On the 28th of January 2022, Chinese state media “Global Times” published an article titled “NGO of Muslims fooled by anti-China WUC to call for \’boycott\’ of Beijing Games”, containing lies and fabrications with the sole intention of distracting the public from its violations of human rights, and to defame this Council. This statement is not a response to Global Times, as their agenda, ownership and history of justifying injustice are clear. Instead, these clarifications are for the vulnerable readers they may have deceived.
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.