Press Release– For immediate release
22 September 2020
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress is highly pleased to welcome its cooperation with the Global Imams Council. On September 14, WUC and the Global Imam Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding designed to foster collaboration between the two organizations.

To initiate the collaboration between the two organizations, two prominent Uyghur Imams, Imam Alawdun and Imam Dr. Atta Allah, were appointed to the Global Imams Council.  

”This cooperation breaks the existing silence from the Muslim majority countries on the ongoing atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party against the Uyghurs. This is a necessary step to address the Uyghur issue among the Muslim community,” stated WUC President, Dolkun Isa on the Memorandum. We would like to thank the Global Imams Council for this initiative and look forward to a close and a fruitful cooperation.

The Global Imams Council and the World Uyghur Congress have signed a Memorandum of Understanding designed to foster collaboration between the two organizations.

This MoU commits both organizations to a broad model of engagement, with an emphasis on information sharing and advocacy for the basic human rights of the persecuted Uyghur Muslims. It also strengthens the relationship between the Global Imams Council and the Uyghur Muslim community worldwide.

After a conference call between the President of the Global Imams Council and the President of The World Uyghur Congress on Monday the 14th of September, the following agreements were made:

The WORLD UYGHUR CONGRESS has agreed to:

1. Provide the Global Imams Council with credible and reliable information about the latest developments related to the Uyghur crisis and persecution of the Uyghur people.

2. Maintain regular communication with the Global Imams Council concerning advocacy initiatives and possibilities for engagement.

3. Fully adhere to the Global Imams Council’s objectives of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, mutual respect and building bridges between religious communities.

4. Publicize the Global Imams Council’s work and assistance to address the Uyghur crisis and include the Global Imams Council in any relevant discussions.

5. Collectively work to defend religious freedom, human rights and tolerance.

6. Authorize the Global Imams Council to officially and formally advocate – in the Muslim world – for the rights and interests of the persecuted Uyghurs.

While;

THE GLOBAL IMAMS COUNCIL has agreed to:

1. Morally support the worldwide Uyghur community and assist in efforts to ensure that Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers are not forcibly returned to China, where they would face certain persecution.

2. Support ongoing efforts to stop genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur people by issuing public statements, joint letters, Islamic Fatwas and other expressions of support when necessary and appropriate.

3. Promote awareness of the Uyghur crisis and religious persecution of Uyghurs across the Muslim world and especially in Muslim-majority states through lobbying, public relations and help to mobilise a more effective and principled response from Muslim religious and political leaders to the crisis.

4. Collaborate, where the Global Imams Council deems appropriate, in joint initiatives with other civil society and faith groups to collectively call for China to respect human rights and stop religious persecution.

5. Assist with connecting the World Uyghur Congress to religious and political leaders, activists and civil society organisations, especially in the Middle East.

6. Highlight the Uyghur crisis in international institutions, such as the UN and the European Parliament, and mobilise leading Muslim figures to support and embrace the call and cause for justice for the persecuted Uyghur people.

7. Stand in solidarity with the World Uyghur Congress during its efforts to seek support for the persecuted Uyghurs from both Muslim and non-Muslim governments.

The MoU was executed on the 17th of September 2020 and will come into effect on the 1st of October 2020.

Furthermore, The Global Imams Council has also provided the World Uyghur Congress with two seats on the GIC’s Advisory Committee, which will be occupied by two prominent Uyghur Imams based on the recommendation of the President of the World Uyghur Congress.

The MoU document can be viewed via the downloadable file below:

Memorandum of Understanding: GIC-WUC