthood could justify suicide attacks and undermine Pakistan's effort against terrorism.
On Thursday, he said he would travel to Britain soon to meet with Muslim clerics and promote interfaith harmony.
Religious parties in Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim state of 160 million, have called for nationwide protests on Friday to condemn Britain for bestowing the honour on Rushdie.
On Thursday, about 200 people rallied in the eastern city of Multan chanting "We are ready to die for Prophet Mohammed's honour" and "Down with Britain".
Pakistan, a close ally of Britain and the US, has condemned the knighthood for Rushdie, who has been accused of insulting Islam in his novel The Satanic Verses.
Protesters have burned effigies of Rushdie and Queen Elizabeth II on the streets of Pakistani cities and demanded that Britain take back the award - a request London has refused.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BFF16653-B650-4EBF-A6D0-8281F5404683.htm
"If Britain can give a knighthood to Rushdie, we too have the right to make awards to our leaders and heroes," Ashrafi said.
He said that while he was not in contact with bin Laden, the reward would reach the fugitive al-Qaeda chief "at an appropriate time".
Ashrafi, who has campaigned for the release of jailed Islamic fighters, said his group represented over 3,000 clerics.
However, Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, Pakistan's religious affairs minister, said he was not familiar with it.
Tensions
Ul-Haq has stirred tensions by suggesting the knighthood could justify suicide attacks and undermine Pakistan's effort against terrorism.
On Thursday, he said he would travel to Britain soon to meet with Muslim clerics and promote interfaith harmony.
Religious parties in Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim state of 160 million, have called for nationwide protests on Friday to condemn Britain for bestowing the honour on Rushdie.
On Thursday, about 200 people rallied in the eastern city of Multan chanting "We are ready to die for Prophet Mohammed's honour" and "Down with Britain".
Pakistan, a close ally of Britain and the US, has condemned the knighthood for Rushdie, who has been accused of insulting Islam in his novel The Satanic Verses.
Protesters have burned effigies of Rushdie and Queen Elizabeth II on the streets of Pakistani cities and demanded that Britain take back the award - a request London has refused.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BFF16653-B650-4EBF-A6D0-8281F5404683.htm
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"Any protest against the British government is useless. They will not listen to any logic," Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, a prominent scholar and chairman of the Senate religious affairs committee, told IslamOnline.net.
He suggested that instead of protesting the British decision world Muslims should confer the title of "Sir" on Bin Laden and Taliban's leader Mullah Omer.
"In response to this step, Muslims should confer the title of Sir to bin Laden and Mullah Omer," he opined.
"The world will see the reaction of western countries if Muslims honor Bin Laden and Mullah Omer as British government did with Rushdie."
Indian-born Rushdie,59, was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II earlier this week. His official title now is Sir Salman.
Knighting Rushdie has triggered angry protests across Pakistan and other countries.
The Pakistani parliament has unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the award and asking London to withdraw the title.
Islamabad and Tehran summoned the respective British ambassadors to receive complaints about the Rushdie award.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, said the "timing of the British award to Rushdie has not created a conducive situation" for understanding between religions.
The Egyptian parliament criticized the award, describing it as a worse error than the Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Malaysian Muslims held a rare noisy demonstration on Wednesday outside the British High Commission to oppose Rushdie's knighthood.
Iraq has also condemned the award.
Rushdie, who turned 60 on Tuesday, has spent the last 18 years living in the shadow of the Iranian fatwa calling for his death, which has never been formally revoked.
Shedding Titles
Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the Chief Minister of Sindh, one of the four provinces of Pakistan, confirmed Thursday giving back the "Sir" and "Khan" titles awarded by the British rulers to his grand father and uncle respectively.
"I announce to give back these titles in protest to the British government," he told a crowded press conference.
"In a situation where a person like Rushdie has been conferred the title of knighthood, I, being a Muslim and the head of Arbab family, cannot keep these titles," Rahim insisted.
His grandfather Arbab Mir Mohammed was knighted on May 12, 1937, by King George-VI while his uncle Arbab Toghachi was given the title of Khan on January 1, 945.
"This is a matter of shame for my family to keep the titles given by a government which has honored a person who desecrates our Holy Prophet," the chief minister said.
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