Global Imams Council Issues Statement Condemning Iran's Attack On Israel

Iran | Special Dispatch No. 11285

On April 14, 2024, following Iran’s large-scale missile- and drone-attack on Israel, the Global Imams Council (GIC) issued an English-language statement that strongly condemned this attack, which “brought with it a new phase of tension, uncertainty and confrontation in the Middle East,” endangered the religious sites in the Holy Land and could spark an escalation threatening the the security of Millions of Muslims across the region. Rejecting Iran’s claim that it was acting in self-defense and highlighting the Iranian regime’s “history of sponsoring terrorism, sheltering terrorist organizations,” the statement also urged the world democracies to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

The statement was signed by 295 Imams who are members of the GIC, representing 38 countries, in addition to endorsements from the GIC Governing Board, GIC Senior Imams Committee, GIC Advisory Committee and the Members of the GIC General Council.

The GIC is the world’s first and largest international non-governmental body of Muslim religious leaders from all Islamic denominations and schools, and advocates for peaceful coexistence, tolerance, and interfaith dialogue and for tackling extremist ideologies and militant Islam.[1]

The following is the text of the statement:

PUBLIC STATEMENT CONDEMING IRAN’S TERRORIST ATTACK

By the authority vested in the Global Imams Council by the Islamic Seminaries of the Holy Islamic Cities of Najaf and Karbala, we condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack conducted by the un-Islamic regime occupying the Iranian Republic on the 13th of April 2024.

The wave of drones and missiles that the regime launched has not only brought with it a new phase of tension, uncertainty and confrontation in the Middle East, but also targeted the Holy Land and place religious sites, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in serious danger.

The Global Imams Council rejects the regime’s self-defense pretest, and we highlight its history of sponsoring terrorism, sheltering terrorist organizations, and exploiting Mosques, Holy Shrines and diplomatic venues to shelter terrorists. For the last four decades, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been the main source of Islamist terrorism in the world, with its leader Ali Khamenei financing organizations not limited to Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis:; as well as harboring Al-Qaeda members on Iranian territory.

This escalation and threat of open warfare threatens the safety and stability of millions of Muslims, compelling us, as religious leaders, to denounce the regime in Iran and demand accountability for its acts of terror in the name of Islam.

Furthermore, The Global Imams Council urges all democracies yet to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization to do so promptly in response to this egregious attack.

GIC Governing Board
14 April 2024

View the 295 GIC signatories here and here.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL IMAMS COUNCIL

The Global Imams Council is dedicated to making peace a lived reality. We work both locally and globally to support peacebuilders, as well as collaborate with leading faith-leaders to establish dialogue and promote an innovative approach to peacebuilding. Our Council believes that the establishment of peace amongst all human beings is an essential objective.

Our peacebuilding efforts include, and are not limited to:

Developing and or mediating relations with different religious groups.
Defending religious freedom.
Promoting coexistence between all religious groups.

Interfaith

The Global Imams Council has established an Interfaith Network which comprises of leading faith-leaders from different religions, and who have been provided with constitutional powers to surpass all Council Committees. Members of our Interfaith Network provide direct advice to our Governing Board about matters that concern Islam and their respective religion or region. Our Council invites all prominent voices to join us on this peacebuilding journey.

Countering Terrorism and Extremist Ideologies

The Global Imams Council rejects violence and all violent ideologies. Our President and Director previously served as motivational speakers to the Iraqi Government’s Department of Defense during the war against ISIS. Our council is focused on tackling extremist ideologies and countering Islamic Extremism, terrorism, political and militant Islam (Islamism). We cooperate with security agencies and engage communities and faith-leaders of both Islam and other religions to reaffirm a commitment to developing cooperative programs that prevent violence.

Women’s and Children’s Rights

The Global Imams Council champions women’s rights and strongly believes that women have a right to an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.

We are the first Imams Council in history to appoint women to an administerial board, and establish an ‘Office for Women’ that works with women’s rights organizations around the world. We believe in equality and reject all forms of discrimination against all minorities, including women and children.

Our Council is actively fighting (and lobbying) for women’s rights within the Islamic Seminaries, as well as meeting with different Muftis and Grand Ayatollahs to bring an end to Female Genital Mutilation, Child Marriages, Honor Killings and other matters which harm girls and women alike.

Minority Rights

The Global Imams Council believes that fighting for Human Rights is meaningless if we do not include Minority Rights. Our Council’s Counter-Extremism Project focuses on global attacks against Religious Minorities and our Imams work and cooperate with government departments as well as the police in every continent and major city.

We utilize new technologies, including social media, to dynamically raise awareness regarding Christian Persecution and Anti-Semitism.

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[1] On January 27, 2023, the GIC issued a statement on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in which it pledged “to never forget the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the terrorist Nazis and their collaborators” and to “continue the fight against antisemitism and Holocaust denial and distortion.” See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10456 – Global Imams Council Issues Statement On Occasion Of International Holocaust Remembrance Day: We Pledge To Remember The Six Million Jews Murdered In The Holocaust, Fight Extremism And Holocaust Denial – February 2, 2023.

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Global Imams Council Issues Statement Condemning Iran’s Attack On Israel