The Global Imams Council (GIC) of Muslim faith leaders on Dec. 30 banned followers of Islam from participating in and attending the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing the oppression of Uyghurs in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. The GIC is the world’s first and largest transnational non-governmental body of Muslim religious leaders from all Islamic denominations and schools of thought, with over 1,300 members worldwide, according to its website. In a statement on Thursday titled “GIC statement on the 2022 Winter Olympics,” GIC President Imam Mohammad Baqir al-Budairi said that the Beijing Games “directly serves the interests of a tyrannical and oppressive regime that’s responsible for the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs.” “The Global Imams Council rules that participation and attendance in Beijing 2022 are prohibited,” he wrote. “We stand in support of, and united with, the oppressed Uyghur Muslims. The Chinese Government continues to violate Chinese Muslims’ basic human and …