Canadian Terror Victims Laud the Global Imam’s Council Adoption of IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

“The Global Imam’s Council has struck a blow against Islamist extremism and terrorism and the genocidal antisemitism which drives it.”

Danny Eisen, founder, the Canadian Coalition Against Terror

October 30, 2020

The Governing Board of the Global Imam’s Council (GIC) in Baghdad, Iraq, and its Senior Imam Committee voted unanimously this week to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism. The GIC general council and members worldwide then voted by an “overwhelming majority” in favour, according to a GIC press release on the matter.

Danny Eisen, founder of the Canadian Coalition Against Terror, lauded the GIC adoption of the IHRA definition, saying that “The Global Imam’s Council has struck a blow against Islamist extremism and terrorism and the genocidal antisemitism which drives it.”

The global campaign for the adoption of the IHRA definition has become a cornerstone effort in the battle against Jew-hatred. It has been adopted by 37 countries to date, including Canada. Albania and Bahrain joined the effort just this week as did the province of Ontario in adopting the working definition of antisemitism.

“Genocidal antisemitism is a central organizing principle that animates and informs the worldview and policies of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. It fuels the onslaughts of terrorist groups that Islamism has spawned, tolerated, or actively supported,” said Eisen.

The GIC resolution was passed on Monday, October 26, 2020 and made effective yesterday. According to a GIC internal memo issued by GIC president, Imam Baqir al-Budairi, the “definition will be binding on all current and future members of the The Global Imams Council; including all affiliate Mosques, Centers, Institutes and Organizations operated by the Imams of this council worldwide.”

With 1,300 imams serving more than 800 communities across 49 nations, the GIC is “the world’s first and largest international non-governmental body of Muslim faith leaders from all Islamic denominations and schools of thought,” according to their website.

The Canadian Coalition Against Terror was founded by Canadian terror victims in 2004 and is a non-partisan research and policy group committed to seeking innovative legal and public policy strategies in the fight against terrorism and extremism. 

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RELATED: C-CAT MEMO with background and assessment of the GIC adoption of the IHRA definition of Antisemitism