His Excellency Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker is a prominent advocate for peace, harmony and interfaith. We are grateful that he and his congregation were rescued, and that the terrorist attacker is no longer a threat to society.

Furthermore, we denounce all organizations and individuals that echo the demands of the hostage-taker, and his sympathy for convicted terrorists. We stand in solidarity with the global Jewish community during this difficult time and pray for the speedy recovery of all the victims. Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones.

GIC Statement:

The meeting saw officials of the local government and the leadership of The Global Imams Council discuss crucial matters concerning national security and the rights of minorities within Muslim countries. The GIC emphasized on the importance of religious liberty of Christians and Jews within Kosovo.

The Government of Ferizaj recognized The Global Imams Council as a representative of the very Abrahamic and human values espoused by the nation of Kosovo, and honored the GIC for its work in advancing peace and countering extremism.

In return, GIC President presented an award to the city for its peaceful coexistence.

The City of Kaçanik is unique in its promotion of peace and coexistence between all people, regardless of faith, ethnicity or background. Kaçanik is considered a role-model city within the broader region due to its successful opposition to extremism and Islamism.

Throughout this fruitful meeting, Mayor Besim Ilazi detailed his efforts to counter extremism and terrorism throughout the city, and stated that Kaçanik has not witnessed an act of extremism or terrorism in over 10 years.

His Excellency thanked The Global Imams Council for visiting the Republic of Kosovo, and invited the council to participate by sharing its message of peace and anti-extremism in the city\’s future events and conferences.

The Honorable Haki Abazi thanked The Global Imams Council for visiting Kosovo and welcomed the opportunity for diplomatic cooperation with the GIC on portfolios concerning the Middle East and the Muslim world. Both parties discussed the importance of Kosovo attaining full recognition of its independence and sovereignty, especially from Muslim governments, as 96% of Kosovo\’s population adheres to the Islamic religion.

The Global Imams Council presented several proposals in this regard and agreed to cooperate with the government of Kosovo on achieving this noble objective.

Discussions throughout the gathering also revolved around the significant role of GIC\’s Imams in establishing peace, harmony and coexistence between people of all faiths.

The GIC delegation to the Kosovo presented an outline of the Council\’s activities which focus on the promotion of peace,countering of extremism, terrorism and Antisemitism.

The President and Vice President of GIC praised President Jahjaga\’s role in establishing the country\’s counter-terrorism laws, and enhancing national security, education and human rights; and granted her excellency with the Council\’s Global Peace Award, in recognition of her dedicated service to peace, global security, democratic values, and empowerment of women.

President Jahjaga thanked The Global Imams Council for visiting the Republic of Kosovo, and welcomed the opportunity for future collaboration in areas concerning Kosovo\’s sovereignty and national coexistence.

Imam Mohammad Tawhidi, Vice President of The Global Imams Council, visited Tariel Nakaidze MP in his Parliamentary office to pay the Council\’s respects and acknowledge Mr Nakaidze\’s sincere and genuine efforts towards peace and community-building, especially for his representation of minorities within Georgia.

This development in relations between The Global Imams Council and the Parliament of Georgia comes after the GIC visited the Republic of Georgia between the 21st and 30th of November 2022. During this visit, the GIC delegation met with leading Muslim, Christian and Jewish faith leaders throughout Tblisi, Capital of Georgia, and its surrounding cities. The Global Imams Council solidified its relationship with the Muslim community of Georgia by signing Memorandums of Understanding with leading Muslim leaders of Georgia.

This development in relations between The Global Imams Council and the Republic of Kosovo comes after the GIC visited the Republic of Kosovo between the 16th and 21st of November 2022. During this visit, the GIC delegation met with members of the Kosovo Government, leading Muslim, Christian and Jewish faith leaders throughout the capital of Pristina and its surrounding cities. The Global Imams Council solidified its relationship with the government of Kosovo, and established lines of communication with the local and federal governments.

The Global Imams Council welcomes His Excellency Mr. Donat Syla to its community of distinguished advisors and looks forward to a productive relationship between Kosovo and the GIC.

