European Council of Imams slams Israel visit by ‘so-called imams’

The European Council of Imams has sharply criticized a recent visit to Israel by a group it described as “so-called imams,” denouncing the move as a betrayal of core Islamic values and solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

The council said in a statement on Wednesday that the delegation met with “criminal figures” in the occupying Israeli state amid a global outcry over the ongoing military assault on Gaza.

“We were shocked by media outbursts of a visit by so-called imams to the occupying Israeli state and their meeting with its criminal figures,” the council said, adding that the act “is in stark contradiction to any human or moral sensibility.”

It emphasized that the individuals involved in the visit are “unknown among European Muslims” and have no affiliation with any “reputable religious institutions or trusted Islamic organizations.”

According to the statement, the visit “clearly reveals its provocative and showy nature, aimed at serving suspicious agendas,” and does not represent the position of Muslims in Europe, who have been staging protests and demonstrations in support of Palestinians across the continent.

“The ongoing protests and daily events in cities across Europe stand as clear evidence of this unwavering position,” the council added.

The statement also called on all imams, scholars, activists, and people of conscience to “intensify efforts in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and to confront the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.”

The council warned against any attempts to “whitewash the crimes of the occupier,” describing such efforts as “a betrayal of Allah, His Messenger, and the blood of the oppressed.”

It also cautioned against efforts “to distort consciousness and undermine foundational principles through paid or misguided individuals.”

Concluding the statement, the European Council of Imams prayed for strength and victory for the Palestinian people, saying: “We ask Allah, the Exalted, to strengthen the hearts of our brothers in Palestine, to grant victory to the people of Gaza against the oppressors, and to return them to their homes and lives in safety and dignity.”

Al-Azhar condemnation

Egypt’s Al-Azhar University also condemned the visit “by those whose eyes and insights have been blinded, and whose feelings have become numb to the suffering of these afflicted people, as if they have no humanitarian, religious, or moral bonds with this people.”

“These mercenaries who neglect their moral and religious values…usually end up recorded in the darkest pages of history,” it added in a statement.

This “misguided group does not represent Islam, Muslims, or the message carried by religious scholars, preachers, and imams in solidarity with the oppressed and wronged,” the statement said.

Despite international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a genocidal war on Gaza, killing nearly 57,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.