Ayatollah Khalisi calls for moving from Islamic rapprochement to unity

A senior Iraqi scholar has called for moving beyond the concept of rapprochement among Islamic schools of thought toward the establishment of a unified Islamic Ummah, describing unity as the essential condition for the revival of the Muslim community.

Ayatollah Jawad Khalisi, addressing an event marking the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Khalisi said the Muslim Ummah “will not rise except through unity,” stressing that Muslims are united by faith in Allah, the Quran and the Prophet.

Citing Quranic verses calling on Muslims to remain united and avoid division, he said the theoretical foundations of Islamic unity were clear and should be translated into practical action.

Khalisi also praised the martyred Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, for his longstanding efforts to promote Muslim unity, saying he had personally witnessed the martyred Leader’s commitment to rapprochement among Islamic schools of thought. He highlighted his efforts to engage with non-Shia religious seminaries in Iran and his religious ruling prohibiting insults against symbols revered by Muslims.

The Iraqi scholar said Khamenei had sacrificed his life in the cause of Islamic unity and supporting the Muslim Ummah.

Turning to the future of Islamic unity efforts, Khalisi urged the World Forum for Proximity among Islamic Schools of Thought to enter a new phase.

“We must move beyond the stage of rapprochement to the stage of unity,” he said, proposing that the forum work toward becoming an institution representing a “single Islamic Ummah.”

Khalisi stressed that Muslims should not allow differences to divide them and called for a collective project aimed at building a united Muslim community capable of confronting imperialism, Zionism and other threats.