As described correctly by our Canadian colleagues at the Council of Muslims Against Antisemitism (CMAA), antisemitism is a “uniquely pervasive, enduringand lethal form of globalized prejudice” that has become a driving and binding force for extremists and terrorists across the globe. In particular, Holocaust Denial and Distortion is one of the most widespread, malevolent, and egregious of the antisemitic narratives promulgated by these groups seeking to denigrate and demonize the religious and national identity of our Jewish brethren. We view this particularly perverse calumny as unmatched in its virulence in legitimizing hatred, violence and in many cases genocide against the Jewish people, and we unreservedly condemn its promotion in any of its permutations, in the strongest of Islamic terms.

The GIC is the world’s first and largest transnational non-governmental body of Muslim religious Leaders from all Islamic Denominations and Schools of thought, with a rapidly growing number of over 1350 members worldwide. With representation in over 70 countries, the GIC works closely with government departments and security agencies to counter extremism, terrorism and the promotion of genocide. The decision to outlaw Holocaust denial in Canada falls in line with this Council\’s vision for a future based on harmony, coexistence and genuine peace.

In October of the year 2020, our Council collaborated with the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism at the US Department of State to become the first Imams Council to adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism; and its examples, which include \”denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during WorldWar II (the Holocaust).\” Most recently on February 3, 2022 the GIC publicly endorsed the UN resolution condemning Holocaust Denial.

We congratulate the Jewish Communities of Canada on their country heading in the direction of joining countries like Germany, Austria, Greece, France, Belgiumand the Czech Republic in prohibiting Holocaust Denial. Our Council vows tocontinue combating extremism, terrorism, antisemitism and Holocaust denial. 

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The first claim was that The Global Imams Council was “fooled” by the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) to ban Muslim participation in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. This is a lie, as we have an active Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the WUC, and we share the concerns of the Uyghur people that the Chinese government is persecuting. The statement was our initiative and was not requested by the WUC.

The second claim was that the Muslim leaders CC’d (Carbon Copied) onto our statement had opposed our statement. This is also a lie. Chinese Embassies threatened and pressured two of the mentioned Muftis to deny signing the statement, despite the fact that a ‘CC’ does not mean ‘signature’. We then clarified this matter and personally contacted those Islamic authorities. Furthermore, we issued a separate statement assuring Muslims that we supported sporting activities but were only opposed to an event that served the interests of the Chinese government.

The third claim was that The President of The Global Imams Council, His Excellency Imam al-Budairi, was interviewed by a journalist in Iraq and had supposedly stated that the World Uyghur Congress funds this Council. This is another lie because not only was the name of the interviewer not disclosed, the President of this Council was never actually interviewed on this matter, nor did he meet with a journalist. Additionally, the Arabic “source” cited within the smear article “Al-Arabiyah News” is not a real news organization in Iraq; and is unlawfully using the copyrighted name of Al Arabiya News Organization and logo that is based in Dubai, UAE (alarabiya.net). The second lie in this claim is that the “journalist” visited the Headquarters of this Council. This is impossible, as the Council Headquarters were closed due to COVID regulations and will reopen in mid-February 2022. The humble sized venue referred to in the article is not this Council’s headquarters, but a place within the downtown of the ancient Holy City of Najaf, beside the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (a.s), where buildings are old and of similar size, and in which our Imams gather in during their breaks in between work and delivering lessons. This is a venue open to the public, which was at one stage occupied by the offices of eminent Grand jurists before this Council, and does not require an invitation. This place has also been temporarily closed due to COVID regulations, indicating further fabrications by Global Times. 

The Chinese government has launched a defamatory and libellous campaign to discredit this Council and to character assassinate whoever advocates for the freedom of the Uyghur people. We are China’s latest victims. We consider these false allegations, manipulations, and accusations a provocation by the Chinese government.

This Council focuses on advocating for peace, harmony, coexistence and human rights. We have collaborated with numerous government departments in this respect, including the US Department of State. Through our Imams, which exceed 1300 members, we oversee the affairs of over 800 centers, Mosques and organizations globally. We will not be intimidated, and we shall multiply our efforts by ensuring that the most leading Grand Ayatollahs, Muftis and Islamic Authorities in the Muslim world, Sunni and Shia, issue independent statements against the Chinese government’s violations of human rights.

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