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]
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The following is the text of the statement:
[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.
