For instance, verse 103 of chapter Al-e Imran reads, “Hold fast to the cord of God unanimously and do not be divided. And remember God’s blessing on you when you were enemies; then He brought your hearts together, so you became brothers with His blessing. And you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, whereat He saved you from it. Thus does God clarify His signs for you so that you may be guided."
As you know the arrogant powers through history have made every effort to cause differences among people so that they can attain their colonial goals. In order to dominate the Islamic world and preventing Muslims from creating the great Islamic civilization, they have seen disunity as the best option. Thus, they fabricated sects like Wahhabism to excommunicate other Muslims and permit their murder. Thus, alongside promotion of savagery, they embarked on suppression of the Islamic culture, history of pre-Islamic nations and ethnicities. By inciting ethnicities to achieve independence, they trained puppet rulers, so that, whenever Muslims extended brotherly hands toward each other, they could revive the fire of spite and discord via reminding them of their forefathers’ glory. Imam Khomeini sensed the danger from the very beginning of his revolution. In view of this, more than 15 years before the victory of the Islamic revolution, in June 1963 he announced, “Our plan is the plan of Islam, the unity of Muslims, the unity of Islamic countries, fraternity of all Muslim sects and alliance with all Islamic governments all over the world.”
This emphasis by Imam Khomeini on Islamic unity and his efforts to materialize the ideal sense of the Islamic Ummah closed the ranks of Muslim countries and created instances of sectarian convergence. In a speech in the city of Najaf, the Imam said in 1969, “In order to maintain unity of the Islamic Ummah, in order to take the Islamic lands out and release them of the usurpation and influence of colonialists and their puppet governments, we have no choice but formation of government. In order to materialize unity and freedom of Muslim nations, we must overthrow oppressive and puppet governments and then create the just Islamic government which is at the service of people. The formation of government is for safeguarding of the system and unity of Muslims.”
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Islamic unity constituted one of the main axes of the Islamic Republic’s domestic and foreign policy. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution, on the basis of the noble Qur’an, has obligated the government to set its general policy in line with achievement of unity and consistency of Islamic nations. Part of article 11 of the Constitution reads, “According to verse 92 of chapter Anbiya, ‘Indeed, this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord, so worship Me’, all Muslims are a single Ummah (community) and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is duty-bound to put its general policy on the basis of coalition and unity of Islamic nations and make continuous effort to materialize political, economic and cultural unity of the Islamic world.”
Upon foundation of the Islamic Republic system, Imam Khomeini raised the marking of the Unity Week. This effort was made to highlight common points of Muslims and set aside differences. Accordingly, the period bridging the 12th and 17th of the Islamic month of Rabi’ul Awwal was named as the Unity Week. Sunni Muslims believe that the 12th is the birthday of the Prophet while Shia Muslims believe that the 17th is his birthday. Following this initiative by Imam Khomeini, huge gatherings and ceremonies were held in Iran and across the world to mark the anniversary of the Prophet of Islam and cement solidarity and fraternity among Muslim ranks.
After Imam Khomeini, his successor Ayatollah Khamenei, too, has strongly emphasized on Islamic unity and solidarity. In the first days of his leadership, he said, “When we chant the slogan of unity, we should pay attention to two important points. The first point is to remove differences and adversities, clashes, contradictions and obstructionisms which have been there among Muslim sects and tribes since centuries ago; and these adversities have always ended to the detriment of Muslims. The second point is that unity should be at the service of and in line with the rule of Islam. If the ulema of Islam accept that the Qur’an says in ayah 64 of surah Nisa’, ‘And We didn’t send any apostle but to be obeyed by God's will’, it means that the Prophet hasn’t come just to advise, to say something while people are doing their work and respecting him. Rather, he came to be obeyed, to guide the society and life, to form a system and lead humans toward the goals of decent life. Hence, the move should be toward the rule of Islam and the rule of Islam in all Islamic countries and communities is a feasible affair.”
Ayatollah Khamenei always pays special attention to the issue of Islamic unity. The Leader set up the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought in 1990. This forum is seeking to enhance the awareness of various Islamic sects from each other and deepen their mutual understanding. It is an NGO which aims at removal of differences through familiarity of Sunni and Shia scholars with each other and exchange of ideas in a brotherly climate.
No doubt, the scholars of various Islamic sects play an important role in bolstering unity and vice versa. In view of this, Ayatollah Khamenei issued the fatwa for participation of Shia Muslims in the congregational prayers of Sunni brothers. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also issued a fatwa that slandering any of the symbols of Sunni bothers, such as insulting the wives of the Prophet, is haram. This was broadly welcomed by the Islamic world and further strengthened unity and consistency among Muslims.
There is no shred of doubt that the most important issue of the Islamic Ummah is the issue of Palestine and holy city of al-Quds. Al-Quds as the symbol of unity gathers all Muslims from every denomination. The Islamic Republic of Iran has turned into a regional power and has become the archenemy of the fabricated Zionist regime. Imam Khomeini’s calling of Israel as a cancerous tumour took the shape of designs and groups opposing and fighting the usurpers of Palestine. The fake Zionist regime dreamt of stretching its borders from Nile to Euphrates. In 1967, a Zionist soldier was asked by a reporter as where the borders of Israel were; to which he replied brazenly and in cold blood, “As far as I put my step.” Then he thumped his boot on the ground. But, a few years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the regime in Tel Aviv had to build barrier wall and put itself in a cage and totally forget about the daydreaming of Greater Israel. This astounding success was not materialized except with the unity and convergence of the youths of Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and so on. The most important issue is the obliteration of the Zionist regime from within; an issue that has been admitted even by the American intelligence services as they forecast that Israel will not live more than 20 years.
Professor Ludwig Hagemann of Würzburg University in Germany, said, “The leaders of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, although they are Shia and Shias constitute a smaller percent of the world Muslims, have left no doubt that their revolution is not a Shia revolution nor is it an Iranian revolution; but a revolution which is unifying the Islamic Ummah.”
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